We were already on the plane and the pilot initially chuckled as he explained the delay to departure. He wasn’t laughing 2 hours later, when we were asked to offboard the plane, but he and the crew never stopped updating us.

As you know spanners (or sparrows) in the works can happen to anyone, no matter how up to date your equipment and processes, how skilled your crew are, and however well you plan.

The weather can crap out, kit can fail, clients can throw hissy fits or change the brief, memory cards can corrupt, crew (including you) can get sick, permits can fall over and tech can do all sorts of ridiculous things. I’ve seen every one of these (and many more) happen first hand. Some are production headaches, but the buck almost always stops with you.

Lens based image makers who get repeat work are often the ones who can deal with whatever is thrown at them (and an excellent producer helps too).

They stay calm.

They take stock of the situation.

They think through solutions.

And they’re excellent at communicating those options – and more importantly why – to everyone who needs to know.

In fact communication is everything (assuming you are a good photographer, and that’s a prerequisite in my world) because you’re not just selling a completed piece of work. You’re selling your ability to interpret a brief, collaborate with the creative and their producer, communicate to their client, and manage untold situations whilst keeping your cool.

The same applies to your marketing. Through your Emails, social media and even personal projects you have a wonderful opportunity to show how you think, work and communicate and that’s gold. Because your target audience want to know they’re in safe hands, even when the sparrows hit the fan.

Consistency.

• A consistent and clear visual voice and brand.
• Consistently sharing that work, so that across platforms and promos it completely aligns.
• Consistently reaching out and staying in touch, regardless of replies (or lack thereof).

It sounds easy but I know this kind of repetition can seem tedious, and daunting, and kind of scary.

I get it. As a photographer you’re a creative. A visual person who likes diversity, who doesn’t particularly relish working for a boss. You enjoy the freedom (and sometimes the stress of living on the edge of a roller coaster – hello you ADD folk), and consistency feels like it could kill your creative mojo and trap you. And let’s face it, if no one replies or responds, you start questioning yourself.

But the problem with lack of consistency is it can cause confusion to the people you really do not want to confuse. The people who want to work with you, but don’t.

Why?

Because a confused mind says NO.

If I’m to leave you with any advice as we begin 2026, it’s to keep showing up, repetitively, consistently, and RELIABLY.

This says so much about who you are as a commercial photographer.

You are not just selling beautiful pieces of work to hang on someone’s wall. You’re being hired as a human, and half the job is being a good communicator; someone who shows up, can take a brief, deal with all the people involved in the process, remain calm, and STILL deliver great imagery.

You and your work can be as wacky as you like, but delivery has to be consistently reliable.

Every year I choose a word as a kind of North Star. In 2025 my word was ‘Simplicity’ and every time I had a decision to make I asked myself – Is this the simplest solution? What would keep things easy?

I propose that one word you consider for 2026 is CONSISTENCY. When you’re editing and sharing your work, or planning your emails and outreach, ask yourself if you’re being consistent. What can you to to communicate your brand clearly and avoid confusion?

Consistency is an awesome way to build trust and inspire confidence, and then the sky’s your limit.

Happy New Year and may this next year be full of consistent and amazing work for you!

‘But how can that be my hero work? It’s so easy for me!’

No shit Sherlock.

It may come as a shock, but doing what you love, especially if you’ve been doing it for a while, can be a breeze.

You know that feeling. You’re in the flow. In your zone of genius.

Call it what you like, but when you’re shooting in a way that you love, it comes as naturally to you as flipping on a light switch. Time flies and before you know it you’ve been shooting for hours and you didn’t even notice except that the talent starts wilting, or the light starts disappearing, and your tummy’s rumbling.

If you think you have to work really, really hard to achieve your natural style, you’re either a beginner or you’re fighting your natural ability and probably trying to be something you’re not.

You’re paddling backwards.

Maybe someone once told you that earning money required damn hard work. Perhaps you were warned that survival as a photographer will be very difficult. Deep down you might not think you deserve to have things come to you easily.

