Creative Ops: Hello | Packaging | Catalogs | Visual Storytelling | Photography | Content | MarTech | DAM | Brand Governance | Pre-5.11
Visual Storytelling
Below are a handful of visual storytelling examples I’ve orchestrated and/or directed. We shot a wide range of styles during my time at 5.11 and worked with phenomenal crews, friends of the brand, great product, and super locations. These few examples are some of my favorites and would not have happened without a team.
Looking back at these makes me grateful for the experience and the opportunity. I would tell my younger self to stop and appreciate what you’re doing, your environment and the company you’re with and not just the list of what you need to get done. Look deep for the opportunities to tell a story, even if it’s not the primary one. Keep notes, be really involved in the edit and selects and apply those notes to your metadata. (Remember, an image w/o good metadata is just a pile of pixels mixed in amongst trillions…) Cultivate the relationships and embrace the location to your best.
2014 Utah
One of 5.11’s early forays into outdoor imagery and well before the “Overland” scene became prevalent. We ventured to the Utah slickrock with friends of the brand, local scouts, a photo/video crew. Images were used throughout our seasonal consumer marketing, consumer wholesale displays, and our own retail spaces. Our primary photographer for this shoot was John Laptad and I shot secondary.
Concept spreads for an overlanding-focused look book above and some examples of the end result in a consumer-facing catalog below.
2017 Wyoming
This shoot was one of several during 5.11’s “Gear, Guns & Gasoline” era. Our locations were remote for this shoot and we took a small crew supported by a local Jeep club out into the Wyoming wilderness. A key takeaway for me from this shoot was that the location plays an even role with the talent to tell a visually interesting and impactful story. Our primary photographer for this shoot was Jesse Clements and I shot secondary images, primarily product details, along the way.
2014 Hard Tactical - Shot on RED Epic
We were introducing a line of breaching tools for tactical teams. These were a combination of purpose-built pry bars, battering rams and other tools used by SWAT and Special Ops teams to make entry to barricaded spaces. This shoot overlapped with 5.11’s opening of the Development Center in Irvine, CA and we had the opportunity to make use of a space we could control and that was going to be demo’d regardless. So we went about creating a set and then coordinated a training exercise with our local SWAT team where the team made entry, breached the room, and took the ‘suspect’ into custody.
Still fames from the RED Epic cameras were used throughout all of the print material for this product launch. Note these images were aggressive and used in channel-specific marketing, not general consumer messaging.
Macro Photography
For me, there’s something a bit zen about macro photography. Taking the time to look at small details and the technical aspects of capturing them. Below are just a few samples with some examples of related sales materials. We found it useful for these buyers’ guides and go-to-market booklets when the piece was used across diverse selling channels and audiences.
if you like macro photos in general, I’d invite you to visit my personal “Beautiful Fragments” galleries.
Crew Pics
At some point in my time at 5.11 we started capturing crew pics at the end of the shoot. Some of these are my most favorite memories. As creatives we pour ourselves into our work, and occasionally that work turns workmates into friends. Those relationships outlast the work, don’t forget that.
“Good creative process takes practice.”