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 General Ramblings on January 22, 2013| Leave a Comment »
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…
Posted in General Ramblings, Outdoors on January 22, 2013| Leave a Comment »
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…
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 General Ramblings, Outdoors on August 22, 2012| Leave a Comment »
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.
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 General Ramblings on August 22, 2012| Leave a Comment »
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.
Posted in General Ramblings, Outdoors on August 15, 2011| 6 Comments »
I’m continually amazed at how photography can reveal so much about ourselves. In my last post I mentioned that my father had passed away and the importance of photography (link). Since that sad day a couple of months later, I went for a walk with my mother. As we’re heading out the door I decided to pick up my camera… During the walk we stopped every-now-again to take a photograph and then continued walking into town. It wasn’t till later when editing the pictures did I realize how there was a sense of searching.
A thoughtful moment...
This is a very powerful image to me...
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