Sheesh, there are plenty of things that do make life tough for photographers.

Finding clients.

Marketing.

Sales.

Copyright management.

Riding the rollercoaster of a freelance lifestyle.

Paying for gear.

Paying for more gear.

And sure, it’s a good idea to experiment with new equipment and different approaches.

But for goodness sake don’t lose sight of who you are as a photographer. That’s the easy, fun bit.

‘There’s no way he would do that!’ I’ll think as I sit back, inwardly questioning my husband’s sanity for buying tickets to the film in the first place. All the way home in the car we’ll discuss the things that made the movie mediocre, and almost always it comes down to believability.

I’m not questioning fairytales and sci-fi here. Anything can be believable if all the elements – the characters, the narrative and the acting – are convincing. The director is key to this. I mean, really key; and as a photographer you are also a director.

When I’m reviewing photographers’ work believability has a huge effect on my decision making. A shot can be beautifully lit, and perfectly composed but if it isn’t believable -that is, if it doesn’t feel quite right- out it goes.

It’s the difference between a ‘Wow’ shot and a clunky shot. They’re worlds apart, but sometimes hard to pinpoint, so I’ve compiled some check-points to help you select your most believable shots and avoid shooting, or at least sharing, the duds:

1.Is the shot in your authentic style?

Always my number one check point. Did you shoot the image in a way that is true to your own authentic style? If you’re trying to shoot in a way that doesn’t come naturally to you, maybe because you’re trying to shoot to please someone you want to work for, you may be in trouble. Stay true to your own vision when shooting personal work, and if the commercial work in your folio doesn’t sit well with your authentic style, don’t show it! If you’re struggling with finding your authentic style, consider hiring someone to review your work.

2. Is the subject matter true to your own values?

I am always a little taken aback when a photographer invests a heap of time and energy shooting a pro-bono  job, or a test, for a brand that conflicts with their values, or tries to produce a personal series that doesn’t sit with their ethics, just to try to win a commission from a client with whom they don’t align. If it’s a personal project choose a genre and topic which you actually care about. If it’s a favour or pro-bono or reduced fee commission, this is even more important. If you’re shooting something you care about, whether it’s around the topic of food, or women’s rights, or the planet, the integrity will emerge from the shots, and you will feel better about making the pictures. What do you care about? Take a stand!

3. Are your skill levels up to it?

If you don’t enjoy directing people, don’t direct people! Your subjects will look awkward and unconvincing. If you are a natural light shooter don’t try to set up an entire shoot in the studio. At least not without a damn good lighting assistant. Even then you may not pull it off. If you don’t shoot large or medium format don’t agree to! Clients choose you because of work you’ve shot previously, so do your best to convince them that the way you shoot is integral to the results. If it’s personal work, by all means practice, but if it isn’t what you enjoy, I guarantee the shots won’t be that great. They certainly won’t be believable.

4. Have you compromised on resources?

It is always really obvious when a photographer has cut a corner, or run out of money to execute a shot well. In the shot below, taken from an extreme angle, Kerry Wilson hired professional rowers who could manage the boat and avoid hitting him. The shot was also composited. If you can’t afford a good actor,  the right model,  a decent hair and make up artist, or to complete the shot with good post production, think again about the project you have chosen, or likewise accepting a commission. In either case, find intelligent ways to collaborate with the best people to get the best results, or walk away. I constantly have to throw out shots because the model is a novice (and I can tell), the make up atrocious, or the compositing unconvincing. That’s a shame when your lighting and composition are beautiful. Ultimately no client will thank you for keeping to budget if the job looks highly compromised (and therefore not believable). Which takes us to point 5.

