Photographer Shoots the Bull

A worldwide supplier of craftsman caliber leathers to the aviation industry approached Dallas Business Photography to guide them on a solution for photographically cataloging their vast array of materials. Aeristo wasn’t looking for a photographer to shoot thousands of photos but rather an approach to addressing the need in house as this would be a long term ongoing project.

Turns out Dario at DBS was the ideal candidate to take on the challenge having spent 16 years in Silicon Valley as an engineer before his 16 years as a professional photographer. Two separate careers spanning 32 years of combined experience conjured a proposal for a custom photo station that would address Aeristo’s requirements: Capturing the visual beauty of their product line in a simple, consistent, and accurate manner.

Photo Station as Proposed

The proposal was accepted and work began to flesh out the structure of the system. The camera system, the software that would pilot the camera and organize the photos, the calibration system that would ensure that the photos were as accurate as possible, the lighting system that would illuminate texture, color, and gloss characteristics of an incredibly wide array of leathers, and the mobile platform were all researched, specified, ordered, and integrated into a complete self contained system.

All this and more within a reasonable cost structure and schedule.

First shipment of build materials received

Testing the vacuum suction concept to adhere the sample to be photographed to the rod above. This created an artificial ripple to demonstrate gloss characteristics of the material.

Concept test of the suction interface box that regulates vacuum pressure to the suction port above it.

Cutting pipe to size for the custom hood to protect against ambient light pollution

The assembled hood for the first time using Steel-Tek architectural pipe

The assembled mobile platorm

The camera mounting structure. A rectangular hole still to be cut out in the middle as a suction port to adhere the material to be photographed.

The cart now mounted with suction system

The circular light often used in modern video channels turned out to be the optimum form of illumination for color and texture on the sample. This one is a high CRI value light, meaning it provides a good full spectrum of light to capture the full richness of color in each sample.

The hood cage carefully sized to fully encompass the camera crane. The cage will support the black hood that blocks ambient light.

The structure now complete with hood

Camera and lighting mounted

Verifying that the lighting and suction system is working as intended by illuminating the texture, color, and gloss of the sample leather piece.

A variety of Aeristo’s most extreme materials were used to validate the system from the lightest, smoothest colors and texture to the darkest and most coarse. The system was fine tuned to capture the entire spectrum end to end.

Photo Station as Delivered

Dallas Business Photography

We focused. We shot. We hit the bulls-eye!