ERIK UMPHERY DIRECTS AND PHOTOGRAPHS FOR TOYOTA

Burrell Communications reached out to Erik for ideas on how to showcase the Toyota Tundra and Black culture on Toyota’s socials. He responded with seven ideas, Burrell selected four, and from there Erik was given free rein to cast and create the stories.

Wanting the images and motion pieces to feel genuine, he cast real people and crafted stories that were inspired by their lives. “I knew if I cast real people and directed them to do what they already do regularly, it would not feel contrived or forced,” Erik says. 

One of the scenarios features a dad taking his sons to a football field to practice. “The location we shot at was my alma mater; the dad was a close friend, and we had just coached our sons' little league football team together,” he says, “so it's only right they ended up being the stars of that story."

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