Photography Training Day - Phot Club!

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The first rule of Phot Club is, you talk about Phot Club!

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It's long been a bit of a thing with me that there are many people who want to improve their photography and I want to help in any way I can.  Too many photographers shun others trying to learn as if by sharing their knowledge and experience will somehow take it away from them.  I love my job and want others to share in the passion so a few months ago I decided to organise a one day portrait training course in Essex.  I was also very keen to keep the costs to anyone wishing to attend to an absolute minimum and I'm proud to say it was completely free.

I was really pleased that a merry bunch of photographers began to arrive from all corners of the UK.  Some had travelled many miles others from just around the corner but all came with a thirst for knowledge and a desire to learn.  There's something really special when a group of people gather who've never met each other but have a common theme that bonds the group.  The enthusiasm builds and in no time at all it's like they've been life long friends.

You can see some of the classroom work on the video below and don't forget you can subscribe to my videos as a podcast and watch them on your i-pods/phones by clicking here.

Unfortunately the video didn't show the slides very well but I think you'll get the basics of what we discussed by just hearing the commentary.

The day involved theory and discussion on various relevant subjects followed by practical outside in a varied and unusual choice of venues for photographs to be taken. 

If you think that one of these days may be beneficial for you then just join my facebook page (click like on the top left of this blog).  I'll add dates and locations of the next one there as soon as I've sorted out the date.

However be aware, if you do decide to come along then you have to abide by the phot club rules.  The first rule of phot club is, you talk about phot club.  In other words the information and knowledge you gain HAS to be shared.

I've seen loads of images the guys have uploaded from the day and I must say the standard is very high.   take a look on my facebook page (just click the like button at the top right of this page) to see some of them.

I'm really looking forward to the next one and I'm confident that the 20 photographers who attended the last one had a good time.

* Special thanks goes to Simon from Crooked Imaging for agreeing to co sponsor the day.  If you have any need of photography based goodies please check out his site by clicking here.  I strongly recommend the R-strap that he sells and wouldn't have a camera without one.

*Thanks to Ian Heyworth who's image of me and half of the gang in a field, I used at the top of this post.  Nice stuff.

What Camera Should I Buy?

It's probably the most asked question I get at weddings, in e-mails or texts from friends. It's never an easy answer to give but I thought I'd put my thoughts up here and hopefully it may give some kind of answer. As you can see from the above image (taken on my i-phone) I have this really bad habit of keeping hold of my cameras. I can't seem to allow myself to part with them, each body has it's own memories and when I look at them I'm reminded of special images that they have caught over the years. I just can't let any of them go.

As far as I (and most pro's) are concerned there are only two manufacturers anyone should look at, those being Nikon and Canon. Now before anyone gets upset and starts reading the small print about mega-pixels and the amount of widget bumps any of the other manufacturers offer let me explain my thinking. Nikon and canon have been the market leaders for longer than most can remember, a direct result of that is that they have the most users. Because they have the most users there is more equipment available both brand new and most importantly used. Take a look in any camera shop and see how much equipment the shop carries for Nikon and canon, then look for another manufacturer, Sony, Olympus, Penatx etc. As the famous saying goes, "buy right or buy twice".

So having narrowed it down to the two manufacturers (and if you're cool you'll pick Nikon) you now need to think about what the main use of your camera is likely to be and what your budget is. As I only use Nikon and have a small knowledge of their product range that's the manufacturer I'm going to suggest.

Film Camera (college / Purist) Nikon FM2 - something special about this camera, no widgets at all and completely manual, if you want to learn the basics this is a great camera to start with.  A true purists camera.

Basic Digital (occasional use) Nikon D 3000 - A great little camera that won't break the budget and has a really cool in built help to help new users to understand more about using digital SLR's.

Medium use (semi pro) Nikon D 90- I liked this camera so much I bought one!  Truth is as a pro photographer I wanted a great camera that I could carry to normal social type events without the weight and size of the pro bodies.  Added to that the HD video capture and incredible (and I mean INCREDIBLE) ability of this camera in low light, it has the same sensor as the next body up at almost half the price and has certainly earned its worth with me.

Once you step above the £1,000 mark you really are into a specialised market where each camera is geared towards individual markets (sport, portraiture, studio) and let's face it if you're spending that kind of money you're unlikely to need my advise.

Whatever your choice there's one thing you need to know. It doesn't matter how much money you spend or what equipment you have, cameras don't take great images, photographers do ( a lesson I learnt after using my first ever Hasselblad and seeing the results).  If you want to learn a little more about taking people pictures why not come along to the FREE portrait training day I'm organising on the 8th May, join my facebook page (click on the top right of this web page) to get the details.  I'm really looking forward to meeting so many people travelling from all over the UK for the fun.