Richard Boll

Category Archives: Luxury product photography

London Lifestyle Photographer: Cambridge Satchel collaborate with Roald Dahl Company to design new Matilda movie collection

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Filed under Advertising Photography, Cambridge Satchel Co, Commercial Photography, Editorial Photography, lifestyle Photography, Luxury product photography, Product Photography

Cambridge Satchel

The story of how ‘Cambridge Satchel’ was founded in 2008 is a well-known tale. With only a small budget of £600, the business was established from a kitchen table in Cambridge. 5 years later, the brand was worth over £50 million.

The company celebrates brilliant British craftsmanship and exceptional materials. Combining a blend of old and new, their handcrafted, ethically sourced leather bags and satchels have a traditional taste, brought to life with style, finesse, and fun. Their products are designed to last and carry a lifetime of learning, curiosity, creativity, and adventure.

London product lifestyle photography for Cambridge Satchel Company in London

Collaborations

Cambridge Satchel only collaborates with people and institutions that they admire. In the past, they have worked with the Royal Opera House, the University of Cambridge, The Prince’s Foundation, and the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust (QEST). Each of these institutions is founded upon a commitment to opportunity and education.

The movie of Roald Dahl’s ‘Matilda’

I was commissioned as a London lifestyle photographer to take both product and lifestyle photographs, for Cambridge Satchel’s new collaboration for the ‘The Roald Dahl Story Company’. A collection of bags, notebooks, purses, keyrings, luggage tags, and bookmarks, available in 6 limited edition colours, were embossed with designs by illustrator Quentin Blake and quotes from Roald Dahl’s ‘Matilda’.

A satchel from the Matilda movie range by Cambridge Satchel Company in London.

All of the lifestyle photography was shot in and around Covent Garden in London, where the company had set up a pop-up shop. The product photography was taken in the interior of their very elegant London store. Beautiful winter light enhanced the lifestyle photography taken around Covent Garden.

It was a very enjoyable shoot on both occasions, working collaboratively with the company and combining their ideas with my own suggestions. Their handcrafted bags and accessories are both stylish and high quality, and it was a real pleasure to photograph them.

Lifestyle photography in London for Cambridge Satchel Company

Cambridge Satchel were so pleased with the images from the shoot, that they have used several of the lifestyle photographs to promote the Matilda range in various fashion blogs including Fashion Network and Fashion United.

Image taken by London lifestyle photographer Richard Boll of a woman taking a book from a satchel in Covent Garden in London.

To find out more about Cambridge Satchel and their products, visit their website. More examples of my lifestyle photography can be found here and more of my London product photography can be found here.

Five Favourite Photography Projects from 2023

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Filed under Advertising, Advertising Photography, Commercial Photography, Corporate headshot photography London, Corporate Photography, Editorial Portrait, Fine Art Photography, Luxury product photography, Photography Projects

2023 gifted me with interesting and varied photographic shoots from still life to portrait, to corporate headshots and lifestyle photography. Here, I share five of my favourite photography projects from last year and the story behind each image.

Memento I – Still-life Photography

Fine art still life photography by Richard Boll from the project Memento.

In September, I stayed in a villa in the mountains of Majorca. Whilst there, I turned the spare room into an improvised photographic studio. It was a great space to work in as I could use the existing shutters and curtains to precisely control the level of daylight.

I explored the grounds of the villa for objects to use in a still-life project and found some citrus fruit in various states of decay. I loved the beautiful colours of the rotting fruit that went from almost black to deep purple through to burnt orange.

This still life photography project was inspired by Memento mori, an element of visual language used in classical painting for centuries to remind the viewer of their mortality.

I placed the images into antique picture frames as a reference to classical painting and successfully entered it into the South West Academy Open Exhibition in Sidmouth, Devon. A series of 10 photographs from this project were also entered into the Sony World Photography Awards.

2. Yarli Allison – Visual Artist Portrait Photography

A photographic portrait of the fine artist Yarli Allison taken in her studio in London.

Yarli Allison is an artist born in Canada, raised in Hong Kong and is currently based in London and Paris. Her artistry uses an interdisciplinary approach that crosses sculpture, installation, CGI, moving image, drawing, poetry, tattoo, and performance.

She has been a subject for a personal project I started in 2022, producing portraits of Visual Artists. As part of this project, I shot some studio portraits in a suitable space in her London studio. Allison organised her wardrobe, choosing a range of different outfits to wear. It was a collaborative and creative process working with Yarli, making mutually agreed decisions on ideas and approaches for the shoot.
It was particularly satisfying to have time to play and experiment with lighting and different approaches to portraiture with such a great artist.

This portrait of Yarli is one of my favourite images from the shoot. I love her wardrobe choice and I feel the image captures her profound strength of character and identity. You can see some of Yarli’s work on her website here.

3. The lasts of Thomas Patrick John Anson, 5th Earl of Lichfield – Still Life Photography

Fine art still-life photograph of the John Lobb wooden lasts of the 5th Earl of Lichfield.

John Lobb have been crafting exquisite bespoke footwear and leather goods for Royalty and celebrities alike for over 170 years. Central to their process is a pair of unique wooden lasts made to the exact specifications of the wearers’ feet.
In 1863, John Lobb received its first Royal Warrant after crafting a pair of riding boots for the then Prince of Wales. Since then, they have continued to craft bespoke footwear for ongoing generations of Royalty.

As part of a long-term project, I photographed the complete collection of significant John Lobb wooden lasts. It was great to photograph the lasts of Thomas Patrick John Anson, 5th Earl of Lichfield as part of the project. Known as Patrick Lichfield in his professional life, he joined the Grenadier Guards in 1959 and on leaving the Army in 1962, he began to work as a photographer’s assistant. He was asked to take the photographs of the wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales in 1981, and went on to become one of the UK’s best-known photographers.

I used the same technical approach for this image as for the other photographs in the project, incorporating focus stacking to achieve a sharp image throughout the depth of field, from the top to the bottom of the wooden last. You can see more images from the project here. Original limited edition prints can be purchased here.

4. Swaine London 1750 – Still Life Product Photography

Still life product photography of luxury bags and an umbrella for The House of Swaine.

Swaine London, established in 1750, is one of the oldest and most prestigious luxury brands in the world, providing the finest handcrafted leather goods, hats, and umbrellas and supplying to the TV and movie industries since the 1950s. For example, Swaine have supplied Poet hats for every Indiana Jones film, including the original Herbert Johnson hat worn by Harrison Ford in ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’ in 1981.

Swaine have commissioned my work as a luxury product photographer for a range of projects. This image featured on their website was from a shoot for their Christmas promotional campaign photographing a range of luxury leather products arranged into a still-life image. The shoot was a collaborative team effort working with the Art Directors from Swaine.

5. Newcore Capital – Corporate Lifestyle & Headshot Photography

Corporate lifestyle photograph taken for Newcore Capital in London by Richard Boll Photography.

Newcore Capital was founded in 2011 and is a Certified B Corporation. As a specialist investor in social infrastructure real estate in the UK, Newcore invests in assets that are integral to the needs of society. I’ve been commissioned to photograph several corporate portrait and lifestyle projects for Newcore Capital in the past.

In 2023, I carried out two Newcore corporate photography projects. The first was a corporate lifestyle shoot in the summer, and a range of different shots of staff in informal meetings were set up. It was an enjoyable and productive shoot, making the most of the natural daylight that was available.

The second shoot was a large-scale corporate headshot shoot at their London offices, producing headshots of every current employee in the company. You can see more of my corporate photography here.

See more photography projects I shot in 2023 including Derwent London and the OXO Tower Restaurant, Bar and Brasserie.

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