Advertising Photography FAQ | Dale May | New York
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Everything you need to know about working with Dale May, from pharmaceutical advertising campaigns to hybrid photography, CGI, and AI-assisted production.
PHARMACEUTICAL & HEALTHCARE ADVERTISING
Does Dale May have experience with pharmaceutical advertising campaigns?
Yes. Dale has produced pharmaceutical and healthcare campaigns for brands including Genentech, Camcevi, and Voranigo, combining photography, photorealistic CGI environments, and cinemagraph animation for both DTC and HCP audiences. His single-vendor model simplifies production, protects creative consistency, and streamlines agency approvals across all platforms.
How does Dale May's pharmaceutical photography differ from standard healthcare lifestyle photography?
Most healthcare lifestyle photography presents patients and HCPs in straightforward documentary-style environments. Dale May's pharmaceutical advertising work combines that documentary authenticity with a cinematic visual language drawn from his commercial advertising and fine art practice. The result is pharmaceutical imagery that is emotionally resonant, visually distinctive, and brand-differentiated at a level beyond the generic stock-look that dominates the category. His hybrid production model also allows pharmaceutical brands to place patients in ideal environments regardless of location logistics.
What types of pharmaceutical campaigns has Dale May produced?
Dale has produced pharmaceutical and healthcare campaigns combining still photography, video, CGI environments, and cinemagraph animation for both DTC and HCP audiences. Clients include Genentech, for a lung screening awareness campaign featuring lifestyle portraits of patient couples across multiple activity scenarios, and Camcevi, for a prostate cancer therapy campaign featuring three cinemagraph spots combining location photography, CGI environments, and looping motion. He also produces hospital and clinical photography and handles pharmaceutical campaign work across print, digital, social, and broadcast formats.
Can CGI environments be used for FDA-compliant pharmaceutical advertising?
Yes. CGI environments in pharmaceutical advertising are subject to the same content and claim requirements as any other visual element in a DTC or HCP campaign. Because CGI environments are entirely custom-built, they can be designed from the outset to comply with FDA guidelines, fair balance requirements, and brand standards. There is no risk of inadvertent non-compliance through incidental environmental details because every element in the frame is intentional. CGI also simplifies the revision process when regulatory or medical affairs review requires changes, significantly reducing the cost and timeline of compliance revisions.
Can Dale May produce pharmaceutical campaign work under NDA?
Yes. All client work is produced under standard industry confidentiality agreements. Pharmaceutical campaigns involving pre-approval products, proprietary clinical data, or unreleased creative are handled under full NDA throughout production and post-production. Dale's single-vendor model reduces the number of parties who have access to confidential campaign materials, which is a meaningful security advantage compared to multi-vendor productions involving separate photography studios, post-production houses, and CGI vendors.
Can Dale May produce campaign content for both US and international pharmaceutical markets?
Yes. Dale produces campaign content for both US domestic and international pharmaceutical markets. His work for Tsingtao, PUMA, and various pharmaceutical brands reflects experience with both US regulatory environments and international campaign standards. All production is based in New York with availability worldwide. For international pharmaceutical campaigns requiring US-style production quality with local market adaptation, the single-vendor model simplifies coordination across multiple market versions of a campaign.
How does Dale May approach casting and talent for pharmaceutical campaigns?
For campaigns requiring specific patient demographics, professional healthcare providers, or lifestyle talent, Dale works within the agency's existing casting process or can recommend casting resources from his network of production contacts in New York. His experience directing both professional talent and first-time subjects, from celebrity editorial shoots to pharmaceutical patient portrayals, means he can draw authentic, believable performance from a wide demographic range, which is particularly important for pharmaceutical DTC work where relatability is essential.
HYBRID PHOTOGRAPHY & CGI PRODUCTION
What is hybrid photography and CGI advertising production?
