Tuesday 27 July 2010

First LIVE interview!

I've had my first live interview today!  Valerie Prentice (lovely by the way) asked me if I'd come on and talk about myself for 20 minutes or so.  As that's a subject I know about I thought why not?!

Have a look at humber.tv to see me wearing a flowery shirt talking about photography, chickens, sexy industrial components, nightmare weddings, naked pregnant ladies and girls in their undies!

Let me know what you think...

Friday 23 July 2010

The Terror of Weddings

Weddings are a bit special.  It's a massive privilege to be asked to photograph the couple's big day as their one lasting record, but it's more than that.  It's a book of memories and will be shown to everyone (whether they want to see it or not!) so it has to be stunning.  Which really ramps up the pressure!

I always get a bit nervous before a wedding.  It's a massive responsibility.  I have a pre-flight check as rigorous as a trans Atlantic passenger plane to avoid anything nasty happening.  If it all goes wrong at a portrait shoot it can be re-done.  OK, people might not be happy, but all's good in the end.  It's a bit harder to re-do a wedding...  You get one go at it so it has to be good!  I have loads of low capacity memory cards rather than one big one just in case.  A problem with a 1GB card might cost me 100 pictures.  A problem with an 8GB could cost me the whole day!  A spare camera is a must as well, which is next on my (ever growing) shopping list.  Other useful bits and pieces are a white brolly (this is England after all...) and some white clothes pegs to stop a veil blowing around in the wind!  And a tripod of course.

Weddings are good fun though.  I like to think I get on with people ad that's essential at a wedding which is all about getting the best out of people.  Directing a big crowd is fun although can be a bit like herding cats.  Get a good rapport going though and people usually do what you want!

I like taking a good mix of classic portrait style shots along with the more relaxed reportage style photos.  Much more relaxed and natural that way!  I take some fun shots as well.  You know the type... Reservoir Dogs style boys walking, peeping round a tree, jumping off a hill, that type of stuff.

All in all a wedding is a pretty scary day for a photographer but well worth it!

Tuesday 20 July 2010

Lifestyle Portraits

I absolutely love studio portraits!  You get complete control over everything that happens (unless the kids are acting up of course).  The light does exactlty what you tell it too and if you don't like it a couple of presses of a button fixes it.  You know exactly what the background will look like and it doesn't matter what the weather's like outside.

But if you want something a bit different a lifestyle shoot might be just what you're looking for.  So what's so different about it?  Well for a start it's not in a studio.  The idea is to capture those relaxed fun moments when you're just enjoying yourself outdoors.  They are usually taken in a park, a field, on the beach or anywhere else you can think of.  Yes you can pose the shots, but the best lifestyle shots are the ones where the subject is just relaxing and having fun.  A natural smile is much better than one where the photographer has told you to smile!

For the photographer it throws up a whole load of new challenges that you don't get in the studio.  First is the light.  You're relying on the sun.  You can't move it or change its brightness so you have to adapt every shot to the lighting conditions.  Yes it can be 'modified' with reflectors or diffusers (or trees!) but you are limited.  That's good though because you can achieve some fantastic effects that you just can't get in a studio.

Next is the background.  White backgrounds are great, but they don't come close to a dramatic sky, a beautiful beach of a brick wall.


So if you fancy something a bit different this summer why not give lifetyle portraits a go?

Saturday 17 July 2010

One small step...

So here I am with my very own blog.  I suppose I should say something...

I'm a photographer based in Cleethorpes, with a studio in Grimsby town centre covering the whole of Lincolnshire and even further if you want!

I first found an interest in photography in 7th Clee Cub Scouts - I had a space on my arm and that photography badge just fit nicely.

So what do I do?  Studio portraits are my absolute favourite but in the last few weeks I've taken pictures of a baby on the beach, a 5 year old on a trampoline, a man up a tree, some industrial relief valves, a VERY pink wedding, nine 16 year old girls in prom dresses and a naked pregnant lady!

I love what I do and try and inject a bit of my own personality into every shoot, whether a studio session, a lifestyle shoot on the beach, a wedding or some arty shots of fruit!

So if you or anyone you know fancies having your picture taken give me a shout!