Part 1 - Research​​​​​​​

The biggest players in the UK heritage scene (although this doesn't include Scotland, who have their own separate organisation). Founded back in 1895, they've come a long way,  clocking up over 5.6 million members in 2019. 

In the same year, they recorded almost 28 million visitors across their properties, almost half the UK population. 

Their portfolio includes "over 500 historic houses, castles, ancient monuments, gardens, parks and nature reserves (including 9 lighthouses, 56 villages, 39 pubs and a gold mine)". Along with 248,000 hectares of land.

Their portfolio is incredibly diverse - the extremities are a grand country estate that the whole family can spend a whole day exploring - all the way to a stretch of beach or countryside that you could wander on and off without even realising its being monitored and preserved by the NT. 

The National Trust operate as an independent charity, reinvesting its profits into its heritage efforts. In 2019, they posted income of £634 million, however, spent £653 million to maintain their sites, pay staff and advertise. 

Historic England's purpose is much the same as the NT and English Heritage although much smaller in size. They're a body of the Government, which is sponsored by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

NT for Scotland operate the same system as their counterpart, but focus on Scotland only. Given they're restricted to just one country, they still have over 300,000 members. 

The RSPB are different to the other organisations in that their focus is on land, rather than properties.

Their intention is to preserve land for nature, however financially and commercially operate a similar system to the NT and such. Their marketing strategy will also be similar, if just a lot smaller in budget. 

I took some notes from Jay's presentation about preparing an advertising campaign: 

'Above the Line' (ATL) marketing refers to campaigns that are targeted to the 'masses'.

They use no specific targeting techniques and aim to entice as many people as possible. 

They are often delivered OOH (out of home) on billboards, or on general means such of online ads, or TV commercials. 

ATL marketing campaigns need to be as accessible to everyone as possible. 

'Below the Line' marketing refers to targeted and audience specific campaigns. 

The first example I though of were these Pleasurewood Hills (local theme park) billboards in a nearby town. They're specific to that area because their primary target audience are the locals.

Below the line (BTL) marketing is also often delivered in more targeted means than billboards, such as by post. 

For example, political parties will use BTL marketing to promote their campaign in specific areas they feel are in the balance in a bid for those few extra crucial votes. 

Living in the countryside and being in lockdown, I'm being exposed to very few OOH adverts, however, like many people I find myself spending more time watching TV / spending time online, so I'm still being exposed to ATL marketing. 

I used the website ThinkBox and their 'Breaking Ads' page to curate current and live examples of ATL advertising. 

'Steps'

To promote their new Greenwich store, IKEA commissioned these billboards and bus stop / train station adverts to show potential shoppers how far away they are from the new store, encouraging them to walk and be eco friendly. 

The environmental aspect of the advert also allowed IKEA to promote the fact that the new store was their most sustainability built yet. 

'Both sides of the story'

When the BBC launched their world service, they launched an international campaign.

The campaign featured wrap around billboards with only half of the information viewable from either side, physically making a viewer look at both sides of the ad (or, 'story').

For new international audiences, the ad promotes the BBC as modern and innovative, and also as informative and reliable - exactly as they'd want to be seen to new audiences. 

3. Led By Donkeys 

'Led by Donkeys' are an anonymous group aiming to hold politicians to account. 

Whilst they're not trying to sell you anything, they're still using ATL advertising to inform the population of things that politicians and public figures have said online or in person, that they've most likely since contradicted. 

They don't need to put many billboards up, because these are photographed and shared online so much that they get more publicity for free than for what they pay for. 

12x ZOOM

To launch a new camera with 12x optical zoom, Leica launched a campaign that featured billboards with images enlarged 12 times (presumable images taken on the new camera) 

However, this campaign fails in several ways:

- It fails to address that Leica's are, mainly, enthusiast cameras with enthusiast prices. The brand doesn't lend itself to ATL advertising because £5000 cameras aren't mass marketable. Leica, a niche brand, are far better suited to BTL marketing. 

