Getting the most from your spend on photography is an art. Except when it’s a science. We’re masters of both.
Not to brag, but we simply understand the business side of fashion photography better than anyone else. We’re a collective of industry veterans—former model agency executives, high-end photo reps, and large-agency art buyers—who now work on the client-side leveraging our connections to obtain superior results on your behalf.
We’re insiders. We speak the language. We know how to work the system. Please take a moment to look at our client roster and then read what they have to say about us. We’ve saved these companies tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars on photographers, models and crew while bringing home equal or superior results.
We review dozens of portfolios a month so you don’t have to. Roark Dunn both stays on top of the best talent and negotiates the best deals possible for our clients. We will quickly grasp the most important criteria, research photographers across a spectrum of experience, style and price, and then present to you the best options. You will be clear as to why we suggest them and how best to collaborate with them to achieve the results you need.
Proactive wherever possible. Tough, but fair all the time. Sometimes, we’re the good cop, sometimes the bad, but we’re not out to be popular. We work for you and we know what usage should cost.
Seeking a new agency can be either long and cumbersome or random and unreliable. We offer a third alternative. We’re refreshingly nimble. Our clients find us shrewd and trustworthy partners in this process. We bring fresh eyes and we know the best players. We work best when asked to look for small, high-energy and high-creativity shops.
Today’s marketing and creative executives don’t necessarily require a full-service agency for every component of their branding campaigns. Roark Dunn is an efficient alternative. We can execute your creative for a fraction of an AOR. Show us the brief and let us show you what we can do. We’ll take complete responsibility for the project, available to support your internal team or act as an external, project-based arm.
Everyone wants to book as much model as their budget will allow. Let’s make sure you’re getting your money’s worth. Roark Dunn combines an aggressive approach with strategic insight, always going the extra few steps to try and stretch your spend. Sometimes you get lucky and beat the system, sometimes you just get a fair deal, but we’re known for our ability to get seemingly unattainable models while staying within our client’s budgets.
There’s no one right way to get the job done efficiently, but it makes sense to be sure you’re getting the most possible from your spend. Are you leveraging your buying power? Is there standardization between departments, offices or even brands? We’ve observed and learned from dozens of companies and their ways of working. Roark Dunn will take a close look at your process and offer an assessment and consultation, offering detailed and practical recommendations to produce improvements without sacrificing quality.
Our professionals like to think out of the box, taking a very proactive and common-sense approach, making sure your money is intelligently spent in places where it will count. Without breaking a sweat, we’ll negotiate and assemble the very best team for your particular shoot, getting the right people at the best rates. From concept to completion, we’re there with you – nipping and tucking wherever suitable, ensuring smooth flow in both directions.
For businesses that have a need for this kind of volume, creating a library of pre-negotiated photographs can be an efficient way to work with images. We are expert in this area. Target your needs, orchestrate what you require, shoot it and own it. We’ll manage the entire process from photographer sourcing to casting and production. One estimate, one invoice, no commission.
We’ll do the research and the legwork before you have to make your selection. We will find the people that do the kind of work you require, prenegotiate their rates and give you a versatile toolbox, ready to go.
Prestige or mass, a major haircolor rebrand or a sleek shampoo print campaign, we’ve literally worked on hundreds of shoots in every corner of this category. You will not find more capable hands to take care of your campaign. Our track-record is based on particularly strong pre-pro and asking smart questions now in order to avoid problems later. We know the photographers that deliver, how to be firmly proactive with model agencies, and what questions to ask well before the shoot. Better photographers, better models, smoother production.
For small agencies without Art Buying departments or large agencies that could use savvy support on a particular account. Roark Dunn helps you look good and better serve your client’s needs. Creatives love us because they get more. Account people love us because they get more for less. Nobody knows the business-side of fashion & beauty photography better than we do. Let us make you look good.
The right tool for the right job. We maintain a loose pool of top creatives in fashion, beauty, retail and luxury. With a discreet phone call, we’ll hash your project over with the right people, get their thoughts and feedback, and then build a bridge between you and who you need to hire for your freelance project.
Nuance Salma Hayek
“They combine the professionalism of a well-established production company with the resourcefulness of a savvy new start-up. In this challenging economy, they've proven a valuable partner in achieving breakthrough results at a fraction of what your creative budgets used to be. They consistently gather great talent, negotiate better fees, and keep costs within my budgets.”
Gaemer Gutierrez
VP Creative Director
CVS/Caremark
Global launch of a new line of skincare products done in collaboration with world-famous actress Salma Hayek and giant CVS/ pharmacy stores. A major celebrity photoshoot with lots of moving parts and lots of personalities. The challenge was making it look easy, taking a perfectly reasonable budget and making it look like money was no object.
