For as long as I can remember I have always been passionate about helping social enterprises succeed.

As a photographer I carry that ethos; that determination to help those trying to establish a business for themselves, change their lives or create something that makes a difference. In my time at Active 8 Images I have successfully provided packages to several brands that have been essential to helping them succeed at competitive pricing that really makes it possible

Quality photography can make all the difference, having incredible images that engages the eye can equate to customers staying longer on your site, having an accurate representation of your skills, having a 'wow' factor portfolio that gets you hired or casted and even having a solid promotional base for all your material.

My latest assignment was for a jewellery company established by a woman who had overcome incredible odds to find her inner polish and is now helping others to do the same. K.ing was one of those kinds of work which at first glance seems relatively straightforward but actually is quite an intensive piece of work.

First thing was the shoot. I have been highly recommended on many occasions for my proficiency in casting. With my contacts I have been able to cast often at short notice with high quality models and I have a shrewd short-listing process preferring to work with those I have worked with before and can trust. Models don't get a second chance if they fail to show or cancel at the last minute. Time is money.

Four models were selected, three female and one male and a studio was sourced. Again, I have a solid reputation with different studios which have different types of looks and feel. I built a solid relationship with the brand owner, for me it was essential that I understood her brand and could translate it in terms of a vision and images. In the studio I am a consumate professional; model releases were signed, the females were given every ounce of privacy and I like to have fun, experimenting with new ideas. I remember seeing this huge silver reflector against the wall and I am like "hey - lets shoot against that" the outcomes were incredible.

With the shots in the bag the real work began in terms of retouching. Those of you who know me well or have seen me work will know that my style is to shoot as much as possible, hence there was a mammoth amount of images to go through. From those a short-list of about 100 were selected and from those about 60 went into the final pieces. I aroused interest from Frost Magazine who were really interested in the work and were happy to consider and article, I even organised a writer to cover the first drafts.

From there came the video promotional material. In this case with the subject matter being jewellery, the project warranted images of elegance and sounds that mirrored the magnificence. Of course copyright issues are paramount which mean that the soundtrack was required to be sourced before even the images were put into place. Then came the structuring of the showreel and timings. I place emphasis on pacing, timing and emotional content. I always feel that the strongest images are those which create emotion and convey a story.

The video complete, I tested the video with a small selection of the models and with the jewellery designer. The feedback fantastic the final pieces were to create a social media campaign and various articles for promotional material for K.ing to showcase to customers. The end result from a commitment of hours is a wide variety of materials for the customer to use, a fantastic response from the client base and increased engagement and ultimately potential sales.