Studio Production: Promotional Photos Planning & Shoot

When liasing with the show's producer and director, we discussed the overall style needed for the promotional poster and decided that a comical style that expressed the type of characters involved and the overall theme of the show needed to be communicated in it's promotions. We came to the conclusion that a simple photoshoot was to be held and then edited with the Teach 'Em A Lesson blackboard placed behind.

Characters & Costume
When planning the shoot, the DOP and I decided that the two characters to be focused on were the presenter, Mr Button (James Percy-Smith) and the sidekick geek, Tabitha (Francesca Cain). This is because they are both so heavily featured in the show and would be the two reoccurring characters on the show if it were to air for a series.

The costume for Mr Button was selected as his previously used costume in the promotional trailer and his costume for the show itself - a white shirt, striped red tie, black trousers and shoes, a black teacher's gown, fake glasses and a cane. The only item that could not be used for the decided costume was the teacher's cap as the original delivery of the cap didn't arrive.

Tabitha's costume was more of a challenge, as her decided geek costume for the show was not set to arrive until the day before filming. As the photoshoot needed to be held much earlier than that, the show's producer and I decided to use a costume from one of the show's VT's that had been recorded. This costume was a cheesy detectives coat and a magnifying glass with black sunglasses attached to a fake moustache. Along with her geek plaited hair and make-up freckles and blushed cheeks. This costume proved to be even more effective than her geek costume in the photoshoot as the magnifying glass and glasses/moustache combo allowed her to have props to use.

Location
I held the photoshoot in a lecture room at Maidstone Studios as it allowed for space to be cleared, had a lot of availability and access and allowed for the use of lighting equipment without needing to move it off location. The white walls also proved to be a good backdrop for the photoshoot, as this allowed for the reflection of light onto James and Francesca and it had a plain and simple background that contrasted with their costumes, making it easier to cut around in Photoshop. In comparison to - for example, a patterned backdrop that would blend with their costumes.

Equipment
The equipment that I decided to use was a Canon 7D for the photography, due to it's crisp and clear photo production and my experience with using the kit in past projects. I also used two lights from a lighting kit to reflect onto James and Francesca, making their faces brighter and the photos appear more professional.

Photography Style
When conducting the photoshoot, the director of the show was on hand with me to advise me on lighting and to help me set up. We tested reflecting the light off of the ceiling and onto their faces, as direct lighting proved to be too bright and harsh.

I had already decided that I wanted to take photos of James and Francesca in character both together and separately and decided on three separate poses for the paired photos and one pose for their individual photos. These were...

• Mr Button telling off a cheeky Tabitha - I felt that this pose expressed the character's relationship, as in the show's script (which had been finished by the time of the shoot) Mr Button is often getting irritated with Tabitha, who is constantly smiling and trying to seek his approval.

Mr Button telling off a cheeky Tabitha

• Tabitha and Mr Button stood smiling - I felt that a friendly and approachable pose was needed, as Teach 'Em A Lesson is a children's programme, and they need to be likeable characters, however this doesn't best represent their personalities. 

Tabitha and Mr Button smiling

• Mr Button pointing a finger and Tabitha undercover - This was my favourite of the pair poses, as it draws in the audience. I think Mr Button is represented as the uptight but comical authority figure that he is and Tabitha is represented as the sweet but slightly silly and clueless geek that she is. I think the pairing in this photo contrasts well. 

Mr Button pointing a finger and Tabitha undercover

• Tabitha looking through the magnifying glass - I think this is a greatly comical photo of Tabitha, it almost appears slightly animated due to her magnified eye and humorous expression - well suited to a children's programme.

Tabitha looking through the magnifying glass

• Mr Button pointing at you - Similar to his pose with Tabitha, this also accurately represents the character's personality and similar to Tabitha's single photo gives a suitable comical appearance due to his oversized-looking hand. 

Mr Button pointing at you

After being given reference material by the producer of the type of style that he wanted from the promotional photos, I decided to angle them from high up, to enlarge their upper body in comparison to their lower body. I found that when taking a shot of each pose, it looked much more professional to use this method of high angled shots rather than eye level or low angle, along with looking slightly cartoonist and suitable to the show and the producer's requirements.

Reference poster suggested by show's producer (oversized head and expressive)

The same pose taken at eye level and at high
angle, proving the effectiveness and
improvement on using high angled shots

The only challenges I found when conducting the photoshoot were the initial challenge of lighting the set in the most effective way as possible, and a reflective glare on James's glasses from the lights. Both were quickly and easily solved however.

I'm extremely pleased with the end result and quality of the promotional photos, and found the photoshoot to be a great learning experience, having never carried out a professional photoshoot before this.