In an impromptu shoot while visiting family I photographed a neighbours grandson. Here’s a frame of little Jamie using nothing more than their lounge, a sofa, a blanket and using the minimum lighting gear required for this kind of shoot. If you want your child photographed like this in the comfort of your own home, feel free to contact me for details…
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Having met some of the most amazing people ever on the Damien Lovegrove Spain 2012 workshop, it was time to organise a reunion shoot back in the UK. Our host Aneil Sharma of Etolie Photography organised everything! Here are a few frames for you to look over…
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I’m very fortunate to have Hannah to work with because she’s just lovely and it gives me the perfect opportunity to experiment with new shoot ideas. This shoot was aimed at using extremely low winter light to the best affect. Mostly shooting with natural light and really challenging the kinds of images that can be created if you know how to find what light is available.
Let’s have a look…
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Here is a selection of photographs while I was out testing some new urban locations as well as new types of woodland imagery at a nearby forest.
Funky autumn fun!
Something a little more dreamy…
Perhaps something in-between funky and nature?
Creative use of urban spaces.
Its all about the lighting!
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In October in 2012 I attended another one of Damien Lovegrove’s life changing workshops, this time in Spain. Upon arrival it seemed like everyone had known each other for years! It was amazing! That was the start to the most amazing 3 days which will be a memory forever. I love these kinds of workshops because they really focus on creativity and a good healthy dose of instructional training as well. This was my 9th Lovegrove workshop and my photography skills have been sharpened every time I’ve been with Damien (or one of his instructional trainers, most notably Martin Hill and Chris Hanley). I really like the way that Damien refers to workshops like Spain 2012 as “passion” workshops. This describes these workshops perfectly because you are with like minded photographers, they help you in finding your own voice/style, you explore the world with other creative folks and its a chance to focus on something you want to get better at. For me, I specifically wanted to master shooting in bright sun light which we did a lot of…
I think mastering something “creative” like photography has a “time element” associated with it. This means you need to progress with a carefully thought out plan. Being able to use a camera is one thing, being able to direct a person to make the best images is an entirely different thing. As well as how to approach editing the images and how they might end up in a physical product. Every stage needs equal attention to detail. Every workshop I’ve done with Damien has been carefully selected to move me forward at the right time. This has to be coupled with applying the knowledge straight away with real people in real settings back home. I can honestly say that I am the photographer today because of Damien Lovegrove.
Anyway, let’s move on and show you some images from Spain 2012…
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What ever the occasion, there is always good time for a photo shoot. Here are a few frames from Aimee’s 18th Birthday photo shoot…
The first location after leaving a local cafe.
A lucky moment to catch the right moment for a little wind…
A frame straight off the camera. With the right “know how” you can find the perfect light.
A splash of flash to make this image.
Another flash image which also uses Nik Software’s Photoshop plug-ins.
My favourite stone wall in our town. It’s too easy to over use it. However, I think this frame works well.
A lovely image of Aimee photographed in an unlikely location.
The final location of the day’s shoot.
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In June 2012 we had a small family holiday near Bristol (at http://www.withyfieldcottage.co.uk). Obviously prime time to take photographs! However, here are just a couple from our private collection…
The cottage we stayed in in the Bristol country side.
A happy moment with my mother.
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I worked with Graham Law to come up with some new ideas for our portrait photography shoots. Most people don’t see how wonderful their local environment is and we wanted to shoot something our town probably hasn’t seen before. This exercise was also about exploring a post-production style that was believable but not too overdone. Below are our images from the shoot with Hannah.
The first location with post-production utilising Nik Software’s Photoshop plug-ins to achieve the Indian Summer look.
Using good natural light available to us.
Now time for some more flash photography to add a little drama in an unlikely location.
This is photographed under a bridge and this particular location is popular with people taking their dogs for walks. This is a two flash setup with one flash lighting the stone ceiling and one lighting Hannah through a softbox.
Same location as the previous image… but with a different camera angle.
Still in the same location but looking toward the stairs and lit with a flash in a softbox.
A wider shot showing the stone ceiling of the bridge.
Still at the bridge a shot of Hannah lit with a softbox.
Creating something a little more cheeky! Adding a second gelled up flash.
End of the day in low light.
I love this frame to end the shoot.
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Back in April 2012 it was time to do another Damien Lovegrove workshop on body language. This was a very different kind of workshop in that it was about getting areas of photography I had not entirely understood previously. Some of it was about body language but more importantly it was about emotion and other key areas. Another totally wonderful workshop by Damien! Here are a small selection of my images.
The first location of the day with Holly.
Some close up portraits with Lucia lit with a Lupolux Quadlight 1500.
First shoot with Jade lit with a Lupolux 1200.
Exploring different poses and compositions.
So many opportunities in such a small simple space.
The room was fairly empty with a large window. With the right exposure you can make almost any image.
I love Jade’s expression in this image.
Same location as the previous image.
More time with Holly at the staircase.
With the right “know how” you can make wonderful images with natural light.
A happy moment with Lucia.
Going for something more fashion oriented with Jade.
A bit of energy to end the day!
The final thoughtful image of the day.
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They say the best camera is the one you have with you… In most of our lives that means a mobile phone. I’ve not used my mobile phone much as a camera ever! So over the last 6 months or so I’ve been using the camera on my iPhone as an experiment. And I have to say I’ve been very impressed! You don’t have all the controls that you have on a DSLR, but being a photographer isn’t always about f-stops, shutter speed and all that. It’s also about composition, seeing the picture, the quality of light and having a camera to capture it.
Once you’ve taken the photograph, what do you do with it? This is where post-production comes. You aim to get the most out of the photo in very subtle ways. Crazy Photoshop post-production techniques has caused a bit of a backlash in society. On the iPhone I use “snapseed” for all my post-production. The skills I use to edit pictures are exactly the same as those I’ve learnt over the last several years. I’d have to say that learning to edit pictures is one of the hardest aspects of photography.
Below are a few landscapes taken with my iPhone and edited with snapseed…
I captured this on my way to the office in Norway. I liked how the water fountain appears as a big TV. I did go a little crazy with the post-production, but I liked it so I went with it.
The same scene as the previous image, but photographed in Winter.
Even or boring path can make a nice image! Photographed in the early hours on a Winter morning.
A beautiful sunrise on the way to the office.
The same location as the previous image, but photographed during Winter. You can see how the sea is frozen!
Over looking the park covered in snow.
A closer view of the frozen sea...
The boat marina iced over.
The snow actually falling and you can see how far the sea is frozen.
I just felt that this post-production style fitted this image.
Photographed near where I work in winter. I'm just amazed at the iPhone's low light performance.
Black & White just suited this image.
An empty boat marina photographed from my apartment in Norway.
And finally a scene from Prague...
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Photo Rebel 