The end of May saw all hands on deck (almost literally – it poured with rain all half term!) preparing for one of our regular Commotion photoshoots.
Every year our sales & purchasing team work hard to bring new and innovative educational products to the market. We aim to ensure they are all accurately represented, both being used by children in relevant and helpful scenarios, and in simple clear pack shots.
We also have a lot of very popular “old favourites” which we have sold for years but that sometimes need a little facelift in the photography department, perhaps being used in a different manner or simply by bringing the photographic styling up to date.
Due to the bad weather we were limited to indoor shots only, however the children – whose ages ranged from 18 months to 10 years – were amazing. Some were new to the process, but watching the seasoned “pros” we had on site, they soon learnt the ropes and were instinctively doing what was required for each shot. The thing we enjoy most of all on these shoots is seeing the children genuinely engaging in our products. The fascination over our new sensory light table did not need to be manufactured: the children played their own games, exploring light and colour mixing combinations, talking animatedly about the colours, shadows and shapes they were discovering, enjoying using the remote control and deciding the colour sequences for the table. They were fully absorbed for the entire session – they would have carried on afternoon if we hadn’t needed to move on to the next product.
The award-winning TickiT Perception Spheres and Semispheres were equally a huge hit. Introduced to our range last year, they are aimed at EYFS and KS1, ages from 0-6, however the older children from the shoot were just as enthralled with the properties and characteristics of these beautiful resources.
The spheres create an inverted image of the world, and one of the children asked why this happens (the light rays bend when they enter the sphere, and bend again when they leave it, inverting the image). She compared it to the semisphere which magnifies but doesn’t invert the image seen through it. This budding scientist had her interest piqued and will no doubt be seeking more answers to equally difficult questions in future.
Other big hits from the day were our range of threading and lacing products, and our water play trays. Again, these have both been bestsellers of ours for several years and the photography needed refreshing. Our two 4-year olds were utterly absorbed whilst threading our Lacing Apple and Lacing Cheese, demonstrating the need for concentration, focus and careful hand-eye coordination, whilst improving hand and finger muscle strength (fine motor skills).
Our toddler Holly enjoyed being able to splash and play in the 40cm water tray – the ideal height for young children. Look out for the new images being added to our website over the coming week. Sign up here to receive our newsletters with information about new products and where to buy.
