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Back to the Future - John MacRae - part 2 of 1 2 3 4

by John MacRae Published 01/10/2010

By today's standards, these figures may be laughable, but at the time it was the cost of entry into a brave new world and, despite these astronomical price tags, John was soon able to recoup his investment: "I paid for it in six weeks. I was offered a catalogue commission from Germany. The client wanted it shooting digitally and no one else in the UK could do it," he explains. " I saw the potential early on - clients were telling me they were tired of paying for Polaroids and then all the other parts of the chain associated with film. By shooting on digital, I could do everything for them." MacRae went to college in Leicester, but never finished his course due to conflicts with the head lecturer who told him that 'commercial photography was prostituting the arts'. Nonetheless, the time that he did spend as a student stood him in good stead, teaching him the essential technical knowledge that he still uses today. It's a level of knowledge he feels many other photographers are lacking due to the comparative ease with which quality digital pictures can be taken on modestly-priced equipment: "Originally you were looking at a £250,000 investment to get into the Premiership of commercial photography. It's much less now and that affects our business," he explains. "We get clients asking us if we can do a job, but then tell us they've had a much lower quote from someone else. They get it shot for much less, but come back to us and admit they made a mistake."

And the reason for these mistakes? "There is a fundamental lack of knowledge in today's photographers - the weekend warriors who think they can just grab a camera. They don't use light meters - I use one most of the time, but on the stuff I do you have to. For the clients I shoot for, you have to have accuracy through your entire workflow."

MacRae's client list is impressive. In his 20 years as a commercial photographer he says he's done 'most things for most people', including household names such as Stanley Tools, Marks & Spencer and Argos. Yet, while his early adoption of digital means he's completely at home with the technology, his current equipment set up has a number of technological surprises. "I am a Philistine," he readily admits. "Everything is calibrated using a grey card and we use CRT LaCie monitors, I don't use flat screens. CRT is still the best option; they give the best colour accuracy."

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1st Published 01/10/2010
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