General theming Contractors

Since January 2010 I have had the pleasure of performing contract photography through Matthew Roharik of Roharik Productions (www.roharikproductions.com) for events and on-location commercial photography. In March 2010 Matthew got a call from Steve Urell, CEO of Columbus, OH based General Theming Contractors (GTC) (www.theming.net), who was looking for professional employee portraits, facility photography and product production shots for their new branding initiative. Along with Matthew's intern Ashley, I packed up my gear and headed out for what would turn out to be a fun and intense all-day shoot.

First stop in the morning was to meet with the Matthew Russo, an indoor-waterpark designer for GTC and our handler for the day, to discuss the logistics for the day. Then it was off to a fast-paced three-hour shoot in a conference-room converted into a makeshift photography studio, where Ashley and I photographed 39 different individuals. To give you some idea of how rapid that is, shooting an on-location portrait of one person, including lighting setup, shooting and teardown, usually takes about an hour and a half. We averaged just over 4 1/2 minutes per person, including rearranging all the furniture, setup, four lighting changes, props, and working with a very confined space. Thanks to Mr. Russo for your help and getting everything done so quickly!

GTC is one of those companies that you might not have heard directly about but the works of which are visible quite often throughout our lives as American consumers. Ever been to a Red Robin restaurant? They manufacture the signs, Statue of Liberty and Red Robin statues for all the Red Robin Gourmet Burgers restaurants in the US. And those gigantic signs of gorgeous models in the Victoria's Secret stores at the malls here in Columbus? Yep, they printed those on some massive large-format printers. Are you a fan of frozen treats? They do store design, signage and installation at Carvel and TCBYs all over the US. The list is extensive and not limited to consumer products. Some of the many offerings from GTC include:


Design studio
Metal shop
Wood shop
Framing
Digital printing
Silk screening
Vinyl cutting
Fabrication
Plastic and fiberglass construction
Faux-finishing
Installation


I'm missing a few departments, but this place is massive. With over a hundred skilled artisans, installation experts, painters, artists, designers and administrative staff, General Theming Contractors can tackle just about any job you can throw at them.

After the employee portraits were done it was time to capture a photo of the man in charge, and we caught up with Steve Urell in his office for an executive shot. Steve is a sharp, no-nonsense business man but smiled easily for his portrait with the application of a few bad jokes. The boss thus photographed, it was time for a quick lunch before spending the next four hours taking production pictures, learning a bit about the staff, ogling the amazing machinery and admiring the phenomenal work the professionals at GTC produce. The day was long and fun, and we hope the folks at General Theming Contractors enjoy the fruits of our labor as much as we constantly and, often unconsciously, enjoy theirs!

Thanks to Steve Urell and all the folks at GTC for their help, patience and great work! And thank you to Matthew Roharik and Roharik Productions for this great, exciting assignment.