That's the Badger!

New Blog

2012-01-14T12:00:00.001Z

I've changed my blog now, please update any links or rss feeds to this:
http://badgerwaffle.blogspot.com

Rainy Day

2011-12-13T09:42:00.000Z

It was a very rainy day...

Dinner

2011-11-18T09:50:00.000Z

I have been reading a few articles and posts on various blogs, and I have been thinking alot about my photography, especially my personal work.

I have let it degrade in recent months.

I haven't paid any attention to my personal photography for too long.

I got into photography because I loved showing the world as I see it, the little bits and pieces that I notice and lately, I've been slack. I love photography because it tells a truth, not the whole truth, but part of it, more like a personal truth.

I've been so wrapped up in looking at other photographers, wishing and wanting to be like them, I forgot to simply be like me.

So here you go, take a look, see what I see.

Turn a £1 Lampshade into a Statement Piece for your Living Room on the Cheap.

2011-09-27T12:59:00.000+01:00

I went to a carboot this Sunday just gone, I only took a few quid with me as I don't like to spend too much there. anyway, my lampshade in the living room was getting a bit old, and after a massive playfight with 6 people a few months ago, it was a bit broken.

While looking around the carboot I noticed an Art Deco up-lighter (probably IKEA) which looked pretty interesting, but for my tastes, a bit plain.

Well I didn't go to college and study A-Level Art for nothing so I put my hard earned skills to good use and I customised my lampshade...

All you need to do this is a permanent market, I used two - one thin point and one thick.

I downloaded two open source photos of birds, one in flight and a Jenny Wren with its tail up.
Printed them out and carefully cut out the silhouettes to make stencils.
I then traced them onto the lampshade, using the metal Art Deco bars as branches.
For the bit at the bottom it was free hand, I just used a couple of images as inspiration for the butterflies and dragon flies.

The markers cost 27p from Tesco for two and the thin one was about a quid if I remember rightly.

All in all the whole thing took about an hour, which includes searching for the images, cutting out, tracing and colouring in.

So if you are bored and there is nowt on the telly box then grab a marker and customise something!

Angela and John :: E'Session Pre Wedding Shoot in Church Stretton - Carding Mill Valley

2011-09-24T14:11:00.000+01:00

Angela and John are getting Married in November 2011 at Church Stretton. They have booked Catkin Studio to take photographs of their celebration!

Before the wedding, we get together to take some Pre-wedding or E'Session photographs which gives both myself and the bride and groom to be, a chance to get to know each other and become friends before the Wedding day.

Angela and John, thank you for such a wonderful morning, scrambling about around the most beautiful Carding Mill Valley with you all!

The wedding is going to be fantastic and I can't wait to be there taking photographs!

The Vendor Client relationship - in real world situations

2011-09-24T13:50:00.000+01:00

This is scarily true..lol!

Designer Wedding Dresses

2011-09-15T09:10:00.000+01:00

Showcase of designer Wedding Dresses from 2010 to make you drool with envy.

5 Tips - Family Photographs with a Pro

2011-08-25T17:23:00.005+01:00

Whenever a client calls me to schedule a photo session, I am asked how they should dress.

Many times when you look at the family pictures on display you notice that everyone in the family is dressed to match. An example would be that every person in the family is wearing the exact same colour of jeans and a white shirt.

While some may like the idea of everyone looking the same, as a lifestyle photographer I never recommend this to my clients.

Here are a few tips on how to dress to get great family pictures.

1. Be Unique
Each member of your family is a unique and different person. Let each person dress in a way that is true to themselves. I know very few boys that would wear a white 'school' shirt and black trousers outside of school on a regular basis.

If you are a jeans and t-shirt kind of family, maybe that's what you should wear to get your photos in. (If that feels too casual maybe just get some fun, new t-shirts for the whole family.)

2. Accessorize
Accessories are a great way to show your personality and add that splash of color that brings the whole family together, whether it's chunky necklace or a pair of brightly colored shoes or even some cool sunglasses.

3. Avoid Being Too Similar
I honestly am not a fan of "clone photos". I find them to be distracting and more often than not superficial and overtly posed. That is not to say you can't all wear black jeans. Or that you shouldn't all wear pink shirts. Just make sure to show your unique personality in the style of your clothes and through your accessories.

4. Coordinate
IYou do want to look like you belong together in the sense that dad should not wear a suit if the rest of the family is wearing jeans and a t-shirt. Just make sure that you all complement each other.

5. Simple Patterns
It's best not to wear busy clothes - like big floral prints, polka dots, or stripes. Clothes with a lot of design tend to distract from the subject of the picture - you and your family. Try and stay away from 'fashion' as well, there is nothing like a bit of fashion to date a photo!

If you use these five simple guidelines when getting ready for your family photo session, you are sure to get great photos that capture your family's true personality.

3 Quick Tips for Better Photos Instantly.

2011-08-21T11:29:00.001+01:00

1. If you think you are close enough... get even closer fill the viewfinder with your subject.

2. Put your subject a third of the way in from the edge of the frame, also know as the rule of thirds.

3. Take more than one photograph, at least two or three, but be sure to move around to get different angles.

That's it!

5 Tips - Get a great Family Photo

2011-08-20T17:13:00.006+01:00

There are some very good reasons to learn how to take family portraits, and you don't have to be professional photographer to do so!

If you are taking a portrait of your family, you have to be in it too! So be sure to use a camera with a timer or remote shutter button release.

Without further ado, here are some tips to help you get started taking memorable family portraits, whether formal or informal.

1. Avoid the "Line Up" Portrait - Instead of lining everyone up shoulder to shoulder, try a more natural arrangement that also makes it easier to to fit a bunch of people into one picture.

Staggering is one technique that works well for group photos. For example, you might stagger the family members on the front steps of a porch or around a pond, with some family members standing and others sitting. If in a park, two siblings might sit on a low hanging branch of a tree or all could sit on the lawn grouped together. Show family closeness by spacing members close together.

2. Show Relationships - You can do this by the way in which you have people pose in the portrait. For example, Grandma and Grandpa might stand next to each, a toddler could be in Mother's arms, two siblings might have arms over each others shoulders...

3. Consider Including the Family Pets - assuming they hold still long enough!

4. Get Creative with Objects - depending upon the type of portrait you want. Does the family do any activities or sports like community baseball? Each family member could hold a mitt, ball or bat. This is a trend with individual portraiture that can be fun for families too.

5. Get Everyone Smiling - Instead of just saying "cheese," put the family at ease by talking to them: compliment, tell a story joke around, and soon they won't be so nervous about the photographing and their smiles will become more relaxed and real. When you've got the smiles and pose, ask the family to hold them until you give the signal that your camera's got the shot.

Finally if you want a family photo taken by a Professional, give me a ring!

Wedding :: Hiroka and Simon

2011-08-20T10:41:00.000+01:00

10 Tips - Choosing your Wedding Venue

2011-08-19T11:03:00.003+01:00

If you're getting married, then maybe you've already chosen the wedding venue. If you haven't decided where you're getting married, or where your reception will be, then here are some things you should consider.

1. You'll want to consider the time of year that you're getting married, as some venues will look better in summer or winter.

2. You might have reasons for choosing a particular place to get married, or alternatively, you might want to get married somewhere completely different. Perhaps you'll choose somewhere in the countryside to make an amazing backdrop for your special day.

3. Why not see if the venue you're considering has a wedding planner, so that they can organise everything, and leave you to get on with the other important aspects of your wedding?

4. If you're getting married at the venue, rather than a church or registry office, then you might be flexible on the date. If you're getting married somewhere else, then you'll need to make sure that your date is available. It's a good idea to book far in advance, so that you get the date and facilities that you want.

5. Depending on how many people are coming to your wedding will also help determine what sort of venue you need. You might need a big venue if there are lots of people, or you might prefer a smaller and much more intimate venue if there aren't going to be so many people.

6. If you want to have your actual ceremony at your wedding venue, as opposed to just the reception, then you'll want to make sure that the venue is licensed for weddings.

7. You'll want to make sure that the wedding venue can do the wedding menu that you want. You wedding meals will be an important part of the reception, so you'll want them to be right, and suitable for all of your guests.

Ludlow Castle

8. A wedding venue with nice grounds will lend itself to plenty of photo opportunities. If having photographs of your wedding day are important, then you'll want to pick somewhere with nice scenery and perhaps natural features or impressive buildings.

9. Wedding venue accommodation will be important for you and your guests, so you'll want to choose somewhere that offers sumptuous rooms, and the features and facilities you'd expect from a luxury hotel.

10. Even though you might have a budget in mind, you can't put a cost on your wedding venue. You'll want to make sure that everything is perfect, and that you don't settle for something you don't want, in a location you don't want to be in, and that isn't right, in order to save money.

Now you know what to look for, you'll be able to choose the perfect wedding venue, and have the most amazing day of your life.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4060354

12 Tips - Bridesmaid Dresses

2011-08-17T12:25:00.000+01:00

1. Don’t dress your friends in something hideous so you’ll look better in comparison, and try not to choose bridesmaid dresses that make your maids look heavy or sexless.

2. Take your time and decide how you want the bridesmaid dresses to look beside your wedding dress. Find a style that feels the same as your dress but doesn’t look too similar — you don’t want your bridesmaids looking like you!

3. Search for a style that flatters the different sizes and shapes of your bridesmaids. A-line skirts and empire line waists tend to look good on all body types. And you should also consider choosing a color or a fabric and then letting each bridesmaid pick a style that will suit her. You wouldn’t want to cram a tall bridesmaid into the exact same style as a petite, skinny girl.

4. Look for colors you like and think would look good on all of your friends (consider their complexions and hair colors). Brighter colors are generally more flattering, while pastels might look great on girls with fair complexions, but can be too distracting on friends with a darker complexion.

5. Don’t ask your friends to purchase a bridesmaid dress they absolutely wouldn’t be caught dead in ever again. Think about what your maids could do with the dresses after the wedding.

6. Remember to think about everyone’s present financial situation. If you fall in love with a dress that’s a bit over their budgets, consider covering the difference yourself.