5. Is it over or under polished?

The difference between too little and too much retouching can be subtle but massive. And from photographer to photographer what’s required can be vastly different. David Lachapelle‘s work requires a huge amount of layering and construction, and has to be pulled off convincingly, even though it is make-believe. Too little, or unprofessional retouching, would screw up the look. Naturally lit location work still requires some subtle grading. Too much and it’s in the clunky pile. When I’m judging competitions, I often come across over-polished images that have the very life and soul removed from them. This totally disengages me. Think carefully about the retoucher you work with and manage them well, and if you’re doing it yourself, be aware of falling into the trap of over-treating the shot, or ignoring important detail.

Whether it’s a huge commission or tiny personal project, the work needs to be convincing. Look at your website, your folio, and the jobs you accept. Give them a reality check. Are your shots believable?

‘Lewis Road Chocolate Milk’ they replied.

It turns out that the recently launched product (milk, with chocolate flavouring folks, we’re not talking about a rare species of truffle here) was due to arrive at 2pm and due to a shortage of supplies there were queues all over New Zealand. I took a photo and instagrammed it. The news channels hummed with it. Social media sites were a-buzzing with conversations on how to get hold of it. This happened many times over several weeks.

How did Lewis Road Chocolate Milk get to be so popular? I mean seriously, this is New Zealand- we are flooded with milk products. Including chocolate milk. I’m no market analyser or research specialist, but I can hazard a guess at some of the reasons. They’re all key points from which photographers (also flooding worldwide markets) could learn.

I listed a few:

1. Great packaging

I have to admit, Lewis Road Chocolate Milk is the classiest looking product in the dairy department. A clear bottle with nicely designed type (internationally recognised typographer Len Cheeseman’s doing I suspect). It stands out a mile when surrounded by the mountains of cartons and containers with garish look-at-me! typography, logos and star bursts.

How does your brand look on the shelf? When someone is looking at your website is it clean and classy? Or is it a great big mess of tabs and images (and yet more images) and logo (God forbid it is a colour logo with a picture- tell me you didn’t do that- please) and whatever else you felt the need to add? Take a look at it and make sure you’re Lewis Road and not Budget Butter Inc.

2. Perception of quality

Never underestimate your customers. When your brand looks classy, people assume it is a better product. Even the ones you think don’t appreciate good design.

Whenever I ask photographers to remove their more commercial looking, dumbed-down images from their website they often freak out that those customers will stop coming to them. ‘They won’t get this personal stuff’, they say. “It’s not their kind of thing! They need to see I can shoot a burger!’ Trust me, they will keep using you. They’ll just feel privileged and proud that they are using someone so good.

A word of warning though- you have to behave professionally all round. Your response, your attention to detail, your service, must all reflect the quality of the brand. Otherwise you might as well not bother.

3. Higher price

Quality doesn’t come cheap. Lewis Road chocolate milk is more than double the price of its competitors! And yet it didn’t stop people without a brass razoo queuing, and paying big bucks. The point is that just because something is the most expensive on the shelf doesn’t mean it won’t attract people of all types. They will find the money. And hey, if they can’t afford it, they’re probably not the target market.

I work with a lot of photographers. I have to say, hand on heart, the ones getting the best jobs are charging a premium price. When I was an agent I was aware that there were other photographers out there getting lower budget day-to-day work, but as soon as the client had a decent budget they would come to us. They perceived us as a premium brand. Are you a premium brand? Or do you drop your fees at the whiff of a job?

4. Collaboration with other popular brands/ entities

Whittakers Chocolate has a great following and many loyal customers. If you’re not a New Zealander you should seek it out- it’s good! Lewis Road teamed up with this established, quality brand and created a product that could potentially attract the same following. I guess it worked. Such an effective way to get immediately exposed to a similar target market.

I always recommend that photographers collaborate. Team up with brands targeting the same clients to create an amazing photographic event. Team up with a client to bring amazing design to your own promotional work, or to your socially-conscientious idea. Team up with a well-known artist to bring another amazing dimension to their work, and yours.

Photographer and filmmaker Joseph Michael collaborated with the best soundscape artists to add a crucial finish to his beautiful time-lapse series.

