Spreading the Word

If you're not already using google alerts I strongly suggest you do. What it does basically is search the web for any key words you tell it too and every time the google spiders find a new website that mentions your keyword it sends you an email.

I have several keyword I use and it's always fascinating to see what other people are writing about them. For example this morning I was sent this page.

How fantastic is that! Without the help of Google I probably would never have found that page. I don't think I know the guy who added me to the best photographers in the world list but I guess he liked what he saw. That's a real important lesson for anyone in business, the best marketing is recommendation, If you can create a buzz people will pass it on.

Talking of business the next "Shoot to Sell" course is coming up on the 8-9 October. Can't wait to meet some more of you guys and share my business secrets.

Colchester Gladiators v Oxford Saints

On the other side of the lens

Its not often that I'm at the other side of a lens so its nice when someone manages to grab a shot of me at work.
This one here was taken by Sally Schrieber who attended the last "Day of discovery" training day that I ran.

Sally very kindly sent me this link to a photography forum where she commented on my training day and put up one of the pictures she got. Great job Sally.

Also another photographer, Mel Corley who also attended one of my previous training days has just recently come second in a photography competition with an image captured on the training day. Well done guys you should both be very proud!

Places are going quick for the next "Shoot to sell course". It's on the 8th and 9th of October and is two days designed to help photographers gain a boost or launch their photography careers concentrating on marketing and sales. The guys who attended the last course were blown away but you can read what they thought here. Drop me an e-mail if you think you might be interested, it could be the best thing you ever do!

Photography Training Day July 1st

Just a quick line to say what a great day!!

Today was my latest photography training day run at Pontlands park hotel. It was a real pleasure and a treat to meet some new faces hopefully pass on some of the methods I use.

We were really lucky with the weather although it did try its best at times to stop us working outside. I thoroughly enjoyed the whole thing and look forward very much to seeing some images the guys took on the day as they come through. I'll post some more stuff tomorrow (when I've recovered a bit).

Thank you to our fantastic four models today you were great! (some of my shots below). Oh and of course what would I do without the help of the superbly talented Toni Bunn, who helped me out, what a star!

Different Traditions

Yesterday I covered another fantastic wedding. One of the joys of being a wedding photographer is the chance to discover a different traditions.

For example traditional christian weddings have bride and grooms families on opposite sides of the church were as Jewish weddings have male and female sides (as can be seen here).

Another thing I noticed yesterday is in the traditional Jewish wedding the groom actually places the wedding ring onto the index finger of the right hand. At some stage later the bride normally moves it onto the ring finger of the left hand. Intrigued by this discovery i asked the Rabbi who kindly explained, "the reason goes back to the time of the Talmud and the difference in beliefs at that time about which finger is closer or more direct to the heart. Christianity taught the ring finger: Judaism taught the index finger."

Another thing that would appear to be apparent is how different religions view photographers. I have photographed many Jewish weddings and without exception they are more respectfull to any the professionals employed to record the day. I always find it very sad when a couple are denied the main part of their day to be recorded because the person in charge decides that's what they want (irrespective of the couples wishes). Of course there are exceptions to every rule and I have worked alongside some excellent Christian ministers.

On line gaming

Ok, I am really busy at the moment, I've nearly finished ny end of year accounts and then i've got a stack of images to get sorted. But sometimes it's nice to take a break and relax. Here's an online game that has taken up far too much of my free time lately ..... Be warned it is highly addictive!!

Photography Interview

I've been bonkers busy over the last week so I'm afraid the blog has been a little quiet. Here's some of the things i've been up to.

A while back I agreed to an interview with an online forum. Some of the questions that came forward really got the grey matter ticking over whilst others were more simple. You can read the interview here and at the same time why not join the forum?

Last weekend I travelled down to Sussex and watched (shot) the American football match between the Colchester Gladiators and the Sussex thunder (slideshow to follow). As this is the part of the world where Emma Duggan lives I dropped in and we spent some time talking all things photography.

We swapped lenses and ideas and set about shooting each other (and Emma's dog Freddie). During this time Emma got this great shot off me (not the easiest of subjects).

The "Day of adventure" photography training day has now started to fill up and I'm really looking forward to meeting everyone. It seems like we've got a great cross section of people coming from complete amateurs to all out professionals. I really love these days as there's nothing better than spending time with creative people.

American football in the Rain

A couple of weeks ago the Colchester Gladiators played the Ipswich Cardinals. The game was probably the wettest I've ever witnessed, torrential rain from start to finish. I certainly learnt quite a lot from working in these conditions. I had the camera wrapped in a tesco bag and had to continually keep wiping the lens. Lighting was poor too and i finished shooting the game at ISO 3200, don't you just love the British summer?

See the slide show below

Just Do It!

I love the Nike phrase, just do it. I wish I had though of it as it fits in perfectly with many of my thoughts on life and business.

