Where AI meets the real world
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This project started with a simple question, how do we create something that’s not feasible to shoot for real within budget?
The answer was a hybrid approach.
The landscapes were photographed first. I used my own landscape plates to build AI layouts, exploring perspective and scale, while the lighting direction was always driven by the photography. Once that held, the real landscape was brought back in during post. It simply looked better, more grounded, more believable, and it holds up in high resolution.
The car and talent were always photographed for real. Properly lit, properly placed, with full control and proper usage rights. That physical anchor is important, it gives the image weight and something real to hold onto.
The advantage is clarity. You can resolve the image before you shoot it. Lock in decisions early, reduce guesswork, and walk onto set knowing exactly what needs to be done. It takes pressure off the shoot and puts the thinking where it belongs, upfront.
There’s also efficiency in it. Not because it’s free, it isn’t, but because it cuts out unnecessary complexity and keeps the production focused on what actually matters.
AI is a powerful tool, but it’s not the final image. It sits within the process. Pushed where it helps, held back where reality matters. For me, it’s another post-production tool, used with intent and control.
In the end, it’s still about building something that feels real. Advertising for grown-ups.
A hybrid approach, in service of something that still feels real.
A hybrid approach, in service of something that still feels real.
A study in combining photography, landscape, and AI
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The idea was simple. Create a series of images of pop-up stores in the Australian landscape in a way that feels unexpected, but still entirely believable.
I’m not a fan of fully AI-generated imagery. It often lacks weight, presence, believability. So the environments are built from my own landscape references, shaping something familiar and then reworking it.
The structures are developed through AI, step by step, with a very controlled hand guiding form, scale, and detail.
I don’t really believe in fully AI-generated imagery. That sense of weight and presence just isn’t there. So the product is always photographed for real. Proper light, real materials, something tangible that anchors the image.
AI sits within that process as a tool. A way to explore and construct, not to replace what needs to feel true.
There are real efficiencies in using AI, no question. But the idea that it’s free or takes five minutes is simply wrong. A lot of work goes into it. For me, it sits alongside retouching and CGI, just another post-production tool, used with intent.
Clear, considered, and built to hold.
A pen, a ball, and an idea that goes a long way.
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One day, minimal crew, I ran the camera myself. We shot stills on the side. Talent, a cricket ball, a golden pen, a location. That was pretty much it.
But the idea was strong. A teacher can shift perspective, can push a kid to think bigger, to reach further. We turned that into something visual. The pen becomes a rocket, the ball a planet, and suddenly it opens up into something much larger.
What I like about it is the scale of the idea versus how we made it. It feels big, but it’s built out of almost nothing. A bit of fire, some movement, careful grading, strong editing, and it starts to carry real weight.
It’s a good reminder. You don’t always need a big production to make something work. Sometimes the constraint is the thing that sharpens it.
A playful integrated campaign for Narellan Pools film, and stills
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The idea was simple. A match cut between people who want a pool and people already enjoying one. Same moment, same behaviour, just a small shift in life, but actually quite a big one.
The campaign ran across a 30-second film, cutdowns, and a stills campaign. The tone stayed grounded. Light humour, very human, nothing overplayed. Not trying to be cool, just reflecting real people and real moments.
We built it as one system, shooting motion and stills together, keeping everything consistent from the start. I directed, operated parts of the camera, and captured the stills, staying close to the work the whole way through.
The production was substantial. Multiple locations, night shoots, drone work, all feeding into the same idea and keeping it cohesive.
At its core, it’s about people, not the product. The product is really the enjoyment you get out of having a pool.
I’m still dreaming of getting my own one, so clearly it works.
By running two assistant crews, we can move fast and stay efficient. More importantly, it keeps everything aligned, film and stills are developed together, which makes the tone more cohesive and consistent.
By running two assistant crews, we can move fast and stay efficient. More importantly, it keeps everything aligned, film and stills are developed together, which makes the tone more cohesive and consistent.
There was a push towards heavy VFX, but we chose to build it for real
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This 30-second film for Palmer’s came out of a really strong, simple insight. Most women don’t just have one product they trust. They have cabinets filled with half-used brands, different promises, different claims.
Palmer’s offers the opposite. Something straightforward that works. One simple solution.
The client and agency initially looked at a CGI route, but I felt it would land much stronger if we kept it grounded in reality. So we built a small tunnel in the studio. A real space, real atmosphere, real camera decisions.
Everything was kept simple, but very considered. That gave the whole piece a sense of weight and a tactile quality that’s hard to fake.
It was shot in a single day. Tight, focused. The kind of setup where clarity and decisions matter.
We also captured product stills alongside the film, keeping everything consistent.