5. Scarcity

Busy people with kids and soccer drop-offs and birthday parties and full-time jobs waited patiently in supermarkets all around New Zealand on a sunny Saturday afternoon for the 2pm delivery of Lewis Road, whilst all the usual demands waited for them. Yes- insane! But a reality. Having said that, Lewis Road, in their efforts to keep people as happy as possible, regularly communicated expected delivery times and explanations for the scarcity.

I know first-hand that if a client/ creative/ art-buyer wants a photographer badly enough they’ll move heaven and earth to fit around your schedule. The only thing you need to do is to keep communicating, make an effort to be flexible, and show that you care.

Of course, they won’t even contemplate working around you if you’re not perceived as a unique, quality brand.

Take a look at your brand. Are you in the Lewis Road league?

Yesterday we received an Email from an award-winning photographer in Europe. He already has agents in Asia and Europe. He wants more work from Asia, but has issues around what his agent’s responsibilities are and how much he can actually do or should do given that his agent is on the ground there.

When it comes to new territories I hear this all the time. And because I’ve been on both sides of the coin here are my answers, regardless of whether you’re a European breaking into Asia, or an Australian breaking into the USA, or a Wanaka photographer breaking into Auckland.

Isn’t it my agents job to get me the work in their region(s)?

Well yes.  But you can’t rest on your laurels. You must have a presence in the markets in which your agents are operating- even if you don’t live there. And relying on your rep for that is often not enough.

Agents are great, and pretty essential, but the problem is many do not have the time to market their photographers as fully as they’d like. They sometimes rely on their brand or name to bring in the work. Indeed, many of them are bombarded by overworked agency art buyers making one call to an agent to procure 4 folios for a potential job on their desk (rather than contacting 4 separate photographers). This is a classic scenario across Australasia.

So let your agent market their brand, and send out your folio for those incoming jobs, and juggle all the incoming calls for estimates, and close your deals, and manage your schedules, but for goodness sake get your butt out there and build some relationships.

Why should I invest in coming such a long way to see creatives that my agent should be seeing regularly?

So you live a long way away. Ahem? You’re a photographer for goodness sake!

Here’s why you should make an effort to jump on a plane:

1. Even the best agents who are investing time marketing their photographers have to spread themselves thin, and cover as much ground as possible. Individual photographers are lucky enough to be able to foster relationships with a small group of perfect clients. You can target the people you want to work with, and put all your energies in the right places.
2. When you arrange face to face meetings far away from your home base you send the message that you are willing to invest in working with those clients. They’ll will take you far more seriously if they see that you have made the effort to come all that way. That you’re not just another name on a website chockablock full of photographers. In fact they’ll be thrilled to meet you.
3. It’s not just your clients that will get this message. Your agent will know you mean business. They’ll also take you more seriously and work harder for you. You put the effort in and they’ll put the effort in.
4. Never met your agent? Well do it now! And to see your agent in action. Get a sense of how they run their business. How they manage their clients, and yours. I’d like to think you’ll also see how hard they work for you. Get introductions from them. Work as a real team.
5. When you’re there, use the opportunity to shoot beautiful and exotic personal work. Whilst you’re at it familiarise yourself with the light conditions, locations and local resources. Potential clients will trust you more when they see you can work with their light and get good results. They’ll relate more to you too. Your agent will be chuffed to have more relevant work for your folio.
6. With fresh personal work from far flung places your local clients will perceive you more as an international shooter and perhaps even treat you with more respect.

I worked with a photographer from Australia who had never before been to Asia. On his second visit he had 3 top agents offering to represent him. Trust me, this is unusual. One of the reasons for this was because he was getting in to see more creatives that they were. In fact, they didn’t know quite how he was getting in front of some people as they had tried and failed. Although he has an agent, he still continues to travel to Asia and build relationships with existing and potential clients.

Lesson: The best agent/ photographer partnerships are when both parties are investing their time into marketing.

So if you want to work in Asia, or the USA, or Auckland; anywhere in fact that isn’t where you usually live, commit yourself. One hundred percent. Your agent will thank you. And longer term so will your bank balance.

