It seems to be a growing trend that weddings are now taking place throughout the year.
On Saturday I was lucky enough to shoot a wedding at Layer Marney Towers near Tiptree. It was a fantastic day and the wonderfull couple were obviously so in love.
Shooting in the winter brings new challenges, the main ones being lack of light (it gets dark by 4pm) and lack of warmth. We were really lucky on Sunday that all the rain fell the day before and the sun actually came out and did its best to keep the temperature above freezing.
I was really pleased with the above shot, I used the light from the video mans camera to backlight the couple and just natural light to capture the image. All in all a fantastic day spent with fantastic people.
Being as we are so near to the end of the year I thought I'd put together the slideshow above of some of my favourite images. I struggled to cut down the images and could easily have had treble the amount of photographs but finally settled on these. You can see it larger if you click here.
For those of you still waiting on your Christmas cards don't panic I haven't forgotten you, I'm still waiting for them to come back from the printers so it should be any day now ...... sorry.
Uncle Bob is an occupational hazard for any wedding photographer. Let me explain, at every wedding there will undoubtedly be someone (normally an uncle, hence the nick name) who has a keen interest in photography and has all the gear his local camera shop can sell him. They are often referred to as "all the gear with no idea".
Normally I have no problem working with uncle Bob's and often have a chat in quiet times and talk photography. However occasionally there's one that gets in the way and physically stops me from doing my job.
I recently had one of these at a wedding. The venue was a top west end hotel in London and the main ball room has mirrors all over including behind the top table. Mirrors make taking photographs harder for several reasons i.e. flash has to be bounced rather than direct, you have to shoot at an angle so you're not in the shots etc.
It was during the speeches that uncle Bob continually stood in the centre of the table firing his flash straight into the mirror (he couldn't have got a single shot) and being in every photograph. Every time I would set up a shot and take a step backwards he would be under my feet ..... a complete nightmare!
I have no problem with people taking photographs but please, have some respect and stay out of the way.
On another note the next Lifestyle portrait training day has been booked for the 30th March 2008 at the Pontlands park Hotel near Chelmsford. Drop me an e-mail if you feel like coming along (it would make a better Christmas present than socks).
I was recently approached by the Baddow camera club to give a talk on my work and lifestyle photography in general.
The talk will take place on the 26th February 2008 starting at 19.45 and It's completely free (although tea ect will be for sale). You don't have to be a member of the club to come along. The location is the BAETelford Systems theatre, on West Hanningfield Road in Great Baddow near Chelmsford.
I'll be showing some of my images and sharing a few secrets of how they are achieved, in my normal witty way. There will also be a time at the end where I'll be happy to field any questions people may have.
Before I start I want to make it clear to my insurance company and any health and safety bods that may happen to be reading this the following story is actually completely made up and totally fictitious.
OK, so today I was booked to do some commercial work which involved shooting a companies lorries at their yard. It had to be today as the shot is required by Thursday and weekends are the only time the fleet is at the depot.
Unfortunately it was also the day we got a weeks worth of rain in one day, but being as there was no chance of a re shoot we pushed ahead regardless. Endless shunting of vehicles back and forth and we were eventually ready for the shots.
Anyone who's read my free down loadable photography tips from my website will know one of the things I constantly talk about is finding interesting angles to shoot from, normally high or low. I'm not afraid to climb on top of something or lie down if I feel it will add to the shot. With this in mind I asked the boss if it would be possible to bring a forklift out for me to get a bit of height.
The forklift trundled out to where I had thought the best place would be with a pallet for me and my tripod to stand on. I mount the pallet grab hold and say to the driver "take it up as far as it will go" at about the half way point I realised that i had underestimated the maximum height of the forklift. I thought it would go to about 6ft where as in actual fact it went to about 30ft (or at least it felt that way).
So I'm now standing 30ft in the air with my camera on a tripod whilst the rain is pouring down, There are no railings and just a pallet to stand on (that seems to have shrunk since we left the ground, unlike my tripod which has expanded to take all the room). There's nothing for it other than to get brave let go and look through the camera, luckily the tripod needed only the very minimum of adjustment to get the composition I wanted. Needless to say I set the camera to bracket (30ft in the air is not the time for light readings) and shot of about thirty shots.
