New Photographers, Directors and Producers Join Workbook

Karen Pearson grows, crafts, plays tennis and nerds-out on camera gear. She is a well-rounded, city/country mother/maker who loves nothing better than to meet all kinds of people whose lives have been as interesting as hers. It's not just about one photograph or the right product, but the resonance of the storytelling that is the most exciting part of both her personal and assignment work. Listening is key but most critical is having an acute level of person to person interaction which allows Karen to create a beautiful emotional collaboration between her and her (human or animal) subjects. She has honed her abilities as a Director so that the people she's shooting helps her deliver a rich and emotionally authentic message for her clients. This is Karen's approach, whether the assignment is a long or short-form visual narrative, or a simple, but heroic, single portrait.  

Bill Milne lives, works and travels from his New York City studio, in the heart of the Chelsea district. The early days of food photography at school and in the kitchen have helped define Billʼs work as primarily culinary related. His passion with still life, food and portrait photographs have appeared in hundreds of publications, advertisements and saturated the web worldwide. Bill has photographed hundreds of world-renowned executive chefs, their food and their environments.  These assignments are a full mix of location and studio. In the casino world Bill works regularly with chefs at the Wynn, Cosmopolitan and Venetian in Singapore, New York and Las Vegas. Bill has worked as sole photographer for more than 125  published culinary books, including food and people on location in the UK, Italy Greece, France, Spain, Asia and Canada. Presently, Bill is working closely with social media influencers, continuously producing both stills and video for hotels and restaurants.

Pictures that connect deeply with the viewer naturally, without pretense. Work that makes an authentic statement by quietly evoking the powerful truth of a moment. Andy Goodwin has enough savvy and experience to know better. He knows what works, what is never going to work and what is always worth trying. Andy is passionately anchored to the idea that making great pictures is a privilege and a pleasure. His approach is efficient, while never crowding out the prospect of serendipity and he makes a point of making people, sets and situations comfortable and even fun... yes, fun. Andy’s built a stellar photography reputation from the ground up. He knows what matters to clients and what matters to the camera. Andy Goodwin is a hands-on, heads up and ego-free professional who loves what he does. So do his clients.  

Patricia and Jenn, of PBNY Productions, make a formidable team. They have worked on several major brands, most notably - Nikon, Allergan, Verizon, Nike, Pepsi, Kia Motors, Target, Kohls, Budweiser, Dos XX- to name just a few. For the past 14 years, since Patricia founded PBNY, they have had the privilege to lead some of the most talented and creative individuals in their role at PBNY, and the pleasure of working with such diverse talent as Smokey Robinson, Sigourney Weaver, Chris Hemsworth and even a cuddly Llama. They continuously take care of each project's foundational tasks such as estimating, negotiating, scheduling, cast directing and location managing. They are able to finds the right talented people to make the creative shine, and use all their experience, knowledge, friendships and connections to problem solve and to figure out creative solutions that might be needed at any point during the process. Read the full bio on Workbook.com.  

Kimberly Wright's professional career began in 1989 shooting publicity photography for David Lynch, starting with the cult classic Twin Peaks. She then enjoyed a stint of several years doing publicity photography for films and actors;  later taking a break from Hollywood to raise her son. Her photographs have been published in countless magazines and publications including Vogue, Vanity Fair, Premiere, and Elle, to name a few, and she has always maintained a list of clients around the world.  Her photographs are held in many private collections, and after years of living in various cities including Los Angeles, New York, and Berlin, Kimberly moved back home to Texas in 2009. She now lives in a rural area just outside of Austin with her husband and teenage son.  

Alfred Yan is a photographer based in San Francisco, specializing in Interiors and Still Life. Shooting for clients like Restoration Hardware, Anthropologie, and various editorial and catalog, he creates beautiful lighting for home interiors and still life in studio and on location.  

Naomi McColloch has always loved the arts. Her passion for picture taking was discovered in high school, where she was first enticed by the allure of the darkroom. After continuing her photo education through a series of independent studies, she attended Rochester Institute of Technology and received a BFA in Advertising Photographic Illustration. After graduating she relocated to Brooklyn, assisting many top and upcoming photographers in the industry while also lending her talents to prop and wardrobe stylists. Following many years and memories in NYC, she ventured west in search of new experiences and inspirations. Currently, Naomi can be found in SF, NYC and a myriad of places in between.  

Lee Land has a strong passion for the creative process and how it’s always growing and evolving. It is one of the most exciting times to be in the creative business with innovation and collaboration being at the core of great creative today. HIs portfolio shows a wide range of clients and genres that he has had the good fortune of working with throughout his career. His work shows his illustration skills as well as his passion for detail.  

Orly Catz is a Visual Artist, specializing in food, beverage, liquid, and product photography. More than a photographer, she is an image maker, creating high impact images by using many elements and special effects, bringing visions to life, always focusing on your success. From a young age, Orly was inspired to capture the world around her. As her craft developed, she found an affinity with liquids, textures, and light, gravitating towards the emotional aspect of the imagery, learning every detail about the product to tell its story and meaning in the finished image. It is about passion. It is about art. It is about finding the true essence of your product, and imbuing it with a life force.   

Based in Southern California Taggart Lee's roots spread to Texas, Northern Ireland, the Abacos, Cape Cod, and back to Pasadena. His mother was a portrait photographer and his father was a lighting designer; so light, shadow and the smell of emulsion was around a lot. He doesn't know that it was inevitable that he became a photographer (At one point he was convinced he should be on tour with U2), but those memories, along with a massive curiosity for the world in general, and people more specifically, put him where he is today. After 20 years shooting and teaching in the craft, Taggart's curiosity continues to expand. Like all shooters, he learned to plan well and embrace the unexpected moments...which is what curiosity leads to most of the time, and is what we're supposed to do anyway. Thats why you hired him.  

Businesses should compete based on great stories. Pure and simple. It's Abigail Bobo's job to draw out and photograph your stories in a way that causes customers to click with your brand. Nashville-based, Abigail's work is focused on telling better stories for your website, blog, print collateral, social media and in-house displays.  

Two Track Road is a production company made up of Directors best described as “salt of the earth.” Simply put, they do whatever it takes to tell authentic stories because they do not know another way. Authenticity is part of who they are at the core. Two Track Road believes the best stories are real, honest and hard working. Their flexible way of working really pays off when producing content on leaner budgets, while still creating cinematic and compelling films. Why the name Two Track Road? Metaphorically speaking, they like to go off the beaten path, take the fork in the road. With all the content in today's world, you have to make films that stand out. They love shooting in water up to our neck, swimming with sharks, laying in the mud and doing whatever it takes to get the shot, mostly because that's often what it takes to make great films, but it is also a great way to live life. Two Track Road has made films and shot commercials for the Marines, MillerCoors, Subaru, Dick's Sporting Goods, The Daytona 500, JWT, Leo Burnett, and many more. All the fun and all the amazing films they have been privileged to make are possible because of great clients, alongside the amazing producers and teams they put together. The pre-production process is even more important today and those teams deserve a lot of credit. Thanks to all those clients, producers and crew!  

Alex Crawford is a fashion, food and lifestyle photographer. His career has moved him from Houston, to Nashville, to New York, and to Los Angeles. Alex has returned to his home state to join the Smith Studios team and focus on his passion for food photography, while using his unique background to help grow the services at the studio. When he’s not behind the camera, he is probably with his wife Emily, at the Museum of Natural Science looking at the dinosaurs.