I am the CEO of Saddington Baynes. I started out as a Retoucher years ago.
In 1994, although I’d worked with Dick and Chas since 1991.
I’ve always been into computers and sci-fi movies, but I’m also artistic. The fusion of art and computing drew me to a career as one of the very first digital retouchers in London after I completed my Art & Design course in Bournemouth. I’ve never looked back.
It was a wonderful time to be a retoucher because the dawn of digital retouching brought with it new ideas and concepts from creatives, some of which were extremely complex to realise. I worked on many famous campaigns at the time with photographers and creative directors. We carved out a global reputation for producing seamlessly retouched images alongside exceptional colour grading.
I’m driven by a restless desire to be better for our clients and for us with every project we create. I get huge satisfaction from seeing my team flourish and by doing work that is admired and respected in the industry.
Imagery in all its forms. I have a voracious appetite for it, whether it’s photography, art, film, architecture, graphic novels or design. I was exposed at a very young age to comic books, which not only inspired my latent ability to draw and paint but also instilled in me just how powerful imagery can be in visual storytelling. I still get a sense of wonder from reading them today as when I was five years old. This blossoming of my artistic skills then led me academically into Art, Design and Photography, after studying Maths, Computing and Physics. I have a very left brain-right brain sensibility as a person and bring this to what I do. This has been the backbone of SB since we started, a logical, structured framework that allows creativity to flow.
It’s a great place to work, and I’m very proud of that. Our values aren’t just words painted on a wall, we live them and embody them in everything we do because we want all of our team to enjoy coming to work everyday. A good culture can’t be underestimated and has always been an area we’ve focused on. It really feels like a family and there’s a real sense of openness and honesty at every level of the company. Everyone at SB makes a difference and is part of our success and we make sure we recognise that as much as possible.
A relentless passion to be best, never compromising on quality, providing the very best client service we can and empowering our team to do their best work. I care just as deeply about the work we create now as I did when I was a digital artist.
SBLABS was formed as the embodiment of our passion for pushing ourselves as far as we can, to drives the work we want to do and be admired for. I’m constantly blown away by the stunning pieces of work that the team produces.
Because we don’t just create imagery, we create emotions. It’s not easy to translate complex emotions into visual language in imagery and a lot of decisions are made on gut instinct and intuition alone.
So if we can measure how people really feel about the work we create while we’re creating it, we can use the insights to help define and refine our imagery so it really engages and moves people in the way it’s intended to.
Yes! I would urge them to dream big, believe in themselves and not to compromise on their ambitions. As well as learning the technical aspects of their craft, to study and absorb themselves in photography to really understand and appreciate cameras and lighting.
As Picasso once said, “Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
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As Picasso once said, “Learn the rules like a pro, so you can break them like an artist.”
If you would like to learn more about how we help our client partners, then get in touch. We’ll share some of our latest work, recent innovations and insights, and lend a friendly ear to help solve any challenges you might be facing.