Photographer David Knight

David Knight

LPA overseas member David Knight  has new work published.

Portrait photography: Anthony Geernaert. 

Sydney Symphony Orchestra Season 2009 Subscriptions Brochure.

A brief overview from the senior account manager
David Storey of Moon Group - Sydney.  

In 2009 Master conductor Vladimir Ashkenazy will be taking the helm as artistic director of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, and a creative direction for communications that marked this momentous occasion needed to be set. In addition to this, the musicians needed to be portrayed in and around Sydney in a way that was exciting, new and ownable. The creative direction of “Season 2009. Unmissable.” set the tone as the starting point for answering this brief.

Developing a photographic treatment that hit the brief, and at the same time created something that was visually stimulating and enticing was challenging. The solution lay in the form of a photographic treatment that would allow ‘larger than life’ canvas’ to be placed in and around Sydney that would house studio portrait shots of musicians – thus requiring two separate shoots.

Each component of the photographic treatment had its own specific photographic brief – but each had to be sympathetic to the other. The outdoor component needed to capture the essence of Sydney – highlighting it for the natural beauty it is renowned for, but also showcasing iconic Sydney locations that would be instantly recognisable. The tone and lighting of the photography would be key – and varying the time of day for shooting the images was essential in achieving this.

To complement the outdoor canvas’, the studio component was shot in a way that would capture the musicians in a relaxed manner, doing what they do – playing their instruments. Ensuring that the shots did not look ‘staged’ or over styled was top of mind in the art direction of the shoot.

To date, subscriptions for the 2009 Season are on par with those of 2008, and are already looking like they will exceed that of the previous year – not bad in an uncertain economic climate.

David Knight
"From my perpective, this has been a very interesting project. Although landscapes that showcased  Sydney were required, I also had to find locations that would support having a large canvas/ portrait placed into them in post production.

The client was keen to have images that showed iconic Sydney landmarks, and I did in fact reference the Sydney Opera House and Harbour bridge in a number of shots, however, since the target audience of the 2009 brochure mostly live in
Sydney all ready ( ie, they are Sydneysiders not tourists) I did not have to be too literal about this in every shot.

I think we have successfully given the flavour of Sydney, and whilst people who do not live here will not recognise every location, I think most Sydneysiders would have a fairly good idea where they are."

David Knight interview
Landscape photography: David Knight
Portrait photography: Anthony Geernaert
( www.anthonygeernaert.com)
Retouching: Kerry McElroy at Cranky Mermaid  ( www.chb.com)
Creative director: Linda Jukic
Senior designer: Chris Doyle
Agency: Moon Group, Sydney
Client: Sydney Symphony Orchestra

Back to news page