I firmly believe that If we all did what other people told us to, no forward movement would ever be made. There are too many people who are willing to give "advice" that will ensure that the person receiving it doesn't move forward (and do better than the advice givers).

I find customers are bored rigid with safe and normal things and leap at things that are different. For example when I started my mad bride photographs (see below) wedding photographers began asking if i had lost the plot! I had many conversations which went along the lines of .... but Martin your going to scare away customers. What they (and most other business people) failed to realise was that I couldn't deal with everybody! There are millions of weddings a year and I can't photograph all of them (nor would i want to if i could). So if I put off the people who didn't get me than I was doing both them and me a big favour.


Actually what happened when Ii began using these adverts was the complete opposite, I got more referrals from this style of advertising than any other printed media I have ever used. I have no doubt that some brides may have been put off when they saw these images but the ones who did get in touch where right on my wave length!

Take it from me if you truly believe something is right ...... Just do it! (Just don't bet your house on it).

For those that maybe interested in my "shoot to sell course" I finally managed to tie the date down for the next one. It will be over the 8th and 9th october this year. It is designed to help photographers who want their business to grow or new photographers who want to start. It is two whole days of marketing and sales. See my blog for comments from the last batch of students, if you're interested drop me an e-mail.

Business Tricks!

My great mate Emma Duggan sent me this picture! It was taken by a friend of hers on their mobile and she new it would hit a cord with me.

Whilst it won't make sense to many, the guys who came on the "Shoot to sell Course" will immediately recognise the significance (I hope).

I'm currently trying to put another two days together to run the course again so if you think it may be of interest keep an eye on this blog (if you sign up it will be emailed every time i update) and i'll put the dates up here as soon as i have them. In the meant time the "Day of Discovery" on the 1st July is already starting to fill up. Why not come and spend a day with like minded photographers and learn a few new tricks.

Disaster at Orsett Hall

I'm in shock! One of my favourite wedding venues in the local area has been completely destroyed. Apparently this morning a fire started in the kitchen that spread through the old building very quickly.

I heard a rumour but presumed it was an over exaggerated story about a small fire. As I'm sure you can see from the photograph it'sgoing to be some while before they hold another wedding here.

I feel sorry for any couples who have booked for this year. It's going to be a complete nightmare trying to rearrange at short notice.

If you are in this unlucky situation the management of Orsett house have set up an emergency number which is 01375 891402.

American Football season starts again

At last the British league has started again! Gives me something to look forward to on Sundays again! Sorry I haven't updated the blog lately its been really busy .... wil add some more stuff soon.

Click below for the slide show of last Sundays game. The Colchester Gladiators are playing at home again this Sunday so come and down and make some noise. To see the slide show full size click here.

How do YOU measure success?

I don't know if I'm strange but I seem to measure things differently to most people. For example I regularly meet many photographers, some run great businesses, others run very expensive hobbies that they call a business.

Many people in business fall for the line that to be successful you have to be busy. I regularly hear of photographers who's only aim in life is to shoot more weddings next year. Perhaps I'm wrong but my vision of a successful business is one that aims to work less not more? Surely by taking on less work it means the jobs that you do have can be done to a much higher level?

Any way I've had a few more comments about the "shoot to sell" course I ran last week that I thought I would share. It feels great to know that the people who spent two days with me have gone out with renewed passion and now have the necessary knowledge that will help them build a successful photography business.

"Hi Martin

Hope all is well with you and you have had a well deserved rest after the course earlier this week. It was 11.45pm when I got home and I then spent another couple of hours at the computer trying to capture all the ideas that were floating around in my head!

The course content was magnificent and it was delivered in a very professional and friendly manner. I would recommend your courses to anyone who is building up or starting a photography business.

My day job finished yesterday and i am now officially a self employed photographer ..... I couldn't have wished for a better start to my business, I know that if i put the effort into using your techniques and following your invaluable advice there is no reason why I can't make a success of it.

You are a very talented photographer and businessman and i feel very honoured to have been given the opportunity to work with you. Thank you again for everything .........."

I have no doubt that Karen will have a great future in the photography world. Check out Karen Petry's website here.

Here's what Andrew Burton had to say (unfortunately I can't show you his website yet as it's not live yet)

"Hi Martin

What a fantastic couple of days I have just experienced. The best course I have ever attended, with excellent ideas and inspiration from start to finish, along with great company. I now feel all fired up to push my business forward.

Martin thanks for a truly fantastic couple of days."

Helen Shorey had this to say Check out her website here

"Dear Martin

I needed information, inspiration and a kick up the rear and your two day course has provided all that and more. I really enjoyed meeting the others and Emma too. You worked your magic again and now I'm buzzing with ideas of what to do next and after that too! I'm writing them all down so I don't forget them and linking them in with the notes you gave us.

I second Johns sentiments - you should definitely offer this course to a wider range of businesses especially smallish ones who would benefit greatly before making too many costly mistakes.

