Archive for the 'Creative Projects' Category



Architecture shoots? tonic photo studios does that.

tonic photo studios focuses on four main areas: food, product, architectural and conceptual photography. We’ve touched on food and product photography recently, but we haven’t highlighted our architectural work very much. It’s time to change that.

The architectural photography which Patrick Darby and the tonic studios team have done is both subtle and grandiose. We have a long history in architectural imaging, photographing everything from offices and skyscrapers to luxury homes. Primarily, we’ve worked with architects, home builders and interior designers who appreciate our ability to best represent the spaces they have designed. Depending on a client’s needs, we are able to adjust our approach from a natural and open feel to dramatic scenes which require significant lighting and styling work. We’ve recently had a chance to work with a few clients who called on us to photograph a local high-rise project, as well as office space within the building.

The first project we’d like to showcase is Hunt Construction Group, a nationwide builder based here in the Phoenix area. Hunt Construction Group is the builder responsible for CityScape, a multi-phase development in the heart of downtown Phoenix which includes 27 floors class “A” office space and street-level retail. tonic studios was asked to photograph the building when it was completed in late 2010, and we were excited to be involved in a project which was responsible for redefining the future of downtown Phoenix.

The CityScape tower at duskThe CityScape tower in the daytime

The second project we would like to highlight is Alliance Architecture, a global architecture firm. They were the architects responsible for creating the Phoenix offices of Squire Sanders, an international law firm with offices in 16 countries. Squire Sanders’ Phoenix location is on the 27th floor of the CityScape building, so we were happy to work with another client involved in the CityScape project. The challenges of meeting the expectations of Alliance Architecture and Squire Sanders were quite different from the work we did for Hunt Construction Group. For this particular shoot, we needed to highlight not only the design of the office space, but we also needed to showcase the location high in the CityScape building.

A view into Squire Sanders' lobby from the terraceThe lobby of Squire SandersA view into the Squire Sanders conference roomA view along the length of the conference table in Squire Sanders' conference room

Working with Hunt Construction Group, Alliance Architecture and Squire Sanders provided diverse experiences for the tonic photo team and we were very pleased to be a part of the projects. But, our work with these three clients was just the latest in a long series of architecture projects which we’ve done. To see more of the work Patrick and the tonic photo staff have been involved with, take a look at the architecture portfolio on the tonic photo studios website.

We’re also pleased that Patrick is one of only eight photographers featured on architecturalinteriorphotography.com, a site dedicating to highlighting the best of Arizona’s architectural photographers. Click here to see a selection of his finest work featuring both office and living spaces.

tonic photo studios takes to the photography road

Patrick is hitting the road this month! No, he’s not hitching a ride to find adventure on the highways or backpacking across Europe on $2 a day. Instead, this trip is much more luxurious. Throughout May, Patrick will be shooting images for high-end optical retailers ILORI and Optical Shop of Aspen, which are part of Luxottica Group’s global retail presence. The entire Tonic staff is thrilled to be a part of this project and working with Luxottica has been a pleasure for everyone.

Patrick has already traveled to ILORI’s store in Soho and during the remainder of the month, he will be visiting stores in East Hampton, Las Vegas, Rodeo Drive and Newport Beach to capture images which highlight each store’s exterior architecture and interior design. It’s an excellent opportunity for Tonic to demonstrate its chops in creating beautiful photos of beautiful locations.

Statue of Atlas supporting the heavens at Rockefeller Center

An icon of New York City

The Soho photo shoot just wrapped up and Patrick is working on editing the images now. We’ll be bringing you highlights from each leg of the road trip, but just to whet your appetite we’ve included one quintessentially New York image Patrick grabbed while he was in the city. Granted, it’s not a part of the ILORI store shoot, but Patrick’s an architecture photographer. Did you really think he wasn’t going to get a few images of New York’s grandeur while he was there?

Keep watching the blog for stories of Patrick’s travels!

Diversity and versatility for ACO Polymer Products

ACO Polymer Products makes drains and they called on Tonic to shoot a wide range of images for them. Before you think “That was probably difficult, because it’s hard to make drains exciting,” take a look at the diversity of ACO’s products, especially the design and style of their QuARTz line. They produce some truly beautiful lifestyle products as well as being the leaders in commercial and modular trench drains.

