surprise the designer

One of my favorite parts of my current job is taking photographs, and at the brewery there are no shortage of subjects. For every new beer that comes to market, we take context photos (aka 'beer on bar') and studio photos for our website and advertising needs. If you've come to a Harpoon festival ( Harpoon Fest is right around the corner), there's a good chance I've asked to take your photo. We organize photo shoots for promotional campaigns, create content to support programming like Harpoon Helps, and, sometimes, are asked to take headshots for events and/or news articles. Photographing people can be a challenge, but it's also hugely rewarding. A well-done headshot of a colleague helps show them—and the company—in the best light possible. I like to position people very close to a large window so they are lit by natural light and the background can more or less fade away. At the brewery, a pint and the taps imply the company connection. Keeping the su...

Can I tell you a secret?  Photography is one of my primary responsibilities at work, and I never took a photo class in college.  We had a brief introduction to the photo studio, but that was mostly so we could document our work using cheap point-and-shoot cameras. When I bought my DSLR (almost a year after graduation), I figured out how to use it through trial-and-error. But I've been shooting photos for my entire life, spotting potential compositions and interesting details everywhere I go (yes, I'm utterly smitten with Instagram .) That being said, it seemed like it was time to get a little more technical when I added 'professional photographer' to my resume. So I signed up for Digital Camera I at the New England School of Photography . The night class met for two hours once a week, covering the basics (aperture, shutter speed, etc. etc.) and critiquing weekly assignments. The final assignment was a series of photos. The subject could be anything, bu...

I spent this past weekend working  Harpoon Fest and the 5 Miler , slinging a camera through both events and documenting everything from beer pouring to beer drinking to road racing (and all the things that happen in-between.) Before the start of the race on Sunday, a security guard got my attention. "I have a question for you," she said. Anticipating an inquiry about how to get to the nearest bathroom or where to find a bottle of water, I walked over. And she caught me off guard. "How do you get into your profession? ...into photography?" My answer was far from straightforward because I never really considered shooting photos at a professional (really, semi-professional) level until it became part of my job description. That was a fortuitous collision of hobby (photography) and career (design), fueled by persistence. I took photos almost every day through college, before I owned either an SLR or iPhone. Over time, I started seeing the world as a se...

Eight years ago I decided to study industrial design. It was a drawn-out decision that started with a dazzling sit-down with one Robert Probst , was tempered by lots of engineering school applications, and finalized with a small leap of faith. School was challenging, fun, and deliberately very broad. We designed chairs and power tools and reading lights because the design process is always the same anyway. ...right? Getting a design education teaches you a lot of things: how to be creative in a business setting, how to communicate effectively, how to draw pretty darn well. But what has stuck with me the most is versatility. In school, you're expected to be the design researcher, product designer, packaging engineer, model maker, copywriter, and photographer (among other things.) And while some people will tell you that you're only ever one thing in the 'real world,' I would tell you quite the opposite. Since graduating from school, I've assisted a design...