Wendy Brandon, Wellington

I am thrilled to introduce Wendy Brandon, who at time of writing is still establishing herself as an artist, so there is no website just yet. Wendy chucked in a highly successful law career to follow her heart. Having been surrounded by a cultured crowd her entire career she has a great eye, and her work is truly beautiful. Many of her shots have this lovely soft quality, yet there is no doubt as to the intent, and I liken it to a butterfly emerging from a chrysalis, which is to me a perfect representation of where Wendy is at in her art and her life. Watch this space!

Rory Carter, Auckland

When Rory Carter‘s name is mentioned those in the New Zealand commercial world would probably think of high end conceptual and automotive ad campaigns . But I’m all about personal work and I just love this image that Rory captured on the side of a road by the beach. It’s such a typical New Zealand scenario. I can imagine the sofa and armchair being dragged out to the car park to make a  beer-drinking, fish-and-chip-eating experience more comfortable, and being abandoned afterwards when it rained. The colour palette is fabulous and I always love a photographer who takes advantage of moments like this.

Geoff Ang, Singapore

Geoff Ang is one of the most established shooters in Singapore. I first encountered his work about 12 years ago in the foyer of Fallon, who were exhibiting a gorgeous personal series he had shot. I was very impressed that he had figured out the way to creatives’ hearts was through showing his personal work and passion. Geoff loves a bit of light. Not just your average light on the subject, but spots flaring into the lens from all manner of sources. I love the dynamic feeling of this image, the spotlights in the background and the green net lit against the sky.

Vaughan Brookfield, Queenstown

Vaughan Brookfield is blessed to live in one of the most beautiful places in the world, Queenstown. Surrounded by stunning vast lakes and fjords he’s not someone who takes this beauty for granted. Being one of the adventure capitals of the world means that much of Vaughan’s work to date has been sport and lifestyle influenced. But lurking behind that dynamic chopper, snowboarding and camping shooter is a sensitive conceptual location photographer who’s work exudes a still beauty. Backdrops of jaw dropping cinematic lakes and deserts dwarf people, structures, and yes, some of those choppers. The simplicity of this shot is what draws me to it- that and its meditative quality.

Carlos Alcaide, Hell Studios, Melbourne

There isn’t an ounce of hesitancy in Carlos Alcaide‘s work. His shots are always dramatic and thrust you into the action, whether shot in the studio or location, and his talent are always energised. Maybe it’s something he puts in their water. This shot, whilst more captured-moment than many of Carlos’ images, is no exception. And I’m a sucker for the graphic lines of railway tracks.

I first met the lovely Kelly Pon when she was an art director at BBH Singapore. BBH was a fast growing agency back then (and is now one of the busiest in the region). With ECD Steve Elrick at the helm, there was a great buzz about the place and I remember having some great conversations with various creatives about inspirational photography from around the world. Levis was one of their clients and the creatives were always keen to find new and innovative ways to market it, often using very unique photographic approaches.

Nine years ago, Kelly became Creative Director of BBH Shanghai, and she’s still there. I recently asked her a bunch of questions to which she very obligingly and honestly responded via a Skype chat. As the CD position can often be taken up with management decisions, one of the things that I was firstly interested in was how much day to day involvement Kelly had in commissioning photographers.

Christina: As Creative Director of BBH Shanghai do you still look for/ choose photographers or do you leave that to your team?

Kelly: Depends on interest. For me personally, I love photography so I do trawl through sites, look out for great photography work and talent. On the job front, my role mostly centers around giving my opinion on the pared down choices that my team makes. They write the photography brief, shortlist photographers they like, I look through them and help them with their decision.

Christina: When you trawl the net are there any favourite sites you go to find photography?

Kelly: There are many. I’ve been recently looking at photography from hobbyists rather than professional or commercial photographers. They are doing some interesting stuff. Having said that, I still love it when I accidentally stumble on a good photographer’s site on Behance. Or discover a hobbyist from 500pix. Fashion156.com, artsy.net, ba-reps.com, mymodernmet.com, lensculture.com etc., are some of the sites I go to.

