A little about the project (shot in May 2021)
We produced this project over a 6 day period in Kansas City (home of the world’s best BBQ) with an incredible team of collaborators. With COVID still in the air, the production was yet another example of hybrid production where only essential crew members were on set while the rest of the client and agency was remote viewing from their offices in Kansas City and Texas. Travis, our DIT, crushed the live feed.
This project began in back in January 2021 with mostly conversations surrounding Jack Stack needing a completely new image library. Over the past 5 years, they had done about six to seven different photo shoots and their image library was naturally beginning to look inconsistent. From the start, it was clear they wanted a fresh new look and something that would stand out if you compared their images to other BBQ restaurants around the country (think viewing multiple restraints on a Goldbelly or Doordash photo grid).
After a couple months of research and building out our shot list, I decided to use continuous lights versus strobes to light the table tops. Because we were shooting this for their shipping catalog, I wanted each setup to feel like a different kitchen table or countertop but still have similar light characteristics. I’ve found using continuous lights really helps me maintain light consistency especially when we’re having to move fast (we had over 80 setups in the six days). Every setup we lit continuous (shout out LiteGear and Aputure and triggered remotely using Capture One.
It was a truly collaborative experience with stylist Sarah Jane Hunt & Art Director Keaton Dorman. Weeks leading up to the shoot Sarah, Keaton and I dug up magazine covers and other images for inspiration so that by the time the first shoot day came around the three of us really were on the same page with the look and styling. It was a really fluid shoot week and everyone involved walked away very happy.
I can’t thank my friend and collaborator Keaton Dorman for giving Sarah and I creative freedoms while still providing ample amount of art direction. He knew what he wanted. Spending a week shooting for my favorite restaurant will for sure go down as a top memory of 2021.
