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Clay Cook - Photographer
Every photograph begins with an idea. The job of a photographer is to not only capture the vision, but manipulate it into art, bigger than life and beyond any initial exp...
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Clay Cook - Photographer 
COMPANY
Clay Cook is an award-winning, internationally published photographer and filmmaker specializing in editorial and advertising photography. He started his career building elaborate sets in his living room and today shoots fashion and editorial spreads around the world. His work is frequently featured on worldwide photography blogs including Fstoppers, B&H Photo & Video, PetaPixel and SLRLounge among others. Clients include well-known brands such as A&E Networks, Comcast, Livestrong, NFL, Red Bull and Vince Camuto and he's been featured in publications such as Forbes, Popular Mechanics, Adweek, USA Today, ESPN, Modern Salon and Inc.
OVERVIEW
Problem:Update equipment list with pro-level monitors to enhance studio work and replace outdated office monitors.
Solution:ViewSonic® VP Series professional displays offered everything Cook needed for both the studio and office.
Result:
• Every ViewSonic® VP monitor Cook has worked with has delivered beyond expectations, while offering a far lower price tag than big-brand überpro displays.
• The 24" ViewSonic VP2468 and 27" ViewSonic VP2771 displays with ergonomic rotation and portrait/ landscape auto-tilt provide clients with a clear, color-correct view of Cook's shots.
• Edge-to-edge color and brightness uniformity lets Cook and his clients
view images with confidence from any vantage point.
• The ultra-thin bezel design provides nearly seamless side-by-side viewing for efficient multi-tasking at Cook's dual-monitor office setup.
The ViewSonic Professional monitors are fantastic high-definition workspaces that provide a vital viewing station for my clientele on location and in the studio.CLAY COOK, PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHER AND FILMMAKER
Problem
Clay Cook's extensive gear list includes some of the best cameras, lighting equipment and ancillary accessories available. His studio, however, was devoid of monitors and the side-by-side displays in his home office were sorely outdated. He was ready to upgrade and discover the benefits of leveraging professional-grade monitors to enhance his work.
Solution
Cook was beginning to shop around for a replacement for his "outdated" workstation monitors when ViewSonic approached him about trying out their VP line of professional displays.
"I was about to invest in a pretty legit, expensive, artists' workstation, with really high-end features and a correspondingly high price tag," said Cook, "At first, I was surprised because I didn't know that ViewSonic made pro monitors, but I said, sure, I'll try them out. But I also let them know I'm not going to just accept a product if it doesn't work well for me, it has to be something I can use and that I love."
Cook put the 24" VP2468 to the test, and quickly found that it delivered more than the anticipated level of improvement over his old monitors. "I knew it would be better than what I had, but it completely blew me away," said Cook. "I was impressed by construction, the look, the color quality, pretty much everything."
Result
Starting with the 24" ViewSonic VP2468, then moving up to the larger 32" ViewSonic VP3268-4K, Cook found that adding a monitor to his studio expanded his ability to share images with clients. While continuing to use the laptop for his own viewing, Cook could provide the secondary screen to clients for greater image visibility without the hassle of his laptop doing double-duty.
"I love having a separate display that can rotate around to show images," said Cook. "It's very versatile and much bigger than showing them on my laptop. It's a much better studio set up."
Simply displaying the image would, of course, not be worth much if the color consistency, shadow density or clarity were less than a solid match with what Cook sees on the back of his camera. To preserve color consistency and retain shadow density from capture to print, Cook relies on ViewSonic's X-Rite Colorbration™ Kit to calibrate his VP Series monitors.
"The ViewSonic VP2468, VP3268-4K and VP2771 monitors are fantastic high-definition workspaces that provide a vital viewing station for my clientele on location and in the studio," said Cook. "They enable me to pass the satisfaction of nailing the shot on to my clientele, who have invested in that image."
The barely-there, frameless design of all VP Series monitors offers nearly seamless side-by-side viewing, ideal for Cook's dual-monitor office setup.
"I like to multitask and two monitors side by side makes it easier to move between email and other apps while processing images," said Cook. "I'm currently working with the ViewSonic VP2771 WQHD monitors – the quality is fantastic and the bigger the screen, the more creative canvas I have to work with."
Also common to all VP Series displays, the edge-to-edge uniformity of color and brightness across the screen is another feature that made an impression on Cook.
"The edge-to-edge is awesome," said Cook. "It's fantastic to be able to view images from any direction and they don't lose brightness or color consistency. I don't have to worry about whether an image is accurate, no matter where I'm looking at it from."
Plus, said Cook, the flexible ergonomic design with auto pivot functionality lets him easily flip the display to work with both horizontal and vertical format photographs.
Remember the high-priced, uber-pro monitor Cook was considering before he was introduced to the VP Series? Cook clearly has no regrets.
"I've seen a lot of those monitors and they're nice, but these work for me," he said. "And honestly, I've always been one to invest in quality. I try to get top tier gear so I don't have to buy twice. But at the same time, I use what works for me and the ViewSonic VP Series monitors uphold the quality that I need and are completely sufficient for what I do."
What's more, Cook added, the VP Series monitors have a sweet design and look just as sharp as more expensive top tier monitors.
Thinking back on his initial skepticism about whether ViewSonic VP Series monitors would be a good fit for his needs as a professional photographer, Cook concludes that, "ViewSonic really hit it out of the park with this series of monitors.