7. Ask your bridesmaids to go shopping with you, but don’t bring them all at once if you have more than four. It will be way to hard to create your own opinion.

8. List your bridesmaids and put notes beside each about what kind of dress you think would look good on her, how much you think is fair to ask her to pay for a dress, and anything else that strikes your fancy.

9. Dark-colored dresses like navy, green, and black look great on almost every maid and can be worn to formal events later.

10. If you’re considering strapless dresses or bridesmaid gowns that don’t accommodate bras, ask your bridal party if they would be comfortable in such a style before you decide.

11. Don’t be a control freak and try to do everything on your own. Appoint your maid of honor or one highly responsible bridesmaid to be in charge of organizing dress purchases.

12. Remember that simple, elegant designs make everybody happy. Don’t go over the top with lots of details, embellishments, and accessories.

10 Tips - Keeping within your Wedding Budget

2011-08-17T12:15:00.001+01:00

In today's less-than-stellar economy, many brides and grooms are looking to have less extravagant weddings in order to save a few bucks. Luckily, you can still have a memorable and special ceremony without breaking the bank. Here are 10 tips on how to have an inexpensive wedding:

1. The Dress - Practically every woman has dreamed of her wedding dress since she was a young girl and many may be nervous about scrimping in this area. But there are a few ways to save money and still wear your dream gown down the aisle. Search the clearance section of a few bridal shops for last season's designs that are still in fashion or check out consignment shops for once-worn stylish yet inexpensive wedding dresses. If you have a family member or friend who is handy with the needle and thread, consider finding your dream design and having them recreate it. Or, if you're not the sentimental-type or hate the thought of a never-to-be-worn-again dress cluttering your closet, consider renting a gown.

2. The Date - The term "June bride" is popular for a reason. For centuries, June has been the most popular month to get married, followed by July and August. Late spring and early fall weddings are also popular due to the higher chance of nice weather and more opportunities for an outdoor wedding. However, if you're looking to save money, consider an off-season or even an off-weekend wedding. The lack of ceremonies on these dates causes many vendors to offer discounts and couples can save money on flowers, food and décor.

3. The Wedding Party - While many brides worry about hurting the feelings of close friends and family members by leaving them out of the wedding party, they also hurt their checkbooks by having a huge bridal party. It's considered appropriate to give each bridesmaid a gift as a token of your appreciation for assisting you with your big day and prices can quickly add up. Keep the bridal party small to help maintain a low-cost budget.

4. The Guests - It may be tempting to invite everyone from your hairstylist to your third grade teacher but it's better for your budget to keep the guest list to close family and friends. Each additional person adds to the cost via food, party favors or the size of the venue.

5. The Food - Hosting a full-fledged formal wedding dinner sounds wonderful but it can add hundreds, if not thousands, to your bill. Instead, serve elegant finger foods or create a buffet-style meal featuring relatively-inexpensive foods, such as pasta and salad. Another option is to have a potluck-style meal and ask guests to bring along a copy of their recipe so that you can create a special recipe book after the ceremony to help commemorate the experience.

6. The Cake - Traditional bakeries can cost an arm and a leg for a wedding cake. Consider asking a kitchen-friendly family friend to make the cake instead or even inquire at your local grocery store for likely-cheaper-prices than you would find at a specialized bakery. Another trendy option is to serve cupcakes instead.

7. The Music - Hiring a band or a DJ can quickly add up in expenses. Thankfully, in today's iPod-friendly world, it's simple for you to create a playlist, set it up with your venue's audio system or rent a few speakers and press play.

8. The Flowers - Instead of hiring a floral company to create your arrangements and bouquets, create inexpensive wedding flowers by simply buying the blossoms and doing it yourself! In addition to saving a bundle of money, you can turn it into a separate and memorable event by inviting the bridal party over to help.

9. The Invitations - With so many design-friendly programs and high-quality printers readily at our fingertips, it's no longer necessary to order invitations. Consider creating and printing your own at a fraction of the cost. You can also save money - and help the environment - by asking guests to RSVP via email or telephone rather than respond with a pre-stamped envelope as was popular in the past.

10. The Décor - Sometimes simplicity is better than extravagancy. Keep the décor to a minimum and focus on elegant and inexpensive touches like candles or homemade centerpieces. Guests may not even notice, after all, all eyes should be on you on your big day.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/4056190

2011 Wedding Trends

2011-08-15T21:00:00.005+01:00

Wedding trends for 2011 evidence a return to a simpler time, when nuptials meant shorter guest lists, a sense of elegance and refinement, and a maintaining of a designated budget. Industry professionals understand that in the current economy, lovely weddings can be planned within a reasonable budget, regardless of any plain-Jane comparison with the recent over-the-top royal wedding spending spree, estimated at over $60 million.

Whether it's a sign of the times, individual preferences, or a bit of both, today's brides are more socially conscious than in more extravagant times past. Opting for outdoor venues and eco-friendly weddings, guests receive invitations on recycled paper and are informed the menu will consist of food grown locally. The happy couple plan their do-it-yourself event with complete modesty, dressing in second-hand / vintage clothing as per their ethnic or cultural influences, and ask that charitable donations be given in lieu of superficial or unnecessary wedding gifts.

In terms of the latest must-have color, white is still the first choice for many brides; however, other colors are making a splash in many ceremonies. As colors not often considered first, grey and navy are gaining popularity among the IT-savvy crowd. In addition, the same crowd is requesting metallic accents, as well as shimmering and sparkling colors, much more frequently. These are the same brides and grooms who communicate via Facebook, Twitter, etc., and use these social media options to create wedding websites to involve guests in the planning process and excitement of the event as it draws near.

For most couples, finances dictate wedding extravagance or modesty, and alternatives are being seen as not only interesting, but also financially savvy. However, when the wedding is over and all of the guests have gone home, the only thing that really matters is the happiness of the couple, and the memories they'll cherish forever.

When it comes to the groom and his party, many men are choosing to set aside the idea of wearing a typical black-tie tuxedo. Rather, choices for 2011 include more suits and shoes influenced by individual styles, and predictably, in shades of grey or navy. Among emerging styles for the bride and her party, it's all about sophistication and elegance with modern design; although, there are still some brides who prefer to reduce the budget elsewhere to allow a few extra dollars to go towards a dramatic ball gown that creates her desired fairy-tale wedding.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/6299150

Designer Wedding Shoes... Are they worth it?

2011-08-15T16:54:00.003+01:00

Designer wedding shoes are something that people tend to have mixed opinions about. Some believe that they are worth the investment- after all, it is your wedding! Good looks aside, designer shoes usually fit better and are more comfortable too. But a number of people believe that any old shoe will do on your wedding day- after all, when so many people are ogling at the dress, who is going to care about the shoes? Now, does that mean that cheap wedding shoes are the way to go?

The Big Day

If the designer shoe dilemma has got you flustered, try and look at it from a practical point of view. Marriage days aren't referred to as 'The Big Day' for nothing- you might have booked yourself the best planner in the business but that doesn't mean you'll be able to sit back and relax. Chances are that you'll be on your feet all day and through a good portion of the evening too. In other words, your wedding shoes better be up to the task of walking, dancing, standing and even executing a slight run in times of emergency!

It's obvious that whether you opt for marriage footware or not, your footwear better be comfortable. If you think, you can grin and bear that slight pinch in the toe all day, think again. An ill-fitting shoe can lead to blisters and in some cases, even broken ankles! That's the last thing you want to land up with on your marriage day. Avoid buying cheap footwear- while you can easily give high fashion a miss when it comes to your shoes, comfortable footware will go a long way in helping you get through your big day with minimum hassles.

Designs And Designers

A lot of people like to choose dyeable sandals since they can be used again for other formal occasions. But they come with their disadvantages as well. The good news is that you don't necessarily have to look at Gucci and Versace for a pair of designer wedding shoes. In fact, you'd probably make a far smarter choice if you opt for a bridal shoe specialist. They will take all the fuss and confusion out of getting your footwear in gear.

A specialist will not only match your sandals to your gown perfectly, they will also pay special attention to the comfort factor- this is something you just can't get with ordinary wedding shoes. Best of all, if you require a special shoe size, you can be sure of a great custom fit.

Don't leave your feet till the last minute on your wedding day. Take the time to find a pair of sandals that not only go with your dress but also fit you well. This should be the most important factor, whether you choose designer marriage shoes or ordinary ones.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/1299429

Different Wedding Dresses

2011-08-12T16:03:00.002+01:00

So you don't want a traditional wedding dress? well I'm here to show you some beautiful examples of what you can get if you shop around for your perfect wedding dress!

Don't want to go completely different? Then why not have a colourful insert in the back?

How about a Red wedding dress? Smokin' hot and super sexy and completely noticeable!

Black and white is my personal favourite!

So what do you think? Are you going to be different?

Wedding :: Hiroka and Simon

2011-07-30T20:21:00.004+01:00

They were so relaxed about it all, after knowing each other for over 10 years when they met at school, Hiroka and Simon were still so in love. They were married on the balcony room of Delbury Hall and it was a beautiful ceremony, the best man delivered a beautiful speech and during the signing of the register, we were all surprised to hear a beautiful acoustic guitar and singing of a very romantic song.

The details were simply gorgeous, all of the flowers, wild ones at that were provided by Caroline Ede and they were stunning!

The little favours and place settings were beautifully crafted using origami.

Julia Jeckel, did the make up and hair, one word - wow. Her attention to detail was stunning and she even did the bridesmaids hair as a favour!

The bouquet was so delicate and fresh, Hiroka, you looked fantastic with it!

Isn't Hiroka the perfect image of a bride! Looking so happy and just gorgeous, I fell in love with the little ring bearers they didn't want to do it but agreed at the last minute and don't they look so handsome!

Simon's looking a little nervous, checking the schedule, keeping himself busy.

The venue only allowed confetti indoors, it was a surprise but I like the confetti indoors, it's very cool and original, I love cool and original. I also adore how happy they both look in this picture to be honest they were grinning all day, I don't think anything could've stopped them!

