The Photo Blog

A&C Black, publishers of the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook have recently recommissioned an update to my ongoing article on the subject of working as a Professional Photographer.  First published in 1998, the article has been updated over the years to accommodate the many changes that have taken place in this ever-evolving industry.  Since the advent of digital photography and web-based marketing, it has been possible for Photographers reach global markets more readily. The article provides a wealth of information on how best to exploit these markets, whether seeking commissioned-based jobs, or selling existing images via international agencies.

This is the 104th edition of the Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook and can be purchased at leading bookstores and via the web. It can also be found in the reference section of most UK libraries. I will keep you posted as to when the 2011 edition becomes available.  You can reach the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook blog here.

Monday the 1st of November took me to a central Manchester studio to photograph star of X Factor, Laura White.  The photos were taken mostly for merchandising purposes for Laura’s current tour with Peter Andre, the cover of her new tour CD, plus her website and Twitter site - more info on Laura’s blog here. Working closely with GSD design, we managed to pull off a very successful shoot, despite an extremely tight deadline. I managed to organise a fantastic team at very short notice - Annie Roberts of Artisan on hair, Sadaf Saeed on makeup and shoot art director, Andrea Hughes.

After a day spent sat at my Mac clicking away the chosen images, I can truly say the results look stunning.  Laura was an absolute pleasure to photograph, with a character that kept all involved in high spirits throughout the entire day.

You can see some of the completed artwork featuring my images at GSD’s website here (click on ‘music’ in the menu to see the artwork).  All photos shot with a Nikon D2x and 70-200 vr 2.8 nikon lens and Bowens flash.  All images are copyright protected.  Click on any image for a larger view.

Next stop - London to photograph a former star from Hollyoaks - all will be revealed at a later date.

If you have been following my blog you will know from past entries that I have been working on an on-going national charity campaign called ‘Checkum’.  The aim of the campaign, sponsored by famousmales.uk.net, is to raise awareness of testicular cancer and ultimately encourage men to get themselves regularly checked out against the disease.

Radio interview - how it feels to be photographed naked!

Celebrities from all walks of life have been agreeing to shed their clothes in the name of charity.  My most recent shoot involving Bargain Hunt’s TV Auctioneer Jonathan Pratt, has already kicked up a stir with radio station Newbury Sound, resulting in a radio interview and web article where Jonathan reveals how it felt to be photographed naked - all helping to gain valuable publicity!  You can see the web article and images I shot for the campaign, plus hear the interview with Jonathan here.

CLICK ANY OF THE ABOVE IMAGES FOR LARGER VIEW.

Related to this campaign, I have another two celebrity shoots coming up towards the end of this month in London - I’ll keep you posted!  Related past blog entries can be seen by clicking these links - link 1, link 2, link 3.

Further to my las blog entry, just a few days later the snow came tumbling down all over Britain.  Here are a few scenes from the local park in Wilmslow, Cheshire.  All shot with a Nikon D2x and 18-200 vr lens.

Just to prove that my almost antique Nikon d70 can still deliver, the above photo was taken on the 28th of December 2009 at the peak of Kinder Scout in the Peak District National Park.  Even at a temperature of around minus 3, the camera’s electronics didn’t fail me - not bad for an ‘amateur’ body.  I predominantly use a Nikon D2x and will probably be purchasing the Nikon D700 very shortly (purely for it’s low-light shooting ability), but the light-weight body of the D70 meant I actually bothered to carry a camera at all on this occasion.  The trip wasn’t planned and was a spontaneous decision during the final hours of daylight.  I reached the peak at sunset and much of the descent was by moonlight - thankfully, it was a clear sky with a full moon, but I still managed to lose the path once or twice.  Some might say I also fell head over heals on ice during the final part of the descent, but rest assured the D70 is still in one piece!

Nikon D70, Nikon 18-200vr (at 18mm), shutter - 1/100th, aperture - F5, ISO - 200, handheld.

Commissioned photo assignments take up much of my time and style and subject matter are mostly dictated by the needs of the client, which can sometimes stifle creativity.  Therefore, during those rare occasions when jobs are not running back-to-back, I sometimes find a window of opportunity to shoot whatever I want, whether it be for portfolio, stock, or just for fun.

I have photographed the couple featured here in the past (link and link), but clearly this is another chapter of their on-going story.  Being friends with the ‘models’, I have more of an opportunity to develop my own ideas and also have the freedom to play with camera techniques, lighting and backgrounds, etc as the end result does not have to suit a pre-established brief .  In addition to shooting in a more relaxed fashion, it also gives me a great deal of pleasure to provide final images which I know will be treasured for life, rather than be yesterday’s news within a short space of time.

The images featured here were shot with Elinchrom studio flash, but I have just recently purchased the Nikon SB900 flash and plan to test this off camera (remote) and on location.  I will post the results as I shoot them.

Camera - Nikon D2x, Flash - two Elinchrom studio mono heads, Models - two friends.  Home studio.  Click any image for larger view.

Click any image to view larger version.