Thank you for all your effort and your kindness in sharing "the secrets" of your business model with us. I'm sure we will be making great use of this new and exciting information. I know I will be :-) .....................


I know from the amount of e-mails I have already received there is enough demand to run this course again. As soon as I have a date i will publish it here. If you think it may be what you're looking for drop me an email to martin@martinwilmottphotography.com and we can have a chat.

Having great times with great friends.

I consider myself really lucky to have some fantastic friends who are involved with photography. One of my greatest mates is Emma Duggan. Emma kindly came and showed some of her stuff to the guys on the "shoot to sell course" at the start of this week. Here's a pic of me and Emma kindly taken by Ken Beck.

As well as being a fantastic photographer (getting far too good) she is one of the friendliest people I know. Never being afraid to talk to anyone and offer help if needed.

I spoke to everyone after the two days and they all said one of the highlights was meeting Emma and sharing some time with her. Check out Emmas Duggans' blog here, you won't be disappointed.

Here's another shot (taken by Emma) showing me with the guys on a break during the day. I had a fantastic time with all of you. I guess you are all far too busy putting in the action plan and creating a fantastic business to be reading this blog.

It was great to receive your e-mails and I too would like to thank you all for your belief in me and taking the chance to come and see how I do things. I think I will definitely be running this course again (in about six months), I'm guessing you'll all be very well established by then and will have doubled your turnover from last year!

One question how can being away for two days create a weeks worth of work? Did all my clients wait until I was away before they sent their orders through? Or is it that when you deal with things as they arrive it seems to take less time.

I'm the happiest man on the planet

The last two days have been an absolute blast! The shoot to sell course was great fun and i'm sure the photographers who came along will very soon generating some proper funds.

I'll add some more stuff (including a couple of pics) when i've had a rest but I wanted to include this e-mail that just landed in my in box!

Dear Martin

Speaking as someone who spent the last 37 years in a sales-based profession I just wanted to say that your presentation on marketing these past two days blew me away. I've been very fortunate in that since changing career to photography I've managed pretty well, but there is always room for improvement and I know enough to understand that I can't rely on repeat business alone. The idea, therefore, that I look at a marketing course that was specifically targeted at photographers was intersting enough for me to part with a reasonably large wedge of dosh. I'm really pleased I did though. At the risk of sounding like you've ghost-written this for me, I reckon that just two of the ideas you came up with will help me generate much more business and new clients. These alone will assist the growth of my business but when I use them in conjunction with your other ideas, I reckon business will explode. You can probably tell I'm really fired up. Well done, I thought I had seen it all. You're welcome to include my email address in case anyone thinking of taking a later course with you wants a recommendation. In fact I'd go so far as to say that you should open this to a wider audience than photographers alone as so many of your ideas as pertinent to other disciplines.

Excellent!

Kind regards

John


As John has offered here's his e-mail johndurrant@hello-photo.co.uk if you thinking of perhaps booking for the next shoot to sell it might be worth an e-mail. Don't get left behind!

Shoot to Sell

Over the last couple of days I've been putting the final pieces together in preparation for my "shoot to sell" two day course next week (23 - 24 April). I don't mind saying I'm really excited about the whole thing and can't wait to meet up with you guys who have already booked your places. Its going to be a massive two days so get lots of sleep and come with your engines burning.

I set about writing this course over a year ago when photographers began e-mailing me asking for help in marketing etc. I realised that for any entrepreneur there are three crucial areas that are necessary to be truly successful. The first is the talent to create whatever it is you are hoping to sell (in my case photography). The second is the ability to attract enough customers to make it financially viable and the third is the ability to ensure every customer receives a great sales experience.

I hear of so many talented photographers who struggle to pay their bills whilst others who are more mediocre appear to do incredibly well. Anyone who knows me will tell you, I always have time to try and help any other photographer (apart from the guy who keeps sending me his A level homework).

Shoot to sell has been written and designed to help out anyone who believes they have the drive and skill to make themselves a success.

There are still places available so if you think this could help you just drop me an e-mail martin@martinwilmottphotography.com or ring me on 01376 567995 and we can have a chat . I can't wait to hear of your success stories after having introduced a few of my methods.

Adobe CS3 Rip Off?

It would appear that photographers and creatives in Europe have been targeted as easy prospects.

Adobe released its new version of photoshop two weeks ago (CS3) which as most photographers know is the essential software and is a complete must have.

However it transpires that it is 190% more expensive in Europe than America. Considering it can be downloaded via an Internet connection how can this be?

Adobe have attempted to counter this criticism stating that the different languages in Europe mean it is in fact a different product. If that's the case why can't photoshop spell colour correctly? Or is it just a lie?

Photographers are being urged to sign the online petition here which Adobe are already beginning to panic about. If you don't appreciate being ripped off sign up and also forward on to anyone and everyone you know.

