Advertising Photographer Teaches Old Dogs New Tricks in Guru Pet Food Campaign
Dogs Prove to be Photographer’s Best Friend in Quirky Guru Pet Food Campaign
Paul Cooper, an accomplished advertising photographer, managed not to make a meal out of a notoriously difficult task in his latest, unusual assignment for a natural pet food brand. He successfully captured dogs, known as the media industry’s most difficult models, transforming them into a variety of clean-living, go-getting characters such as the ‘Ultra-Zen Yogi’ or the ‘Active Skater’ pooch. These playful models were used to execute the ‘Get Guru’ campaign for cold-pressed dog food specialist, Guru Pet Food.
While this adventurous project would lead many to rely on CGI to place these natural pet food ambassadors in such unnatural poses, every element of the finished image was cut, comped and illustrated together, without the use of special effects. Global photographer, Paul Cooper sprung to the task, ably shooting the pups in a variety of poses, capturing every paw, snout and wag of a tail perfectly, ready to be used in re-touching.
Paul Cooper revealed, “I entered the world of advertising photography due to the diverse creative opportunities it would lead to however, I must admit that I’d never expected to receive a brief like this one from Guru Pet Food! It wanted to find a way to promote the benefit of its nutritional Guru goodness, showcasing its canine clients doing the ‘impossible’, while putting a smile on its customer’s faces.
“I set myself, and Sophie Morrison the retoucher, a challenge by proposing we complete the project entirely from photographed assets however, the final result is simply stunning and certainly paid off. It allowed us to fully embrace the playful concept, producing results we are proud of.”
Paul has photographed campaigns for some of the biggest names in sport, film and fashion, shooting for esteemed brands such as Tag Heuer and Nivea, as well capturing the dynamic profile of sporting teams such as Manchester United and Liverpool.
Cooper continued, “During my 20 years in the business, I’ve shot with many ‘high maintenance’ celebrity personalities, yet the models selected for the Get Guru campaign were perhaps the most difficult! They soon co-operated though and were happy to take part, especially when free food was offered…”
Able to capture the best side of any subject, from Zen pooch to Hollywood star, view the rest of the esteemed photographers work at www.pcooperphoto.com
About
Paul provides innovative and imaginative photography that generates editorial coverage for clients, stunning ad campaigns and artistic portraiture. He started his career at News International where he worked several of the titles including The Times and The Sunday Times. Having spent 15 years as a photojournalist in Paris, Paul now works out of Manchester from his fully equipped photography studio. He shoots global campaigns for brands such as Tag Heuer, Nivea, AON and with clients such as Manchester United, Liverpool FC and others.
