Clearsite Solutions Brand Photography in Bristol
Direct answer: This shoot for Clearsite Solutions in Bristol was about creating practical brand photography that showed the team at work, Marc’s role in the business, and the new visual identity being built for the company. The images needed to turn a stripped-out retail unit into something clear, professional and useful for a new website, future marketing and personal brand content.
Some businesses are dead easy to describe once somebody lands on the right line. In this case, Fliss Lee from Honest Folk in Morley summed up Marc’s business, Clearsite Solutions, perfectly.
Providing the blank canvas you need to create your unique standout spaces.
Video summary: This video sits alongside the shoot as part of the wider brand story for Clearsite Solutions. It adds another layer to the new marketing material by helping show the business, the people behind it and the kind of environments they work in.
Marc’s business goes into offices, buildings, shopping centres, units and other commercial spaces, then removes all trace of the previous occupier so the next business can move in and make its own mark.
Fliss was creating a new brand and website for Marc, and she needed photographs that showed what Clearsite Solutions actually does. A suitable project came up in Bristol, in one of the city’s largest shopping centres, where the team had been stripping out a retail unit.
The brief was straightforward enough on paper: create engaging photographs that showed professionalism, health and safety, the team in action and the tools involved. The catch was that the location looked like absolute carnage. That, I guess, is where the fun starts.
- Show the team working safely and professionally
- Capture the tools and processes involved in strip-out work
- Create relaxed personal brand photos of Marc
- Produce images for the new website and future marketing
- Photograph branded materials for flexible design use
How do you photograph a busy strip-out site without losing the story?
The first job was to meet the team and see what was happening on site. They were busy grinding fittings from the ceiling, and anything involving sparks is usually worth paying attention to. Firstly, it shows action. Secondly, it gives you shape and movement. Thirdly, it stops the whole thing looking like a gloomy empty shell.
I set up the tripod, added a couple of lights and put the camera on long exposure so the sparks would streak across the frame like little orange fireworks. The point here was not to make the job look glamorous. It was to make the process readable, energetic and visually useful for the brand.
We then worked through a range of tools and processes the team use to pull things down quickly and safely. Big boys’ toys, if you like, but every bit of kit had a proper job to do. That matters in the pictures, because it helps potential clients see that this is controlled, skilled work rather than random demolition.
What personal brand photos did Marc need?
Another part of the brief was to get some relaxed photographs of Marc for his personal brand. So we headed downstairs for a quick chat with the team and kept things loose rather than overly posed.
Like most business owners, Marc isn’t keen on being photographed. So rather than barking directions at him, I shot these candidly, more like a fly-on-the-wall approach. That worked really well and gave us a set of natural-looking images without the usual awkwardness.
We also needed a few solo shots in a setting that still felt industrial. One of the tunnels underneath the shopping centre did the job nicely. He simply walked up and down the tunnel a couple of times and we ended up with plenty of usable options.
How did we show Marc managing the project as well as doing the work?
Another thing we needed to illustrate was Marc managing the project rather than just standing in the middle of the action. So we photographed him working on a laptop beside a window overlooking the mall, which hinted at the type of locations Clearsite Solutions works in.
We also captured a couple of team shots out in the shopping mall itself, where you can see brands like New Look and KFC in the background. That helped root the photos in a real commercial environment instead of some anonymous indoor space.
What creative team photos did we make?
Marc had seen some creative team photos I’d made using coloured lighting, with people holding different tools, so we decided to have a crack at a few along those lines here as well. We used coloured flash and got the lads involved for a set of more stylised portraits that still felt tied to the job.
These sorts of images give a business a bit more range. You’ve got the practical documentary photographs for the website, and then you’ve got something slightly more off-kilter for social posts, banners or campaign graphics. So there you go.
Why photograph the branded details as well?
The final idea was to capture a few images of the new marketing materials carrying the brand, including the phone case, business cards and helmets. These pictures are useful because they can be cropped to all sorts of sizes for marketing and advertising, while still giving you a clear hint of the logo and brand colours.
What happened after the shoot?
We’re looking forward to updating Marc’s imagery periodically over the next few years as his business goes from strength to strength. That’s usually the best way to build a solid image library anyway: not one massive panic session, but regular updates as the business evolves.
Ade McFade
CAA Licensed Pilot & Commercial Photographer
Frequently asked questions
What was the purpose of the Clearsite Solutions shoot in Bristol?
The purpose of the shoot was to create brand photography for Clearsite Solutions that showed the team at work, documented the strip-out process, produced personal brand images of Marc, and supplied visuals for a new website and future marketing.
How do you make a stripped-out commercial site look good in photos?
You make it readable and human by showing real work, real tools, safe working practices, movement and context. In this case, sparks, long exposure, team activity and the surrounding shopping-centre environment all helped tell the story.
Why include personal brand photos of the business owner on an industrial shoot?
Because clients are not only buying the service. They are also buying trust in the person leading the project. Showing Marc in relaxed, candid and management-focused situations made the business feel more personal and more credible.
Why photograph branded materials like helmets, cards and phone cases?
Detail shots of branded items give a business flexible marketing assets. They work well for website headers, social graphics, print pieces and adverts where you only need a controlled glimpse of the logo, colours or identity.
