Mark Cramer: branding portraits

Mark Cramer is on the blog today, and I’m  really excited to share some of these images with you! Mark came to me about six weeks ago and we talked about producing some images to revamp his website: https://www.markjcramer.com/

In an alternate life away from music, Mark is also a personal trainer. We talked about how he needed a look that would be edgy enough for his style, but still sensitive enough for professional art music. As it happens, Mark had been growing his hair a little longer and that was really a great tool to soften the look.

There are so many ways to shape someone’s online persona, and I’m fortunate enough to have access to nearly everything I need. There was that one silly hotel in Winston-Salem that wanted $1750 to use any part of their property for a shoot, but that’s another story. We decided in the end to use three primary locations for our set.

The first location was at Wake-Forrest Baptist Hospital as Mark performs there on a regular basis. Music is such a restorative art, and it’s not something that medicine can replicate chemically, so it is a real treat for Mark to grace the founders gallery with his gift. People walk through the lobby in a constant but not overly crowed fashion. Some stop to speak with Mark or look over his shoulder. Mark’s clarinet sounds fantastic in that space, though, even on noisier days.

The second location was in my studio in downtown Greensboro. The studio gives me a lot of control and a great deal of freedom to try new ideas and experiment with new concepts. Mark claims to have a limited fashion sense, but I love how he wears his clothes. The fitted look really compliments his jawline and his shirts come to the perfect point on the shoulder. This may seem like a little thing, but it’s exactly the kind of thing that photographers pay a lot of money to wardrobe designers to produce. 

Mark wanted some photographs to showcase his new instruments, so we made that happen in the studio as well. If you’ve never seen various woodwind instruments taken apart and arranged in pieces, now’s your chance. Let’s just say that I'm glad I didn’t have to reassemble the kit. To keep the moody look, we added some contrast by having Mark dress in a plain white t-shirt and sit for a really simple portrait.

Our final location was actually a series of short vignettes in Winston-Salem. When it comes to creating media for a new website, one of the most important genres is the environmental portrait. This kind of photograph is more than placing someone in a beautiful setting. The key to understanding the concept is that each image should communicate a sense of place and purpose regarding the subject. The image asks you to imagine an interaction between the subject and the location. This subconscious connection keeps your attention for just a little longer, and that’s my favorite part about creating portraiture.

Anyway, I hope you’ve enjoyed this little insight into Mark’s photo session. If you’re looking for a way to renew your online presence or if you have a project in mind, please ask me how I could make that work for you. I will listen to what you have to say, and I’ll customize a look just for you. Thank you for reading, and I’ll be back with more soon!

- Wayne