I do find photographers from non-professional photography sites as well, on social media or design sites, some are links from friends. I think nowadays, it helps if you make photos that people want to share and pass around. It helps people discover you.

Christina: So you still like looking at folios?

Kelly: Of course, as long as its not boring stuff. Most of the time, photographers personal work is more interesting than their commercial stuff, so I think they should always include personal work.

Christina: So not too much commercial stuff right?

Kelly: Sometimes in portfolios, there needs to be a balance of “here’s what I can do” to show technical abilities, experience etc. But mostly the work that sticks is not commercial. If it can spark an idea off in my head, or a different way to execute stuff… I know that this photographer has the imagination and capacity to take my idea forward rather than just execute it straight from the sketch.

Christina Force: What dictates where the photographer is from? Do you consciously look locally for some jobs and internationally for others?

Kelly: It depends on clients. For big companies like Coca Cola for example, everything needs to be submitted with 3 quotes. Most of the time, one of them needs to be a local dude.

Christina: So I take from that you use quite a few photographers from outside China. Do you use many from Australia and New Zealand or are they mainly from Europe or USA?

Kelly: Some are from the US, sometimes from Asia, we also use Australians. Not really country-specific to be honest. Having said that, Chinese photographers are getting to be really good. I’ve been using a lot of local photographers recently for our fashion client.

Christina: So do you find there are more locals able to shoot what you need nowadays?

Kelly: Firstly, good print work in China is few and far in between. Clients don’t even call it print advertising. The term they use is “key visual”. And a lot of them are very straight, don’t have any idea; it’s to be used to feature products, celebs etc. So to do these, you don’t really need awesome photographers. There won’t be a place for them to flex their muscles and creativity. Usually the key visuals are done-up so finished for the clients, there is no space to maneuver. Most of the print work from China you see winning in award shows, with exceptions of course, are scams.

In China, the big brands are in fierce competition. Unilever, Coca Cola, Pepsi, etc, all have big category wars like the hair wars, or the drink waters etc., so all their stuff centers around who’s got the best water splash in their key visuals, who’s paying for the biggest celeb etc., so for that, you would hardly have a photographer that comes in with a really inspiring creative portfolio, because the work does not warrant that. So I think when you come into Asia, you have to be quite specific on which market you want to hit… Hair? Water? Fizz? Fashion? Even more so than in other countries. Because the clients here need quite a lot of handholding, therefore, it’s reassuring for them to get a specialist that can deliver the biggest sexiest splash for example. Nothing too creative.

Christina: That’s really helpful. So would you say the ideal scenario is a photographer who brings in a tailored folio for specific work as above but with a blog of personal creative work and exhibitions would be more successful? Or the other way around- show a gorgeous arty book but have a commercially tailored website….? It looks like a bit of a mix of each to me. Will that work for your creatives?

Kelly: By all means, if you have a photographer that is great with hair, and he has a hair portfolio that’s creative and inspiring, I think he will do really well here. To be a specialist, that makes an impression with the creatives when showing the work around – awesome. But if you have a photographer who is an all-rounder, that’s ok too, but make sure that he’s got personal work, that will make an impression (what he’s about). Does that make sense?

Christina: Yes perfect sense.

Kelly: Most of the time, we come out of these [folio] sessions talking about, wow, that guy would be great for this job or that job, or wow can’t really place his work yet but I want to work with him. Think he can make something look quite amazing. I always walk out with a few images in my mind that stick and usually there are from the personal portfolios.

Christina: Who do you/ would you like to work with?

Kelly:  The Wade Brothers, Vott, Walter Schupfer Management (Corbjin)

The Korean site [Vott] is from my art buyer. I personally love the Wade brothers work. We also work with Bloc productions quite a bit here, based in Beijing. They bring in international photographers and have local insight. Elephoto is the other production house we shoot with quite a lot for fashion. They are great at casting.

