THINKING OUT LOUD
Notes from the field.What we've learned.
Practical thinking on visual content, procurement, and making work that matters, from eight years of shooting for governments, NGOs, and purpose-driven organisations.
LATEST POSTS
Notes from the field.
What we've learned.
Kess Media is a NSW Government-Approved Production Supplier
We're prequalified on the buy.NSW Advertising and Digital Communications Services Scheme, which means NSW Government agencies can engage us directly for photography, video and production.
Inside Australia's largest barramundi farm, on assignment for Austrade
Behind the sunrise aerial that announced Australia's first ASC-certified barramundi farm, and what it took to document Humpty Doo Barramundi for Austrade's Nation Brand library.
400 New Australians. Every One of Them Deserved a Photo Worth Keeping.
Covering two citizenship ceremonies in a single day means covering a lot of ground. Four hundred people. Two ceremonies. Dozens of individual moments — the oath, the handshake, the certificate, the photo with the family who drove two hours to be there. Multiply that across a full room of new Australians and you end up with a lot of frames.
The part of a photography project most agencies skip: making it usable
Most agencies hand over a folder of images and walk away. The real value comes from building a structured, searchable library that people across your organisation can actually use, months and years after the shoot.
What government procurement actually looks for in a visual content vendor
Behind the tender process, what panels care about that creative agencies routinely ignore. ABN registration, insurance certificates, compliance documentation, and why your sample work needs to be in the right format before you even get to the creative pitch.
Why your organisation needs an image library, not just a photoshoot
A single shoot gives you a day's worth of content. A library project gives you years. Here's what the Austrade National Brand Image Library taught us about thinking at scale, and how to brief a multi-location, multi-day content project.
How to brief a photographer so you actually get what you need
The questions we ask before every shoot that most clients haven't thought of. Usage rights, file formats, turnaround, and why 'just make it look professional' is the brief that produces the least professional results.
The Empty Canvas in My Head: A Photographer's Discovery at 49
I am 49 years old, a professional photographer and videographer. Up until recently, I genuinely believed that "the mind's eye" was a metaphor. I was wrong. The discovery changed how I understand everything about my work.
The invisible workforce: what we learned shooting HumanAbility's career pathway campaign
Making documentary subjects comfortable in front of a camera is a skill most photographers underestimate. Here's what we learned spending weeks with nurses, disability workers, and aged care staff, and why portrait authenticity matters more than production value.
CASA licensing and why it matters for your drone project
What BVLOS, APV, and restricted airspace actually mean in plain English, and why compliance isn't a box-tick but the difference between a shoot that happens and one that gets grounded on the day.
Ready to make something worth showing?
Let's talk.
We respond within 1–2 business days.
Tell Us About Your Project →