All in all a succesfull day even if the adrenelin was of the brown variety.
Pin ItLast weekend (is it a week already) The NFL brought over two American football teams to play atWembley stadium in a regular season game. In sports terms this was BIG, it was not a friendly with second string players it was the real thing with points at stake.
The club I'm a member of (the Colchester Gladiators) are without doubt the most forward thinking club in the country. Over several months prior to the game they had been and booked the Green man pub for a massive pre (and after party). The weather did its best to stop any fun but due to the good natured crowd and the excellent wet weather planning everything went well. The club had organised a massive marquee which housed a DJ trade stands and a bull ride which went down extremely well with the gathered crowds (over 2,000). Added to that the dance performance (you can see one of their performances here ... I'm stood next to the DJ wearing the No.53 shirt) by the Kukriallstarzz and everyone was very happy.
After several pints loads of football chat and being interviewed by Nuts TV (details to follow) it was time to head down the hill to the stadium.
From the outside Wembley is an absolutely stunning stadium and seemed to cope well with the masses all turning up to get into the game. To say tickets were hard to get hold of for this game would be an understatement. The NFL had half a million ticket requests - Wembley at max capacity can only seat 90,000.
Everyone entering the stadium had a search for security reasons. I had my D2x swung round my neck with the plan being if they said i couldn't bring it in I'd run back to the Green man and leave it with the guys there (OK it would be a fast walk). After several of the security men had a chat they decided I could bring it in as long as i promised not to use it ..... yeah right. The seats i had managed to get were in the upper section and after several escalator rides we reached the viewing are. Stepping out into the arena was a truly breathtaking experience a fantastic venue for any sporting event. One of those things that has to be experienced to be fully understood.
Not only were the seats I had in the upper section they were also very high, in fact if they were much higher you need a Sherpa to guide you to your seat. In fact a couple of times during the game we had to ask God to sit down so we could see.
Having said that the view was fantastic, better than at crystal palace or Don Valley stadium because although you are high you're not far from the sideline.
The game itself wasn't a fantastic spectacle and was heavily affected by the constant down pour (with such a fantastic stadium you'd have thought they'd have put a closeable roof on it). Just before half time i decided to go and grab a programme. in typical British style here's where it starts to go wrong. At every food counter massive ques stretched back after a long walk i found the merchandise stand again with a massiveque. Although i didn't eat at the stadium word soon spread that they had run out of beer and food and the staff serving couldn't speak English causing a mix up in almost everyone's orders. In typical Brit fashion we build a fantastic stadium then act surprised when a hungry thirsty crowd turn up. Down get me wrong I love this country but some things really annoy me.
The second half got slightly more interesting when the Dolphins rallied and made an attempt to get back in the game scoring a great passing touchdown. However their plans were scuppered when they attempted to kick an onside kick that simply skidded accross the pitch and out of bounds leaving the Giants to simply run the clock out. Getting out of the stadium took a little longer than most stadiums had been to (although in fairness they aren't capable of holding 90,000). Also gone were the escalators just never ending rows of stairs to go down. Once outside we headed back up the hill to get back tot he Green man in time to watch the next game amongst friends.
All in all an excellent weekend made even better by the Colchester Gladiators tailgate party at the Green man. the weather could have been better (it didn't stop raining all day) and the service inside Wembley was very poor. The stadium though is well worth a a visit.
One of the perks of working like I do is that I'm not tied down in one area. At the drop of a hat I can pick up my gear and go.
Sometimes I rely totally on the client to pick a good venue although I do try and do some research prior to the booking. Recently I took the journey up to Rufford Abbey near Ollerton and did a family portrait shoot for the two sisters seen here. You can see some of the images from the day by clicking here.
I've been asked by photographers how far I would travel to do a shoot, (then i mention i shot a wedding in Australia a while back and they get the message). In honesty i don't think there's a limit as long as the criteria is right I'll go. It knocks seven bells out of sitting in an office all day or even worse a white background studio!
