GREAT EXPECTATIONS

We visited commercial photographer John Need to learn about offering a professional experience, maintaining relationships with clients and delivering the goods

- John Need

It's one of those accepted notions with which new professional photographers must quickly become familiar - your client will always want the image you didn't shoot. Customer briefs often vary in their specificity and detail, especially when they too are unfamiliar with the process of working with photography at a professional level. This often leads to miscommunication and potentially a lack of cohesive direction for the shoot. After all, without a clear idea of what our clients want, we can only use our expert judgment to take an educated guess.

At the other end of the scale, high-end clients might provide a commercial photographer with an extremely specific brief that they expect to be followed to the letter.

John Need

Based in historic Edinburgh, John has a varied background in professional photography, having specialised in numerous genres, from street imaging to actor headshots and music photography. Having covered hundreds of corporate events and shot for social media and magazine briefs, John has won multiple awards for his work over the course of the past 17 years. He is also a CAA qualified drone pilot and experienced videographer.

This happens to be the case for the product photography session I'm attending today, courtesy of Edinburgh-based commercial photographer John Need. While he works in many other areas, John is an expert at crafting descriptive and brand-faithful images in this arena.

I arrive at Summerhall, formerly the Royal Dick Veterinary College and now a vibrant arts venue in the heart of the Scottish capital, where John's studio is located. John is there to meet me in front of the building's impressive facade and I remark upon how nice it is to have a studio space in such a prestigious landmark.