Why yes, I am the lead photographer in this brand ( a tale of a epic fail)

As much as I would like to be a photographer 24/7, like a lot of people I am not in wonderful position of being able to fulfil that dream ( as of yet but in the future who knows). So I do have to have a "day job" because lets face it, all that pretty camera equipment is rather expensive and no one is going to buy it for me.

Not that I would mind at all if someone were to do that or give me free stuff... hint, hint :-) (worth a try).

Now some people might remember where back in the dim mists of time when I first got a camera, okay, maybe not so far back but we're in the digital age now people, even a few months can be a long time to some, let alone trying to explain to some of my nieces and nephews that when I was at high school I didn't have a mobile phone. Which did prompt the response of " I had no idea you were that old".

But I digress.

Yes, when I first got a camera, a friend helped me with some shots to start my portfolio. Which thanks to that awesomely entertaining device which can be found in every workplace, school, or building that contains more then one person, yes the rumour mill,  quickly turned from something innocent to me taking nude photos of her in my secret underground photography studio.

Quite why I would have a secret underground photography studio that I would tell everyone about was never explained, and I thought like most rumours it had died a peaceful death and got to that quiet place in the sky where dead rumours and conspiracy theories go when people stop talking about them.

Or so I thought. As it turns out it hadn't died, more mutated into a totally different monster.

Cut to last week, when travelling on the bus from work to the car park at the end of a long shift, I was talking to one of my colleagues in the new department I joined a few months ago and happened to start talking about photography. At which point they asked a very earnest question

" So do you do anything else asides from the topless model glamour photography that you specialise in?"

What.............? Was my first thought. No, actually it was more like

WHAT!!!!!!!!!!

My response was to ask them" I'm sorry what?" They responded by saying that they had seen some of my "other pictures" but doing the topless model glamour photography, that's what I specialised in wasn't it?

What was originally funny mind you, rapidly turned depressing when I related the story to some other people the next morning as that was what everybody all seemed to think my photography was about.

Topless model glamour photography.

Okay, before anyone thinks I am particularly slamming this kind of photography, I am not. It is more just amazing that people were thinking that because it's about as far from the kind of photography that anyone who knows me as a person should expect me to do. 

So after asking a couple of questions, it rapidly became apparent that nothing else about my photography was really known or talked about. No rumours about steampunk, nothing about cosplay, zombies, family shoots, parties, general studio work, weddings or even landscapes ( okay last one is a little bit of stretch as landscapes are not my thing, but there are some in my portfolio, if you get the idea). 

Nope, my photography is apparently famous for the one kind of photography, I have not actually done.

Which is massively ironic.

And also shows that my "brand" might need some serious work.

But this does mean if you now put all of the rumours together, my kind of photography is one where I specialise in topless model glamour photography in my secret under photography studio that apparently I tell everyone about.

So it does make me sound like a bit of a super villain actually.

Which is cool.

Maybe I can get some minions and sharks with laser beams :-)

Later folks 

Rumours, secrets and lies

I've been reminded today of a story from way back when I got my first DSLR  , ( I say when back when but it was only two years ago but oh it seems longer) that I thought was too good not to share

Oh and no names have been changed to protect the innocent/guilty/ or passers by because I'm not going to say any :-)

Anyway, yes it was way back when I had my first DSLR, my kit could fit in only a small bag and studio work was still a distant dream, I was trying to decide on a direction for my portfolio and what kind of photography I wanted to get into.

There was a girl who worked at the same place I did who was into modelling and offered to do some photos with me so I could improve my portfolio, get some experience and she could get some shots too ( hopefully).

So we had two shoots, one outside at a ruined abbey and one inside. I was happy with the results and both shoots were perfectly innocent.

However I had forgotten how quickly things can change in the workplace rumour mill.

So I was surprised to hear that the shoots had turned into "artistic" shoots.

Which seemed strange to me, but then things got weirder.

