PHOTOGRAPHIC ART COMMISSIONS
Custom Branded Fine Art That Defines Your Brand
Original photographic artwork commissioned around the places, people and history that make your organization distinct.
Each commission can be developed as a complete photographic art program, from concept and original image creation through curation, print production, framing, and installation. The result is a collection created specifically for the organization and the space it inhabits.
Atlanta • Georgia • Worldwide
BRINGING SAVANNAH TO ATLANTA
How Art Defines a Brand
In 2006, attorney Page Pate commissioned Karen Images to create original fine art for his new Atlanta office. Page had grown up in Savannah and maintained an office there. He wanted his new Atlanta environment to carry something of the city that had shaped his life and career.
The commission began with that connection.
Karen Images returned to Savannah with Page’s story as the inspiration, exploring the city’s architecture, squares, live oaks and historic landscape specifically for the project. The resulting body of work was created using infrared and traditional black-and-white film, along with digital color, giving Page distinctly different interpretations of a place he knew intimately.
When the photographs were presented, Page made the final creative choice. He selected a collection combining infrared and traditional black-and-white photographs. He selected no color images.
What ultimately hung in his Atlanta office was not artwork selected to coordinate with a room. It was artwork created from the history, places and experiences that were part of the identity behind his practice.
IN MEMORY OF PAGE PATE • 1967–2022
We were deeply saddened by Page Pate’s passing in 2022. Over the years, we had the privilege of knowing Page and seeing firsthand the dedication and generosity he brought to his work and to those around him.
His loss gives this collection a significance we could never have imagined when he commissioned it in 2006.
We remain grateful to Page for trusting Karen Images to create something that meant so much to him.
FROM NEW YORK TO ATLANTA
Creating a Collection That Belonged
McCalla Raymer discovered Karen Images through our website with a specific project in mind. Their lobby on the 28th floor of the King building at Concourse in Sandy Springs displayed twelve large black and white vertical architectural photographs of New York.
They wanted to replace them with original architectural artwork that reflected Atlanta.
The scale of the finished pieces shaped our creative approach. For art to be produced at 40×60 inches, traditional silver gelatin prints were impractical for the installation, so Karen Images chose a high-resolution digital process specifically suited to producing the large format finished artwork the space required.
But the assignment was not simply to find twelve photographs of Atlanta.
Karen Images created a portfolio of more than 100 original images, giving McCalla Raymer a carefully developed body of work from which the final twelve photographs could be selected.
From there, Karen Images managed the project through completion, including image creation, client review and selection, framing, and final installation in the firm’s 28th-floor lobby.
Karen Images Created the Collection That Brought Atlanta Home to McCalla Raymer
REIMAGINING COLLEGE PARK
Creating Art With a Purpose
In 2014, entrepreneur Bob Johnson was building more than a coworking space in downtown College Park. His vision for Club E was to create a place where local entrepreneurs could work, connect, find mentorship and build businesses within their own community.
Bob commissioned Karen Images to create original fine art throughout the new space. The assignment began by exploring College Park itself, looking beyond long-held perceptions of the community to the architecture, landmarks, streets and history that gave the city its identity.
Karen Images created an extensive body of work using both traditional and infrared photography. From that work, forty-three photographs were selected and produced as fine art canvas triptychs and individually framed pieces throughout Club E.
The artwork gave the new space something that could not have been purchased from an art catalog.
It gave Club E a visual connection to the community it was created to serve.
THEN THE ART BECAME SOMETHING MORE
Forty Three Images Led to a Much Bigger Story
Creating the collection required us to look closely at College Park. The more we photographed, the more apparent it became that the story of the community extended far beyond the artwork we had been commissioned to create.
That discovery became College Park: A Purposeful Renaissance.
Karen Images and Metro Productions expanded the original fine art project into a 22-minute documentary, combining the contemporary photographic work with historical images from the city archives and interviews with community members who could tell the history of College Park in their own voices.
The documentary was directed and produced by Troy and Karen Burns and broadcast in Atlanta on PBA 30 in June of 2014.
FROM PHOTOGRAPHY TO FILM
A Trip to Champagne Changed Our Direction Forever
Following the College Park commission, we decided that instead of buying a bottle of Champagne to celebrate, we would go to Champagne.
What began as a trip to France became something much larger. We were struck by the beauty of the region, but also by the stories behind the vineyards, historic houses, winemakers and places that had shaped French wine culture for generations.
We came home believing those stories could become a television series.
Karen Images and Metro Productions developed the concept for a travel and wine program and produced a pilot with director Gary Steele of The Creative Network. We returned to France and spent three weeks filming throughout several of the country’s historic wine regions and houses.
The pilot was never sold or monetized. But what came from it proved far more important to our company.
The project expanded what we understood storytelling could become.
WHAT CAME NEXT
The experience of developing and producing the France pilot helped shape Metro Productions into the production company it is today.
The skills, relationships and production experience that grew from that project eventually led to producing programs for Porsche and to our partnership with Scott Whitfield and Event Production Services.
What began with creating photographs for walls had evolved into something much broader: finding the story, developing the idea, assembling the right creative team and carrying that story across photography, film, audio and production.
The medium changed. The purpose never did. Tell the story.
QUESTIONS ABOUT COMMISSIONING ART
Creating Custom Art for Your Space
A custom photographic art commission is original artwork created specifically for your organization, property or environment. Rather than selecting existing stock imagery or decorative art, Karen Images develops and photographs a body of work around the places, history, people or ideas that are meaningful to your organization.
Karen Images creates commissioned photographic artwork for corporate offices, professional practices, hospitality environments, multifamily properties, public spaces and other commercial environments.
Yes. That is the foundation of the process. A commission can begin with your organization’s history, a geographic connection, architecture, community, industry or another idea that has meaning to the people who use the space.
Yes. A commission can include photography, image development, client selection, production, framing and coordination of the finished installation. The scope is developed around the requirements of the individual project.
Yes. Karen Images can work directly with the organization or collaborate with architects, designers, agencies, art consultants and other project partners to develop artwork appropriate for the space.
Every commission is different. Pricing depends on the scope of the photography, number and size of finished pieces, production method, framing, installation requirements, travel and licensing. Karen Images develops an estimate after discussing the project and understanding the space and creative objectives.
Every commission is developed around your organization, your space, and what you want the finished collection to accomplish. Karen Images can manage the process from initial concept and original photography through image selection, fine art production, framing, and installation.
The scope is tailored to the project, whether you are commissioning a small collection for a specific space or developing a complete photographic art program throughout a corporate environment.
Have a space with a story to tell?
Architectural Photography
Marketing & Culture
Corporate Headshots
Event Photography
Aerial Imaging