Buxton March 2011

Ok, so what AM I on about Buxton? Well I have just returned from a week of full on residential training with a bunch of mega talented photographers, three gorgeous models and four hardy souls called trainers. We also filled a kitchen full of food and consumed about a lake of red wine. We think of it as creative lubricant ;)

So what does happen when you lock the aforementioned in a large country house in the middle of nowhere for a week with creative lubricant on hand?

Well the first thing we did was consume some wine.....did I mention we had wine? But then we did get down to the serious business at hand. Learning! As Mark Pearson commented to clients yesterday, people assume that because we are professional photographers that we know it all.....we don't, and who do we go to when we need an answer? Well this is our chance to leave any baggage at the door on the way in and bare our souls. And there were a few laid bare and hopefully a problem shared became a problem halved (or more since there were so many of us!)

The first morning saw the lovely Julie Oswin lead a group on shooting a bride in the landscape. This was a complete revolution to me as Julie set out to do the exact opposite of everthing I had ever been taught. I'd have been running for the shade while Julie popped Maria, our gorgeous bride for the morning in full sun, backlit! Wow, day one and first lightbulb moment! No longer shall I scurry for shade when there is light like that to be used!

From there we also explored in the studio with the wonderful Richie Crossley who is quite, quite mad as well as having a wealth of photographic talent and experience. It does not get much higher in this industry than Vogue Italy and that is the standard of Richies work. I've never been in safer hands and Richies giggles all week despite having a cold were a real highlight.

We talked long into the nights on everything from album design to sales and pricing and all the other business "stuff" that takes over our lives. If I had to add up the years of experience in the house last week it would be a very scary number indeed!

We shot boudoir with Paul Haley (who organised the whole week and deserves a medal!) We shot off camera flash with our resident DJ and image processing expert Sean McCormack. We were also blessed with great weather (it was still March and could have been freezing) and very hardy and super talented models who braved the elements to shoot editorial and art nude in stunning landscapes for us. Thanks to Steve and Richie for leading those sessions.

Back inside to end the week on a real high for me. I had some time with the gorgeous Lily and wanted something a bit special. I spoke to Richie and got some great advice about having a starting point and letting the creativity run from that starting point. So armed with his laptop and "inspirations" files I went hunting. It took me less than a minute to find my starting point, a Helmut Newton inspired shot and off I went. The style seemed to suit me and Lily got right into it and here is where it took us. (Thanks to Mac for the light holding duties :))

The value of the week spent with my peers simpy cannot be underestimated. I have learned techniques, I have learned business skills but most importantly I know a lot of very kind and wonderful people that I did not know this time last week. And for that I am extremely grateful.

More to come on the value of training and how to value training itself.

New digital package launched

I have launched a new digital only package for those couple who don't require a wedding album. Available to couples getting married at a single venue and it includes 5 hours coverage by me and a folder with several of your favourite images and the high res DVD of the fully photoshopped images from the day.

Why did I launch this product now?

Well quite simply, because I listen!

The last two wedding fayres I have exhibited at, couples told me that they were going to have a friend shoot their wedding images. Sorry guys and gals unless your friend has been around weddings for a long time they are simply not the best placed person to do it. Nor are they likely to be equipped for the job and they won't have access to the professional range of products I do. And they won't have insurance either.

And the other reason is because of people like this :-
http://www.u.tv/News/Couples-left-heartbroken-by-wedding-snapper/1df92be6-d13d-4d64-82e6-a468030a2d78

So I have introduced a £500 digital package to help to take the risk out of these situations. Why trust your wedding photography to anyone other than a fully insured photographer who is qualified, experienced and equipped to do the job?

Click on the title to follow the link :)

Discussion Time

I was exhibiting at a wedding fayre on Sunday and the first couple I talked to came out with the immortal line "We are not looking at photographers, we have a friend doing it"

So let me share my response to them :-

I am not here to convince you of the error of your ways but I will educate you to the risks you are taking. It's then down to you to make your choice but at least you will be making that choice from an informed position.

Your friend might have a big black camera, I have some decent knives and pots and pans......does that make me a chef or does it make me someone who owns knives, pots and pans? Would you ask me to cook your wedding breakfast because I own those?

Does your friend know about weddings? Do they know what comes next and where to be to capture it? Do they know the 6 essential shots to be taken during a ceremony? Or will they just shoot everything in the hope that something might be right?

Do they know how to design an album, whether a shot should be landscape for a double page spread or portrait for a single and do they know how to shoot complimentarty images of similar tones so it will work as a cohesive album? Or will they simply stick a load of pictures together? Do they have access to the albums that pros do?

Lets look at that camera again, what's the max aperture they can shoot at? What is the highest ISO they can shoot at. Do you like blur in your images? What is the slowest shutter speed you really need to keep people sharp again?

And you had best ask your venue about insurance because your friend won't have any and if someone trips over their gear or is injured doing something at their direction.....errm you could be very out of pocket with that one. And at the end of the day, if they ruin the lot, lose the cards, have the camera stolen (It has happened) then you have nothing and no recourse either.

So there you go, risks explained.

Good luck with your choice and I hope you have a great day and you get the memories to go with it and you don't end up falling out with your friend.

I've linked this post to an article written by a venue owner who spells out the difference from their observations. Well worth a read. Just click on this blog title to be taken straight to it or paste from the link below.

http://southalleden.com/farmweddingblog/2011/02/why-you-should-never-skimp-on-wedding-photography/