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.
Photography can communicate incredibly fast
I think strong visual ideas cut through incredibly fast.
One image, one idea, immediate understanding.
I do believe strong visual ideas hold attention. A great concept, carefully executed with enough scale, craft and presence to genuinely connect with people. I don’t think the goal is perfection.
The goal is conceptual clarity. Creating imagery that feels memorable, believable and emotionally real.
Today we are surrounded by endless content and increasingly generated imagery. AI is becoming an important part of modern image-making and workflows, and it is an incredibly powerful tool. But I also think audiences are becoming far more visually aware. People recognise when imagery feels generic, over-generated or emotionally empty. They also recognise craft.
That’s why I think distinctive imagery matters more now, not less. It comes from strong concepts, production experience and understanding how to execute ambitious visual ideas in a way that still feels human and believable.
Some ideas simply carry more weight when they are physically built. Real locations, real talent, practical effects, constructed environments and carefully shaped light all contribute to imagery with texture, credibility and presence. People remember distinctive imagery.
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This was a campaign for a medical product connected to heart health and recovery, built loosely around the idea of rebirth and second chances.
The original brief was actually to use the famous artworks directly and retouch a real person into them. Early on we discussed that this would probably feel a little too respectful, and potentially backfire creatively. So instead we decided to build completely new versions inspired by the original paintings, but centred around real people and a slightly stranger sense of humour.
Everything was photographed practically. Massive painted canvas backdrops, around 12 by 8 metres, were hand-painted for us by an artist who had previously worked on Titanic with James Cameron. The entire project was essentially one large constructed set.
I still love the ambition and absurdity of these images. They feel handcrafted, theatrical and very physical, which was exactly the point.
This image was created for CommBank around the simple idea hidden inside their own logo, CAN. The campaign featured children imagining themselves in inspiring future roles, astronauts, pilots, doctors, firefighters and more. I always loved the optimism and scale of this image. A big conceptual idea, built physically and photographed for real.
Created for TAC Victoria around the idea that every decision on the road carries consequences. One moment, one choice, and everything changes.
The entire scene was built practically and photographed in camera during a large-scale overnight shoot involving emergency services, police, fire crews and a substantial production team.
Shot for SBS around Deadline Gallipoli, inspired by the photography of war correspondent Ellis Ashmead-Bartlett. One of the key images recreated his famous photograph of soldiers charging across the battlefield.
We photographed the campaign in remote South Australia using large-scale practical effects, massive smoke machines and large film lights to create something that felt cinematic, timeless and physically real. I loved the scale of the production and the atmosphere we were able to build in camera.
The series featured actors including Sam Worthington, alongside the wider cast and extras from the production, photographed both in constructed battlefield scenes and more stripped-back portraits.
This epic image really says everything about the scale and intensity of natural disasters in Australia.
Photographed for Westpac Rescue, it captures a real moment with a kind of scale that almost feels cinematic. I always loved how timeless the image feels. The tiny human figures against this vast flooded landscape gives it real weight and presence. There’s something about scale that stays with people and makes the image memorable.
Photographed for the Australian Navy, this image is remarkably calm and yet tells a very big story. One person, one extraordinary environment.
I love that it never feels overplayed. The scale of the sea, the ships and the sky does all the work. It tells a big story, but it does it without shouting loudly.
Photographed in New York for Dupixent, this campaign was built around the overwhelming physical and emotional world of severe eczema and particularly how children experience it.
I always loved the sheer scale and immersion of the image. The soft toy landscape almost feels endless and cinematic, creating a world that completely surrounds the child. It’s playful and warm at first glance, but there’s also something slightly overwhelming about it, which was exactly the point.
This series for the New South Wales Rural Fire Service focused on the reality behind the headlines and the devastating sense of loss that bushfires leave behind.
Everything was built practically and photographed in camera, using controlled fire, smoke and partially constructed sets to create these burnt interiors and landscapes. I always loved the contrast between the chaos of the environment and the stillness of the people inside it.
The images feel cinematic, epic and emotionally heavy, but the performances were deliberately restrained and real. That balance is what gave the campaign its weight and memorability.
This Suncorp campaign was built around a brilliant real-world idea. Inspired by full-scale disaster testing facilities in the US, the concept explored what a truly resilient Australian home could look like against floods, cyclones and fire. The original plan was to photograph the real testing facility, but instead we built detailed miniature sets and photographed them practically, combining them with large-scale environments and effects work to create the illusion of full-sized houses under extreme conditions.
I always loved the simplicity of the idea. One house, pushed to its limits, photographed almost like a scientific experiment.
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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.