- It doesn't capitalise on what Leica's are good at (good build quality, colour reproduction, documentary work, etc) and tries to pick a feature that appeals to many people, when in reality a Leica isn't within price range for most people. 

'You are LONDON / BRIGHTON / LEEDS / etc etc'

I can't be the only one who finds it really disingenuous when mega corporations or big banks try to be all personal and act like they're on our side. 

Whilst being customised for certain regions, the campaign is essentially the same everywhere so I would still class it as ATL.

Remove the HSBC logo from behind the text and this doesn't advertise anything. 

They're simply trying to make you associate a positive message with their brand. When, in actual fact, the campaign does very little to reinforce that message or make it believable. 

The billboards were later targeted by an anonymous group who took issue with HSBC's investments in fossil fuels. If you needed proof that they're not on our side, it's there. 

Pixel 4a Release

To advertise their new Pixel 4a phone, Google produced this billboard that popped up in various locations.

The problem is that the ad totally fails to successfully market the phone to its demographic. 

As a budget alternative to its more expensive counterparts, the 4a is marketed at an older audience, who are looking for a cheap, simple phone, without the thrills of flagship. 

The biggest problems with the ad are:

- It hardly shows the actual phone

- It doesn't advertise the biggest selling point: low price

- It displays three symbols that represent features (maps, Google Assistant, and Google Photos) However, the phone's demographic aren't going to know what these symbols actually means, essentially rendering them, and the ad, useless. 

'Antandec Virtual Bank'

Santander have been using Ant and Dec in their marketing for a while now. They're a good choice - they're nationally recognised and bring a lightheartedness to their adverts. 

The long running joke is that they're running their own bank called 'Antandec'. 

In the ad, they set up a virtual reality branch that lets customers enter in pixelated form. Then, the trusty narrator returns and says at the actual Santander, they're keeping their banking simple with their mobile app solution. 

I think the ad fails to address the actual people who might need help accessing their bank given the current Covid situation. Younger people, (the only people who will really understand the ad) already know how to use online banking and their phone app.

Given lockdown, it's the older generation who still rely on face-to-face banking who would need more help accessing their finance options in lockdown. 

The ad fails to address the concerns of the people who actually need help with lockdown banking, and despite being an ATL campaign, it ostracises much of the population by referencing niches like virtual reality. 

The NT's demographic is rather unique in its broadness. They simultaneously appeal to: 

- The older generations, for quiet, interesting and historical days out

- Families (especially those with younger children) for fun, educational days out 

- Walkers, cyclists, boating lovers and even swimmers (of all ages and backgrounds) 

Their broad demographic is most likely why they have so many members. 

But even non members are extremely likely to have used NT land before, without even knowing it as the NT own so much land across the country that is walkable. 

For my campaign then, I'll be looking to appeal to as much of this demographic as possible, whilst still deciding upon a niche and theme for the campaign.

I've pulled some examples of previous print campaigns from Google.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the underlying theme common to all of these posters is the feature of nature and countryside. 

With the exception of the NTfS' Cadbury ad, none of these ads are being too specific in what they're advertising. It's pretty vague because they're selling you the idea of a day out in nature rather than a product. 

I also noticed their placement: bus stops, billboards on roads, near paths. 

The NT are targeting the commuters in these ads in seemingly rather urban areas. That makes the sell of a day out in the countryside that little bit more easier. 

Again with the exception of the Cadbury ad in Scotland, these are all ATL ads that appeal to a mass audience. 

Main takeaways: 

- Nature is a mainstay in all campaigns 

- Not being too specific in a product, it's selling an idea

- Beware of where the ads are likely to go (bus stops etc) so will be seen by commuters 

- ATL ads with mass appeal 

For this camping, the NT leveraged nostalgia to try to convince you to reconnect with nature.