Real space, real atmosphere, real camera decisions. Everything kept simple, but thought through.”
Real space, real atmosphere, real camera decisions. Everything kept simple, but thought through.”
BRANDED CONTENT
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High-end commercial work is still very much the core of what I do.
Alongside that, I also shoot branded content, social campaigns, interviews and product-driven work that often needs to move faster and work harder across multiple platforms.
The productions are usually leaner. Smaller crews, tighter timelines, more direct execution. I often shoot stills and motion together, keeping the process efficient and visually aligned.
But the approach itself doesn’t really change. The work still needs to feel human, well observed and properly crafted. Whether it’s a large campaign or a smaller content piece, quality is still the constant.
Clients include Westpac, Specsavers, Parramatta Light Rail, WorkCover, McDonald’s, IHG Hotels, Westpac Rescue, ReachOut and Domain, among others.
A real moment, built in camera.
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This is one of those jobs where the obvious approach just didn’t feel right. The safe option would have been to shoot it in a studio, build it in layers, light it perfectly, and retouch it clean. But it would have taken something away.
These are real people. Volunteers. People who step in when things go wrong. The image needed to reflect that.
So we went the other way. One setup, as much as possible in a single frame. Shot outside, in daylight, with very little added lighting.
It’s not without risk. The shoot took time, and with daylight, things can shift. With this many people and this much movement, it can fall apart quickly. But that’s also where it starts to feel real.
It’s a small shift in approach, but it changes everything. You get texture, imperfection, something that feels unforced. It doesn’t feel overproduced, it feels like a moment that actually happened in front of the camera.
That decision to stay in daylight is what holds it together. If this had been built in a studio and heavily retouched, it would have lost that completely.
Connection comes from doing it for real. You feel the energy because it’s happening, not constructed
Connection comes from doing it for real. You feel the energy because it’s happening, not constructed
Chasing the sun
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Das Narrative, a production company from Austria, came to Australia in search of light.
We shot key scenes which made it into the 30-second spot, as well as a standalone 15-second cut. An Austrian director and photographer, living in Australia, shooting back for Austria. What a small world.
The agency had this beautiful image in mind, a 10 metre diving tower in an outdoor public pool, the bravery of jumping.
The shoot took us to Canberra. Colder conditions, long hours, and a demanding setup. Working with young talent, in and underwater, it was a full day.
It’s something I remember from growing up in Austria. Turns out, while we do have them in Australia, most are no longer in use. Concrete cancer, safety restrictions, closures. They’re simply not accessible anymore.
So we had to go further out. Canberra ended up being the place where we found one still intact and usable.
I ran the film camera and captured the stills, working with a very lean crew.
A cohesive production where I direct and shoot the stills alongside the film. Running parallel setups means we can move fast and efficient, but nothing feels rushed. It keeps the whole thing tight, consistent, and on the same wavelength.
A cohesive production where I direct and shoot the stills alongside the film. Running parallel setups means we can move fast and efficient, but nothing feels rushed. It keeps the whole thing tight, consistent, and on the same wavelength.
Presence over polish
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I’ve been fortunate to work across a wide range of automotive brands, from Lexus and Toyota to Audi, Deepal, GWM, VW and BMW, to name a few.
Car photography moves quickly. It’s less about chasing a particular look and more about finding the right approach for each brand and each campaign, the idea, the layout, the intent behind the image.
What matters most is presence. The car has to feel real, it needs a sense of weight to it.
With so much CGI, Photoshop and AI in the mix, it’s easy for things to become a bit overworked or overly polished. That’s when cars can start to lose that sense of weight and feel almost like small scale models.
That’s something I’m always mindful of.
The car has to feel like a car. It either feels real, or it doesn’t. Presence is everything, especially now, when we’re flooded with images.
Cars come alive when they’re actually moving. I love shooting car to car, it’s something you don’t see that often anymore. For me, it shows a car doing what it’s built for, being driven.
The car has to feel like a car. It either feels real, or it doesn’t. Presence is everything, especially now, when we’re flooded with images.
It all depends on the campaign. Sometimes it’s highly constructed, with a precisely lit car. Other times it’s about capturing a more natural moment. The approach is always driven by the idea and the creative behind the campaign.
If it feels set up, it’s already lost
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Shot over two days for McCain, balancing clarity and honesty. The outdoor heroes are clean and readable, strong expressions that land instantly on a billboard. The wider library leans the other way, quieter, more intimate, the kind of moments you catch just before or after something happens.
Natural light, minimal styling, and a loose approach with the talent. Kids sharing, grabbing, reacting. Nothing pushed, nothing overworked. Just enough control to hold the frame, but still let it feel like it’s unfolding in front of you.