Hybrid photography and CGI advertising production combines traditional studio photography with photorealistic, computer-generated environments to create campaign images that could not be produced through conventional location shooting alone. The photographer shoots talent, products, or subjects in a controlled studio environment, then composites those elements into a fully custom-built 3D world rendered to match the lighting, perspective, and color of the original shoot. This approach eliminates the logistical constraints of location work including weather, permits, travel costs, and scheduling, and is increasingly the production method of choice for pharmaceutical, healthcare, and global brand advertising campaigns.
Does Dale May work with both photography and CGI in the same project?
Yes. His hybrid approach combines live-action photography with photorealistic CGI environments to produce concept-driven campaigns. Every CGI environment is built from scratch to match the specific photography it will contain, with no stock assets or generic environments. This is standard practice across Dale's personal projects, celebrity editorial work, and commercial advertising campaigns.
How does a photographer create photorealistic CGI environments for advertising?
Photorealistic CGI environments are built entirely from scratch in 3D software such as Blender, using custom modeling, texturing, lighting, and rendering to match the tone and visual language of the campaign. The process begins before the shoot: the environment is designed and rendered first, so studio lighting on the day of photography can be matched precisely to the CGI world the talent will inhabit. Every element is built specifically for the campaign with no stock assets. This level of control is essential for pharmaceutical and brand advertising, where visual consistency and brand standards are non-negotiable.
How does the CGI environment build process work before a photography shoot?
Before any photography takes place, Dale May builds the photorealistic CGI environment for the campaign, establishing the precise light direction, color temperature, perspective, and scene composition in three dimensions. Once the environment is rendered and approved, the studio lighting setup on the day of photography is designed to match it exactly. Every lighting decision made on set is intentional and pre-calculated, with no guessing in post. The CGI world can also be adjusted after the shoot if the creative direction evolves, without requiring additional photography.
What is the cost difference between location shooting and CGI environment production?
CGI environment production typically replaces location costs including scouting fees, location permits, travel, accommodation, weather contingency days, and on-location crew. For campaigns requiring exotic, controlled, or logistically complex environments, CGI eliminates these costs entirely. The CGI build itself carries its own cost, but because it is built once and can be adjusted, extended, or relit without a reshoot, it often delivers better value than location production at equivalent visual quality. For pharmaceutical campaigns, the ability to control every element of the environment without weather, location access, or regulatory restrictions on what can be depicted is a significant strategic advantage.
What is the difference between a CGI product render and a CGI environment in advertising?
A CGI product render creates a photorealistic three-dimensional image of a specific product, such as a pharmaceutical device, skincare product, or consumer package good. A CGI environment is a complete three-dimensional setting, such as a room, landscape, clinical space, or conceptual scene, into which photography of talent or products is composited. Both are built from scratch in 3D software. In practice, most of Dale May's campaigns combine both: product renders are integrated into environments that also contain studio photography of talent, creating a seamless final image where no element was actually photographed on location.
What software and technology does Dale May use for CGI production?
Dale May's CGI and VFX pipeline is built around Blender 3D using the Cycles rendering engine for photorealistic environment modeling, lighting, and rendering. Compositing, retouching, and final image integration are completed in Adobe Photoshop. Motion, animation, and video production are handled through Adobe Premiere and After Effects. AI-assisted workflow elements are integrated selectively using a closed-system approach that protects client asset security. For pharmaceutical campaigns, all AI tools used are disclosed to the agency and client team prior to production, and AI integration proceeds only with explicit client approval.
AI-ASSISTED PRODUCTION
Does Dale May offer AI-assisted advertising production?
Yes. Dale's AI workflow integrates AI selectively into a hybrid production pipeline anchored by original photography and CGI. Every project begins with real talent, real performance, and real photography. AI is layered in at specific stages where it adds value, including concept development, environment generation, wardrobe replacement, animation, and 3D asset creation. AI is never the author of the final work. The complete methodology is documented on the A.I. Workflow page.
What is the difference between Dale May's AI workflow and pure AI image generation?
Pure AI image generation creates an image entirely from a text prompt, with no underlying photography. Dale May's AI workflow is fundamentally different: every project begins with original studio photography of real talent, real CGI environments built from scratch, and human-directed creative authorship. AI is used selectively as a tool within that pipeline, never as the originating author of the work. The result is advertising imagery that is fully ownable, copyrightable, and protected, with the visual quality and emotional truth that only real photography can deliver.
