Before & After, Part II

Wider, Lighter, AI, and Blue Skies

Another "Before & After" feature, this time for our pals at Mitsubishi Chemical Golf from the super-beautiful course photography provided by HypeClub. We used AI to expand the image – "moving mountains" might be an apt description – from portrait to landscape orientation, then worked the overcast haziness through a blast of sunlight into the almost unreal soft, cotton-blue sky.

This image – in various versions – was featured prominently in campaigns for Mitsubishi Golf's new, lightweight VANQUISH driver shaft throughout 2023 and 2024. There's a lot to be learned from the available AI post-production tools, but nothing makes an image sing quite like an underlying quality composition that captures a moment.

Black & White

On Location for Aldila Golf in California

Glad to spend a few days shooting for Aldila Golf outside of San Diego with the super-talented adventure photographer, Mike Calabro, this January. A great way to start the year: enthusiastic client, lucky weather, and a stack of quality photos to support social media outreach for a legendary brand. Shown here decked out in his black and white polka-dot DannyShane polo, Mike takes aim.



These days, I pack three cameras for these types of trips: my old Canon with Sigma lens, the new Sony a7 mirrorless with 50mm prime, and the little, simple, perfect Fujifilm X70 which nabbed this photo of Mike.

Check out Mike's work on his Instagram account.

– Jon

Jon is the CEO of GimmeAnother and founder of 3VERB.

Thankful

Sometimes the Flowers Arrange Themselves

On site with David Edwards Clothier — importer of fine Italian cashmere and couture menswear — here in Chicago. It's 8:30 on a cold, November Saturday morning. Two floors of windows, at left, are allowing the natural light to outdo even the giant softboxes at our studio on North Ave. A group of good people, good food, coffee, sodas, a bag of Costco almonds, and laughter. You can just tell this crew is ready for the holidays.

Below, the model's aunt reprises an earlier pose by her talented nephew; I get to capture the moment.



Brands are, of course, so much more than a collection of moments, although those certainly help. At their best, they're full of the personality and vigor of those involved. This Fall, I'm thankful for the opportunity to work with so many unique brands and for the occasions where the pieces just fall into place.

– Jon

Jon is the CEO of GimmeAnother and founder of 3VERB.

Engaged

Are Your Consumers Offered the Excuse to 'Learn More?'

A large part of our work involves finding the perfect moment in a photograph; sometimes that's the obvious and authentic laugh of a subject, other times it's a still life that finds a perfect reflection. But that's often just the beginning. Given the flood of content flowing across social channels these days, the big trick usually involves finding the right opportunity to engage a consumer, a way to get your foot in the door.



Consumers are now highly skilled curators, scanning and quickly rejecting content that is of the least interest and, many times, only offering a basic bookmark action for the most interesting. So, how do we successfully break through for our clients? We use the standard toolbox, of course: contests and invitations, sale pricing and limited time offers, too, but our most effective one-two punch has always been, first, a beautiful photograph and, second, a clearly visible button with a plain call to action. It's amazing to me how often that's missing in expensive placements. Leaving out the simple, courteous "ask" to engage in the equation drops the click rate significantly and, without a doubt, loses an opportunity for a prospect to envision participation for the brand.

These things are simple: put out your hand to welcome a prospect, invite engagement, ask the question: "Want to Learn More?"

– Jon

Jon is the CEO of GimmeAnother and founder of 3VERB.

Shoot

One year ahead of launch, on location in Chicago with Stonewear Designs

Originally a rock-climbing brand from Boulder, Stonewear is widely recognized for producing women's activewear – including their popular pants and skorts – of incredibly durable and unique fabrics. Now based in California, we decided to shoot the last two season collections (Fall 2018 and Spring 2019) here in Chicago to add a bit of variety to the Colorado-centric feel of the brand. Next year? Probably back out West.




– Jon Roketenetz

Jon is the CEO of GimmeAnother and founder of 3VERB.

Right Image: California

Riding Across a Sea of Tall Grass in Solana Beach

In mid-April I had the chance to spend a few days in beautiful, sunny California with the good folks at Walz Caps who make the best cycling caps money can buy. Photo by the incomparable Hannah Stonehouse Hudson. We lopped off the aerobars in Photoshop because that's how we roll at 3VERB: Laurent Fignon-style.

– Jon Roketenetz

Jon is the CEO of GimmeAnother and founder of 3VERB.

Right Image: Blurry

Finding Texture and Impression in Culled Photos



I'm always glad to find an image like this in the stack after a shoot where every move has been pre-planned and thoughtfully considered. This is from a shoot we did in Chicago for the menswear/cycling brand DannyShane. For sure, the logo is out of focus and it features little of the product, but it does well to show the product idea and the outer-space quality of the fabric against those green trees. Let's go for a bike ride.

– Jon Roketenetz

Jon is the CEO of GimmeAnother and founder of 3VERB.

Right Image: Your Biggest Fan

Push a Bicycle Up Into the Jetstream with Any Old Household Fan

It always helps to admire the engineering and ingenuity of products you work on, for sure. In 2012 and 2013, Quintana Roo was keen to market the SHIFT technology of their triathlon bikes, a clever offset of the downtube to move air from the drive side to cleaner side of the bike. For me, the most important parts about this shot were (a) capturing motion in the ribbon and (b) making sure to include the 1940s stainless-steel, Chicago-built Fresh'nd Aire 'bullet' fan as a reference to a streamlined design era and counterpoint to the black carbon.

The idea of using the ribbon to illustrate the SHIFT feature was developed by the crew at QR and we made sure to incorporate it not only in the photography and marketing but also in our design work at 3VERB for the actual frame graphics – a simple red band making its way from headtube to seattube to chainstay – as shown above.

– Jon Roketenetz

Jon is the CEO of GimmeAnother and founder of 3VERB.

Right Image: A Zippo Lighter

Finding the Real Meaning of Utility and Reliability

About a year or so ago I got wise to the toll that constant (often well-meaning) external opinion into my creative world was taking and I set out to reset my bearings with purpose. At the time we were starting to be responsible for more product photography at 3VERB and the studio was set up and ready to go.

My idea was to assemble and shoot a quick collection of daily items that represented my world but, more specifically, also represented a stack of conceptual ideas – reliability, utility, and goodwill – which I hope define my approach at 3VERB. The watch, the notebook, the knife shown in the picture were all easy choices. I rely on each, in some regard, every day and certainly expect each item to be 'on-board' as I walk out the door each morning. They are my 'Every Day Carry.'

More complex, though, was another item I wanted, for sure, in the picture: my grandfather's Zippo. Having given up cigarettes a dozen years ago, I no longer needed access to quick, pocket-able fire. What I needed access to, at that time and now, is the reminder of my grandfather's way, his goodwill, his nature and demeanor. For me, these provide the groundwork for an honest shot at the reliability and utility I'm searching for around the corner of so many marketing and product corners. I needed his name stamped in metal.

The end result, a printed marketing piece, wound up being one of my favorite 3VERB outreach cards, crisp and kinda poignant, and an important reminder that my responsibilities go beyond production. I was proud that it felt sincere and not cynical or ironic. I've included front and back (magnified, clickable) images below.

For the purpose of this blog and my renewed commitment to writing on a regular basis, the title "Right Image" will serve as a searchable tag (at right) and excuse to find (and write about) other images and strong visuals that resonate with me. Look out for more soon.

– Jon Roketenetz

Jon is the CEO of Chicago-based tech innovator GimmeAnother and founder of 3VERB.