Again, it's not being too specific in what it's advertising - more of an idea than a physical product 

This campaign deviates slightly from what we've seen previously in that it's a bit more specific in what it's advertising. Dog walking, flying kites and having campfires are all specific activities you can go and do at NT right now. 

Given that for our posters, the text and poster format has already been determined this style of advertising is preferable. With ambiguous imagery, you'd really rely on text to convey the message. 

For our posters, the tagline 'Amazing Places' has already been decided so to some extent, the content will need to be appropriated for it. 

Given the scale of their demographic, it makes sense that the NT don't really advertise on their social feeds. Instead, they use it to promote the diversity of their properties and land. 

Part 2 - Inspiration​​​​​​​​​

Chris Buckard is an outdoors, extreme sports and adventure photographer

The above images are categorised under an 'adventure' tab. What's great about these is how Chris has used perspective. In all of the shots, the subject is totally dwarfed by their surroundings - nature. Chris' work is well suited to the NT marketing style as all of their campaigns feature nature above and beyond anything else.

I noted the change in image style as I switched to the 'commercial' tab:

The images, although fundamentally similar, have shifted their perspective and suddenly the human element isn't as dwarfed by nature. The shots are much close to the people in them and nature plays a slightly smaller role. 

The man hiking on the left stands out to me, as he looks off camera, because he's almost, almost, engaging the camera. This is a feature of advertising - having the subject engage the camera. 

Taking Chris' work as inspiration, I think a balance needs to be struck between how to scale the human subjects within nature. 

Lucas Gilman is also an outdoors / adventure photographer. These two shots stood out to me in particular. Despite the subjects not engaging the camera, I think these could easily work well as marketing material. Luca's colour grading is really pleasing, enhancing the idea that his subjects really enjoying nature, rather than in Chris Buckard's work where they're dwarfed by it. 

Megan Taylor's work is a natural body of inspiration for this brief, as she's listed as a 'National Trust Photographer' on their site NT Images website. 

What I think works so well about her work is the sense of nostalgia that is effortlessly created by her ability to capture perfectly unscripted and candid images. Hardly any of her subjects are engaging the camera, yet we know exactly how they're feeling about their grand day out at a NT property. 

The innocence and pure sense of fun that emits from these images is an ideal source of inspiration. The childish innocence and fun is a feeling that NT have used in their marketing before, especially to create a sense of nostalgia. 

Part 3 - Planning​​​​​​​

My campaign has to be BTL so it has to be specific to a certain area / demographic. However I still want to appeal to as much of NT's demographic as possible that's within the BTL audience. 

I also need my campaign to still focus on a niche / theme that builds on the constant theme of nature that's present throughout all their marketing. 

Given that I want my imagery to suit the 'Amazing Places' tagline, I started researching on the NT website, to see as many of their 'places' as possible. I was surprised by the diversity of what's of offer. Boating, cycling and swimming are interesting additions to the usual idea of hiking on NT property. 

This gave me the idea for my campaign - to focus on activity. It shows the diversity of the NT's properties, still has nature as the mainstay, promotes healthy living and exercise and will suit the four poster format well. 

My four posters will each focus on one activity from: 

Hiking

Cycling

Boating

Dog walking 

(I will have to be specific with my imagery and props to properly distinguish between hiking and dog walking, although I feel this is achievable and appeals to a wider audience as non-serious walkers might feel ostracised by the campaign if they only saw serious hikers) 

I'm lucky to be based in East Anglia for this project, so I have access to vast countryside, the River Waveney and boats, and cycle trails. This will make location scouting easier and will make the campaign more believable seeing these activities take place in locations that could easily pass as NT property. 

The BTL campaign would be marketed at local people to prove the diversity of activities they have available to them at NT properties, all on their doorstep. 

Another benefit of aiming my project at the local people of East Anglia is how well the area fits the NT's demographic - we have a high population of elderly/retired residents and also younger families - the two population groups utilising NT properties the most.

As a rule of thumb, I want this shoot to be entirely naturally lit, maybe with the help of reflectors etc. This will mean shooting at the golden hours which should look really nice and enticing for an advertising campaign. 