Hiroka is so beautiful and such a pleasure to photograph, Simon aint so bad himself either!Delbury Hall is such a pleasure to photograph in, Hiroka and Simon, you couldn't have chosen a better place!

Love this one, the language barrier isn't a great barrier when it's such a wonderful day. The lady in the middle smiling at the camera was my favourite guest of the day, she had this amazing smile all day no matter what was happening, she has to one of my top ten awesome guests of all time!

The food was catered by The Ludlow Catering Company and they were amazing, the food looked and smelled delicious and there was plenty of it, Willem was a great host and kept making sure everyone was happy, even me!

The whole party!
I just want to say thank you to Hiroka and Simon for booking Catkin Studio for your wedding, it was a wonderful day and thank you for making me feel like one of the family, 'twas truly perfect!

Catkin Studio :: Before a Wedding

2011-07-22T13:30:00.000+01:00

I'm sitting here after getting everything ready, cleaning lenses, checking memory card and putting the overnight charged batteries into the bag ready for the Wedding.

Being a wedding photographer is exciting, thrilling and scary. You only have one chance and one chance only to get the shot, it's more stressful than news photography I can tell you!

I love doing the Pre-Wedding e'session shoot with clients because it allows me to see how they stand, how they react to flash and it gives me a chance to become friends with them as well.

My clients enjoy the sessions as it gives them time to be together, get some great shots of themselves in 'civillian' clothes and get to know me more as well.

As I sit here I go though everything I will need to do at the wedding and I compose a list of shots that are must haves for me. There are the set shots, getting ready, walk down the aisle, kiss, groups and so forth but there are creative shots that I want, for both the bride and groom and to also feed my passion and creativity.

I am scared. It is scary. photographing a wedding is a huge responsibility and not one to be taken lightly or without full preparation.

So I sit here, meditating and allowing my creative ideas to flow until it's time to pick up the bag, head out the door and drive to their big day.

Michelle x

Hiroka and Simon :: E'session

2011-07-20T11:44:00.006+01:00

We had planned the pre-wedding shoot earlier this year, but when the day came, it was pouring down with rain so we had to reschedule.

As I arrived for the session outside the Castle in Ludlow, the rain started to some down. I thought to myself that if it got any worse, we would never get this session done, but luckily as Hiroka and Simon arrived, it started to ease off and we were lucky in that it stayed dry for the whole Pre-Wedding E'session shoot!

I was happy to meet them again, they are both wonderful people and a complete joy to photograph!

Hiroka met Simon at school where they became friends and later got together as a couple and have been together for 10 years.

As I walked around the town with them I could see that they were madly in love with one another. The wedding is to take place at Delbury Hall, Diddlebury on Friday the 22nd and I can't wait for it!

Michelle Jones of Catkin Studio is excited to be their wedding photographer this coming Friday, it will be a fantastic ceremony and, I'm sure the photographs are going to be amazing as well!

Can a Monkey claim Copyright from a Photographer??

2011-07-18T15:33:00.003+01:00

Can a monkey own copyright to a picture? (Pic: David Slater/Caters)
Photo is linked to original story (The Guardian)

This grinning macaque shot to fame in newspapers and on websites across the world after it took a self-portrait using award-winning photographer David Slater’s camera. David had left his camera on a tripod and the inquisitive Macaques came over to investigate, they found the shutter button and started pressing it, supposedly because they like the sound. When David returned, he found a group of pictures the monkeys had taken ,the best one is above.

Now it has been suggested that, as the ‘creator’ of the picture, the cheeky monkey may in fact be the true copyright holder of the image – and presumably entitled to a payout.

The debate was started by the website Techdirt, which pondered whether Mr Slater owned the picture, even though he did not take it. The website was later asked to remove the image from its pages by a news agency acting on behalf of Mr Slater – sparking a fresh row about the true copyright holder.

‘Until I hear from the monkey’s lawyers, I will stick to the belief that I own the copyright,’ said Mr Slater yesterday. He claimed he had engineered the shoot, adding: ‘I was the artist behind it.

‘It was my artistry and idea to leave them to play with the camera and it was all in my eyesight. I knew the monkeys were very likely to do this and I predicted it. I knew there was a chance of a photo being taken.’
Copyright lawyers confirmed that setting up the pictures gave Mr Slater a lawful claim to the copyright.
And experts added the ‘author’ of any copyrighted work had to be a ‘natural’ person – not, it seems, a monkey.

So what do you think? Will the Indonesian Government pursue this or is it just a load of old monkey poo?

Leave your thoughts in the comments below!

Stuff that's happened on Facebook this week!

2011-07-17T22:21:00.006+01:00

Friend Michelle

Headaches seemed (un)popular with quite a few people complaining of them, I , myself was a sufferer as well.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows was a very popular topic as well, with the whole of facebook split in two over it... those who love the film and those who will not got and see it at all... Marmite anyone?
Of course the typical 'post this as your status' things were going around as well as 'good morning's.
A couple of friends had their birthday this week as well, so lots of Happy birthday's were flying about, banging into virtual windows and making square shapes around the light.
Boyfriend has to watch out for the ducks apparently...?
Oh and plenty of movie quotes!

Like Catkin Studio

10 Tips :: Is your Wedding Photographer the Real Deal?

2011-07-17T12:31:00.022+01:00

Wedding photography is an exciting field with many photographic hobbyists looking to make some extra money on the side providing cheap wedding photography.

After paying hundreds for just the dress alone, never mind the church, the flowers, the reception and all of the food and drink. It's very tempting to book a cheap wedding photographer; after all, the photography is probably the last thing you want to think about.

Choosing your wedding photographer is the most important thing to do when planning your wedding. In fact it should be the first thing you do.

Everyone brings a camera to a wedding - a Professional captures them.

First-class wedding photographers get booked up months in advance so don't leave it to the last minute to book. However saying that, there could be a few dates not booked, so give them a ring and see if your date is free.

Obviously everyone wishes for the dress to be beautiful, the flowers stunning, the food to be delicious and the reception to be charming. The wedding photographer, however, really should be one of the top things on your list of essential items.

If you choose a poor quality wedding photographer, it will be felt in every photograph that you look at.

Nothing is more significant than your wedding photography. Why's that? Well, just think about it - what happens when your wedding is over? The flowers are dead, the dress gets freeze-dried (or whatever it is the cleaners do) and put in a box, the cake is eaten, and a year after your wedding you won't even remember what you ate. All you'll have left from this day are your memories - and your photos are the doorway to those memories.

Down to the tips

1. Does the photographer have many different photographs from the same wedding to show you?

I'd be concerned if they were all from the same wedding. Proper professional photographers have taken wedding photographs for many different brides and that should reflect in their work. On the other hand if you only see one photograph from each wedding I would suspect that the photographer only gets one good picture from the whole day. You need to know that they are consistent and have taken photographs at many different weddings with at least three different pictures from each wedding in their gallery or book. As an average guide, photographs from three recent weddings are appropriate.

If you don't like your photographer...
How can you trust them?

2. Does the photographer listen to you?

A photographer that talks all the time about how great they are is someone you should be wary of. If a professional is not prepared to listen to you then they are not very professional, I mean how do they know what you are looking for?

3. Do you actually like this person?

You will be spending the most important day of your life with a stranger, make sure you like them. If the photographer's personality clashes with yours, you could be in for an unhappy day - or at least an awkward one. Why risk being unhappy on the most important day of your life? That's why reading the photographer's personality is, in my opinion, more important than analyzing their portfolio. Will they be officious? Offensive? Aloof? When you talk with a prospective photographer, get a feel for them and see if they are someone you'd want to be friends with. If the answer is "yes", then put them high on your list!

4. A Professional has style.

A professional photographer will have a distinct style and taste. The photographs may be in black and white or in colour; you may see lots of manipulation in the images or none.

5. An amateur photographer posing as a professional will not have much of a style.

Their images will look uninteresting and vulgar. If their style is all over the place then you can bet your life that they are not professionals.

6. What are the images like?

Look for genuine smiles.
Professionals know how to get these!

Are the images flat?
Too dark or too light?
Can you see the details on the wedding dress or is it just a white blob?
Do the people in the pictures look awkward or distracted?
Do the group photographs look messy?
Are the backgrounds in the pictures cluttered?
Do the backgrounds compete for attention for the people in the picture?
Are the people looking at the camera?
Do they still have their heads?

If you answer yes to these questions then I would say that the photographer is not a professional.

There are exceptions though; with the Photojournalistic style, most people in the pictures are not looking at the camera and the backgrounds can be a little distracting.

Also ask the photographer where the photograph was taken; sometimes they have done the best that they can do. This is especially true with registrar weddings, where the registry offices are usually situated in or near industrial areas where the backgrounds are not very pretty anyway.

7. Does the photographer seem professional?

This is the most difficult one to gauge as many people know to dress smartly and it's easy to learn the technicality of the camera, the terminology to explain the photographs and sell their presentation. You can never know for sure but there are a few pointers:

Ask them if they do photography as a full time career?

i. If they answer yes then it's one point in their favour.

ii. If they say no, then ask them what else they do. If it's a completely different field, like building or office work, then they aren't a professional photographer, they will have nothing to lose if they mess up the photographs of your wedding.

How long have they been in business?

Spontaneity and Fun!
Professional takes the photos while others join in.

i. Anything under a year is suspect, mainly because they will probably not have enough experience with professionally covering weddings outside the seminars and courses.

ii. Two to three years is good, the photographer has probably had enough wedding experience to know what to expect and how to deal with any situations that may arise.

iii. Anything over three years is very good (as long as it is their full time employment) as it shows that they are doing pretty well and they should have a good reputation.

Ask about the photographer with your friends and acquaintances; see what reputation they have achieved. If it's good then they can be trusted, if not then don't trust them, think of it as a confidence rating.