The 80 / 20 Rule of Business

I had an interesting e-mail this morning from someone who had signed up to my free photography tips. He had a problem with the fact I had sent an e-mail advertising my "shoot to sell course". The course is designed to help photographers who want to learn how to make money from photography as a business. It is personalised and reveals many of the methods I use every day.

It is common knowledge in business that 80% of trade will come from 20% of your clients, if you can concentrate on those 20% your business will benefit. I have no problem with the other 80% who like to receive my free tips, I wrote them to help people to take better photographs and I have received many thank yous from all over the world.

However when one of the 80% decide to complain about the stuff I provide for nothing, I act quickly (apprentice style) and fire them. I simply apologise and then delete them from the free tips ensuring they cannot sign up again. Please if you don't like the free photography tips I send then simply unsubscribe.

On the contrary here's a blog posting from someone else (in the beautiful town of Vancouver) who has a different opinion about the same information.

The overall lesson, you can't please everyone all the time so simply remove the ones who aren't happy from your business and let them bother someone else.

Saying goodbye to some new friends

All week I have had the privilege of meeting and working alongside some fantastic athletes from the USA.

A group of American Football players from all over the USA had flown into the UK for a visit and to play a couple of games against the local Colchester teams.

I know that some of the boys parents and relatives have been checking out this blog for more news so especially for them (and anyone else who may be interested) click here for a slide show of what the guys got up some of the time during the week. There is sound so make sure your speakers are on. I'll try and put the remaining images up soon.

Hope you like it. Feel free to comment

American All Stars

This week the colchester Gladiators American footbal team (who i'm heavily involved with) are playing host to a traveling American high school team of grid Iron stars. the players have been recruited from all over the USA and are amongst the best for their age groups.

I've just got back from meeting the American players at their first (official) practise at the college in Colchester. Some of the players were finding the weather a little challenging (cold) but as I explained if you don't like the weather in England wait half an hour and it will change.

From what i've seen they're going to give a fantastic display of Grid iron skills on the field and leave many of the Gladiators players with more than the occasional bruise.

I'm guessing that some of the players parents and families may be reading this to see if they can spot their loved ones so i intend to up load my images through out the week very soon. Keep an eye on this blog and i'll put a link to the images.

If you want to know more about the American All Star team and their game against the Gladiators on Friday the details can be found on the Gladiators blog by clicking here (there's also some more images from this morning).

Also the BBC were at the Gladiators training last week and there write up and video can be seen by clicking here. Any photographer out there who fancy coming along to take some action photographs under spotlight of these guys in action on friday will be more than welcome.

The Future of Computing

If you've got a spare 10 minutes prepare to be wowed by watching this short video. How easy would this make album design etc?

Photography as a Business

I get a lot of e-mails, phone calls and the occasional letter from people from all over the world asking about photography. I must admit, I love helping people and seeing them succeed. I get a real buzz when someone e-mails me their work and says they used one of my tips. It may take me a little while if I'm busy, but I promise I do look at them all.

It was to try and help these for these people that I started my free photography e-mail course (sign up from my web page under the tips section). This also meant I didn't have to spend so long answering each and every e-mail.

The free photography tips have been a huge success. Many of the people have added themselves to my friends map in fact nearly 1000 fellow photography lovers (take a look on the bottom right of this blog, add yourself I'd love to see who you are). However I know that the best way to impart knowledge is to actually show someone and so the "Day of Discovery" course was born. I've had such a ball meeting you all and showing you the tricks that I use that help me get the shots. I absolutely love these days and have thoroughly enjoyed meeting the people who have come on them. Some making mammoth journeys to spend the day (Germany is the record so far). For anyone interested the next one is on the 1st July see my site for the details.

However because I like to think of everyone who carries a camera as a friend I realise there's a few of you out there who want to actually take the plunge and make a living from photography. There are also some of you who have taken the plunge that need a little help. I know from experience that gaining customers can be really hard so I've put together a slide show that I hope will give you some ideas on how to search out those important clients. I really hope you find it of use and who knows maybe you might want to join us for the "shoot to Sell" course next month.

The End of Google?

I love techy things and have been a big fan of google for years. However unless they get their act togethor pretty quickly I can see them loosing their crown. So who's the new kid on the block?

The challenger for the search engine crown is called snap.com. From what I can see it's in its infancy at the moment but it has some great new tricks. Best of all is the ability to see the page you are being directed to before you click.

Also (as you may have already discovered) it can be incorporated into sites (like this blog) so any link will pop up and show the page you would be directed to helping you decide if you want to go there or not. This will hopefully eliminate those sites where you think it's what you want only to find it's actually just a page of adword clicks someone has put togethor in order to make money. How cool is that?

I'm guessing this is the first (and only) major challenger that google has had for a long time. In my opinion, if google doesn't do something quickly, snap.com will very soon become the search engine everyone uses.

