Crown Artist Brush Ltd.

Since 1946 Crown Artist Brush has been producing hand crafted brushes in Lowestoft.  The quality of their product is a testament to the skills of the people who work there.

I was asked to attend their factory to capture some retirment images of a special person.

Bob had started working for in 1969 and has been the backbone of their artisan brush manufacturing ever since.  

The company thrives on its history and wanted several images captured in such a way as to demonstrate their artisan roots and to integrate with some existing images taken many years ago.

The images were mainly focussed around Bob and his contribution to the company and showed many of the labour intensive, but highly skilled techniques involved in producing these top quality brushes.

Sadly many of the images I took are of a commercially sensitive nature and so I have respected the company’s wishes not to share them.  However I have been able to share two of my favourite portraits of Bob.

These images were taken on a brightly lit factory floor with the sun coming in through the windows and overhead fluorescent tube lighting.

By careful selection of camera settings and introducing a single strobe fitted with a 90cm beauty dish I was able to isolate my subject and remove the unwanted distractions in the background.

The monochrome image was specifically shot against a brick background as this matched a portrait taken many years early which currently hangs in their reception area. 

To make sure we matched to original we actually brought the portrait through and I ‘reverse engineered’ the lighting and posed Bob accordingly.

This is a classic example that shows that ‘Corporate Portraits’ need not all be the same and how the selective use of lighting can create something truly different when required. 

I invite you to look through my images and, if you like what you see  contact me to see how I can help you with your project.