They then changed into me taking nude pictures of her. Which I found astonishing but the rumour mill upped the ante.

The final complete rumour was that I had been taking nude pictures of her in my secret underground photography studio.

Of course what no one was ever able to explain to me when I pointed out the flaws in the scenario was

1. If I had a photography studio why would I be working at my current workplace?
2. If I had a photography studio why would it be secret?
3. If I had a secret photography studio why would I tell people I was doing work in a secret photography studio?
4. Why would I have a photography studio underground?

It was probably the one time I ever wished a rumour about me was true!

I would love to be doing regular work in a studio anyway, let alone own my own studio!

Maybe one day!

Show me yours and I'll show you mine: Adventures in networking episode 1

So after the time for print night, it was time to do what most photographers do these days.

Yep sit in front of a computer and edit things!

If you're not a photographer you might struggle to grasp in this digital age just how much we have to edit. But wait! I hear you cry. Why edit? Haven't you got it right in the camera?

errhh, well yes and no. Yes, you do get it right more rather then less. Editing is just a way of maximising the best attributes of a photo. It can also get annoying as you can spend ages on something that you are convinced is totally and painfully wrong looking but anyone who isn't a photographer will never notice.

This is especially true on a 32 inch screen but hey ho. It also explains why a photographer may look stricken if you simply say " that's a good photo" as they probably spent quite some time in front of a computer.

So once the photos were done it was time to send them to the models. Now previously I have used google docs's to send photos to people but all of the models said they used dropbox. Something I had never used before so I had to download the software and get myself ready to use a whole new program.

Which worked in precisely the same way as google docs ( and with one sentence I make two seperate teams of techie people at two companies go eeekk). so it was fairly easy uploading the pictures. Of course what was not so easy was the gnawing tension waiting for any response from the models, because lets face it was my first time doing "proper" studio work outside of the classroom so I literally had no meter stick to judge myself against.

to my great delight the first model who responded loved the photos and asked if I was on purple port so she could leave a reference. So it was great, first feedback was postive and she wanted to leave a reference. Only one problem.... what the heck was purple port?

Way, way back in the dim mists of time... okay well only two years when I first got a DSLR but you get the point, if a effort to get to know more people and potentially take more portraits I tried to sign up to a site called model mayhem which was recommended by several magazine as a fantastic networking site. However in order to sign up to the site you had to be able to prove photos of at least two different models. Which of course fairly defeats the purpose of signing up to the site to begin with. If I had two models to take photos of, I wouldn't be wanting to sign up to the site to get models now would i?

Okay well purple port is along the same lines, it's a networking site for models, photographers and MUA ( that's make up artists for anyone who is unfamiliar with the lingo :-)

Firstly it was very easy to set up a account, you only have to provide a very small number of images and there's no requirement for them to be of different models. So already a big tick in the plus column. Secondly you can see if people are coming to visit your profile which is handy, i/e if no one is coming to paraphrase a hollywood film " You've built it wrong" or at least spelt it wrong or phrased it wrong. Because for example no matter the basic truth of it saying something along the lines of " I have a camera and want to take pictures of pretty girls" in your profile is just not going to go down very well.

Just like facebook you can tag people in photos, you can also like, ehhh I mean "love" photos and the system for leaving references is very easy.

Now of course with the many and varied portfolios on display, there are going to be photos of "adult" nature but that's no bigge because if you don't want to see them you can engage a filter that will shield said pictures from view.

Now there are also options to list who you have worked with, who you would like to work with and "collect" your favourite photos from across the site to keep in your own collection to help inspire you.

The final two things that I thought were really cool, the first is that when you look at someone's profile it tells you how far they are away from you and secondly you can make "casting call's" where basically announce you are looking for someone to work with either for a specific shoot, specific theme, or just that you feel the need to take some pictures.