Location Scouting and Pre Vis​​​​​​​

I've identified a part of the River Waveney that would look good for a boating shot. 

I will be on the pontoon in the foreground of my reccie shot, shooting towards the left, capturing the reeds to the right and the boats in the background. 

I plan to shoot pretty wide (around 1.8 or 2.8 for extra sharpness) so the background boats and reeds should be fairly blurred out anyway. 

I'll be shooting just after 9am on a frosty day. The morning sun looks great across the river and the frost means the water is more still so reflections look nicer. 

I will shoot both landscape and portrait on all shots, to give me more options later, however I intend for this shot to be presented in portrait orientation. 

My subject will be in the kayak, mid row, facing away, so there should be nice droplets of water falling from the paddle. 

The detail shots will include:

- A close up of water falling from the paddle

- The life jacket

- A portrait of the subject in the kayak 

- Close ups of the boat and surrounding area 

This corridor of trees at Beccles Common (left) could be a good location for the dog walking shot.

The trees frame the shot well in portrait orientation. 

The biggest issue I might have with this location is that trees might cause the sides of the frame to be really busy, which would make the 5 smaller images harder to see. So I will scout some other locations for this shot too. 

The location on the right is slightly less desirable due to the paved road, although this could be sorted in post.

Again though, the issue of the sides of the frames being too busy with trees and complicating the detail boxes is prevalent, so more locations will need to be scouted. 

To distinguish between dog walking (for beginners) and hikers (for enthusiasts) this locations paved path is perfect - its nice and approachable to anyone new to walking. This will contrast with a less easy-going path on my hiking poster. 

I plan to have 2 or 3 people in the shot, as well as a dog. I'll shoot with either a 35 or a 45mm to make sure everything in is frame. 

At sunset, the light coming through the trees should be at its best, so I plan to shoot late afternoon on a clear day. 

My 5 detail shots will include:

- Portrait of the dog

- Portrait of a walker 

- Dog lead and collar 

- Flask of coffee 

- Slightly muddied trainers (but not too much so)  

I've since identified the above as a better location for this shot. The lighting the great, the background is believably a NT footpath/walking trail.

In post, I can remove the tree on the right, and the telephone wires, making space for the detail shots. 

This location is great for the cycling shot. This slight hill is framed nicely by the tree to the left and field behind. Late afternoon / early evening, the light is really warm. I will position myself to the right of the hill, keeping the tree to the left of my frame. This will mean there is plenty of space in the upper right for the 5 detail shots, which will consist of:

- Hand on handle bar

- Helmet details

- Foot on pedals

- Bike leaning up a tree

- Mud on bike

The hiking shot will be taken from behind two hikers' shoulders, as they look over an OS map. I'll be shooting this at Beccles Common which has both densely wooded areas and also open fields. This flexibility in location will be helpful, as perhaps the densely wooded area will leave the sides of the frame too busy to make the detail shots easily viewable. These detail shots will include:

- Shot of the map

-Shot of a compass

- Hiking boots

- Rucksack

- Rain on coat

In 2021, thankfully, companies and individuals are beginning to take more responsibility for their impact on the environment.

Potentially, for a shoot like this, there could be an awful lot of travelling involved: travelling that produces a lot of emissions. 

Thanks to lockdown, I actually find myself in a great location for this unit. I have access to masses of footpaths, cycle tracks and the River Waveney. 

I produced this map to show just how close everything is, despite still being able to show a diverse set of activities. 

For the sake of playing devils advocate, I'll also demonstrate how I'd execute the same set of shoots if I was still staying in London. 

For this purpose, where the maps list states 'BECCLES', I'm saying that that would be my overnight accommodation. 

For the shoot, I've totalled 270 miles. 

To asses my carbon impact for this travelling, I'll use the carbon footprint website, which assumes I have a car.

So for the purposes of this, I'll just tell it that, like most other 20 year olds, I have a 15 ish year old Corsa. 

