Come learn and listen to an inside-the-industry presentation by Andy Batt and Therese Gietler. They work with a diverse client list that ranges from Verizon NFL and Indycar to Alaska Airlines with top Agencies and Personalities in the business.
Andy and Therese are going to discuss a work-in-progress personal project titled “Bad Choices”. Bad Choices is a fictional narrative they have created—it’s a near-future post-apocalyptic science fiction story. They wanted to work inside a genre that they love, and this area has been a fascination of Andy’s since childhood.
Their end goal is to create a portfolio of photographs that looks and feels like a marketing campaign surrounding a high concept TV series. Andy and Therese have been working with a group of collaborators, including a costume designer, scenic/prop designer, graphic designer and most recently a podcast producer. Part of the vision for Bad Choices is to create supporting works like short stories, pages of the screenplay, a movie trailer, a visual brand, and possibly a podcast.
The Bad Choices world features 12 actors, set in a variety of Pacific Northwest locations. The body of work is still in it’s early stages. They’ve created a portrait series of all the actors, three of the 12 ‘movie posters’, 3 widescreen ‘movie stills’ and a series of short stories that continue to evolve. Their graphic designer has created a brand mark for the show, and is at work on creating a style guide for the project.
Andy will speak about the struggles of creating a narrative work from scratch, reaching outside of his comfort zone to create non-photography works, and collaborating with others to bring this vision to life. He’ll show sketches, BTS snapshots, ‘raw’ images and their retouched counterparts.
Therese will speak about the challenge of producing work that is still in the process of being written, about showing and marketing this project to their new and existing client base and about the importance of having a personal project in this era of business.
The whole presentation will be compact and to the point, and leave time at the end for Q&A about the project and any other photography related business questions.
About the Presenters
Andy: Photographer. Creative. Director.
Andy says “I discovered photography in high school—there was something instinctive and amazing about the whole process of it. That led me to the commercial photo program at RIT, which led me to become a photo assistant. 20 years later, here I am, still having fun being a photographer. Even though the ‘what’ has changed, my love of photography has not. This is still the best job ever.”
Andy’s approach to photography is built out of a strong commitment to creating an intersection of image and story. Whether it’s working on a large scale project with a huge crew and bigger personalities, or an quiet portrait session in his own studio, his work shows a love for the act of discovery and the creativity of crafting with light.
For Andy, it’s about using all the tools at his disposal, working with his clients and his subjects to create the best image possible.
Clients have learned that working with Andy and his crew means that the project goes smoothly, on time, and on budget—whether it’s traveling to South America, or the South Waterfront of Portland.
In 2014 Andy published his first book, Camera & Craft—
a photography manual aimed at the inspired amateur.
Andy currently has too many personal project sketched out in his moleskine, which he says “is a good problem to have”.
Therese: Producer. Studio Manager.
As co-owner of the studio, I produce all of our still and motion projects. After 17 years on the job so far, I am happy to say that I haven't seen it all, and remain thrilled by each and every job. I love producing, I love my crew, and at the end of every shoot, I love toasting to our success. It's a good life.
