Commercial · Austin, Texas
Commercial and advertising photography in Austin
Every campaign on this page was planned and shot by Ryan Dunbar, from the first call to the finished files. Based in Austin, working in San Antonio, Dallas and Houston.
Recent clients include Koopers Whiskey, Farzam Carpets, Seda Hotels, Lennard Taylor and Ikonic Leather Works. Work has run for Dove and been published by HarperCollins, HELLO!, The Guardian and The Big Issue.
Ask about a campaignThe work
What a campaign asks of a photographer
A campaign runs in many places at once: a billboard, a shop window, a product page, a printed catalogue, an ad on someone's phone. Each one crops the picture differently and puts different words beside it. Someone who sees three of them in a week should still read them as one brand.
So the look is decided before the shoot. The light, the colour, who is cast, what they wear and where the pictures are made are all agreed first. Every frame is made to that plan, from the first of the day to the last, in the studio or across several locations. When the set arrives, any frame can sit beside any other and still look like the same campaign.
Campaigns
Campaigns that ran
Seven clients, from a local whiskey brand to a resort in the Philippines. Under each set is who it was for and where it was used.
Koopers Whiskey
The owners of Koopers Whiskey, photographed with the bottle for the brand's current marketing campaign.
Farzam Carpets
Farzam Carpets needed pictures for its printed catalogue and its website. The rugs are the product, so each frame puts one in a finished room with a model in evening wear. The colour was graded to the vintage red and yellow the client asked for.
Neena Swim
A catalogue and lookbook for the opening of Neena Swim's store in Manila, shot on the beaches of the Philippines. The pictures were used in the store, online and for the launch.
Seda Hotels
Seda Lio, the Seda Hotels resort in El Nido, from the water at sunset to the chef's table on the sand. The pictures are used in the resort's marketing.
Lennard Taylor
A season's campaign for designer Lennard Taylor, shot in an old loft with the designer in the frame beside the model. It ran in the label's advertising, and it's one of many shoots for the label, including several seasons of lookbooks.
Ikonic Leather Works
Leather camera straps and harnesses, worn on the street and shot close enough to show how they fasten. The pictures run in the brand's campaigns and with the shops that sell its straps.
FAD Closet
A lookbook for the streetwear label FAD Closet, photographed in the studio. The pictures were used as in-store advertising in the label's own store.
Other campaigns include a menswear campaign that ran in Bench stores in the Philippines, and store marketing and advertising for Aldo Formalwear.
How it works
Your first campaign together
Hiring a photographer you haven't worked with is a risk, and it's yours to carry. So nothing about the shoot is left to trust.
Your brief.
Start with what you're selling, where the pictures will run and what you already have: brand guidelines, an art director, a deadline. Working from your brief or building the creative from scratch both work.
The plan, signed off first.
Before the shoot you approve a written plan: reference pictures for the look, the locations, casting, wardrobe, hair and makeup, and a shot list of every picture the campaign needs. The usage licence is written into the quote, so what you can do with the pictures is settled before the day.
The shoot, seen as it happens.
Everything is shot tethered: each frame appears on a screen as it's taken, so you or your art director approve the set on the day instead of waiting to see it. Crew, hair and makeup, styling and locations are sourced locally, then booked and run for you. Liability insurance is in place, with a certificate for any client or venue that asks.
The finished set.
Files are backed up on set before anyone leaves. Every picture is retouched to match the others and delivered in the sizes and formats each placement needs, from a billboard to a phone screen.
Pricing
What a campaign quote covers
Every campaign is quoted, because no two need the same crew, locations or placements. The quote is itemised, so whoever signs it off can see what each line pays for.
The shoot.
The time to plan, direct and photograph the campaign.
The licence.
Where the pictures may run, for how long, in which countries, and whether any other company may use them. This is the line that changes most: a year of social ads costs less than two years on billboards.
Production.
Crew, hair and makeup, styling, locations, props and travel, each listed on its own line.
Finishing.
Retouching for every picture in the set, matched to the others.
Uses can be added to the licence later, without a second shoot.
Questions
Questions about campaigns
Who takes the photographs?
Ryan Dunbar shoots every campaign himself. He has made his living as a photographer for 21 years.
Do you work with agencies or directly with brands?
Either. With an agency, the photography follows its brief and art direction. With a brand, the creative is planned together from the start.
Can you work to our brand guidelines and with our art director?
Yes. The guidelines are built into the written plan, and your art director approves frames on set as they're shot.
We're an agency outside Austin. Why hire someone local?
A photographer based here brings local crew and knows the locations, so there are no flights or hotels for a photographer and crew on your estimate.
What kinds of campaigns do you shoot?
Product, fashion, hospitality and brand campaigns, in the studio or on location, like the seven above.
Can you handle the production?
Yes. Crew, hair and makeup, styling and locations are booked and managed for you, and each appears as its own line on the quote.
Where do you shoot?
In the Austin studio, or on location in Austin, San Antonio, Dallas and Houston. Anywhere further is quoted with travel.
How is a campaign priced?
It's quoted in the four parts above: the shoot, the licence, production and finishing. Send the brief and where the pictures will run, and the quote comes back itemised.
Who owns the pictures?
You get the right to use them as your licence sets out, and the photographer keeps the copyright, as is normal in advertising.
How soon are files delivered, and in what formats?
Usually 7 to 10 business days after the shoot, depending on the size of the set; a launch date can be planned around. Formats follow the placements: full-resolution files for print, and sized files for each web and social slot.
How far ahead should we book?
Four to six weeks is best for a full campaign, so the plan, crew and locations are settled without a rush. Smaller shoots can move faster.
How do we start?
Use the form further down to send the brief, or phone (737) 428-2200. You'll hear back with a quote, or a short call to fill in anything missing.
Contact
Ask about a campaign
If you have a brief, send the key points: the product, where the pictures will run, and your dates. If you don't have one yet, a few lines about what you're launching will do.
Need a single portrait? See the Portraits page. A portrait for your own profile is on the Headshots page.