The website tells me that I'd be generating 0.09 tonnes of CO2e. 

To offset this trip, I'd have to plant £12.90 worth of trees. This figure will be added to my estimate.

For the purposes of this shoot, I think at least a day on each location is sensible, with a few extra days to allow for travel and any unexpected delays, such as bad weather. With 4 locations, I think planning for a 1 week shoot is a good idea.

The only people travelling would be myself and the assistant. Having been on shoots before where there's art directors etc etc just stood around, I think the meetings that take place during the week can easily be done remotely via zoom and screen share for showing outcomes. 

The only other people who'll need to be on set are the models (who will be locally cast to avoid having to pay for hotels) and costume/props - again, will be locally sourced. 

Additionally, we'll need an animal wrangler for the Dog walking shot. In reality, I'd source a family who are willing to participate (in fact it'll be my family for the actual shoot) however I have to plan for all possibilities. 

Essential for sorting images, post production, hosting meetings with team

To make instant back-ups of the images 

To catalogue, store and process the images

In case I need to throw some more light on a subject. ​​​​​​​

To start creating an estimate for the shoot, I need to price everything up. 

First up is the Photographer's Fees. We've agreed that £800 per day is suitable for a BTL campaign.

£800 x 7 = £5600

For the Assistant, we've agreed that £250 per day is a suitable rate.

£250 x 7 = £1750

Next, the travel. 

Gov.uk says 45p per nile for the first 10,000 miles is the going rate, but we're going for 50p.

270 miles x 50p per mile = £135.

However, to allow for trips to petrol station, potential traffic situations and going out for extras, I'll add on 15%. 

15% = £20.25

£135 + 15% = £155.25 

We'll also budget £40 for the week for parking away from the hotel, as this example includes overnight parking. 

Next, accommodation. The going rate for a hotel in Beccles is £100 per night. 

There's two of us, so that works out as £1400 for the week. 

For catering, we'll budget for £100 per head for the week. This won't cover everything, but we can't expect the commissioner to foot the bill for a whole weeks of food. 

There's plenty of modelling agencies local to the area. 

To complete the shoot, I'll need 6 models.

1 for boating

2 for dog walking

1 for cycling

2 for hiking 

The going rate of £200 per day for a model (especially if I utilise the 'new faces' section) would total £1200 for all model hire. 

For the dog walking shoot, I do have access to a dog. However, assuming I didn't, I'd need to hire a dog handler. At an average of £90 per day, plus travel and expenses, I'd be looking at least £100 for the day for the dog handler. 

For the hire of a lens, I'm looking at £65 for the week. 

Props, such as a flask and maps for the detail shots will be sourced online, likely second hand and will be included in the Sundries budget (extras). 

Posters:

Detail shots:

Placing into flat plan and deciding which detail shots to include:

I decided to go for the landscape shot as my main poster for this shoot. I think the symmetry works really well, and the environment around the subject adds to the feeling of it being a smaller town in a rural setting - exactly the kind of place the NT would have property.

My detail shots do two things:

- Show details of the surrounding area

- Show details of the activity itself. 

This is a nice mix as it really gives anyone seeing the poster a greater feel for both the area and activity, without being too specific. 

This has been a good start to the photography side of the project. I think the posters work well and the detail shots are especially strong. I bided my time and got lucky with the weather, which really adds to the feeling of the images - being a bitter cold day. 

In terms of colour, the snow has again helped me out. The orange of the kayak is really strong against the snow and I think this adds to the sense of adventure and being bold. 

Also, the picture is really accommodating of the detail boxes in the top left, something I was very conscious of whilst shooting.

For the next shoot, I want more variety in the types of images I get - specifically, I want to have the choice in the edit to decide whether a shot of the subject engaging the camera works better than one where he isn't. For this particular shot, I don't think I really needed one, as it was never my plan to have him engaging the camera (this adds to the sense of emersion that my subject has whilst doing this activity, therefore making it more appealing). However, going forward, it certainly won't hurt to have options - so capturing a mix of 'candid' and posed options will give me greater flexibility. 