How many weddings have they photographed?

i. This is important, if they give you a figure under 20 then be on your guard and take all of the other answers into account when finally deciding on whether to book them or not, especially take into account how many years they have been in business. If they have only done 20 weddings in two years, then perhaps you shouldn't book them. 20 is a very low number of weddings for two years; you can expect an expert photographer on average to photograph at least 20 weddings per year.

ii. If they give you a figure over 200 and they've been in business for only a couple of years then they are blatantly lying. There is no possible way for them to have covered so many weddings in two years.

iii. For a business that has been operating for two years, a reasonable figure for weddings covered is 60.

Does the photographer go on seminars and courses if so which ones?

i. If they haven't been on any courses or to seminars and say that they are completely self-taught, then they are definitely amateur photographers. Professional photographers frequently attend seminars and courses to keep fresh, and their skills honed to a fine point.

ii. If they have been on a few courses when they started up then they are not committed to quality and excellence within their photography and probably cut corners a lot. Be wary of these.

iii. If they attend general courses, not specific to wedding photography then question their commitment to their craft.

iv. If they go on specialist courses on wedding photography quite often, then excellent! This proves that they are committed and focused on their craft.

I frequently attend specialist courses on specific styles of wedding photography. This is to keep me fresh and at the peak of my profession. I do learn from books and practise often but you can only get so far learning by yourself and there is absolutely no substitute for hands on experience and training.

Details add depth and storytelling to an album.
Professionals get everything.

8. Does the photographer have a contract?

A photographer who doesn't have a contract is not to be trusted. If you purchase any kind of service, from plumbing to photography there must be a contract. This is to protect you from anything that can go wrong and also so you know exactly what you are getting. The contract can either be long and complicated or short and sweet. The photography contract guards against a photographer not completing their end of the bargain. It also protects you from them taking your money and running. It also allows you a legal entitlement to the service you have paid for and also tells you what you are allowed to do with the photographs. The contract should also have a section attached which tells the photographer all of the details of the wedding.

9.Does the photographer ask you about the photographs that you would like taken on the day, do they ask you about family relationships and family politics?

The photographer should ask you about the photographs that you would like on the day, a wedding is a great event that gathers together many estranged family members and there is usually only this day to photograph them all together. Many relatives will be coming from far flung places and the photographer must know to get these important people. A wedding is a very emotionally charged event and the photographer should ask and know about any potential problems between family members so they don't start any fights. As well as knowing all of this, the photographer should ask for a liaison within the wedding party, it's usually an usher from both sides of the family, some one who knows all of the family members by sight. Remember the photographer has probably never met your family before so appointing them someone who knows everyone that will be there is paramount to getting everyone you would like photographed in the right place at the right time.

10. Price: "If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is!"

Good photography costs money.
Be prepared to spend it.

I honestly wouldn't look at your photography budget the same way I would look at the budget for example; your wedding dress.

You might get lucky and find a cheap and talented photographer for under £500 for a whole day coverage, but like most things in life you get what you pay for and you will most likely end up with nothing like you asked for, poor quality, badly composed photographs or no photographs at all!
If you can find the budget to move out of the bottom range and into the next level (say, £500 to £1,000 for half day coverage) you will expand your choices of truly professional photographers greatly and you will no doubt end up with gorgeous photographs that last a lifetime.
If you move to the next level (say, £2,000 - £4,000) your choices expand exponentially, because now you're not limited to the photographers in your local market, you can begin to source from photographers that are willing to travel nationwide.
The price of the service is obviously important to you, as you have probably already spent thousands on the wedding itself. There is no point scrimping on the photography. As mentioned above, everything else gets eaten, forgotten or put into storage, the photography pretty much the only thing you will have from your day to show everyone.

Everyone has a budget, try your best to stretch that budget and book a professional photographer for as long as you can get them, you won't regret it.

If you wish to use this article on your website or blog, feel free, but please remember to link it back to me!

Ghost Hunting

2011-07-03T12:15:00.004+01:00

Myself and Adam went out for a night of ghost hunting in the local church, I think the youngest gravestone of this church is dated at about 1888!

Normally I would say that 'Orbs' are dust or little midgey flies, but now I'm not so sure...

Take a look at these pictures and let me know what you think!

David and Luke :: Portrait Session

2011-06-12T20:17:00.006+01:00

David and Luke went down to the woods the other day for a romantic portrait session, we had fantastic fun!

To order prints Click here!If you want a Discount... ask David or Luke for the code!**NOTE: Code Expires on the 30th of June**

To order prints Click here!If you want a Discount... ask David or Luke for the code! **NOTE: Code Expires on the 30th of June**

Alternative Flowers

2011-05-17T17:35:00.003+01:00

I am kinda into taking photos of flowers at the moment, which is pretty handy considering it is the right time of year for this... In my previous post, the flowers were processed 'normally' but these are a little different... enjoy!

All image are © Michelle Jones 2011.
PRINTS AND CANVAS ARE AVAILABLE FOR PURCHASEClick Here

Gardening is fun

2011-05-16T18:08:00.000+01:00

I am not a gardener, I believe in planting things in the garden and if they live, it's a bonus. I do enjoy photography so I thought I would take some macro photographs, all I used was a standard 50mm lens with macro filters that I got from ebay for £5.00.

If you want to have a go at doing this type of photography and you only have a small compact camera then grab yourself a magnifying glass and hold it over the front of your lens!

Prints are available for sale, please email for details.

Helen and Phil :: Wedding

2011-05-07T18:58:00.001+01:00

Helen and Phil were married in Fishmore Hall, March 2011.

It was a very special day, although the sun was not shining, everyone was happy and laughing constantly. Thank you to the beautiful couple for allowing us to come along and capture your special day!

Five Things Men Love About Weddings

2011-04-23T13:45:00.001+01:00

With some warmer weather and some bank holidays coming up, lots of people are feeling a bit more cheerful, not just all of the spring brides. Our friends at Staggered are in a happy place and sent us this latest post….

Boys will be Boys

Cynicism, pah! Cynicism went out with Keyboard Cat and saying “lol!” without meaning it. The new internet hotness is rabid enthusiasm about things and general swooning with delight. So, very much in this spirit, and fuelled by cheap caffeine, here’s five things that men absolutely love about weddings! SQUUUUEEAAAAAL!

1) Finger buffets

The finger buffet is a timeless catering roulette. It’s not up everyone’s street, but few aspects of catering are quite as adventurous. Is there egg on that sandwich? Are those crisps mixed? Will the couple have gone the extra mile and have fresh bacon sandwiches brought out at about 9ish?

2) Underage Boozing

Usual booze legalities don’t apply at weddings. Most of us had our first secretive beer at a wedding and there’s nothing quite as heart-warming as seeing an early teenager being sick in a pot plant. A wedding wouldn’t be a wedding without at least a few first time hangovers – welcome to the club kids!

3) Bells Ringing

If you want the sound of England, just fire up a few church bells. There’s genuinely fewer more triumphant, happier sounds than the echo of Church bells. If you’re having a civil wedding get some bell sounds piped in.

4) Blokes Obtaining The Football Scores

The perils of a Saturday afternoon wedding are of course, the inevitable football clash. Brides, be wary of passed around phones, unexpectedly helpful trips to fetch stuff from the car and inappropriate whisperings and mood swings. Just don’t jump up and shout “Yes!” during the vows.

5) Hats

Sadly the hat has recently become a much-maligned accessory limited to teenage Goths, Sunday drivers and that one bloke in the village who wears a trilby. Fortunately, a wedding allows for plenty of hat madness, as approved by Cilla Black.

BONUS: Uncles

Uncles exist in a vague shadowy world where they flit forever in-between weddings and christenings. At these events they will talk traffic with anyone who strays near enough. Usually good for a round at some point, but will go wildly off-list with a wedding present that you really don’t know what it is.

Source

Short Stories - DARK SIDE OF THE LENS

2011-03-28T17:45:00.000+01:00

A moving and beautiful look into the mind of a Surf photographer and the video is shot in a fantastic style! Well worth a watch!

Working Within Your Wedding Budget

2011-03-02T16:07:00.006Z

Getting married is an exciting time but it can also be stressful and expensive. Some weddings are elegant and others like to splash out with the unexpected. Some couples know exactly what they want in their weddings while others have no idea. Each wedding is unique and can range from lavish to simple but, unless you are lucky enough to have unlimited funds, all weddings must stick to some sort of budget.

Therefore, the first step of your wedding should be making the wedding budget. This is exceedingly important particularly as weddings today can be very costly and most people really have no idea what they can cost. Most couples will tend to under budget if this is the first wedding they have been a part of. You first step should be finding a location and the venue, as the venue will have a lot of influence over the cost.

When coming up with a budget, you should add in some padding to give yourself some “wiggle room”. This is a smart idea, as hidden costs will arise. Additionally many couples may not be aware of all of the costs associated with a wedding and can deplete the budget without having enough money for all the things necessary for a complete wedding.

Every wedding, no matter how big or how small will have several aspects to it that all add to the cost. The first of these is the venue. This can range from having a few friends and family over for a backyard wedding, jet setting to Paris with your family or renting out a huge banquet hall for every single person you have ever met. If you are having a home wedding then might be renovation or costs associated with sprucing up the property and home, such as having gardeners come in or professionals to cut the lawn. You also may decide to have some long awaited improvements before the wedding.

Every wedding will have food provided and the food is a hot topic. You should choose a caterer that is experienced and comes with good references. Alcohol will also add a large cost to your bill, but you can cut down on this cost by having a cash bar and serving table wine only. Your food and alcohol will be calculated on a per head or per plate. So determine your food costs based on the number of guests as well as they type of meal you will be serving.

While you are figuring the costs of the hall and caterer figured into your budget, be sure to leave some room for a photographer and DJ or band. You can cut costs a little by using a DJ but you really don’t want to skimp on the photographer as your wedding pictures are critical memories of your big day.

Some other costs to incorporate in the wedding budget will include décor, flowers, clothing, jewelry, invitations, transportation, and accommodation. No matter your budget it is possible to plan a wedding. If you get a little creative you can still have a fantastic wedding even if you have a tight budget.

Until next time, happy planning!

