Simplicity

I often see many photographs of all types of genres packed to the boarders with props etc etc. And due to breaking a couple of bones (note to self- check step ladder stable before climbing up!) I have been experimenting with simple compositions that are local to me.

Morning has broken

The conditions were superb with a temperature around -3, and just about an hour after sunrise. The light was soft and had pinkishblue tones to complement the frost. 

Camera settings were iso 100, f16, 1/30th and I used a polarising filter with a 0.3 soft grad just to balance the sky/foreground a bit. Drive set to 2sec delay, and tripod. Lens was my trusted 28-105mm f4 USM. 

Wedding shoot woes.

Now let me bat right off at the start by saying this has never happened to me, but there will always be that time when the client feels the Photographer has underperformed. So I certainly wouldn’t be arrogant enough to say it would never happen. 

Weddings are a one shot event (figuratively not literally!). And it still never surprises me to see regular mention of unhappy brides on social media. Where, if your not careful trial & ultimately sentencing can be carried out.

So what should our couples be looking for? 

1. A full range portfolio.  

2. References. Don’t just rely on portfolio. Images are all too easily acquired from other photographers. 

3. A full plan that everybody is signed up to. And this would include a ‘must have’ shot list.  Also a style. How long post production will be.

4. Does the photographer have any professional qualifications or accreditation’s? 

5. Dispute resolution process

6. Insurance. 

7. Meet with the actual photographer(s), not the company rep. Do your personalities mesh? 

8. Compare packages. If One is offering a full day, albums, etc for £2000 and another for £200 i’d tend  to suggest the upper figure has a more realistic prospect of quality work (and experience).

9. GET A SIGNED CONTRACTURAL AGREEMENT.  

Even if you do all of the above, things can still go wrong, but, and here’s the kicker, chances are they won’t, and if they do, they’ll be a recovery process. 

Losing Focus

There comes a time in every creative photographers lives that they lose focus. And I don’t mean via the focus ring! 

i love new and innovative ideas and often use Viewbug & my social media sites to gauge opinion on my work. I also enter local camera club competitions but in all honesty, the “judges” don’t really receive new ideas particularly well. 

I always go back to the basics, simplicity being the key if I find myself struggling. So that might mean a simple product, single light source and go from there. Much the same as a landscape photographer will return to his or hers go to location. 

Above all you have got to get back to loving what you do. 

Night time reflections

So as I lay here, buzzing like I’ve OD’d on caffine, I have ideas flowing like water over a fall. 

2018 will see a significant increase in my photography business. Website now moved over to Squarespace (using the app right now), new partnerships well on the way to being formed, locations scouted, technology in place, and most of all a business strategy formed.