Posters

Detail shots:

Placing into flat plan and deciding which detail shots to include:

I like the above images because the lack of any path or infrastructure really sets it in a remote rural area, perfect for the hiking theme of this poster. These images were a part of my plan to include some shots of the subject engaging the camera, for more variety. I think they work, although the landscape is better than the portrait because it accommodates those picture boxes better.

This image, originally shot as landscape, can be used in both orientations, although on the portrait version there is a slight overlap with the detail box, but this is a minor infringement and the picture is still very readable. 

The image is set up as a candid shot, with my subject looking just off camera. It's natural, and the expanse of land adds to the sense of freedom that hiking can incur, exactly what I wanted to portray. 

Similar to the kayaking shoot, I wanted my detail shots to show a mix the activity and the surrounding area. Props were really important here, as I had to get across the sense of a serious hike. Trainers and a casual backpack would have spoiled this illusion. 

The props and location have worked really well here. The lack of other people, infrastructure, or pavements really paint this as a rural location, perfect for the hiking theme. The props work well to convey the nature of the activity; hiking boots, hiking backpack and an OS map. This will be essential for me to set this shot apart from the dog walking shot, which will be much more casual in its imagery. 

I think even more variety in terms of props for the detail shots would be good. This would allow me to experiment more with what works better in each picture box. 

The portrait shots are giving me slight grief in terms of fitting those detail boxes in comfortably without any distraction. For my next poster, I'll make a real effort to get low and angle the camera up, to squash the horizon line down the frame to fit the boxes in. 

Posters:

detail shots:

Placing into flat plan:

This shoot compliments the kayaking shoot really well in that it adds drama to an activity. Choosing to shoot at golden hour has given me some great lighting and the images are better for it. 

I gave myself options in the edit and I have at least 2 or 3 posters that could be submitted for both landscape and portrait orientations. 

I need to capture a wider range of detail shots. I really limited myself by only capturing 5/6 potential shots. On my next shoot, I want to at least double my detail shot list to give myself more options in the edit. 

In terms of planning, there's only one thing I can control out of the scenery / weather. So I figured I'd pick a place that's visually engaging and scenic, and then hope the weather plays ball. If it doesn't, the image has its scenery to fall back on. 

I identified Southwold beach as a good location. There's an area of beach that's really grassy so has some nice textures there, and uncharacteristically for a Suffolk beach, there's some hills to add drama to the landscape. 

In terms of my shots, I still wanted to stick to the candid nature of the kayaking & biking shoots, rather than having my subject directly address the camera. But I thought I'd diversify my options by also showing my subject taking a moment out to enjoy the surroundings - rather than just them doing the activity. 

My props are: a walking rucksack, a walking stick, walking boots, flask 

I think these are much better shots than were in the first hiking posters. There's a good mix of walking/participating in the activity and also some reflective shots of my subject enjoying the scenery. The landscape has worked really well in the images: the beach is another totally new location for this project which helps show the diversity of NT property. 

I captured many more detail shots which gave me so much more choice in the edit compared to previous shoots. The 6 I have come out with are all individually strong and work well in the posters.

Considering what made the kayaking and biking posters work so well was the drama they had, I think the reflection shot works best as my hiking poster. 

My only concern was the detail shots being too warm for the rather cold main shot. So I took the 5 detail shots back through Capture and toned down their warmth. 

I also flipped the poster so that the subject is walking left to right. This reads better and also balances the poster so that the subject is on the opposing side to the detail shots. Without this change, I felt the poster was too lopsided. 

Finally, I fixed the horizon line as in the first poster it was too central. Now, there's more head room for the subject which gives the detail boxes more space too. 

