Friends Life commercial shoot

When Friends Life insurance company launched, they commissioned Karan to shoot for this multi-media campaign. The brand was to be launched with five images and accompanying videos.

The shoot used five different locations, as you can see in the images and videos in this blog post: a beach, mountain, dirt road, dance studio and football pitch and the setting was beautiful Cape Town. Karan recalls a fun and challenging shoot which resulted in great images.

“The Friends Life insurance shoot was exciting,” he says, “because it had a video element to it as well as stills. We had bad luck with the weather and there was a small child crying on the beach throughout the shoot, but we got there in the end!

“It was great to work with Richard and John, the Creative Director and Art Director. All in all, this project was a very enjoyable one to be part of.”

As mentioned, this project involved creating video as well as stills. The video clips are at the end of this blog post; do take a look.

CLIENT: Friends Life
AGENCSY: CST the Gate
CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Richard Hayter
ART DIRECTOR: John Taylor

Friends Life commercial shoot is a post from Karan Kapoor’s blog.

Wild in Tuscany: commercial advertising shoot

Here’s a sneak preview of just some of the stunning images Karan created for an international brand when he was asked to shoot a major campaign for them on location in beautiful Tuscany.

The images, which have just been released, were shot last August.

“This was a huge job,” explains Karan. “It was a five-day shoot which involved flying in six models from London and setting up a big fake rainstorm. It represented a great opportunity for me to work with great bunch of models, a fantastic creative team and a major client and agency.

“It was hard work – physical, long hours and strenuous – but there were plenty of bonuses. An amazing location, great food, a wonderful crew and – as you can see – a fantastic set of images at the end of it all.

“One of our biggest challenges lay in creating the rain sequence you can see here. We were shooting at an incredible old Medici palace overlooking rolling hills… lovely views, but not so lovely for those who had to somehow get a huge tanker of water up the steep hill! And, wouldn’t you know it, just before we started to shoot, we had a huge thunderstorm and downpour! It was quite bizarre as that’s exactly what we wanted for the shoot, but as soon as we started work the sun came out. The rain you see in the images is, in fact, fake.”

Tuscany is a part of the world Karan hadn’t visited prior to this shoot, but he’d love to go again. “We shot in various locations, from Florence to Siena,” he says. “The scenery, landscape and light is simply stunning. It’s a great part of the world, very inspiring.”

As well as these vibrant images, bursting with Karan’s trademark energy and colour, here’s a very short video clip, shot by Karan’s assistant on camera phone. It captures the hard work – and the fun – which lies behind just one of the seemingly effortless sequences you see captured in these images. Get a sneak peak into what life is like on a high-end commercial photography shoot!

There are 11 images in total from this shoot. To see them all, visit Karan’s website.

First assistant: Dan Brownsword
Makeup and hair: Nadira Persud
Stylist: Elizabeth Cavatorta
Retoucher: Sinisa Savic

Wild in Tuscany: commercial advertising shoot is a post from Karan Kapoor’s blog.

Harrah’s Casino and Resort commercial shoot, California

This two-day shoot for the Harrah Casino and Resort had a fantastic location as you can see from the images. It was shot in the midde of nowhere on an Indian Reservation in California. The shoot was gruelling, involving long hours and 10 models but the results were great and the client was delighted with the 11 shots which come to life with Karan’s recognisable use of style, colour and dynamic movement.

Karan enjoyed working at such an unusual location. “I did listen to all the gambling advice given by concerned friends,” he says, “they told me to place a chip on all numbers but 37! But none of it worked… At least I didn’t come home broke!”

Photographer: Karan Kapoor
Client: Harrahs
Agency: BBDO
Creative Director: Sean O’Brien
Art Director: Brian Ho
Art Buyer: Cameron Barnum
Production: Anderson Hopkins

Harrah’s Casino and Resort commercial shoot, California is a post from Karan Kapoor’s blog.

Wild Wadi shoot, Dubai

Karan was recently commissioned to shoot a series of vibrant images for Dubai’s Wild Wadi Waterpark. As you can see from the images chosen here from the shoot, he lent his trademark visual style to the project, capturing movement and exhilaration in stunning colour and clarity.

Karan said: “Don’t tell my kids, but… best part of the shoot was the recce, when I got to try out all the rides at the waterpark!”

The Wild Wadi Waterpark includes 30 rides and attractions and is situated in front of the Burj al Arab. It has won lots of awards for technology and innovation, including the Dubai Quality Award Gold (2007). This project partnered award-winning photographer and award-winning subject – and the results speak for themselves.

Karan was assisted on the shoot by Dan Brownsword and Kishen. Retouching was done by Sinisa Savic and the Producer was Arabian Eye.

Wild Wadi shoot, Dubai is a post from Karan Kapoor’s blog.

Karan Kapoor 2010 update

2010 was a busy and successful year for Karan, with his innovative and energetic style of photography rewarded by several industry bodies.

Awards

Karan had 12 honourable mentions in eight different categories at the IPA Awards 2010 – an incredible achievement – and five nominations at the 2010 Photography Masters Cup. He was also recognised at the 26th annual American Photography Awards.

Advertising

Karan worked on a number of leading advertising campaigns during 2010, including commissions for Philip Morris (Murrati cigarettes), Sky, De Longhi (coffee), Pfizer (Relpax and Esting), the Netherlands Tourist Board and Olay (featuring Twiggy).

Editorial

His editorial work included shooting Felicity Kendal, Julie Walters and Davina McCall on separate occasions for the Daily Mail’s You magazine. See this blog post for Karan’s insights into the Davina McCall shoot.

Karan Kapoor 2010 update is a post from Karan Kapoor’s blog.