Photographing Children Growing Up

It is always fantastic to go back and re photograph a family. The last time I saw the young girl in this image she was just a week old!

Its incredible how everyone's life moves on. It certainly doesn't feel like 18 months since we last met. How she has changed is beyond belief.

I take it as the ultimate compliment to be asked back to record children as they grow up. Capturing magical memories is something that can easily be overlooked. Unfortunately, as too many people find out, today cannot be photographed tommorow or in a weeks time.

Photography Business Training

It's been three days since the "day of discovery" Lifestyle photography course I ran. It was fantastic meeting you all and I must say thank you for the images you have all been sending. It's always a pleasure to recieve e-mails from peole afterwards as thats the real time I find out how the course really went. Here's just a few comments taken from some of the guys who have already written:

Martin,
hi, it was truly great to meet you at last yesterday, and I must say that you and Doug were superb teachers and nothing was too small, even the silly questions were answered without a fuss, which believe you me helped immensely. As to the course content this too was great and as i said on my departure I went away with a headache as a result of learning so much. Also may I point out that I have been on numerous courses via the SWPP and the NIKON courses, and i must point out that your course was with out doubt the best one that I have attended for a long time, the course content was informative, interesting and presented in a professional manner, and I can truly say that I will remember every little tip for years to come.

Hello Martin,

Thankyou for a lovely day. The whole experience has exceeded my expectations on every count. I have learnt a great deal of new techniques, but the best of all was to see you and Doug in action and to learn how the pros do it.

All in all, a great day that was made even better with the friendliness of all other attendees.

WOW! I'm SO happy you had such a great time. The weather made it harder but it shows what can be done and lets face it, if you want to take photographs on a regular basis it will at some time rain. As the image of Charlie and I shows (thanks for sending it John) I had a real fun time meeting you all too.

On another note last night I was working late and sent an e-mail out to inform people of the two day "shoot to sell" course coming up next month. Its like the next step and is aimed at people wanting to either start a photography business or to help people who are already in business but aren't reaching their full potential. I new it would be popular but i had a reply come back at 4.30 am. Now thats someone who's not afraid to make a decision!

Photography Training Day

Yesterday (4th March) we ran another lifestyle portrait training day for the budding enthusiasts wanting to learn and improve on their techniques. The weather was really against us and it didn't stop raining throughout the whole day.

Having said that we had a Fantastic day! As a group we managed to achieve the aim of educating and most importantly having fun!! I'll add some more pictures over the next few days and some of the images captured by the excellant students.

Believe me there are people who were on this course yeaterday who will no doubt be making a neam for themselves in the coming months / years. More to come ............

Focus on Imaging

It was the last day of Focus on Imaging at the NEC today. For those that don't know this is the big event for photographers that happens once a year and really is considered a must.

I always manage to find something of interest when i go and amongst others i discovered this camera cover seen in the picture. Basically it's a rubber body that slips over your current camera (they do other colours too). I can see the advantage of something like this especially when the cameras tend to be thrown in and out of open bags when working. However they didn't have one that would fit the D2x so that saved me some money! Apologies for the picture quality, it was taken on my phone, as its considered very very uncool for a pro to be seen with a camera at focus.

Again Canon didn't bother to be there (2nd year running) in my opinion a disgusting way to treat the pro users! Nikon were there with their new stand and put on some excellent talks and had hands on for every camera model and lens that they make with experts available to answer questions ..... Great service AGAIN for Nikon users.

Interestingly another big player that weren't there this year was Kodak! Having talked to the manager at my lab (Redwoods) it would appear that Kodak have no interest in the consumer market anymore and are chasing the mini do it yourself print labs.

I also talked myself into buying a Fong Dome. I've been looking into them for about a year and decided to take the plunge. I'll give it a go and then post some stuff up on here on my thoughts. All in all a good show and happily different to last year.

Free Money, I don't think so

I received an e-mail today (see below) and i thought i would share it with you. I wrote back to this guy and told him i didn't want the money and to donate it all to charity (I'm all heart). I also said that if it would save time would it be easier if i just sent him my bank details and pin number. Suprisingly he answered almost immediately .... strange that.

From The Desk Of:
The Auditor General:
Korea Exchange Bank,
30 Old Jewry
London
EC2R 8EB.

ATTN:Martin Wilmott,

I am Dr Edward Organ. The Auditor General Korea Exchange Bank London. In the course of our auditing I discovered a floating fund in an account in the Bank company which was opened in 1990 belonging to a dead foreigner late Mr. Mark -Wilmott(untill his death),used to be a private contractor with the Shell Petroleum Development Company in Saudi Arabia. He was involved in an auto crash, unfortunately led to his demise.

Since then, I have made several enquiries with his country embassies to locate any of his extended relatives, this has also proved unsuccessful.I decided to track his last name
over the Internet, to locate any member of his family
hence I got in contact with you. I have contacted you to Quietly assist me in repatriating this huge amount of money left behind by the deceased in my Bank before they get confiscated or declared unserviceable by the BANK/INSTITUTION. The deceased had a deposit presently valued at USD25.2 million.