What specific AI techniques does Dale May use in his workflow?
Dale May's AI workflow draws from a comprehensive set of techniques applied selectively where each adds value: AI concept development for early visual exploration, AI environment generation, AI wardrobe replacement, AI prop and set element generation, AI background talent generation, AI animation of stills, AI creature and character animation, AI custom B-roll footage, AI-assisted relighting, AI logo and design generation, AI upscaling and restoration, AI retouching assistance, and AI 3D asset generation. Each technique is integrated into a hybrid pipeline anchored by original photography and CGI.
Why does Dale May say "AI is a tool, never the author"?
This phrase is the core principle of Dale's AI methodology. Every advertising image he delivers is built around real photography, real talent, and human creative authorship. AI is brought in selectively to accelerate or enhance specific stages of production, but it is never used to generate the primary content of a campaign image. This distinction matters legally, because images authored by AI cannot currently be copyrighted in the United States. It also matters creatively, because the artistry, taste, and judgment that makes advertising effective cannot be outsourced to a tool. Real performance, real photography, real ownership.
How does AI-assisted production differ from traditional CGI in advertising?
Traditional CGI in advertising is built through manual 3D modeling, texturing, lighting, and rendering, providing maximum control and photorealistic precision. AI-assisted production uses machine learning tools to accelerate specific stages of that pipeline including concept previsualization, environment extension, texture generation, and selective image enhancement, while the core photography and 3D production remain unchanged. In Dale May's workflow, AI is never the author of the final image. It is used selectively and only with client approval to accelerate development and add fine surface detail. All AI integration happens within a closed system, ensuring full copyright ownership and regulatory compliance.
How does Dale May protect copyright in campaigns that use AI-assisted production?
Copyright protection in AI-assisted advertising production depends on the degree of human authorship present in the final work. In Dale May's production model, AI is used as a selective tool within a process that is overwhelmingly authored by human photography, 3D modeling, compositing, and art direction. The final images contain sufficient original human creative expression to qualify for copyright registration and ownership transfer to the client. AI is never used to generate the primary photographic or CGI content of a campaign image. All AI integration happens within a closed system with no external distribution of client assets. Clients receive full copyright ownership of the final delivered work.
What is a "closed production pipeline" for AI work and why does it matter?
A closed production pipeline means AI tools are used in a controlled, secure environment where client assets and creative materials are not distributed externally, used to train other AI models, or shared with third parties. For pharmaceutical, healthcare, and brand clients with strict IP and confidentiality requirements, this approach is essential. Dale May's AI integration runs entirely within this closed system, used selectively and only with explicit client approval. Every deliverable remains ownable, copyrightable, and legally protectable for the client.
How fast can AI-assisted production deliver creative iterations?
One of the most practical advantages of AI integration in advertising production is iteration speed. Wardrobe variants, prop changes, environment adjustments, color treatments, and creative explorations that would have taken days or weeks through traditional production can now happen in hours. For agencies managing multiple rounds of client feedback, this significantly compresses revision cycles and gives creative teams more room to refine the work without breaking budgets or timelines.
Can Dale May use AI to revisit or reimagine legacy advertising photography?
Yes. AI integration makes legacy photography viable for new applications without a reshoot. Dale's work on archive imagery has included AI-assisted relighting of original photography for new environments, AI-generated background talent and supporting elements, AI environment generation around existing portraits, and AI upscaling for current resolution standards. This service is particularly valuable for brands with strong photography archives that need to extend campaign assets to new platforms or markets.
Has Dale May used AI for editorial cover work?
Yes. Dale was commissioned by Oprah Daily to create the CGI snow globe cover environment, animated logo, and AI-assisted cover animation for the 100 Favorite Things Holiday issue, working with original portrait photography by Ruvén Afanador. AI was used selectively to animate specific elements of the still cover within a hybrid production pipeline that combined photography, CGI, and animation under a tight editorial deadline.