If your name is Katie McKinley (i think e mail is something like katiecolourmc@ I don't know.co.uk ) and you left a message for me this morning on the answer phone can you ring me again as I can't make out your e-mail address .... thanx.
Only 6 days till I go to see the Dolphins v Giants at Wembley can't wait! :-)
It's that time of the year when the organised people (that's me out then) start arranging what they are going to get grand parents etc for Christmas presents.
As a result the diary starts to fill up as families organise themselves. The family seen here had that exact idea (click on the image for a slideshow showing a few more images). Of course the phone continues to ring right through to December with people who are a little less organised (unfortunately that's the bracket I'd put myself into when it comes to Christmas shopping).
It seems there are more and more professional people that are needing portfolio images recently.
Today I had the pleasure of meeting and photographing a journalist come author who has recently won a very prestigious award for writing. He entered a competition where the first few chapters of a book had to be entered and he won. Since then he's been in demand and it would appear he has a great future ahead.
Click here to see the images we got today. Sometimes when there's only one subject it can be hard to get enough different pictures but I'm really pleased with today's results, see what you think.
I've been completely snowed under recently trying to catch up with various shoots including another two this weekend (images will be uploaded when I catch my breath).
Anyway this Sunday I took a trip down to St Albans to meet up with a good friend Mel Corley . I first met Mel we he came on one of my day of discovery days and since then we've stayed in touch.
I had been commisioned to photographs Mel as he worked.
The brief was to capture images of Mel as he carried out a portrait shoot. The images will be used to help promote him and his business. Whilst we worked together exchanging ideas, and searching out exciting backgrounds, I managed to get the shot above of our stunning model.
I strongly recommend you go to Mels site and see some of his fantastic work from the day under the portrait section ...... they're great!
I've always been a Nikon user. Ever since my first steps into photography (in the army) where an FM2 was thrust into my hand and I was sent out with rolls of film to go get some shots. I love the cameras and have got to know each one I have owned almost personally. In fact I'm so bad I've still got them all (where's the sense in that). I was very slow taking up the digital revolution as i have always been more than satisfied with the film cameras. However rising film/processing costs eventually made the decision for me (although i still occasionally shoot film). I can't be the only one who still gets inspired when opening a film can and smelling the emulsion on a fresh film can I?
Any way the main beef I had with Nikon was how all my lenses from my film bodies suddenly became different focal lengths when attached to my D2x. I suddenly found I had to be further away from my subjects and it caused me to have to change my approach to the subjects. This of course was due to the size of the image sensor Nikon used as a result I believe several photographers jumped ship and went to Canon who offered full frame. For years Nikon insisted they had no intention of going full frame and instead concentrated on new lenses specifically designed for digital bodies. All that changed last week with the announcement of the D3.
It looks a very impressive piece of kit and boasts several new widgets including, the ability to have 2 memory cards, some new fancy autofocus system and several other techy things (that if I'm honest don't interest me cause they're techy, I'm more interested in what it produces rather than how).
However I'm very impressed with the pricing policy, estimated at £3,300 that's a lot cheaper than the Canon equivalent.
I got a pleasant reminder last weekend of the importance of being ready to get grab shots at all times. We'd just finished shooting some formal stuff at a christening and where walking out of the park when the shot here presented itself.
These are the shots you can't create and just have to be ready for when they present themselves. The trick is never turn the camera off and the lens cap only goes back on when the camera goes away. If I'm honest I prefer these shots to the more formal type of shot that the majority of people want.
Here's another example of the same baby but captured a little more formally. I always try and get a bit of both and that way it's the best of both worlds.
On another note skype seemed to have dropped the ball over the last two days. For anyone not in the know skype is the free online phone company owned by E-bay. They normally provide an excellent and very cheap (and in many cases free) phone service anywhere in the world. Their problems are something to do with a software problem, but for a major provider like this to go down for two days that's major. We'll see what happens over the next couple of days.
Regardless of the current problems I'd advise anyone who has a broadband connection to get skype. Especially if you regularly phone people on the other side of the world.
For the last week the NFL have been running an American Football school in Colchester assisted by the Colchester Gladiators. Here's some images from one of the days.
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.
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!
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!
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.
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!!
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