Photography at Uni of Plymouth for official Queen's Diamond Jubilee book

2012 heralds the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee – a special occasion indeed, and we were delighted to be commissioned by London agency St.James’s House to create a series of photographs for the official book to mark this event.

Assessing fish behaviour - photography at Uni of Plymouth for official Queen's Diamond Jubilee book

Although we hope you’re not disappointed to find there’s no photos of HRH Queen Elizabeth II on this page, we can assure you our photography will feature in the official book, which is to be distributed via controlled circulation.

Working with our client St.James’s House (their clients include the RAF, Harrods and the BBC) we were instructed to visit the University of Plymouth to photograph for a specific feature, and capture students and staff working in the Biosciences department on campus in Plymouth.

Students working in lab - University of Plymouth (for official Queen's Diamond Jubilee book)

The final intended use for the images is an editorial feature within the Queens book, which is due for release April 2012.

We had a window of time to capture various aspects of the students work there. It was very much a case of finding and picking out key moments within what were immaculate but clinical white rooms. Lighting was flat, from fluorescent strip bulbs, so we used our own portable studio lighting.

As with many photography commissions, we were using a real-life scenario, where life carries on around you on the photo shoot. Students were working on live projects, so weren’t keen on being interrupted. In total, we covered three locations within the Biosciences area.

Lab work - Photography at Uni of Plymouth for official Queen's Diamond Jubilee book

Photographic equipment wise, we went in with as compact a set-up as possible, which included 2 portable soft boxes married to two speedlites, and a hammerhead flash gun to fill in background lighting, all fired by Elinchrom’s Skyport system of the Canon. As we’re shooting shallow depth of field, ultimate power in terms of light isn’t as important as being able to control how and where the light falls.

The client received 89 images on DVD for the book after we had  finished editing the photo shoot back at the studio. Total shots taken – 144.

So, we’re very much looking forward to seeing the book this Spring, and hope you’ll be able to get a look as well.