Now there are some more features such as articles and forums I haven't yet looked at yet. Forums always make me a little nervous as they can be very much a double edged sword but I think once my portfolio has started to expand a bit I will give them a go

So, I basically now have a profile and my very first reference which made me act very happy and pleased in a not very adult fashion at all :-) I/e happy dance.

Of course this means no pressure for the next studio night.... no pressure at all.

erhhhhhhh................

Teaching a slightly aged Dog new tricks

Ever since I have got my hands on my first DSLR I wanted to give studio photography a go. However to paraphrase kryten from Red Dwarf two problems faced me. Firstly that studio lights are expensive and secondly studio lights are expensive. Which is yes the same problem but so significant I thought I would mention it twice.

 Also where I live there was a depressing lack of reasonably priced studio courses. Most of them cost a fair amount of money for a depressingly short space of time actually in the studio and if I was going to spend that kind of money I would want opportunity to keep doing studio work. Not just do it once and then have to leave it until I had saved enough money to get lights of my own... or won the lottery.

But two things recently changed that allowed me to revisit my goal of doing studio photography. Firstly my parents bought me a studio course for my birthday and secondly I found a studio near Derby, Bright Light studios which runs regular Time for print/networking/social evenings. ( which is a complicated way of saying you have models, photographers and make up artists all turn up, photos are taken, the models get them for free to use in their portfolios if they wish, the photographers also get them to use and basically nobody charges anyone) Still with me? Good. 

So I decided as the next night was only three days after my studio course that it was worth a try. Now the studio was the first "proper" studio I have ever been in and it was amazing. They have several different sets, including a white area, a black area, and a studio "apartment" area. Now for the night we kept to these sets, they do have more sets that I didn't see and didn't really want too, as these are sets can be used for slightly more "adult" photography, which I'm sure most of you will get what I mean. If you don't ask your mother :-)

Now the evening isn't "totally free" to photographers, you have to pay £10, but you do get £5 off if you book the studio or sign up for one of their model workshops within 28 days which considering the size of the sets and equipment you get to play with is more then fair. 

Secondly I was pleased to discover as I spoke to some of the other photographers I was far from the only "rookie" which was quite heartening as I was worried I was going to be the only one among a group full of expects. Not exactly a thought to put your mind at ease.

As there were several photographers there, we were going to be taking turns in shooting and rotating between available sets and models. So I thought I would take some time to watch some of the other photographers, see how they worked and then give it a go.

Did that plan work?? Erhhh no...  The plan rapidly went out the window as I was picked to be 2nd up and found myself face to face with one of the models with the kind of looks that would usually instantly make me tongue tied and I was supposed to stand there and give her directions?

If this was a cartoon, this would be the point where you would have the sound effect of a really large and loud gulp :-)

However fortunately the models were very patient and I gradually found myself relaxing and starting to have a lot of fun. Well it was hard to maintain a serious demeanour when one of the models finding out it was my first time in a studio started singing about how she was taking my cherry ;-) ( if you don't know what that means either ask your mother about that too :-) )  The staff at at the studio were also very good, giving bits of advice and also constantly moving around to make sure each photographer was having equal chance to work with each model, not just once, but in the different sets and different outfits.

Another thing to mention is that you had all of the lights set for you, so even if I hadn't been on that workshop it wouldn't have mattered that much. Or to put it another way I would have just been pressing the button with no idea whatsoever how certain things worked.

The whole evening blew by far quicker then I anticipated but I was fairly happy with the shots I had taken ( whether the models would be a matter for later and the next blog post)

Now the important points.  What did I learn? Well a lot and that I need to do some work on improving my confidence in giving direction. Not all models are mind readers. ( and every model who reads this will now be going well d'uh!)

Would I go again? Yes, I certainly would, the studio was fantastic, the staff were great and the models and other photographers were all awesome.

Is it worth it? Well let's see £10 for three hours, with a complete studio and three different models who also had a make up artist as well. I think we all know the answer to that one.