Whilst the original plan was to do a dog walking shoot, the opportunity presented itself to shoot my brother camping. Reflecting upon my three completed posters so far, which are all quite dramatic in their composition, lighting and the activity being presented, I think camping would be more in keeping with the campaign so far. That would make all of my activities quite enthusiast in their nature, yet broad and approachable. 

Posters:

To get the dramatic element in this poster, I wanted to shoot at just the right time: I wanted to get nice colour in the sky, yet still let it be dark enough for a lamp to illuminate the tent. 

Out of my four posters, there's three that have a personal subject and one without, although I think I should follow in the same footsteps as the other posters and still have the human element as it makes the images feel more lively. I like the middle two the most, like the other posters they are candid and show the subject enjoying nature. 

Detail:

Unlike the other three posters, I was more limited with my detail shots as it was harder to capture the surrounding areas due to it being dark. This meant I had to focus on the accessories to camping and the tent. 

To help with the lack of light, I've shot these at f1.8, this also helps to isolate the details from the background. 

It also would have been great to deviate slightly from the other posters and actually include more than one person in this shot, perhaps enjoying a camp fire. I feel the social aspect of that would have appealed to the target demographic of 18-35 year olds. Ultimately, covid was a factor in that not being able to happen. ​​​​​​​

I still think I can improve the dramatic nature of the camping shot. Whilst I like the colours of the post-sunset sky, I think some astrophotography shots of some stars would elevate this shot even higher.

I shot late at night, in the middle of nowhere so that no ambient light would interfere. My camera settings were:

20 seconds exposure

f/4

500 ISO

Thankfully the dynamic range was good on my camera so I didn't have to sacrifice on too much noise or be forced to shoot wide open at f1.8

Using the gradient tool, I composited the stars above my original shot and used the brush and pen tools to refine the edges 

The last job was to remove any branding visible on the tent 

Despite being forced to use my girlfriend and brother as models for this project due to covid, I actually think using younger people has been successful, especially given my target audience was the 18-35 age group that NT are trying to appeal to. 

Also, despite being forced to shoot totally local due to covid, I actually feel the range of locations showed in my posters is really successful and would demonstrate the range of locations the NT has available. 

Identifying the NT's desire to appeal to 18-35 year olds, and put an emphasis on fitness was a driving force behind my concept of wanting to show the range of activities available at NT property. 

Given the brief, you might expect to see lots of old houses and estates for NT, however identifying my demographic was an important step in beginning to think perhaps that age range would be more fitness focussed rather than history focussed. 

I think it was a really important decision to shoot actual people enjoying nature. It makes the campaign far more approachable for the target demographic and adds a personal touch. Whilst working well as a whole campaign, I also think each poster would work well by itself. 

Ultimately I'm glad I chose to shoot camping rather than dog walking. It would have been too similar to hiking and changing to camping has given me the chance to show four totally different activities. 

I'm glad I chose to reshoot the hiking poster, too. The first really wasn't up to scratch and lacked the dramatic element that grabs attention like the other posters do. The reshoot was far more successful and proves why for an actual commissioned shoot, you'd allow time for reshoots.

Speaking of allowing time for reshoots in the shoot plan, I think my research into the planning of this shoot was pretty good. The job estimate would have been a good price for the range of photographic content produced and my transport/accommodation/carbon assessment were in depth and all accounted for in the estimate. 

If covid wasn't an influence on the project, I would have been sure to show more diversity in my casting of models. Due to covid, I've been forced to use family members as my models. In ideal circumstances, I either would have been contacting actual hikers/kayakers etc to pose in my posters or use a modelling agency. However, given the covid situation, I think it's still good to be able to show actual people in my posters. 

In terms of photographic content, I think the detail shots are a particular area that could have seen an improvement. Whilst most are okay, some posters lack a good enough range of subjects and objects. 

Whilst keeping everything really local to me was a selling point that kept transport costs down in my estimate, it still might have been nice to show a more diverse set of locations that are recognisable on a national level. Having said that, NT might have seen it as a selling point to be able to advertise all of my locations as being so local to one another.