A recent overnight photo shoot took me to Billingshurst in West Sussex, where I was assigned to shoot Jonathan Pratt, Managing Director of Bellmans Auctioneers and star of BBC 1’s Bargain Hunt.  The location was a four hour Journey away from my home near Manchester, but thankfully it was a smooth one, no traffic jams or delays of any kind, not even on the notorious M25 around London.  We arrived at our destination an hour ahead of time, which provided my assistant Andrea and I with the perfect opportunity to have a pint in the nearby pub… and do some additional last minute planning. We met Jonathan at around 6pm, the main objective to photograph him for a aforementioned national charity campaign (see previous blog entries) relating to testicular cancer awareness.  The campaign is due to be launched next year.

We unloaded a car full of photo equipment, including cameras, 4 Elinchrom flash heads, reflectors, grids, snoots, flags, laptop, etc, etc.  Luckily, the auction house had it’s own white paper background, so one less item to carry. With a house full of antique props, it wasn’t difficult to create a few interesting environments in which to place Jonathan.  The shoot took around three hours to complete and we came away with around 200 images, most shot to fulfill the client’s brief, but a few additional ideas of our own for good luck.  All shots were created using three Elinchrom flash heads, one large softbox, grids and a snoot and the odd reflector.

me with Jonathan

As usual, the camera used was a Nikon D2x, predominantly fitted with a 50mm prime standard lens (which works out at around 75mm due to the smaller digital chip size).  Some of the ‘unofficial’ images are revealed here, but the main images were shot for the advertising campaign and will be posted at a future date.

Actors and Director of The Descent Part 2

Click image for larger view

My friend Simeon Halligan and partner Rachel Richardson-Jones recently organised Manchester horror film festival - Grimmfest.  In addition to screening Simeon’s own feature film ‘Splintered’, the festival is also hosting a number of other films within the Horror genre and includes interactive events such as public signings and Q and A sessions with some of the cast and crew members.

On the opening night of Grimmfest, the Director and two of the actors from the movie ‘The Descent part 2′ were on site at the Printworks Odeon Cinema in Manchester.  I was asked to take a few publicity shots of Director John Harris and actors Myanna Buring and Anna Skellern.  I decided to use Elinchrom studio lighting (which I partly regretted due to the heavy task of carrying the gear to and from the car park). Initially, the plan was to shoot against an existing backdrop that included the logo ‘Grimmfest’.  However, due to problems with reflection, I decided to shoot the two separately and merge them together later.  I completed this shoot on my own (without an assistant) and had about 15 minutes to get the main shots required by the press and PR company.  Then I had to merge the main shot later that night (1am to be exact) in anticipation that the press would be screaming for images the next morning.  All were uploaded to Theimagefile as high resolution images, a place where they can be viewed and downloaded immediately by the client.

Click any image for larger view (all photos are protected by copyright)

Equipment - Nikon D2x camera, Nikon 18-200 vr lens,  Two Elinchrom flash heads, soft box, barn doors.

James Pritchard (Pro Rugby player - Bedford Blues)    Click any image for larger view

Recent commercial shoots have taken me up and down the country, from Bedford to Chester to Hartlepool - all in one week!   Planning the shoot around the client’s brief is essential and I have therefore developed a list containing a generic location studio kit, which should cover me for every eventuality. Sometimes I may be setting up studio in an empty hotel room, other times hiring a professional well-equipped studio.  Either way, it’s always a good idea to carry with you as much of your own kit as possible, otherwise you just might be without that essential piece of equipment that’s required to create that million dollar shot.  Aside from the all-important lighting kit, simple things like Gaffa tape and bulldog clips can be the less obvious items you need for that time saving quick-fix.

Me with James Pritchard

The main image above of professional rugby player James Pritchard, was taken in a small hotel room in Bedford.  On the day we shot around 200 images in 3 hours and many different poses and lighting set ups were required by the client.  Some shots were dark and moody, others high-key on a white background and full-length.  The shots were commissioned for a charity advertising campaign, details of which will be revealed at a later date, along with example finished images.

After a smaller job for a design company at a college in Chester, my assistant Andrea and I travelled up to Hartlepool to photograph Channel 4’s ‘Deal Or No Deal’ contestant, Shaun Webb.  This time we were in a well-equipped studio, but finding you’re short of the right kind of light modifier, essential prop or coloured backdrop can present you with unnecessary stress on the day.  When your main goal is to fulfill the client’s brief as closely as possible, I try to leave nothing to chance, so taking along a back-up kit to every shoot is always preferable.

Wedding magazine, County Brides has recently published an illustrated article featuring some of the images I captured at the wedding of Rachael Lindemann (formerly Lee).  The article has been written by Rachael herself, who describes her experiences leading up to the wedding and expresses the emotions and excitement she felt on the day.  Rachael was married to James last may at Knowsley Hall.  The ceremony was Orthodox Jewish, which meant there was no shortage of interesting photo opportunities and throughout the evening celebrations, one energetic dance event seemed to lead in to the next.  As photographer, I had to work hard to keep up!

I have to say I think Rachael and James’ wedding was one of the most eventful I have ever covered, but with the support of my second photographer, Paula (of Nicole Photography) we came away with a fantastic set of images.

CLICK ANY IMAGE TO SEE A LARGER VIEW