Real work at the Port of Oulu – Mattson Stevedoring

I shot the photos and video for Mattson Stevedoring, a stevedoring and logistics company at the Port of Oulu. The assignment came through digital and advertising agency Höyry, which had renewed the company's website and needed authentic imagery of everyday work to go with it.

Mattson Stevedoring handles stevedoring and logistics at the Port of Oulu. Containers are moved, inspected and loaded, and the whole operation runs on the interplay between people and machines. From the start, the brief with Höyry was clear: the images had to look like real work, not a staged advertisement.

We wanted people at the centre – the ones who keep the operations running. Instead of posing, I photographed real working situations: supervisors out on the yard, container inspections, lifts and loading at the harbour, goods being handled in the warehouse, and logistics coordination in the office.

The settings ranged from the container yard and the quays to the warehouses and the office. I kept the colours cool and neutral, and a soft depth of field added depth without making anything feel staged. With the drone I shot the harbour from above – sea, quays and container yard in a single frame, so the scale reads at a glance.

Alongside the stills I shot video, from which we cut short teasers for the front page. Not just aerial footage, but the same authentic sense of work as in the photos – a few seconds at a time, straight from the action.

The result is a cohesive set of photos and video that works as hero and content images on the website, in staff introductions, and in sales materials.

Do you need the same kind of authentic, work-based photo and video content for your company? Get in touch, and let's look together at how to best showcase your everyday work and expertise.