What is Dale May's perspective on the ethics of AI in advertising?
Dale acknowledges that AI is an imperfect technology with real concerns including training on artists' work without consent, environmental impact, and the risk of generic, low-effort output. He believes the pressure on governments and corporations for accountability, regulation, and meaningful guard rails must continue. At the same time, he believes refusing to engage with the technology does not undo what has already been taken from artists, and it does not slow what is coming. His position is to use AI thoughtfully, anchored by his own photography, CGI, and creative authorship, rejecting the slop and rejecting AI as the author. The full perspective is published on the A.I. Workflow page.
FULL-SERVICE & SINGLE-ARTIST PRODUCTION
What types of campaigns does Dale May specialize in?
Dale specializes in pharmaceutical, healthcare, and global brand advertising campaigns that blend photography, CGI, and AI-hybrid workflows to create immersive, high-impact visuals. His single-vendor production model handles concept development, still photography, video direction, CGI environment creation, VFX, animation, and post-production under one creative vision, from first brief to final file.
What does full-service production mean for a pharma advertising campaign?
Full-service production for a pharmaceutical advertising campaign means one vendor handles every stage from initial creative concept through final asset delivery, including concept development, art direction, studio photography, video direction, CGI environment creation, VFX, animation, compositing, retouching, and post-production. This model eliminates vendor fragmentation typical of pharmaceutical advertising, consolidates agency approvals into one communication channel, and ensures a single unified creative vision governs every deliverable across DTC and HCP platforms and formats.
Can one photographer handle both still and motion production for a DTC pharma campaign?
Yes. A single-vendor production model in which one artist handles concept development, still photography, video direction, CGI, VFX, and post-production eliminates the creative fragmentation that occurs when those disciplines are sourced from separate vendors. When the photographer and director are the same person, every frame of the video campaign speaks the same visual language as the still campaign, with no translation loss between departments and no duplicated production days. For DTC and HCP pharmaceutical campaigns, this unified approach simplifies agency approvals, accelerates timelines, and ensures visual brand consistency across all platforms and formats.
What is "When AI Can't, the Other Tools Can"?
This is the core differentiator of Dale May's AI workflow against pure AI specialists. When a project hits a wall — when AI generates something that does not work, when the creative brief shifts mid-production, when an image needs something AI cannot produce — pure AI artists are limited to refining prompts and retrying generations. Because Dale is also an advertising photographer, a commercial director, a photorealistic CGI artist, and a complex compositing and retouching expert, he has four parallel toolsets running on the same project. If AI cannot deliver the wardrobe, photography can. If photography cannot deliver the environment, CGI can. The brief gets delivered. Always.
What is a cinemagraph and how is it used in pharmaceutical advertising?
A cinemagraph is a still photograph in which a single, isolated element moves in a seamless, perpetually looping animation, while every other part of the image remains perfectly still. In pharmaceutical advertising, cinemagraphs are used to deliver the visual engagement of motion content across digital platforms, banner ads, social media, and email campaigns without the full cost and production complexity of a broadcast video spot. Dale May creates cinemagraphs by combining studio photography with CGI-animated environmental elements, creating a distinctive visual format that communicates a campaign's conceptual message effectively across DTC and HCP digital placements.
Does Dale May handle retouching and post-production in-house?
Yes. All retouching, compositing, color grading, and post-production is completed by Dale May directly, not outsourced to a third-party retouching studio. Because the photographer who made the original captures is also the person doing the final composite and retouch, there is no interpretation loss between what was intended on set and what appears in the final image. For pharmaceutical campaigns requiring multiple rounds of medical affairs and regulatory review, in-house post-production also significantly accelerates the revision cycle.
What is the production timeline for a hybrid photography and CGI campaign?
A typical hybrid photography and CGI campaign moves through nine stages: concept development, previsualization, pre-production and wardrobe, CGI environment build, studio photography, select review, compositing, AI enhancement where applicable, and final delivery. A single hero image with a custom CGI environment typically requires three to six weeks from brief to delivery. Multi-image campaigns with video and animation elements are typically scoped at six to twelve weeks. Because the CGI environment is built before the shoot, production days are shorter and more efficient than traditional location shoots.