After going through the company records and files, I
discovered that :
(1) No one has operated this account since 1993; (2)
The owner of the account died without a heir, hence
the money has been floating. (3) No other person knows
about this account and there was no known beneficiary.
AND IF I DO NOT REMIT THIS MONEY URGENTLY, IT WOULD BE
FORFEITED FOR NOTHING.
This money can only be approved to a foreign
beneficiary with a valid international passport or
driver's license and an account, hence I am contacting
you. I will require your urgent reply so that I give
you the next step
I am willing to give you 15% of the entire funds.

All I require is your honest Co-operation, Confidentiality and Trust to enable us see this transaction through.I guarantee you that this will be executed under a legitimate arrangement that will protect from any breach of the law.
All I ask from you is the following:
1. Your full name
2. your telephone/mobile and fax numbers
3. your physical Address.
Your urgent response will be highly anticipated and appreciated.
Best regard.
Dr Edward Organ.

Lifestyle Photography Shoot

I'm completely snowed under at the moment but had to add this slide show from last week.

I think the images came out really well and I'm sure everyone enjoyed the shoot too.

For anyone interested in the Lifestyle portrait training day on the 4th March there are just two places left until we close the books.

Looking forward to meeting you.

Photography Training Day

It always gets me excited when I chat on the phone to the people coming on the next lifestyle photography course.

I can feel the energy and enthusiasm of the people and I just know we're all going to have a great time. The next course (4th March) is already proving to be great, and theres some cool tricks we're going to share.

There are very few places left so if you want any information on this course just drop me an e-mail (martin@martinwilmottphotography.com) or even better pick up the phone 01376 567995. Here's a quick slide show of the last course we ran.

One of the things I have noticed about people who contact me is, aswell as wanting to learn my methods in photography there are a hard core of people who need to learn more. These are the gys who have a talent for taking pictures but need help in how to make it pay. With this in mind the " shoot to sell" course has been devised. The dates will be the 23-24 April 2007. The course is designed to take a person who can take a photograph and give them a structure into launching that skill into a succesfull business! It will cost £495.00 and will include meals but not accomodation.

For those of you who've already registered your interest watch your email box very closely the details will be arriving shortly.

If you wanted to be added to the hot list to get the information about the "Shoot to sell course" just drop me an e mail to martin@martinwilmottphotography.com. I truely believe these two days will kick start peoples careers into the photography world. What are you waiting for? An e-mail costs you nothing but could earn you a life!!

Finally here's the link to a few of the images from the portrait session I mentioned from last week enjoy.

Superbowl

Last night was the final of the professional American football season in the states, which is effectively referred to as the superbowl. It was a great game between the Indianapolis Colts and the Chicago bears. The colts eventually took control of the game by about the third quarter and finished worthy winners.

A couple of days before the game i'd received an email from Wayne Paulo, he's a pro sports photographer, who I had some business dealings with a while back and we've semi kept in touch since. He was in Miami preparing to shoot the game. Now this is a job that many photographers (probably including myself) would easily have cut an ear off to have had the chance to shoot .... well maybe not, but it would have been nice.

Whilst I'm on the subject of sport I must mention this website, it's one i've had my eye on for a few days now. Check it out it's really worth a giggle. To me it just shows the typical Brit sense of humour in not being afraid to be laughed at (aka the office etc).

I'm up to my eyes in editing at the moment as I shot another fantastic family at the weekend, and i stil haven't finished the wedding shots from last week. Sometimes I really do miss the ease of shooting on film!

Another Busy Weekend

I had a really busy weekend!

Firstly Saturday morning I had a family portrait shoot. The young fella you see in the picture here was one of the stars of the shoot. He was only two weeks old and in fairness was as good as gold and hardly made a squeek. (i'll put up a slide show once the family have seen the images).

It was whilst I was on the way to the portrait shoot I took another call on my mobile from someone I used to work with a long time ago. He'd got married in Florida and was having a small party in the UK tonight, was there any chance .......

So I finally get home at about 2 o'clock on Sunday morning and download the images. Sunday I travelled up to Chesterfield in Derbyshire to meet up with a few photographers. It's nice to sit down with other like minded folk and share ideas and see what the latest gossip is. Several hours of technical and business talk later it was time to come home having made some new friends.

Photoshop Magic

Yesterday was my birthday and a great friend of mine, Emma Duggan kindly made the effort to
come up and see me for the day. Emma's also a professional photographer who has a similar but also differant style to her photography. Emma Kindly bought me the coolest and most perfect birthday card ever (see picture here) how cool is that!

As i'd promised when she arrrived (late as usual) we went to the park and I introduced her to my favourite photography props. We spent a couple of hours feeding and shooting the squirrels.