Source

A Slice of Pie... - Plan with Fran

2011-01-28T12:50:00.000Z

A Slice of Pie... - Plan with Fran

Strange and unusual wedding cake idea!

Caroline and Colin :: Wedding

2011-01-07T16:16:00.002Z

Caroline and Colin were married in November at Ludlow Registry office. It was a small and intimate wedding, with only two other guests in attendance. It was short but undeniably sweet, thank you to both Caroline and Colin for an amazing day!

How to take... Frozen Photos... sort of!

2010-12-09T13:55:00.000Z

Winter is Here

2010-12-06T12:48:00.002Z

Woke up this morning to see the world had been completely frosted, everything was encased in ice which compared to yesterday was a bit of a shock! Well following my base instincts to get outside and take some winter photographs of the frost and the beauty of the leaves encased in the hoar frost like jewels.

The layers of the frost looked very misty and there was a hushed atmosphere, a kind of reverence to the power of the fog and the cold. everything was covered in the hoar frost. Everything. It seemed as if the whole world was trapped in the snow queen's grip.

The spiders were no where to be seen, I wonder what they do when their homes are covered in an impenetrable icy layer. Do they hibernate or do they die? I hope they don't die.

Yesterday most of the snow had melted and the sun was shining so brightly. The birds were everywhere, moving so fast, squabbling amongst themselves, flitting from tree to tree so quickly it was hard to follow them. I find it strange how two days can be so different, yesterday so full of life, colour and movement and then today... nothing but the still hush of white.

Please leave a comment below.

Simply Wow!

2010-11-25T14:45:00.000Z

http://scaryideas.com/content/19472/

It's quite rare that I come across photographers and image makers that are truly inspirationally unique and this is one of those rare times, I hope you enjoy Anlene's work as much as I have!

http://scaryideas.com/content/19472/

Will :: Portrait Session

2010-11-15T14:37:00.002Z

The many faces of Will....

We were supposed to have an outdoor session, but as we got to the location, the weather had a completely different idea of what it wanted to do and so it started to rain. Don't get me wrong, I have done shoots outside in the rain before and it's not a problem if you have an assistant to hold a brolly, but unfortunately my assistant had come down with a serious cough and cold and quite wisely decided to stay at home in bed, we don't want to infect clients really!
So giving up the location for another day, I grab my studio set and lights and we have a studio portrait session instead. I'm lucky enough to be able to work from home, so my studio set up is portable and very adaptable to any situation and home, so we set up in the living room and within 15 mins we were ready to rock out in a studio! I love my set up. I'm able to bring a studio to my clients home and make fantastic photographs in their living room!
Will had bought a full magazine post edit on one of his photographs. I have uploaded a before and after below to give you an idea of how a magazine edit looks on a male.

Thanks for stopping by and please let me know what you think in the comments below!

Sharon and Julian :: Wedding

2010-10-01T14:47:00.001+01:00

The room looks fab, the cake is stunning. Sharon is upstairs getting ready so I take the cake photographs and go up to see how she is doing. She already has her make-up on and is calm and relaxed she looks gorgeous and is in a tshirt and jeans, the time to put the dress on is not yet.

Everyone else is ready and raring to go, the atmosphere is electric!

Something Borrowed something Blue - The pin is from Shrewsbury town football club. Sharon makes her final touches to the dress and then I go down to see how the guys are.

Julian and his best man are pretty relaxed when I get down... they start getting nervous as Sharon is fashionably late for the ceremony! As she comes through the door she looks stunning.

Maesmawr Hall Hotel is such a beautiful setting, and Sharon and Jules fit in perfectly and seem so relaxed there!

The Bridals... Sharon is simply gorgeous, I couldn't ask for a better bride!

Sharon is a graphic designer and you can really see that in the attention to detail that shows up everywhere!

Sharon designed and printed the place cars and favour boxes herself!

Sharon and Julian were married on the 18th September 2010 at Maesmawr Hall in Powys.
I would just like to say a big thank you to both Sharon and Julian for having me, it was fantastic :)

Dot.

2010-09-23T15:06:00.001+01:00

Street Photography

2010-09-11T13:54:00.005+01:00

I love the odd day out when after you have done what you need to do, you have a bit of free time to just wonder around and take photos... enjoy!

The Things I do for Fun

2010-08-18T10:49:00.000+01:00

As you may already know (the title gives it away somewhat) my main job is being a photographer... So for fun, as my hobby, I do Bushcrafting.

If you don't know what Bushcrafting is, well, it's basically a back to basics camping style with emphasis on self suffiency and knowledge of the plants and trees and what their properties are.

For example: did you know that a silver birch is a very useful tree... The bark is very flammable, the sap can be drunk straight from the tree or make into wine, the leaves contain a compound called saponin and can be used like soap!

Every year, we go on something called a 'Bushmoot' which is a gathering on 200 or so people from all over the country and from abroad as well. We meet up for about a week, share skills such as flint knapping, bow drill fires, knots and much much more.

This is Scot's corner, where most of the Scots gather at night to drink a few bevvies and generally have a laugh and sometimes a sing song.

A map of the site. It's a very large site, a map is useful!

We cook over an open fire, as you can see here, the hanging thing on the right is a frying pan. That's my mum in the background, sawing wood for the fire.

The green thing in the middle of the picture is a hammock, we sleep in those and they are soooo comfy. The tripod and sack on the left is a chair.

Yup, that's my sister up in the tree, they are very into the woods.

Smoke through the trees, it's so peaceful and relaxing.

The lady in the foreground is making a spoon and the man in the background is making a net.

I ran a photography course last year and again this year, it's a pretty popular course.

I'm in the green top here, we are discussing the different effects you can get by just changing your white balance.
Overall it's a mental week, you are up most nights till about 2am just chatting with people and friends you haven't seen for a very long time. I love bushcraft!

Ludlow Treasure Hunt

2010-07-26T16:16:00.001+01:00

Every year the Local Methodist Church hosts a treasure hunt for the parishioners, I went last year and had a great time so I went again this year and it didn't dissatisfy!

Going under the bridge... looking for red dots!

My sisters (twins) decide to dress up as spies to do the hunt this year!

This is mum with the list of clues.

The answers to the clues are in odd places.

Had to count the fence panels! There were 92 if you were wondering!

On a mission to find the last clues!
I had a fantastic time, and while we didn't win it was a good way to spend an evening.

Borth Trip

2010-07-19T15:54:00.002+01:00

This year I went to Borth, nr Aberystwyth in Wales with my Glow Productions Friends. We had a fantastic time, even though the weather was against us from the beginning... To begin with, we arrived and it was overcast, not raining yet, but as soon as we got the tent out ready to put up, it started to rain and didn't really stop after that...

The first night, I'm looking rough!

We went to Aberystwyth on the second day to have a mooch around the shops and looks at the rock pools... yeah, the weather wasn't too bad to begin with, but it started to storm when we were on the beach so we took shelter underneath the pier, there were some students surveying the life in the pools, they were pretty hardcore and stayed out in the rain!

As you can see from the artsy pics, I got a bit bored sitting under the pier so I took some pics!

On the last day, we go to the beach in Borth. Mike decided to go swimming...

I fly my kite.

Claire makes footprints.

I successfully spot, hunt and catch a crab, it is edible, but a little small for 6 people!

We end up in the bathroom on the last night... why? Well it was gale force winds, our tent gave in, collapsed on us and generally blew up (pun intended ;) ) and leaving Mel and Claire to repack the cars ready to go, Mike, Sam and David & I grab the tent (it took us about half an hour to get it down, and that is another story) and perform a mass evacuation out of Borth.
It was a very epic few days and I'm really looking forward to going again!

A walk through the Woods

2010-07-04T00:10:00.001+01:00

Went for a walk in the woods and took a video... enjoy!

If you go down to the Woods today...

2010-07-03T14:18:00.001+01:00

Went for a lovley walk last night with my mum in the local woods, it was still light when we set out but on the way back the sun started to set. I took my little point and shoot with me, which I bought for occasions like this and I was glad to have it!

Some bare and creepy roots

Mum at the lookout, very serene don't you think?

Backlit grasses from the setting sun.

The setting sun turning the trees into silhouette.

Underlit silver birch, I really like how the golden leaves show up against the silhouettes of the pines.

The amazing sunset walking back to the car.
All of these were shot on a cheap Canon point and shoot which goes to show you don't need a huge heavy camera to get stuff like this!

The right way to do it...

2010-07-02T19:02:00.003+01:00

_MG_8905_6_7_8_9_tonemapped copy, originally uploaded by Rory B.

This is a tone mapped / HDR image from Rory B on flickr.

I have seen some awful HDR images, mostly of landscapes and they are waaaay too ver saturated/processed/murdered but this is one of my favourite examples of how to do it properly...

Step 1 - Get a good subject
Step 2 - Process properly
Step 3 - Stay away from Hue/Saturation in Photoshop
Step 4 - Don't over sharpen
Step 5 - Think about it.

Ahhh, a good HDR!

Clare and Richard :: Wedding

2010-06-30T14:25:00.009+01:00

Clare and Richard (Gibbo) Gibbs got married at Bromsgrove Holiday Inn on the 12th of June 2010.

Richard is a drummer and the cake topping was just... wow! how cool is that?!

I thought this was epic... it's photographs of the two sets of parents on their wedding day, just lovely!

Clare wanted a pic of her and her bridesmaids before the wedding and the room was so nice I decided to take it in the room.
Clare and her girls look absolutely gorgeous, the green dresses really work well and give the whole wedding a lovely summery feeling, great choice!

I did debate on using flash and turning off the overhead lights, but I just muted the tungsten with some un-gelled flash and the colour contrast really works well here, I love the soft, subtle blue edge light.

Clare gave the bridesmaids their gifts before the actual wedding which I think is a really nice touch. I like that they can wear the jewellery during the wedding ceremony, I think this is a much better way of doing the gifts. And what gifts! the necklaces were all bought specifically for each bridesmaid so each one was different and unique, very beautiful and imbued with meaning.

