Commercial photographer Brian Pettepiece creates images that are intended to promote a person, a place, or a product. He is the owner of Pettepiece Photography and Olydog Studios, both headquartered in Olympia.
Just about any image could be considered a commercial photograph, says Pettepiece, but his studio focuses on businesses as it’s primary clients. He says he concentrates on promoting their products and services and “creating those images with an advertising sense” to showcase them in a way that best appeals to their customers.
What does he like most about his profession? “In a word: creative freedom. I love the freedom of being able to express myself creatively. For the most part, my clients trust me to create their images using my own skills and experience.
“I also enjoy human interaction, the more the better,” he continues. He says that many clients have an art director who already has a vision for the project in mind. “That is great and I welcome it,” he adds, “because I love working with someone who has a vision and helping them to make that vision a reality.”
Pettepiece says he’s always been fascinated by the ability to document, or freeze in time, an object or event and to display it in a way that others may not have been able to see, even if they were there. Studying historical photography has always been his passion, he says, from the first daguerreotype in 1839 to early and post-modern documentary motion-picture films.
“I love the idea of showing viewers what they weren’t expecting— exposing something that may have been hidden while being in plain sight,” says Pettepiece. “Creating surprise and satisfaction through exhibition has always been my driving force.”
CARLY CALABRESE
To view Brian Pettepiece’s work:
pettepieceheadshots.com