Photography and Videography Tips by Outdoor Video & Photographic

Illovo Central view towards Sandton

Movers and Shakers

How strongly do you buy into the power of visual content to amplify your marketing and online media? If you’re anything like our valued client FWJK, you’re fully on board and leveraging it to the benefit of your business and brand. What started out as a casual introduction over a cup of coffee has blossomed into our excellent relationship with the highly professional team of engineers and project managers at this dynamic and dedicated property development company.

With specialist insight and input from the FWJK team, we capture the journey of each new development, from turning the first sod of soil to completion of their “AAA” grade high-rise office blocks in Sandton, Johannesburg – the heart of Africa’s financial hub. An effective strategy that we’ve implemented together is to create a quarterly update video and series of photos of the progress achieved over the previous 3 months, until completion of each project.

This is particularly appreciated by the stakeholders and investors, as they get to see the awe-inspiring work that results in each building rising up from an empty piece of land and growing every quarter into a towering icon. Premium finishes and fittings add the final touches to what will become a sought-after base for the prospective tenants and owners, as they proudly share their new abode with their clients, friends and families.

The video below shows FWJK’s latest development, Illovo Central, going up in the exclusive location between St Davids Marist in Oxford Road and the iconic Summer Place conference centre in Mellville Rd. It will be an 18 story “AAA” office facility, eventually sharing its ground floor with Illovo Point which is directly next to it, to create an upmarket retail experience for diners and shoppers. The video depicts the building progress from February to end April, 2019:

This strategy is a classic example of a modern corporate or commercial business adapting to the times and utilising the best possible platforms to market, inform and archive their exceptional achievements in the form of time-lapse videos, aerial video and stills, as well as traditional ground-based videography and photography. Including photos and footage of key players in the projects adds interest and appeal too, bringing the coverage vibrantly to life.

How can your business benefit from leveraging compelling visual content and archival media to ramp up the impact of your marketing? We’d love to discuss the value in this, as it applies to your specific requirements and industry, with a view to applying our extensive experience and expertise to support your business growth. Please contact us if you’re interested in exploring ideas and options. We’d love to assist.

Dimanzi Eau De Parfum

Premium Product Pics

Do you have a need for compelling product photography? If so, you likely know that creativity and attention to detail are key to success. This is particularly relevant when these principles have also been applied to the product being photographed. For example, a significant amount of time, attention and care went into creating the beautiful Dimanzi perfume and branding that you see here.

We had the pleasure of attending an enchanting presentation recently by Di Thompson, the founder of Dimanzi. She has a captivating story, infused with meaning, that spans her experiences in South Africa and France, including studying at the prestigious House of Guerlain on the Champs Elysees in Paris. Her journey led to her creating this “rainbow floral green fragrance with fresh and woody notes capturing the essence of our African spirit and aligning it with true French chic”.

Each aspect of the product and packaging has been specifically selected by Di, from the essential oils that are sourced from Grasse in France (the home of many great perfumes) and the glass beads that are made by local women in the rural areas of the Kwa Zulu Natal Midlands in South Africa, to the black and white zebra design that reflects Di’s personal Burchell heritage. The name Dimanzi also intentionally combines her name with the word “Manzi” which means water in the Zulu language.

To photograph this gorgeous product, we placed it on the light table in our studio and used a combination of 3 flash lights with adjustable intensity. Two of the lights were set up to shine through soft boxes, from either side of the light table, a bit above and in front of the product. A third light was positioned on the floor beneath the light table, shining upwards through a sheet of blue gel, which looks like a piece of extra strength cellophane. That created the blue glow in the background of the image.

This is one example of how to showcase a product with the introduction of a colour hue to contribute mood. Of course videography can evoke another level of interaction and sensory involvement, combining the art of motion with audio cues that can orchestrate emotion and motivate action in your viewers. We love to do both, hence why we’ve specialised in photography and videography genres since launching Outdoor Video & Photographic over 18 years ago.

If you’re looking for fresh ideas and professional photos and videos to showcase your products, contact us today to discuss how we can help.

Dave & Naomi Estment - Dec 2018

New Year & Birthday Celebrations

Happy New Year from us and ours to you and yours! May 2019 bring all you wish for and more. In addition to a freshly clean slate to explore new adventures, we celebrate something specific in January. It’s the anniversary month of founding our business and this month Outdoor Video & Photographic turns 18 years old. Cheers to voting and drinking rights!

We’re especially grateful to have wrapped up 2018 and started 2019 with wildlife photo and video shoots on magnificent game farms. If you’ve followed our blog, you’ll likely know that Dave and I share a particular passion for this, and perhaps also that it’s one of the main genres that motivated us to launch OV&P and to keep infusing pleasure and fun into our lives by doing what we love and loving what we do. Here’s a sneak peek into some of the exceptional wildlife photos that Dave has enjoyed shooting recently:

Male Lion photographed by Dave Estment of OV&P

Male Lion photographed by Dave Estment of OV&P

Rhino close up in mud photographed by Dave Estment

Rhino in mud bath photographed by Dave Estment

Over the years, our OV&P work has aligned more strongly with our extensive corporate experience and we specialise in helping blue chip organisations and entrepreneurial businesses maximise the power of their marketing via expert ground and aerial photography and videography. Dave’s technical skills and mechanical engineering background combine with his passion for leading edge technology to keep Outdoor Video & Photographic at the forefront of aerial drone photography and videography advancements.

This led to some significant corporate and commercial projects in 2018 that commanded much of Dave’s focus and expertise, including epic ground, aerial and time lapse photos and footage. My primary goal for 2018 was to create and publish the video-based content for my suite of 7 transformational online courses. That included maintaining my award winning blog at www.naomiestment.com and taking a sabbatical from this award winning OV&P blog for most of 2018 – in case you’ve noticed it’s been quiet around here 😉

My courses are geared to help visionary women entrepreneurs boost their online presence via brilliant personal branding photos and videos. They contribute a brand new dimension to the products and services that we offer. If you’d like a juicy taste, sign up for my free course at www.courses.naomiestment.com. Also, stay tuned for fresh blog content coming your way here to share insight and inspiration about how pro photography and videography can benefit you and your business in 2019!