L’Oréal
“They play the negotiating game aggressively, but fair and square. Roark is actually particularly skilled at making room for win-win outcomes. Even though I'm under no illusions that they don’t put their client’s interests first, I appreciate that they take my needs and perspective into account, too.”
Jeffrey Kolsrud
President
Q Models
Direct partnership with L’Oréal’s marketing VP on photoshoot needs outside their advertising agency’s domain. Over the course of almost 10 years, we managed dozens of photoshoots for most of L’Oréal’s haircolor brands. We aggressively negotiated with both photographers and models to get the best possible talent to work within L’Oréal’s complex Global Contract structure. We handled casting for hundreds of models – organizing prep, configuring the most efficient shoot schedules, and managing the contract inventory.
Caché
“Roark Dunn delivered exactly what we'd asked him to bring: A handful of enthused and fully-briefed boutique agencies to pitch for our business. He proved to be an extremely capable partner in our search. His questions were insightful and he quickly grasped both where we’d been and needed to go. He impressed me with his tenaciousness, his ability to simplify, to motivate and to communicate.”
Lisa Decker
SVP Marketing
Branding, Caché
Retained as search consultants to find a new corporate ad agency for a revitalized image campaign. We created, refined and distilled a list of boutique agencies for presentation to client, coached agencies on pitch formulation and presentation, then consulted and partnered with the client team on selection process.
Schwinn
Following-up on a major upgrade in the quality and appeal of its products, the Schwinn marketing team sought to create more of a hip Americana-lifestyle feeling for its latest campaign. While print and TV advertising were handled by their AOR, the creative for this lookbook was generated internally and we were brought in to execute. The challenge was to create a scope of images that told very different stories – from suburban families to urban hipsters – to be shot in one day.
“I hired Roark Dunn to help me source photographers, models and production for Schwinn's Spring / Summer catalog. They more than paid for themselves. Roark's team made it possible for me to deliver hip lifestyle images that looked much higher in production value than my budget should have afforded. My organization was thrilled.”
Hillary Benjamin
Global General Manager
Schwinn
Beauty 360
“Roark’s a smart guy. He keeps asking the right questions, knows when to push back and when to get out of the way. And he’s good at picking the right talent for his clients.”
Kate Ryan
Owner
Kate Ryan, Inc.
Chosen by in-house marketing team to deliver projects with editorial-style DNA for mass market budgets. Our traditional strategy of aggressively strong prep and fluid communication was joined by both the photographer and creative director to great benefit. We assembled a team of specialists, consultants, and artists who were all quickly on the same page and able to hit the ground running. The resulting beautiful images dramatically improved upon previous Beauty 360 photography.
Redken
“Redken’s success in creating relevant advertising I think is the most interesting story at L’Oréal this year...”
Jean-Paul Agon
President
L’Oréal USA
A new VP had been brought in to elevate the brand and we were given the task of sourcing photographers with both an edgy, editorial style and an understanding of the nuances of photographing hair in many variations. We reviewed scores of photographer portfolios – locally and globally – and submitted the edited and prenegotiated group to the marketing department. We negotiated the contract for a celebrity hairstylist and used his name to negotiate better models, then managed production on six photoshoots. The brand’s upgrade was an unqualified success.
Kellwood
Nine brands, ranging from contemporary/designer to juniors and each with its own look-and-feel. Two dozen models shooting on-location in Florida, and in-studio in NY. Logistics aside, we needed well-briefed photographers who could fluidly create individual looks and make this appear to be nine separate shoots. A four-day shoot shoehorned into two.
“Since I can’t clone myself, I choose to work with Roark Dunn as my partner on major photography projects. He gets me. He lets me be the good cop while making sure that my needs are communicated and carried out.”
Christina Cassar
VP Marketing
Kellwood
Proctor & Gamble
Launch of new dermabrasion system for P&G Beauty. Celebrity brand ambassador Giuliana Rancic, celebrity photographer Matthew Rolston, and a splashy Hollywood set with many extras. There were lots of personalities to get in-sync and we were everywhere on shoot day, making sure needs were clear, goals were met, and even exceeded.
“Roark Dunn was the Photoshoot-Whisperer on this project. He knew what I needed, he understood what the photographer wanted and helped build bridges between the two. His diva-management skills helped me focus on my job and his team shoehorned a major shoot into an only adequate budget.”
Jérôme Bérard
Chief Creative Officer
Bérard Associates
We don't represent photographers. We represent the client's interests to the photographer. And choosing the right photographer is the cornerstone of a successful photoshoot. Much more should go into considering a photographer than simply looking at a portfolio or a link. These are some of the photographers we've contracted for on behalf of our clients:
Roark Dunn
47a Harrison Street
New York, NY 10013
212.566.4900