PICTURE PERFECT

Having spent the majority of the past 16 years taking pictures for the media in one form or another, it was interesting to see the Thai approach last week.
We took three guys as part of our photographic team - one photographer, one assistant and one techie. I think their equipment and baggage alone must have been half of the total on the flight to Chiang Mai! It was a good thing that Bangkok Airways is a good friend of our company.
The photographic team spent two-and-a-half days shooting the resort and spa and the surrounding complex. The pictures were perfect, as you would expect, but what amazed me was the time they took to prepare and light each shot. Back home I was lucky if I had five minutes to shoot a 'wine and dine' assignment, but these guys would take up to a couple of hours for one room shot.
I know there is a big difference in quality between newspaper and magazine reproduction, and the pictures for our magazine need to be so perfect in every aspect - and that's exactly what they are.
And the cost for these three guys for the best part of three days is roughly what an average freelance would charge for a couple of hours work in the UK.