LIFESTYLE AD PHOTOGRAPHY: FROM CONCEPT TO COMPLETION – 06.16.16
I've been photographing concept ads for Zimman's for a half dozen years now. The advertisements combine the store's rarified fabrics and furniture (think ABC Carpet in NYC) with raw urban landscapes. Zimman's has been in the same family for 4 generations and all our ads have featured owner Michael Zimman.
The ads continue to be designed by art director and stylist Martha Sutyak, who has an unusual proclivity for making you believe in an ad which upon first appearance has you scratching your head. Martha explains: "my thinking was that we should 'take to the streets' and show how Zimman’s has been a vital part of the Lynn community for generations. The store associates have been taking their cars to this garage for years! By posing Michael in a car loaded with merchandise for a home delivery we show 1) great and intriguing merchandise 2) an unexpected visual image showing the rough and the refined in concert."
All shoots have their challenges. Besides a colorful Lynn location, variable clouds that made it tough to predict lighting conditions, blustery winds that threatened to knock lights over, and a questionable soundtrack from an ice cream truck (as captured in the video below), we embraced the chaos and made it work.