on the job: Swartley bros engineers

I spend a lot of my time photographing school campuses, working with educators and learners as they go about their business. It’s one of my favorite things to do. But that’s not the only thing I do.

Updating marketing image portfolios for companies can be somewhat universal and very similar to what I often do for schools. After all, all organizations are made up of people — and people are at the heart of my work.

Recently, I had the pleasure of putting that skill set to use when I worked with Swartley Bros. Engineers, Inc., photographing electrical engineers in the field. Swartley Bros. is an electrical engineering company based in Souderton, PA. I had done some headshots for their office staff before, but I was excited to get out into the field with their engineers.

Swartley needed an updated set of marketing photos before making a push for employee recruitment. In a world where understaffing is the norm, I loved how Swartley was taking the bill by the horns. Showing potential new hires exactly what their employees experience and what their company culture looks like is a huge step above a simple job posting.

So, I put on a hard hat and safety vest and got to work following their teams through a variety of job sites. They gave me full access, so over the course of a day I tried to see it all. At one site I was up on top of a building as their guys installed new wiring for a cell tower. At another, I went inside new housing and office construction to see what that process was like. 

Working with Swartley Bros. was a great change of pace, and a good reminder to mix things up from time to time. I had a lot of fun digging into this world and getting an up close look at what they do. It reminded me of why I enjoy photography: getting to learn about and see up close all different types of industries.