Christina: Great- that’s good to know. So even if you’re looking beyond China do you prefer to go through a local production co?

Kelly: Ideally, we would like local support. Even if the agent is from international, we’d prefer them to be in the same time zone  Because things move very fast here.

Christina: Does it help if overseas photographers visit a bit and show they know China?

Kelly: To be honest, I think the agent’s constant presence is probably more important than having a photographer around. It’s like shooting commercials, we never see the director until the PPM [pre production meeting], but we always have the rep around. We know the rep, we are comfortable and assured that amidst all the madness around with clients, we have a partner that is there to support us.

Christina: Got it. You can see the photographer’s work but you need to know they have the appropriate production back-up. Have you or your art buyers experienced any cultural issues with working with westerners on Chinese jobs?

Kelly: Mostly ok, because we normally liaise with the local rep, or someone’s who’s been here long enough to know how it works… but I usually, in very early part of the discussion, am quite upfront about how we work.. How our clients work, fast turnaround, rounds of revisions, crazy hours, so that everything’s on the table and everyone’s got ample warning. Problem arises when people we work with apply their methods into our context, and is not flexible. But that can also happen to local people as well. So I think it’s less about a foreigner working here but about attitude. It’s a plus if you are adaptable and cooperative. It’s more of a problem with directors than with photographers to be honest.

Christina: You mean directors are less flexible than photographers?

Kelly:  Bigger egos

Christina: You mentioned Vott earlier. They rep several photographers- do you know why the art buyers like them? Is it the artists or the service?

Kelly: They are always a good Asian option. Korean photographers are getting quite popular. I like some of their photographers

Christina: So what sort of work do you book internationals for? You mentioned Coke- is it the western brands?

Kelly: It really depends on the job and merit. International photographers become a problem only when cost or language issues arise.

Christina: Location wise, do you shoot mainly in China?

Kelly: in the past years, have been shooting a lot in HK…But prior to that, still travelling to LA, South Africa, Sydney, Asia Pacific etc, but mostly for TV work. Recently, doing most of our photography shoots in China because they are mostly in studio work.

Christina: Do you tend to shoot TV [spot] stills or concurrent print campaigns?

Kelly: it depends, sometimes we do stills together with TV, same day, same location, especially when celebs are involved and time is limited. But it’s really intense and not ideal. Sometimes, when celebs have time for print separately, we do it separately.

Christina: Hey Kelly this has been so helpful- thanks so much!

Kelly: No worries!

If you are interested in getting commissions in China, Singapore or Hong Kong and showing your folio to other decision makers like Kelly Pon, check out Creative Asia Plus– the first review programme of it’s kind in Asia which I am delighted to be co-chairing.

What has been helping get me through all this winter mayhem has been warm cosy cafes (with power) and the delicious images that have poured forth in the numerous folio edits with which I have been entrusted. In June I edited work by no less than 12 photographers from around Australasia. And July is shaping up to be similar. So I decided to throw a curve ball this time and share a shot from every June edit. As usual, some of these shots did not, or will not, make the final folio. It doesn’t mean they aren’t good. If you want to understand more about throwing out great shots, read this.

For my Southern Hemisphere followers, you might appreciate the opportunity to ignore the cold weather outside, get the fire going and look at some nice shots with a glass of red. For the folk in the sunshine…well, when you need to escape into some aircon to relieve the sunburn, you might take a peek. Here they are (in no particular order):

Felix Hug, Singapore

Chris Daile, Hell Studios, Melbourne

Emily Hlavac-Green, Auckland

Esther Bunning, Wellington

Jonathan Wood, Queensland

Jason Hosking, Auckland

Christian Mushenko, Sydney

Leon Rose, Auckland

Daniel Herrmann-Zoll, Hell Studios, Melbourne

Jeff Smith, Auckland

 Tin Tin, Hell Studios, Melbourne

Tom Franks, Hell Studios, Melbourne

You can see more of Zoe’s world orderliness here.