Everything was just perfect, the dress, the hair, the make-up and she looked stunniing!

just a quick candid, I loved the spotlights in this hotel.

Meeting for the first time that day, you can see just how much they loved each other, they could stop staring at each other during the ceremony, it was absolutely amazing!

Group Shot!

The lady on the left is Louise, Clare's older sister. The bond between these two was super special.

Confetti! I love this part of the wedding, it's so much fun!

What a day, it was great fun, so a big thank you to Clare and Richard and all of the family and friends that made the day really fun and really special, you all rock!

Lightroom 3 Review

2010-06-24T13:33:00.001+01:00

I don't, as a rule, review my software but as the new lightroom is pretty cool, I thought I'd share my opinion on it.

Seems to me that the hype is well worth it, while at the same time, a little misleading. I upgraded from the beta version which Ii had been testing for about half a year, I loved the new and improved noise reduction algorithms which did exactly what they promised, I actually liked them so much I got rid of my 3rd party noiseware plugin for photoshop, which to be blunt, was time and resolution wasting. The colour noise reduction worked extremely well and even though the initial beta release didn't include the luminance noise reduction, I found that the colour NR was perfectly suitable for even the luminance noise...

In the Beta 2 release, the luminance NR slider was accessible and did a fantastic job of smoothing the noise without blurring the image like some programmes are wont to do.

I found that the Beta was very quick, even with my larger camera files and I was very impressed with the speed and efficiency of the overall program, so much so, in the two months leading up to the final official release, I was using the beta almost exclusively for my post production work.

I bought LR3 as soon as it was released and unfortunately, I ran into a host of problems with it.
Firstly, adobe has installed a lens correction option which is very cool for removing distortions in the image, but unfortunately when it is turned on and applied, the whole thing drops down in efficiency, my workaround that is not to apply it until all of my editing is completed and then turn it on for the final finish.

The cache is still set to 1GB which is blatantly not enough and first-time users will not realise that the cache needs to be increased to at least 10+ to improve performance.

Still, they managed to improve the NR feature some more, so it looks even more natural.

The sliders seem to be more responsive, but only after I had removed all of my 3rd party plugins (especially PTLens - which I was using previously to sort out lens distortion) although the Timothy Arms Mogrify and Blog plugins work well with the new version of Lightroom.

The crop dimensions are now more compact and easier to use, but unfortunately they still refuse to stick to a particular dimension when changing from one pic to another, I hope this will be resolved soon.

I will keep using it, and while there are still a few bugs in the system and it doesn't go as fast as promised, I am impressed and will use it for my post processing.

I would recommend that you have a go at the 30 day trial before purchasing, just to make sure you like it before shelling out to pay for the upgrade.

Clare and Richard Gibbs :: Sneak Peek - Facebook

2010-06-19T21:53:00.000+01:00

Clare and Richard got married last Saturday at Bromsgrove, there is a sneak peek of their photographs here on Facebook! : http://bit.ly/cuw5VQ

Don't forget to log in and become a fan!

Wedding :: Bronywn & Cameron

2010-06-17T19:26:00.002+01:00

Bronwyn and Cameron's Wedding was held at Fishmore Hall in Ludlow, a very nice venue, beautiful location for photographs and a good mix of old building and modern interior.

It was graciously decorated by Abundant of Ludlow.

I arrived at about 3:10 to get Bronwyn and her bridesmaids getting ready. The hall looked fabulous and the atmosphere was full of fun and laughter. The room was massive and the bath was huge! Bronywn looked amazing and the bridesmaids did as well...

After a few photographs upstairs I went down to get the guests arriving and took this of Cameron and his Best Man, the light was wonderful and the day was shaping up to be a really good day.

The dress was gorgeous, the boquet was beautiful and Bronwyn? Stunning!

The ceeremony was short but very romantic and although before the wedding both Bronwyn and Cameron seemed nervous they did really well and were so happy to get married.

There was natural dried petals as confetti and there was enough for everyone to throw.

after all of the groups and dinner was over, I took Bronwyn and Cameron out of the throng to have some time together and also to get some romantic pictures of them together.

The youngest bridesmaid was so cute and really well behaved!

After the sun had set, there were Chinese lanterns, I had never seen so many of them, it was amazing, like Bronwyn and Cameron had their own personal constellation of stars gently glowing in the rich blue sky.

The first dance was awesome! No rocking from side to side, just pure rocking out!

A wonderful tribute to his new bride! Cameron is an amazing guitarist and singer, who knew?!

All in all it was a wonderful day, thank you to Bronwyn and Cameron for letting me a part of it and I would just like to say it was amazing, thank you once again!

Man I Suck

2010-06-14T13:46:00.000+01:00

I look at my blog and realise that I haven't updated in what seems like forever and I say to myself," Man, I suck" but what do I mean? I don't know, probably that I'm too busy to update this blog and that is okay. Perhaps I mean that I should make time to update this blog and this is also okay. Or is there another reason?

I have a problem with writing for the blog itself. I'm not a naturally verbose person, sure I can use long words and know what they mean, but to write a blog, I'm stuck. What and how do I talk about that which will make my readers enjoy what they are reading? My initial thought is to write about photography, it's what I love and I'm lucky to be able to do it as a job. I see a problem with that, if you don't love photography or you are not a photographer, then these types of posts can get really boring after the first few words!

I have read up on how to write a blog post, what interest's the reader, I follow other photographers blogs and gain inspiration from them but I will not plagiarise. In almost all of the articles, seminars and howto's I have consumed, all pretty much say one thing - Write what you know and love. I agree, however the dichotomy presents itself.

So why am I writing this, and why are you reading this (essay) on blogging? I can't answer for you but I can say that I just wanted to get this out there, I've never been a diarist, never kept a serious journal and I think, deep down, that I might have a fear of doing so. In 1 year, 5 years or even 10 years, I can come back and see the mistakes I've made, see the arrogance and possibly see the illusions I wrapped around my younger self. I have a fear of seeing all of those things and judging myself as I was then.

It's a deep rooted fear, a narcissistic fear, but fear nonetheless.

How to overcome it? perhaps forcing myself to blog about whatever regularly will help? I don't know but I can try and see.

If If you have read this far, please let me know your opinions and if you have any advice, it will be gratefully received :)

Student Portraits :: Sam Martin

2010-04-26T18:43:00.001+01:00

Sam :: Student Portraits

2010-04-22T22:00:00.001+01:00

I am now offering Student Portrait sessions! If you would like to book one for your and your friends, please call, email or facebook me.

Wedding :: Vici and Richard

2010-04-16T15:49:00.000+01:00

Vici and Richard :: Wedding

2010-04-08T15:40:00.018+01:00

The Cake was spectacular! It was wheat and gluten free, covered in freshly grated coconut and decorated with sugar paste ivy, each leaf - hand sculpted! The topper was playmobil characters depicting Vicia nd Richard with their Goats! Too cute X)
Cake created by: Holly Robinson (holly-nosnibor [at] hotmail.com)

The flowers were also stunning, understated but with a great eye for detail, they also kept for a long time, normally wedding flowers give up about half way into the day but these were still going strong at the reception!
Flowers by: Flowerscape (SY4 1LA)

I have to admit, I loved Vici's dress, it was silk with antique lace over the top with short sleeves and a satin sash with a flower on the empire line. It was just lovely!

The guitarist was really, really good. He played a range of songs and always had a friendly smile for everyone!
Guitarist: Roy Sainsbury (www.roysainsbury.com)

I do! It was a short ceremony but full of laughter!

Drinks outside on the patio, it was a lovely day... Sunny but not too hot!

Vici is so beautiful!

Vici and Richard, thank you once again for letting me a part of your big day, it was great fun and I had a fantastic time. I wish you all the best :)

SLIDESHOW

Ludlow College Presentation Evening

2010-04-02T17:46:00.000+01:00

Ludlow College finally had it's student presentation evening this week. The presentation evening was supposed to be at the beginning of the year but due to the snow and thick ice, it was postponed.

There was a really good turn out and the presentation evening itself was nicely done. The after party was full of people and laughter and everyone enjoyed themselves.

I do the photography for them every year and I thoroughly enjoy myself every time.
Here are just a few photographs from the event!

This is the acting principal for the college, nice guy!

The speaker this year was the Bishop of Ludlow.

The refectory was packed!

Wine and food, what more can a body ask for!

I took photographs of each student who went up to collect an award, if you would like these photographs please contact the college on 01584 872846

End of Photography Course

2010-04-02T16:25:00.003+01:00

I have finished teaching the ten session photography course this week. I'm feeling a little bummed about it to be honest, it was great fun with a fantastic bunch of people and everyone said they had learned a lot and are thinking more about how to compose and set up their cameras now which is perfect!

Pictured above are three of my students with their final work demonstrating the various concepts of the skills they have learned through the course.

I'm hoping to do another very soon, and also to teach specific courses such as Portraiture, Lighting, Landscape ect...

If you would like to keep up to date with the courses I am offering, please go to: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=111358888883563 and become a member of the facebook group. if you are not on facebook, then ask Ludlow College to send you a prospectus when it comes out, or just pop in and grab one yourself!

Bronywn and Cameron :: E'Session

2010-03-31T14:47:00.003+01:00

Bronwyn and Cameron are getting married this May and they are so happy together!

I love this one, they look so natural and in love!

Ludlow's porkpies... yummy. Don't forget to leave a comment!

If you haven't already...

2010-03-22T15:59:00.002Z

Like I said in the title, If you haven't already... seen Joe McNally's work then you really haven't lived!

I found Joe through various sources, I'd heard about him through National Geographic, then later I picked his name up from various photography related blogs and forums. I went over to his site and was really impressed, His work does everything photography is supposed to, it tells a story, looks beautiful and really makes the subject look fantastic. If I have half his skill when I'm his age then I'll consider myself lucky.

I have been following his blog for as long as it has been up and I adore his writing style, It's completely unselfconscious, moving and funny. I was a fan of his work before he started a blog, now... I'm a fan of the person as well. I would definitely buy him a pint.