In fact the evening went so well that my friend, from Dancer in the dark on the left here, is considering coming to the next one as well.

Now it would be foolish of me to say (and not to mention dishonest) that hey I've had one night in a studio so I know everything. I don't but that's part of the joy of photography there is always sometime new to learn and always ways to improve.

The main thing is that the night has opened up some rather interesting possibilities that I didn't have before so if you are reading this and sitting there wondering if you should try something new with your photography my main advice is to go out and try it.

The worse that could happen is it doesn't work but if it does, well who knows where that will lead.

Right Time, Right place

As a photographer you quickly learn to anticipate and pick up on the little things that give you a hint of fantastic photo opportunities to come. Whether it's that moment that your dogs pauses detecting a scent letting you know he's about to go bounding away through the field or the moment when your niece gets hold of a bottle of bubbles and a mischievous look crosses his face.

Of course no matter how much you try and anticipate, luck will always play a factor. For example at work this week it's not every day that you see Zippy, George and Bungle ( and yes I do mean the rainbow characters) in a life together. And where was I and my camera at this point? Well I was at my desk and my camera was firmly in it's bag at home

The role Luck can play in photography has been especially highlighted in two photos that have been published this week.

Now unless you've been living under a rock i'm sure you'll know who the running chap is. Now from what I can understand the photographer has set several camera's up on automatic but even so, it was luck that the camera happened to take the shot at just that moment. 

Now  if you know who this lady is, I'll be very surprised (and amazed). This photo shows off a prop that only nature can provide and it;s most wedding photographer would give one of their toes for ( I would say arm or legs but then it would be rather difficult to take pictures wouldn't it?)

Both photos show that with being in the right place at the right time you get something that will elevate the ordinary to the extraordinary. In both photos it has been the weather that has added that final touch to the photo. Now the wedding photo would have been awesome in it's own right but the photographers quick positioning of his subject has taken advantage of something that he could never have planned to get.

Now this is a round about away of linking back to the last portrait session I did along with my wonderful model, who was a colleague from work. Now I had imagined that most of the photos would be pretty much standard "portrait" shots. What I didn't realise was she had trained as a ballerina and started having so much fun she started to dance around.

Anticipating her moves was a interesting learning experience but the luck came in with the photo above, which is one of my favourites from that shoot as I just happened to be perfectly lined up to grab this shot as she paused before setting off on another dance sequence.

So anticipation and luck are indeed two important factors in getting a great photograph.

But you know what the most important factor is? Taking the photograph to begin with!

Later folks

The pick of the pile 1# Jump to it

If there is one problem with digital photography ( and I hesitate to call it this mind you) it is that you don't have to be as considerate as you used to with film cameras. You can keep pressing that button and taking photos until your memory card is full and even then you can simply delete what you don't want and start again.

Now I'll freely admit that not all of my photos are perfect (far from it) but I have started to fill up my external hard drive at a rather fast pace. Which means a photo has to be something that grabs my eye before it reaches the top of the pile.

So that is all a roundabout way of saying this is a first in a series of blog posts where I will be presenting some of my best photos that have caught my eye, or other peoples eves. The first is " Jump to it".

This was one of the first occasion where the ower of my new Canon 7D met the raw energy of some of my nieces and nephews. And neither disappointed.

This guy is one of my nephews and although the picture started as all colour I decided to try colour popping using photoshop elements and this is the result. A unintentional heavy use of the burn tool created the rather dramatic sky ( it was actually quite sunny that day believe it or not). 

The 7d's fast FPS rate captured the action fantastically and it was actually this first attempt at capturing action " mid flight" after I had persuaded him to try jumping off the seat ( in my defence it didn't requite much persuading) . It was also his leap that lead to his sisters wanting a go and actually lead to my Sister and our Mum jumping off the seat as well.

Their jump was just as successful even if the landing was not. And before you ask I don't think I'll risk putting that photo up as I'm not feeling that brave! :-)

Later folks