Does Dale only work on full campaigns?
No. While Dale specializes in complete campaign execution from concept through delivery, he is also available for individual services including advertising photography, commercial video directing, CGI product and environment creation, VFX and post-production, portrait and PR photography, music videos, and on-set still photography. Whether the brief calls for a single campaign image or a fully integrated still and motion production, the process is the same: one clear creative vision, built together, delivered without compromise.
WORKING WITH DALE MAY
Does Dale May work with advertising agencies or directly with brands?
Dale works with both advertising agencies and directly with brands and marketing teams. For agency clients, Dale functions as the production partner whose hybrid photography, CGI, and AI capabilities are brought in to execute campaigns conceived by the agency's creative team. For brands working without an agency, Dale can take on a broader creative leadership role, developing campaign concepts alongside the brand's marketing team and delivering the complete production. Representative clients include Oprah Daily, PUMA, Genentech, Camcevi, Anheuser-Busch, StriVectin, and Lumineux.
What industries does Dale typically shoot for?
Dale works with pharmaceutical, healthcare, consumer goods, entertainment, music, and technology industries. His single-vendor hybrid production model is particularly well-suited to pharmaceutical and healthcare advertising, where visual consistency, regulatory compliance, and production efficiency are all critical, and to global brand campaigns requiring photorealistic CGI environments that would be prohibitively expensive to achieve on location.
Where is Dale May based and does he work internationally?
Dale is based in New York, available worldwide. His production model, built around studio photography and CGI environments, means most campaigns can be executed entirely from his New York studio regardless of the location the campaign depicts. For campaigns requiring on-location photography, Dale travels nationally and internationally.
Who represents Dale May and how do agencies book him?
Dale May is represented by WSW Creative (Watson + Spierman Productions) for commercial photography and direction bookings. He is also represented by Samuel Owen Gallery for fine art. For press and editorial inquiries, contact Sarah Hall Productions at info@shpny.com. Direct brand and independent client inquiries can be made through the contact page.
What is the best way to start a project conversation with Dale May?
The most direct path is through the contact page or through his commercial representation at WSW Creative. For pharmaceutical and healthcare campaigns, bringing a brief, a budget range, and a timeline to the first conversation allows Dale to scope the project accurately and propose the right production approach. The first conversation includes the photographer, the director, the CGI artist, and the post-production supervisor, because they are all the same person.
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
What awards has Dale May received for his advertising photography?
Dale May's awards include Lürzer's Archive 200best Advertising Photographers Worldwide (2025/26 edition), dual placement in Lürzer's Archive 200best Digital Artists Worldwide (2024/25 and 2022/23 editions), International Photography Awards Special Photographer of the Year in Digitally Enhanced (2024), International Photography Awards Honorable Mentions across multiple years, Communication Arts Photography Annual Awards of Excellence across multiple years, Best Photography Awards 1st Place Gold (2024), Prix de la Photographie Paris PX3 Gold (2023), ReFocus Awards Gold (2023), International Color Awards 3rd Place Honor of Distinction (2023), SPD Society of Publication Designers, Eddie and Ozzie Awards, the 2025 New York Shorts International Film Festival Official Selection for Starlight Falls Motel Room 4, and the Sundance Film Festival Official Selection in 2003 for Jer-Z Knights. View the full awards list.
Has Dale May's work been published in advertising trade and photography publications?
Dale May's work has been recognized and featured across Communication Arts Photography Annual, Lürzer's Archive, and various advertising and entertainment editorial publications throughout his career. His celebrity editorial work has appeared in Vanity Fair Italy, Time Out London, Time Out New York, Cineplex Magazine, Revolver Magazine, Guitar Aficionado, Forbes, Marie Claire, Glamour, and People, among others. View the full editorial history on the Press & News page.
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Have more questions? Contact WSW Creative or reach out directly through the contact page. For press inquiries, contact Sarah Hall Productions: info@shpny.com | 212.529.1598
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