We had a great laugh and left the park when it started to get dark. We then set about playing with the images in photoshop.

One of my complaints about shooting digitally is how flat the pictures tend to be when they come out of the camera compared to film. Emma showed me some neat quick tricks (look at the differance between the two shots here) to getting the images to wake up which I will now use all the time.

Having sorted out the photoshop we went for an Indian and set the world to rights. I always find when two photographers meet up and start chatting its like nothing else. It's as if you live in a foreign land and you suddenly discover someone else who can speak the same language! Hours and hours of great conversation.

After the meal we went back to my house and started what was supposed to be a little run through on how to use flash, and how to have fun with it. I won't go into too much detail but we ended up at 2 in the morning, with stands, tripods and multiple flash guns scattered throughout the house. We then set ourselves the challenge of working out how to get a person in the same photograph twice in differant positions without photoshop. After many nearly attempts and stumbling around the house in complete darkness between flashes we finally got what we were after. GREAT FUN !!!

Yamaha R1 Launch

Friday night was the official launch of the new Yamaha R1 motor bike. I'm no expert on bikes but judging by the massive turnout of interested people at the John Pease showroom my guess is is going to be pretty popular.

The evening started with wine and sausage rolls with the bike being covered in the showroom. Slowly people began drifiting in untill there was no where to park and the showroom was completely packed out.

Loud music pumped and for the official unveiling smoke and a light show. talking to the people who had come to see the bike i think most were impressed. I heard that a few had placed orders on the night too.

As a job it went well although i'm already sarting to pander over that 12-24mm Nikon lens ..... mmmmmm

No Sleep for Weeks

I think i've drunk more coffee today than I do in a normal year. Today I had a job in London of shooting 4 differant apostrophe coffee shops. I was commisioned by the guy (Dave form Enmasse) who made all the furniture and fittings to travel around and get some images of his work in situ. Many miles via black cab and tube have been covered and I must say its a pleasure to be back home at last.

I treated myself and hired a 12-24mm wide angle lens from the pro centre and i have to admit I think i'm in love. This lens is a very impressive piece of glass, the width was exactly what I needed when working in tight areas. I don't think it will be very long before I invest in this lens.

I heard some GREAT news today! The NFL have agreed to send two teams to Wembley stadium this year to play in a regular season NFL game at the new Wembley stadium. It's not positive who yet, but it will probably be the Miami Dolphins v New York Giants.

Fun on the Ice

This Saturday the Chelmsford chieftains had a home game against the Invicta Dynamos. In case you weren't aware the Chieftains and the Colchester Gladiators (american football club) are sporting partners. As such the Gladiators travelled over (on mass) to support Chelmsford in this cup game. As the official Colchester Gladiators photographer I went along to capture what happened.

The first period was hard fought and very close, however by halfway through the 2nd period the Chieftains had made the game theirs.

After the game the Gladiators along with the Essex Flames cheer leaders were invited onto the ice for some photographs. Not something I've done before photographing on ice, needless to say I didn't venture very far from the barrier in case I went A* over T*.

The other problem was ice hockey players don't tend to be as big as American football players as can be seen in this shot. The ice was so slippy I had a word with the Chieftains general manager afterwards and advised him to put some grit down in case someone slipped ..... I don't think he was too impressed.

In all seriousness it was a great night out and we were felt to be very welcome.

Make This Your Year !

Yesterday was a pretty tough day. My cousin was knocked off his motorbike just before Christmas and died. Yesterday was his funeral. he was dearly loved and had so much to live for, his family are torn to pieces.

One thing that makes you sit up and take notice is death. It is so final, no more chances, that's it.

If one good thing came from yesterday for me it was, to find something I want to do and achieve it. the new years resolution list is going to be pretty long this year!

Krispy Kreme Doughnuts

As anyone who knows me will know i'm constantly researching succesfull companies and their methods (always looking to steal good ideas). Whilst reading a book (I think it may have been Customer Evangelists) I came across the story of a Doughnut company in America called Krispy Kreme. To cut a long story short the company started small and word spread of the excellent doughnuts that they sold. Not only that but they also became famous for helping out in community projects and delighting their customers.

So what? Well today whilst finishing off my Christmas shopping in Lakeside I bump into a Krispy Kreme stall. Needless to say I HAD to try there wares, i had a couple of doughnuts and a coffee and sat and watched. The que never got less than 12 people, they each bought one or two. Many people returned and bought boxes of the doughnuts as word spread. It would appear that they are going to have a major succesfull business on this side of the pond. My opinion, they are outstanding!! although I dread to guess the calorie count.

On a business point i've finished my final portrait shoot of the year, can't wait for next year got some great plans .......

Olan Mills Goes Bust!

I've just been e-mailed that Olan Mills have gone bust! The BBC news report states "Photography company Olan Mills, which employs 950 staff in 97 stores across the UK, has gone into administration."