Here is the link to his blog: http://www.joemcnally.com/blog/ take a look and have a laugh!

joe mcnally, photography, national geographic, lighting, famous, photographer

Cigarette Papers for Lens Wipes.

2010-03-11T16:02:00.003Z

Ordinary cigarette papers can be used as lens wipes! I use them constantly as lens wipes now as they are not impregnated with any type of cleaning solution that cloths or branded lens wipes can be.

Steps:
1. Just using your own breath, blow off any dust or grit that may be on your lens.
2. Take a paper from the box and rip off the sticky strip.
3. Crumple the paper up and then breathe through your nose onto the lens.
This creates a fine mist on the lens with no big drops of spit which will smear and leave a deposit.
4. Softly wipe the crumpled paper in a circular motion onto the lens until it is clean.

Done!

NB: You may have to do this more than once if your lens is particularly grubby, make sure you use a fresh paper each time!
This method will also work on any glass!

papers, lens wipes, tips, tricks, hints, cheap, save, money, photography, photographer, lenses, lens, wipes, clean, cleaning, professional, camera

Website update!

2010-03-10T17:07:00.003Z

I've finally updated my website : http://www.michellejones.co.uk please check it out and let me nkow what you think!

Seniors :: Mel and Sam

2010-03-08T14:44:00.003Z

seniors, college, student, school, photography, photos, photographs, portrait, people, family, face, posing, poses, pose, teenager, young, funky, cool, new, epic, win, sweet, lol

Yippie! I can post again!

2010-03-03T16:05:00.000Z

Hi everyone, first of all I'd like to apologise for the lack of updates to this blog - for some reason I couldn't log in so therefore there were no updates!

I can now log in, as evidenced by this post here.

Keep a look out for some more images towards the end of next week, and if you are lucky and I get ten minutes, I'll post some up here before the end of this week.

Thank you, dear reader, for keeping the faith!

Michelle xx

Happy new year everyone!

2010-01-04T14:20:00.000Z

Happy new year everyone!

2009 was a hard year for everyone so here are a few of my predictions for 2010...

1. The recession will fizzle out, everyone seems to be bored with watching what they spend - and the few savvy people will start to buy up properties and land before the rest of the population realises that the recession has been over and done with since October last year.

2. More and more people will be buying the new electric cars from renault.

3. Just before the UK elections, there will be another outbreak of some virus or other...

4. More people will be getting married this year than last.

5. The government will spend more and more money researching, and most importantly, implementing new technology for sustainability!

There you go, feel free to print it out and hang it on your wall to see if they come true.

If you have a prediction, leave it in the comments :)

Rachel and Matt :: Wedding

2009-11-20T14:21:00.002Z

Rachel and Matt were married in the Feathers Hotel on Saturday 14th November 2009.

Rachel and Matt are so good together! The day was fantastic and everyone was smiling all of the time.

Matt , just out of the Bath.

The flowers were lovely!

Rachel's Dress was stunning, a creamy silk with amazing details!

Rachels shoes rocked, the little bear on the bottom was too cute!

Rachel getting ready

Mum did the criss cross tie at the back like a pro.

Portrait!

The Feathers!

The ceremony was full of giggles!

Bridal portrait, the Feathers is a wonderful place for pictures!

They are so in Love!

Which leads to...

Another portrait, Rachel is gorgeous!

Entering for the dinner.

The cake topper was also too cute!

Rachel and Matt, thank you for letting me be a part of your big day, I had so much fun!

Time lapse photography of melting glaciers. Be very afraid. | The Wild Frontier

2009-11-14T08:58:00.000Z

Time lapse photography of melting glaciers. Be very afraid. | The Wild Frontier

Please watch and share.

Choosing a Family Photographer

2009-11-11T14:11:00.001Z

Family photography has changed since the days of dark studios and uncomfortable posing stools... more and more people want a freer approach to their sessions.

With the advent of cheap digital cameras, people are starting to believe that there is no need for a professional photographer - for holidays and day to day photographs of the kids covered in ice cream or the youngest coming down the stairs with make-up all over their face saying, "Look mummy, I'm pretty!" a digital camera is perfect and you will be the best person to capture these moments. I recommend you buy the best you can afford! These moments are to be treasured and they shall be, just remember to get them printed! Don't leave the pictures on the computer or camera, these things can lose your pictures if something goes wrong with them.

These moments are precious and I'm in favour of the growing consumer digital market, on the other hand I can also see and understand the need for professionally taken photographs, the relationships between the whole family can be shown in a professional portrait, it can be difficult to get everyone in front of the camera when you are taking the picture!

Professionals know how to make you look good in a picture and kids tend to behave better for someone they don't know - hiring a professional family and children's photographer will bring that element of behaviour into the session.

I've heard parents from all walks of life say that their child just won't look at the camera, no matter how hard they try. A professional child & family photographer, apart from being a 'new person' also has had a lot of experience with children and knows the best way to encourage them to participate fully in the session, from great big smiles to cute grumpy frowns.

Another advantage with hiring a professional portrait photographer is all of the work they do 'behind the scenes.'

Professionals have bought the best processing software available (Photoshop, Lightroom/Aperture) along with a host of various upgrades and plug-ins.

The programs that they use to process your images not only cost quite a bit of money but a lot of skill to use well, enabling the photographer to give your family a portrait with that 'oooh' factor which will make you proud to display the finished print on the walls of your home.

So you have decided on getting a family portrait taken by a professional photographer...

Most studios are now bright and cheerful, I'm sure you have seen the family photographs where they are sitting or standing on a white background, these types of photographs look much more fun than the traditional family photographs of years gone by.

This trend in all white background photographs is pretty popular at the moment and is a good, economical solution for families on a budget, (beware, however, that these pictures will look dated very quickly, as they are a trend) the sessions tend to cost no more than £30 and usually include a free print as part of the deal. Some studios now offer free sessions and you only pay for the print itself which can be as little as £10!

If you are on a limited budget and don't mind a photograph that will look dated in about a year's time, then this solution is perfect. Have a look around your town or city for these studios, there is usually at least one where you live.

For families who have more disposable income, hiring an independent photographer is a much better idea if you want long lasting family portraits that will still look good on your walls in ten years time. (Independent family photographers are sometimes known as freelance photographers.)

Independents are not restricted to a studio, they tend to work from home and can offer a better session experience. The session usually takes place out side in a park, garden or in the woods. This is a more natural backdrop for both family portraits and individual portraits and the classic nature of this type of photography will surely last the test of time and will not go out of fashion in a year or two.

When you call to book with your independent family photographer, discuss the available options for location and let them know if you have a particular favourite place or anywhere special that you would like the photographs taken.

A good freelance/independent family photographer will cost more than a high street studio but in terms of long lasting satisfaction and fun, they are well worth it. Expect to pay from £60 to £150 for a session and print prices will vary depending on who you book and the sizes you want. Some photographers will offer packages and some will offer per item/a la carte pricing.

Research your photographer on the internet and by word of mouth before you book, take a look at their images and make doubly sure that what you see is exactly what you want, if you can't imagine keeping one of their pitures on your wall then it's probably a better idea to keep saving up until you can afford a better photographer.

All prices are approximate to the time of publishing.

At-A-Glance Wedding Planner Checklist

2009-11-11T12:34:00.000Z

So you two are getting married? Why not do everything you can to make it a wedding to remember? Here are the items you will want to consider carefully while formulating your wedding plans:
Secular or Non-secular?

Decide whether you want a simple civil ceremony or a church-affiliated wedding.

This should be a straightforward decision, but if you run into a snag on this point, don't worry; you can work it out. It'll just be the first of many compromises!

If you want a church wedding, make an appointment to talk to the church representative that handles such things and go from there.

Money

Weddings cost money. It's one of a handful of life-changing events, and an investment to make it everything you ever wanted it to be is appropriate.

Talk it over. Come up with a dollar figure and start gathering estimates. Once you two have decided how much you want to spend, however, don't go over that amount. This is the first big investment you'll make, and you want it to be a pleasant one.

Get Informed

Make your list of "must-haves," such as wedding gown, invitations, flowers, rings and reception. Then call for estimates on each of those items.

If your estimates total less than your wedding budget, you can go on to items on your second-tier list, your "wanna-haves." This list would include such items as a hairdresser, a photographer, a stag night, a hen party and professional music, both for the wedding ceremony and the reception.

The Moment You've Waited For

Did you forget the honeymoon? Not likely!

You may look at the costs you've racked up on paper so far and despair, thinking you'll only have money left over for a night at the bowling alley! If that's the case, go back over all your lists and prune. Or give yourselves more time to save the money you'll need to create your perfect experience. The honeymoon, after all, is the consummation of the marriage. Make it a time to remember forever.

Bon voyage!

Jeanette Pollock is a freelance author and website owner. She publishes articles and reports in various ezines and also contributes on a regular basis to FreeNetPublishing.com.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jeanette_Pollock
http://EzineArticles.com/?At-A-Glance-Wedding-Planner-Checklist&id=135693

How to Plan a Budget-Friendly Wedding

2009-11-11T12:04:00.005Z

The ultimate wedding planner for the couple on a truly tight wedding budget does not ask you to give up on your dream wedding.

Free wedding budget calculator makes planning your wedding budget easy.

Tim and Lisa Spooner, authors of Wedding Planning on a Budget , offer you their valuable tips and unique ideas to help you plan a budget wedding that looks like a million bucks

You can start saving now on your dream wedding by downloading this wedding planner:

Professional Music Photographers get the Sticky End of the Stick

2009-11-10T12:54:00.002Z

The Music Industry comes along once again to bite us in the bum. A recent article on cnet.com (http://news.cnet.com/8301-13772_3-10392935-52.html - 10.11.09) shows just how bad the music industry is becoming for photographers.

"Many of those fans--and thousands more throughout the Rose Bowl that night--were shooting with nothing more than a camera phone. And no one worries about the dissemination of images taken with devices like that. But some people were shooting with cameras like Canon's new PowerShot G11, a little 12.5-ounce, 10-megapixel dynamo much more than capable of producing professional images."

