Welcome to the Commercial Photography of J. Ramirez
Advertising Photography • Food Photography • Architectural Photography • Portrait Photography • Travel Photography
Advertising Photography
A full page ad for Mr. Handy Man.At times, photography affects the viewer on a subliminal level; advertising photography, however, is purposely crafted to target the viewer subliminally, on a primal level with sex and on an emotional level with the feelings of desire, inadequacy, and often times with humor.
Advertising photography is the dominant advertising medium of our time as it most effectively uses the power of the image to spark the viewer’s interest, fascination, and desire, and in the end convey the joys and benefits of consumerism.
Advertising photography may encompass product photography, fashion photography, or food photography; it could be an abstractly narrative art piece, or a combination of all of the above. In any shoot, however, successful advertising photography requires an expertise in camera and lighting skills as well as in compositing and post-production.
I shoot both on location and in studio for advertising agencies, design firms, or I shoot directly for the end client. Whether it is a high-end or low-end production project, I am committed to producing outstanding advertising images and I can help you put together your production at competitive rates.
Food Photography
Pasta with Vodka sauce, from For the Love of Food Cookbook.Food and drink photography is debatably one of the most difficult specialty areas of photography. There are three basic types of food photography: Editorial Food Photography, Food Packaging Photography, and Food Advertising Photography, and each has its unique challenges.
In editorial food photography, the goal is to make the food look beautiful. Food trapped in the two dimensional world of a photograph lacks the important ability to arouse the senses of Touch, Smell, Taste, and Sound–for example the sound of “the sizzle”. The trick is then, through lighting, props, styling, action, and camera work, to make the food “pop” off the page and entice the viewer with a beautiful image.
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Grilled Prawns shot for The Turtle Bay Restaurant.On the other hand, food packaging photography can be the most technical, tedious, and micromanaged type of food photography. Usually the layout is supplied and coordinated by the art director, and the backgrounds, props, and framing are predetermined. Generally the idea is to show the food in a well-lit, realistic, favorable way and to communicate the product’s attributes–such as “chunky”, “rich,” “thick,” “meaty” “creamy”– rather than focusing on creating a beautiful image.
Advertising food photography–like the photos found in food ads, on menus, in product brochures, and on billboards–generally lies somewhere in between the editorial food photography and food packaging photography. Advertising food photography can be as restrictive as packaging photography due to the need to follow an artist’s illustration, but generally there is more leeway there for the photographer to take advantage of unforeseen opportunities like special lighting effects and props to create a delicious image.
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An example of the polished look of modern studio food photography.Along with the different types of food photography, there are different styles of food photography. From the stylized, polished look of modern studio food photography to the organic style of food photography found in Saveur Magazine. I can create the images you need. I’m comfortable leading the collaboration between the Food Stylist, Prop Stylist, Chefs, Cooks, and Designers on large projects, as well as to working directly with your restaurant’s chef on smaller projects.;)
An example of a more organic style of food photography.
If you represent a restaurant looking for food and marketing images, you should also consider architectural photography as a marketing tool. Food photos are not the only way to sell your restaurant. Architectural photography allows you to feature the restaurant itself, or the unique ambiance of your restaurant that can only be found during business hours, when patrons are enjoying their dining experience.
Rates for advertising photography are on a case-by-case basis and vary with production costs and requirements. Please contact me for more information.
Architectural Photography
Fandango Restaurant in Pacific Grove, CA.Architectural photography is commissioned for many reasons–reasons ranging from wowing the viewer with a marvel of geometric form, to simply conveying the experience of being in and around a built environment. As a Southwest architectural photographer based in El Paso, Texas, I do residential and commercial architectural photography for custom homebuilders, architects, interior designers, and developers– I photograph all forms of architecture. I also provide photography for realtors, real estate agents, real estate developments, construction projects, the hospitality industry, architectural magazines and industrial clients. I also shoot architectural photography for restaurants that want to feature their restaurant’s distinctive architecture or would like to capture the unique ambiance of their restaurant that can only be found during business hours, when patrons are enjoying their dining experience.
Whether you have a single story residential building or a downtown skyscraper, I can photograph all your interiors and exteriors.
Rates for architectural photography are on a case-by-case basis and vary with production costs and requirements. Please contact me for more information.
Portrait Photography
NM Governor Bill Richardson & Sir Richard Branson at Space Port America.Corporate Headshot Photographer / Corporate Portrait Photographer
Corporate headshots or corporate portraits are photographs of a corporate officer that are used for reference on company websites or on collateral corporate material. Creating corporate portraiture or corporate headshots usually entails a simple professional setup and is driven by the need to make several clean, well-lighted images of staff members in a short period of time. Consequently I can shoot up to 30 corporate headshots in day and deliver final images within a few days after the final image selections are made. As part of my services, I can also provide seamless backgrounds, fabric backgrounds, on-site review of portraits, a web site gallery for image review and final selection, Photoshop touch-ups of the final images, and electronic delivery via the Internet. If you are in need of corporate headshots or portraiture in El Paso or the Las Cruces area, I can provide you with professional well-lit portraits for your corporate collateral materials and web sites. However, corporate headshots in El Paso don't always need to be shot en masse. Since the El Paso and Las Cruces business community is diverse–and branding is so important in distinguishing the corporate image–I can collaborate with you to create distinctive business portraits to suit your branding goals and corporate image libraries. Often businesses need to distinguish themselves or their leadership with images that reflect their branding priorities, while still maintaining corporate conventions. Marketing and communications directors often want photography that is consistent with the company's core values, so they seek a customized approach to photography that is crafted specifically for their design projects and branding concepts. I can meet these needs.
For those who desire more than the conventional conservative corporate headshots, I can provide customized portraiture that is character-driven, with more attention paid to the branding, marketing and image needs of the client. To distinguish your leadership, there is a range of aesthetics and conventions from which we can draw.
Rates for corporate headshot photography are on a case-by-case basis and vary with production costs and requirements. Please contact me for more information.
Corporate Photography
As a corporate photographer in El Paso and the Las Cruces area, I recognize the need to convey the image that a business leader symbolizes and the message that the corporate concept communicates, and my images look to reflect this company narrative. My specialties include corporate portrait photography, architectural photography, product photography, and corporate narrative photography, capturing the images of people at work. Combined, these images enable us to promote concepts across multiple market segments and allow us to go above and beyond a simple record of a social or corporate event. I provide corporate photography for use in annual reports, corporate image libraries, corporate image development, marketing collateral, web site content, and corporate branding campaigns.
I am adept at collaborating with art directors and communications professionals who desire a corporate photographer in El Paso and the South West to meet their design projects, branding concepts, and post-production needs. I provide state-of-the-art digital photography along with the skills and resources to deliver a finished product on deadline whether it is for a large production or a simple corporate event.
Rates for corporate photography are on a case-by-case basis and vary with production costs and requirements. Please contact me for more information.
Annual Reports Photography
As an annual corporate reports photographer in the Southwest El Paso /Las Cruces area, I serve designers, communication directors, and creative directors seeking a photographer with a broad skill set ranging from portrait photography to architecture photography to product photography. I provide the expertise to produce the content for their corporate projects, branding campaigns, corporate image libraries, annual reports, and corporate sustainability reports.
Other skills sets that I can contribute to the creation of an image library include production skills such as casting, location scouting, and product styling. My post-production skills include optimizing, retouching, compositing and large digital file transfers.
By working closely with creative directors and communications professionals, I can create customized and unique images for annual reports and corporate library needs that are consistent with the corporation’s branding goals.
Rates for annual reports photography are on a case-by-case basis and vary with production costs and requirements. Please contact me for more information.