To make it even worse having looked on the Olan Mills web site it would apear they've been shooting right up untill the last second, taken the money then closed the doors. This leaves the customers with no way of getting their moneyback or their pictures.

Apparently they have been running at a loss for the last three years and could no longer afford to continue. Personally I find it sad a huge company like this was unable to modernise its approach to the photographic world. I guess they continued in the old style of photography that so many studio's shoot (white background brigade).

As such they all merge in the customers mind to being the same and at that stage it becomes a case of who's cheapest. Any business will tell you if you're only getting business because your cheap your not going to be in business long.

I find the key to any business success is to find out what the client wants and then make sure you offer it to them (and more). Treating clients as part of a production line by forcing your own styles and ideals onto people is a sure fire way to make sure your customers are left unhappy and worse that they tell others about it.

Interestingly i just read this on another blog. A true account of a real customer that Olan Mills put through the production line service. As I said before, give the client what they want, not what you think they want ..


Mr. Olan Mills Photo Dude,

I realize it's your job to sell me pictures. And I realize that you don't make any money off of me when I just bring my family in to get a free church directory photo taken. But, can I be honest with you Mr. Olan Mills Photo Dude? You're pictures? They're not so good. My family doesn't look attractive lined up in a row in front of a blue marbled background with fake smiles plastered on their faces. I wish we did, but we don't. Ok, now I've lied to you, I don't wish we did. And also, Mr. Olan Mills Photo Dude, it's ok if Presley wants to put her fingers in her mouth when you take the picture. She's a baby, that's what she does. It's actually considered a good thing to capture her personality in the photo. It's not, however, considered a good thing when she's screaming her head off because you keep pulling her fingers out of her mouth in attempts to make us look like the Cleavers. Just a friendly tip. I mean, I'm not a photographer or anything. :)

In closing, I'd like to apologize for cutting our photo session short and, in doing so, preventing you from taking loads of pictures that I have no inclination to purchase. I can see that you were more than a little irked about that. But, to be honest Mr. Olan Mills Photo Dude, I'm more than a little irked that our staff got Jason photos and we didnt. So ;p.

Good day,

Paparazzi

As I mentioned in the last post Friday night was spent 'papping' outside the Hippodrome in leicester square. this is not something that I would normally consider but it was for fun more than hassle. The company who's Christmas party it was had decided their staff deserved to be treated to alittle bit of fame.

Actually it wasn't my job and I was purely there to give my good friend Doug a hand and be part of a three photographer team. It was him who took the image of yours truely seen here to the left.

Between the three of us we photographed everyone as they came to the party. having done my bit I was finished by about 22.30 and after a quick drink left Doug who was to stay and capture the rest of the evening .


For anyone who's read the last entry you'll know what happened when I got home ........

Death of a key board

Apologise for the amount of time since the last entry on the blog. This has been for two reasons, firstly i've been bonkers busy with shoots Friday Saturday and Sunday and all the post production joys that they bring.

The second reason and probably the real reason is this. On Friday night (saturday morning), I arrived home from shooting a job at the hippodrome in leicester square at about 1 in the morning. I settled down with a couple of cans of beer whilst my computer downloaded the nights shots (i'll put some up when i get chance). Needless to say everything was going smoothly and I checked e mails and buzzed around the web. However, my second can of lager decided to explode when I opened it and gave my keyboard and carpet a wash.

Now if someone can explain to me how a can of lager that has sat in a fridge for at least two weeks and was not dropped or shaken in any way (to my knowledge) suddenly decide to explode when opened for no reason, i'll be a happier man.

Anyway the long and the short of it was several keys stopped working on the keyboard. At first it seemed to be just the numbers and the full stop, however whilst typing an e mail i soon discovered the space bar was also not working making anything i wrote completely unintelligable.

So to cut a long story short I had to invest in another keyboard and at the same time a new 4 way usb port (my last keyboard could plug usb connection into it). As you can see in the picure my old keyboard now has a new place to live (the bin).

Chelmsford Chieftains

Last night I went to the Chelmsford Ice and Leisure Centre to watch the Chelmsford Chieftains play the Telford Tigers. The Chieftains won the match 6-1. The game was heavily attended by the Colchester Gladiators American football club, strengthening the bond between the two teams. The Colchester Gladiators and the Chelmsford Chieftains are due to announce very soon the sporting partnership and will jointly promote each others seasons (which run opposite to each other).

A big thanks goes out to Marky Mark (the chieftains DJ) for giving the gladiators a mention and for pushing the fact they are looking for new players. He also kindly wore a gladiators hat all night (see image). Also a big thank you to Andy Driver (Chieftains PR and marketing) for making me / us feel so welcome. I know the two clubs will both benefit from the new partnership.

The Chieftains certainly put on a show worth watching and i would suggest anybody who has spare time on a sunday evening throughout the winter goes along and cheers.