Posted in Flash, General Ramblings on January 22, 2013| Leave a Comment »
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…
Posted in Flash, General Ramblings, Outdoors on January 22, 2013| Leave a Comment »
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!
Posted in Flash, General Ramblings, Outdoors on January 22, 2013| 5 Comments »
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…
Posted in Flash, General Ramblings, Outdoors on August 22, 2012| 1 Comment »
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.
Posted in Flash, General Ramblings on August 22, 2012| Leave a Comment »
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.
Posted in Flash, Outdoors on August 22, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Last week I did a quick photo shoot with my very good friend Ken and his lovely dog Lancelot. I scouted the location the day before and managed to get the whole shoot done in around 30 minutes. My buddy Joe helped and assisted on the shoot which made things move on much quicker than normal. Here are a few frames from the shoot:
I captured this frame half way through the shoot. I love this photograph!!
I went to the top of the sand bank to get a glimpse of the sea and the beach in the background.
You always need a frame like this on a beach shoot...
We all had fun filming on this shoot!
With a sky formation like this you just have to get more of it in the frame 🙂
I love how this frame almost appears monochrome...
A close up of Lancelot.
Finally back at base...
Posted in Flash, Outdoors, Wedding on July 27, 2011| 4 Comments »
Back in mid February Will and Julie contacted me to photograph their wedding. We met up at the pre-wedding shoot to take some lovely images before their Big Day. Graham Law and I did a location scout the day before and picked our locations carefully. The pre-wedding shoot lasted nearly 3 hours.
If you’d like us (Graham Law and myself) to photograph your wedding, get in touch…
Enjoy the photos below…
The shoot started with Julie in the local town park.
Julie and Will in the same location.
Moved over about 30 meters to another location for this frame.
I directed Will and Julie to create this wonderful image.
Same location but a figure in the landscape type image.
A moment of closeness.
Same location...
Time for some drama! Yeah!!
A quick visit into town for a few frames. This was the first location.
Used a wall that was right next to the previous location.
Love is in the air...
Across the road was a lovely telephone box for us to use.
A private moment...
A change of location...
I love making these kinds of shots...
A simple but effective portrait.
A wider frame of where we were shooting in the previous frames.
I absolutely love this image!
A change of location again... out in the fields...
It started to rain... but we weren't phased at all 🙂
Finally arrived at our last location.
The last frame of the day...
Posted in Flash, Lightroom, Outdoors on June 13, 2011| 6 Comments »
A while back Graham and I did a photo shoot with Hannah down at the Lead Mines at Clywedog Dam in Powys, Wales. My goals for the shoot was to create something special with a bit of class about it. An evening gown in the middle of an ancient ruin seemed a good contrast to me…
This frame from the first location needed no post-production treatment and is straight off the camera.
I always take close-up and wide angle frames when on a photo shoot. I particularly like this frame in Black & White.
This shot could have been taken anywhere that has trees or a small woods.
I used a bit of flare from the sun to soften the look of this frame in the woods.
A change of location to the river...
Using the sun again to add a bit of interest into the frame.
I took several frames like this one and it works in colour, Black & White and a warmed up desaturated look (above).
A change of location to another part of the river with this frame from a high vantage point.
Blue's and green's... beautiful complementary colours.
Time for something different and dramatic.
This kind of frame can also work in Black & White.
Perhaps something more fairytale...
Change of location to the old Lead Mine buildings.
Exploring different angles...
I love Hannah's expression in this image.
Colour or Black & White... whatever take your fancy...
The sun was starting to set at this point in the shoot.
This establishing shot shows the Lead Mines and the dam wall in the background.
Time for a few close-up portraits.
I love this frame!
Add a bit of light for this simple photograph.
I then went for a much cooler look...
This image makes you wonder what Hannah is thinking about?
My last frame of the day...
Posted in Flash, Outdoors on March 25, 2011| Leave a Comment »
Here are some images of Steven taken in just a few minutes for his facebook profile.
Taken with a single flash about 10 feet away.
Same location but using natural light.
Again, single flash rigged onto a stand.
Even an empty car park is a great place to take a portrait!
Posted in Flash, Outdoors on March 1, 2011| 5 Comments »
My photography journey brings me to photographing weddings. Last year I attended another Damien Lovegrove workshop (3 days) covering all aspects of weddings and here are a few frames from the day.
First up was photographing the wedding rings.
Then the flowers...
Our model getting ready for the big day.
Sarah getting ready...
Then it was bridal portraits...
We got to explore many portrait opportunities.
I love how Sarah is framed within the window.
Then we moved onto a different area of the hotel shooting under very challenging lighting conditions.
Again... exploring different shots within the same lcoation.
Yip... its all fun! 🙂
It was time to get back to shooting portraits of the groom.
Exploring more angles for the various shots.
We had a lot of fun shooting in this spiral stairwell.
Then we moved to another location for this simple portrait.
... and swiftly moving on to the last groom portrait before a much need break.
Heading towards the final sessions of the day, we headed into the Church.
The lovely couple walking down the isle together...
Photographing the couple together using ambient light.
A tigher shot compared with the previous image.
A closeup of the lovely couple...
One final bridal portrait in the Church before finishing off the session.
On our way back to the main building... we had the opportunity to shoot outside.
It was very cold at this time...
Once back indoors, the final session was to try out the various continuous lighting gear!
I love the warm colours in this frame.
My last frame of the day...