ACO is a top-notch company and we at Tonic were humbled to be chosen by them to photograph a wide range of images. Their needs fully exercised our range of expertise in product, architecture and lifestyle photography. The team at ACO needed not only in-studio product photography, but many location photos as well. Thanks to our bandwidth and versatility, we were able to get the images quickly and with our signature creative touch.

For this assignment, we traveled to ACO’s facility in Casa Grande, AZ (not exactly close to our Phoenix studio) to capture images of the building, and to downtown Phoenix (much closer) to showcase their trench drains in place along the METRO light rail line. This is where Patrick dug deep to find a creative way to shoot the drains next to a light rail train in motion, all without getting arrested or run over. How did he do it? Well, he refuses to give up his secret, but it may have involved some Spider-Man-style acrobatics.

Talking about the work we did with ACO can only communicate so much. Have a look at some of the images we created for ACO, and follow the links below to see our images in use on ACO’s site. We hope they convey how proud we are to be a creative solution provider for ACO Polymer Products.

ACO’s About Us page

QuARTz by ACO

QuARTz product gallery

tonic photo studios and Lavidge give Massage Envy some image therapy

Massage Envy project documentsOne of our recent clients here at Tonic Photo Studios is Massage Envy, who came to us through our longtime partner The Lavidge Company. Why did Lavidge turn to us? Because they knew we had both the skill and the space to meet Massage Envy’s photographic needs.

The Massage Envy setIn order to get the photos we wanted, we started by building a facsimile of a Massage Envy therapy room. Remember how Patrick mentioned that running Tonic involves a lot of creative problem solving? That extends to building a massage therapy room and other smaller sets inside our 8,000 square foot facility. Fortunately, Massage Envy’s corporate specifications dictated how our therapy room should look, but it was up to us to make it happen.

Once the sets were ready to go, we brought in Massage Envy staff and a large talent pool supplied by the good people at Garth Williams Casting. Talent and staff at the Tonic facilityWe had quite a few people filling up the studio, but thanks to the skill of the Tonic staff, we were able to work through numerous settings in a short amount of time. That’s another reason Lavidge Company often turns to us: we can quickly crank out high quality content.

The end result of our work: a satisfied customer and a partner who was reminded why they turn to Tonic Photo Studios when they need great results.

Take a look at a few more behind-the-scenes photos to get a feel for how we made the Massage Envy photos happen!

Talent and Massage Envy staff on setThe therapy room set in use

Patrick shooting on setThe Tonic team

Mayor of Phoenix Photo Session at tonic photo studios

Tonic Photo Studios was recently chosen by Mayor Phil Gordon, of the city of Phoenix, to help him with his image. And we were only too happy to oblige!

In lieu of his upcoming State of the City Address, we set up a session in our photo studio and worked with the Mayor to create a series of images that showcase his leadership qualities.


Mayor's State of the City Announcement

An announcement of the mayor's State of the City address, featuring photography by Tonic Photo Studios

Above is one of our final shots, in context of an email release regarding the upcoming event.

We feel like the project was an overwhelming success, helping this public figure create the perfect imagery and style.

Here at Tonic Photo Studios, we love to help individuals and company’s make the best impression with their photography. If you’re in need of a creative solution for your image, please don’t hesitate to contact us. You can see our portfolio of work as well as our contact information on our website at www.tonicphotostudios.com.

tonic photo studios: National Gold ADDY Winner

Tonic Takes Home the Gold ADDY

Well, the journey’s complete!  After winning at the local and district levels, Tonic Photo Studios has won the ultimate award:  The Gold ADDY!

On Saturday at the 2009 ADDY® Awards ceremony in Washington DC, Tonic Photo Studios scored a major win with Gold ADDY Award for a conceptual photography series called “Smoke and Water.”

Winning this award is a real testimony to the dedication, passion, and creativity Tonic has for its medium,” said Patrick Darby, studio director.

tonic photo studios Smoke and Water Photography Series

Smoke Ladies and Water series

We recently did a creative series of images utilizing elements of smoke and water. Some of the images are figural, some are representative of natural forms and some are humorous in nature. Essentially, they are a very dynamic and creative exploration of form and composition with unexpected elements utilized to bring forth the image. Bottom line, it’s really amazing stuff…

Two samples from the Smoke and Water Series

Two samples from the Smoke and Water Series

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