One thing I will not make excuses for!

I have to admit to getting a little tetchy with some photographers these days. Not everyone, just some. The ones in question are of the opinion that it's OK to attempt to shoot a wedding using equipment that is totally unsuitable for the job and that you don't really need any skills or training to do so. The "Give it a go" brigade. It's just not acceptable to be encouraging someone who has neither the equipment nor the skills to do the job, in fact it's downright irresponsible.

I make absolutely no apology for attending training courses, I make no apology for going to work with other more experienced photographers so I may pick up some ideas from them. These people have a lifetime of experience and if I can walk a few short steps in their footsteps and learn something from the experience then why is that such a bad thing?

I take training seriously and I go on as much as I can find time to do. It does not have to cost a fortune but from Mark Cleghorn's Monkey Business tours to travelling all the way to Edinburgh for a day with Trevor and Faye Yerbury, I will put myself out to do it. I have a week's residential training with some very knowledgeable folks from the MPA next March already booked.

And if I pick up one skill, one tip, one bit of experience passed on from each and every training opportunity then it makes me a better photographer. Each skill goes into my own toolbox and it allows me to pull them out when I want to use the technique. That develops me as a photographer and allows me to offer my clients a better product. And for that I make no apology at all!

Big Dog don't bite

Had some fun on a training seminar with Damian McGillicuddy (also known affectionately as Big Dog) this morning. The brief was shooting beauty shots anywhere anytime. So we found ourselves in Warrington Royal British Legion where Damian ably demonstrated on the stage (all 18 inches of it!) how to shoot a well lit shot with the minimum of equipment. 4 Fold down panels, 2 flashguns and a DMG beauty dish and this is what we got.
Also great to see DPM Wallbank there with some cracking news on storybook albums, definately a case of watch this space.
Thanks to Damian, his team including the lovely Rebecca Amy, great to see you again after your bout of tonsilitis, nasty things! And thanks to all the photographers who came along, so lovely to see some folks I've not seen in a while and wish I had more time to stop and chat. Alas the bank and database tech support saw to that but all sorted already.
See you all soon.
x

Saturday wedding

Had a great day with MPP (Mark Pearson Photography) on Saturday. Mark is a hugely experienced wedding photographer and I'd be mad to turn down the chance to shoot alongside someone who has probably seen and done just about everything there is to do in wedding photography. (He'll tell you he's not THAT old, just started young)

It's great to shoot alongside someone so experienced because he is one step ahead of what is happening the whole day. He knows where to be and when, what is likely to happen at any time and I certainly learned a few things. I learned the value of communication with our two way radios,it did not matter if we were several hundred yards apart, one click of a microphone and we could talk to each other ensuring we missed as little as possible. I learned some very valuable things about image processing that will save me literally hours going forward. There is a huge amount to do to select and process the images from any wedding and there are other things I could do to add more value for my couples if I freed up a little more time in front of a PC!

I'll ask for permission to post a few pics when our couple return from honeymoon. :)

Thanks Mark, can't wait till we do it again!

The lovely Dana and Francois

Fabulous weather and a great couple.





We did have a blast for an hour yesterday down at Salford Quays. It's a great little location with a fair bit of variety in the kind of shots we can shoot in a relatively short time. We are going to have such a fab time shooting their wedding next month. Thanks guys! :)

Where did the weekend go?

Quite a tough week this one. My long suffering other half J had to be rushed into hospital on Wednesday in utter agony. Shot full of morphine the doctors worked their way through the list of possibles until finally settling on a diagnosis of kidney stones. Got him back home on Friday night and he's comfortable and resting up on painkillers and hoping that anything remaining goes away....soon.

So I had some catching up to do work wise and the weekend was a busy one anyway. I was shooting a wedding with the wonderful Mark Pearson in Harrogate on Saturday and had a pre wedding shoot with my lovely couple getting married in July, Dana and Francois. I did comment to Dana that now I understood why she was marrying a Frenchman as Francois beamed at the prospect of kissing Dana once more. She informed him that he was out of kissing rations for this week. lol I am really going to enjoy shooting their wedding and delighted that Mark can join me too. Stunning location, stunning couple and a fab colleague, what more can I ask for?

Worked a little in lightroom today developing presets that can be applied on import to cut down on the post processing that the images need. I've only just started working within lightroom but already I'm starting to see the power it has to offer. Very much a case of learning a little bit at a time and applying it as I go along.

I'll try to get some images for you this week, it's understandably tedious to read blogs with no pictures and I am, after all, a photographer!!

back from hols and getting cracking!

Had a lovely little break in Cornwall last week and with the batteries recharged it's a case of "Here we go!"

Saturday I am second shooting for the wonderful Mr Mark Pearson at a wedding up in Harrogate. I love my time second shooting and although it can be tiring I still learn every time I work with other photographers and Mark has a wealth of experience so I'll be working and watching and learning. Wedding photography is a real craft and I'd be mad not to take the chance to work with photographers at the top of their game.

Sunday sees me doing a pre wedding shoot with the lovely Dana and Francois prior to their wedding next month. I'm really looking forward to their wedding, it's going to be different to most and that will give me some unique challenges. So I'm off to their venue on Wednesday to start some serious planning. I have to produce a different range of images at this one so planning and practice for the next three weeks should hopefully result in something a little special.

Catch you again soon
x

Brilliant couple of weeks

Booked some lovely brides and grooms for weddings both this year and next and I'm really excited about my new clients. I get such a buzz out of meeting new people and being involved in their wedding day is a huge privilege. Every wedding is a little bit special and I have some very special ones to shoot and I can't wait!

The new database is working well and although it will take some time to configure it fully it's up and running at a basic level that allows me proper contact management and email, letter and quotes are all set up. Invoices are on the to do list as is rationalising some of my literature to make it easy to send out. One pdf with everything on it :) All the component parts are in word at the moment so a little adobe trickery is called for.

Shot some lovely boudoir images on Monday too. There were for a bride who's wedding I'm second shooting in August, as a surprise for her hubby. We had a great time shooting them and the PP work took longer than the shoot! I really need to speed up the rate for PPing boudoir images so I'll be getting the Lightroom books out in a week or so.

That's all for now folks :)