Now as professionals, we know that these compact cameras can not take the same quality of photographs as we can with our high end SLR's, our lenses are better for one, and our training and experience allows us to capture the decisive moment. The point still remains that bands and venues with the "three songs and you're gone" rule kick us out at the end of our time and allow the amateurs to keep taking pictures.

With most images remaining in a digital format the quality of these images is a moot point. If they come out slightly blurred, out of focus or grainy, showing the image at a smaller size will negate these issues quite effectively on-line but will prevent larger copies being printed.

I'm not blaming the amateurs for this, nor indeed the band or venue, but it does throw up a host of new arguments and debates on professionals being allowed to stay longer than three songs.

The 'three song' rule was implemented in the 1970's with Led Zepplin having issues with their likeness being sold without their knowledge or consent, fair enough - but unfortunately this trend has spread to many bands and managers over the years until it has become a standard practise.
I ask you, would you rather a well exposed and expertly composed photograph doing the rounds on the internet or would you prefer a small, grainy and poor quality snapshot to promote yourself?

So with the advent of fans taking better and better compact cameras to gigs and being allowed to take photographs of their heroes after the professional music photographers have been booted, how is the industry going to stop them making memorabilia or selling their images? I don't think you can copyright your own face!

Viking Re-Enactment Weekend

2009-10-31T16:34:00.002Z

I went on a Viking Re-Enactment weekend last week and it was great fun, we repaired a house using daub and had a great time meeting up with old friends and meeting new ones!

Here are the photographs I took on the day, it was brilliant fun!

Wayland after Daubing
Wayland gets mucky while slapping daub onto his house to repair it.

Shutter: 1/1000 - Aperture: f/5 - ISO 1600 - Lens: 24 mm

Debbie with daubed hands.
Debbie, Wayland's wife is also very mucky.

Shutter: 1/1250 - Aperture: f/5 - ISO 1600 - Lens: 24 mm

Daubing
Wayland and Debbie daubing their house.

Shutter: 1/40 - Aperture: f/4 - ISO 200 - Lens: 24 mm

Village at Sunset
The Danelaw Viking Village, Murton Park at sunset.

Shutter: 1/200 - Aperture: f/7.1 - ISO 200 - Lens: 20 mm

Saxons
The Saxon come Viking stuff in one of the houses.

Shutter: 1/125 - Aperture: f/4.2 - ISO 320 - Lens: 26 mm

Mum in the Door
The houses were extremely smoky, there was adequate ventilation but unfortunatley the wood there was to burn was more suitable for smoludering than flames.

Shutter: 1/125 - Aperture: f/5.6 - ISO 200 - Lens: 18 mm

Longhouse
We all went into the Longhouse for tales and it was cosy,

Shutter: 1.3000003394828" - Aperture: f/3.5 - ISO 1600 - Lens: 18 mm

Longhouse II
Another view of the Longhouse.

Shutter: 1" - Aperture: f/5 - ISO 1600 - Lens: 22 mm

Wayland in the Morning
Loved the lighting as the sun came up

Shutter: 1/250 - Aperture: f/5.6 - ISO 200 - Lens: 42 mm

Debs with Tea
Cuppa tea in the morning to set you right for the day.

Shutter: 1/80 - Aperture: f/5.6 - ISO 200 - Lens: 31 mm

Relaxing
I was pretty popular this weekend :) Lots of people came to say hi, Nick is on the right and I'm afraid I forget the guys name who is on the left.

Shutter: 1/60 - Aperture: f/5.6 - ISO 1600 - Lens: 18 mm

Mum's Bum
Not much to say, she's going to kill me if she see's this up here lol!

Shutter: 1/40 - Aperture: f/5.6 - ISO 1600 - Lens: 26 mm

Table Still Life
We ate from wooden bowls.

Shutter: 1/80 - Aperture: f/5.6 - ISO 1600 - Lens: 18 mm

Village II
At Sunset again, just a shot of the main walkway.

Shutter: 1/125 - Aperture: f/5.6 - ISO 320 - Lens: 18 mm

Mum with Tea
Good ole bushcraft tea, it had been stewing over the fire for ages, it had aquired a bit of a kick.

Shutter: 1/125 - Aperture: f/5.6 - ISO 200 - Lens: 18 mm

Last Night, Tudor House
We got locked into the site, which we only found out after we had packed everything away... Spent the night in the Tudor house which was a lot cosier than the wooden huts.

Shutter: 1.3000003394828" - Aperture: f/5.6 - ISO 1600 - Lens: 20 mm

Fire
Toria staring into the fire.

Shutter: 1.3000003394828" - Aperture: f/5.6 - ISO 1600 - Lens: 50 mm

Take some Creepy pics at Halloween Part II

2009-10-17T10:58:00.009+01:00

Part I is Here.

So you've read your manuals, played with the camera, photographed the ubiquitous black cat in a coal mine and got a reasonable pic out of it, you may not know how you did it but if you are like me, you have (hopefully) remembered the settings you had when you got that picture, or at least written them down on the back of the severn Trent water bill envelope.

So now we move onto my favourite subject - composition.

It's pretty straight forward if you have an imagination, if you are lacking in that area then you might want to write this down or print it out to refer to it when it comes time to shoot. First of all, the basic rule of thirds is good here.

Above is the rule of thirds grid. Try not to see squares/rectangles, instead see the lines. Can you see them yet? Yes? Good. The rule of thirds is a very basic 'rule' of composition, but just because it's basic, don't ignore it. I use it almost every time I take a picture and I've been doing this for a while now.

For those of you with a lack of imagination or visualisation skills and own a camera where you can see the image on the back in the LCD screen you might want to nip down to the stationery shop and buy yourself a sheet of acetate and a pen that writes on it. Cut the acetate to the same size as your screen and draw the grid above on it.

If you don’t own a camera with an LCD you can preview your photograph in before taking the image then I don’t know what you can do, perhaps google ways to improve your imagination may be?

Ok so lets look at the image we saw as a good example from the last post.

As you can see one of the figures is on the right vertical third.

If the photographer had moved their camera to the right or simply waited the figures would've been on the two vertical thirds, creating a better, more balanced composition.

Take a look at this next image

This image shows how to position your subjects in the frame, creating a balanced composition on the thirds with other elements.

If you only have a single subject, try turning your camera on it's side and aligning the head of the subject along the top horizontal third and place you subject in the centre of the frame, try to fill your frame with the whole of the subject to take advantage of the space, you can see this being done effectively in the images below.

So how to get that creepy factor?

Well, there are a couple of ways to add that extra creepy factor to your pictures.

The first is angle, get on your knees and point the camera up at the subject. This is an unusual angle and a good one for dramatic looming as I like to call it. Don’t forget your composition just because you have changed your camera angle.

The second one isn’t so simple. You will need to find some dramatic light. The best light for creepy pics is extreme under lighting, think back to campfire ghost stories where the teller held a torch underneath their chin. If push comes to shove a torch will do but if you can find a bigger light source then go for it.

Another dramatic light source is one directly overhead, this is a little easier to find. Just stand your subject right under a street lamp. Bingo bongo overhead dramatic lighting.

Stick a bit of white pillowcase or a sheet of white card underneath their face and you have both over and under lighting in one!

Remember DON’T use flash, it just ruins the mood of the lighting. If your camera does insist on flash then either –2 flash ev or put your finger over it, even if your finger doesn’t cover the whole of the flash, the redness from your flesh will help the creepy factor.

Talking of adding colour to the picture, think about holding some coloured cellophane over your flash, you can either buy it from a stationers or if your prefer, which I do, you can buy yourself some quality street, scoff the choccies and use the coloured cellophane wrappers. I would stay away from the blue ones they don’t seem to work very well. The red and green ones are fantastic though.

So that’s it, off you go and don’t forget to come back after Halloween and leave a comment with a link to your photos!

Teaching and Me

2009-10-14T16:50:00.002+01:00

I'm off to go and teach again in a bit. Wow, I never thought I'd be doing this . Okay when I was a kid, I played teachers with my teddies, most of us did. It's amazing to be able to sit in front of a class and teach them something. I feel as if I'm on top of the world!

As you might've guessed I'm teaching photography. I know about photography. I can teach it!

I'm teaching night classes at Ludlow College nd if all goes well I'll be teaching a lot more to come.

It's not as easy as just going up to the front desk and asking if you can teach, oh no.

I've had to become a qualified teacher, I'm in my second trimester of my degree course, I've completed the first part, this on it's own allows you to teach adults at the most basic level, the second part allows you to teach up to intermediate standard and the third part, which I'll probably do after a year break will allow me to teach fully qualified courses with certificates and everything at the end!

I don't know if I'll take this on full time - I love photography and just doing this night course takes up almost a whole day of preperation, so a full time position wouldn't leave me with much time to do anything else. I am thinking of doing a basics photoshop course, if the college has photoshop of course, if not then it will have to be limited to people with laptops and their own version of photoshop.

Something to think about, that's for sure.

Ps, the second part of the Halloween photography mini tutorial is on it's way!

How to make your Halloween Photos really creepy! Part I

2009-10-07T14:13:00.003+01:00

So Halloween is coming up and as a little creepy goodness, I figured I'd write about how to make your Halloween photos really sing!

Most of us take pics of the kids, all dressed up in their ghost, witch or robot costume, they come out as we expect, black background with a small, unassuming figure right in the middle of the picture, something a bit like this...

This is fine for record keeping purposes but what if you wanted something a little more atmospheric? A little more scary?

Taking it during the day... not great, you get a better idea of what the costumes were like however, there isn't much atmosphere. So the night is the best time to take your atmospheric Halloween pics that will definitely give the viewer the creeps!

This is much better, you might be saying to yourself, it's all blurry! That's true, but it gives the image that scary factor, you look at it and start to wonder... Why is it blurry? Why can't I see the figures better?
It creates unease. Perfect for Halloween pictures.

Another thing that works for this picture is that there are lights in the background, it helps to give depth to the image, also with orange lights, it reminds us of pumpkins, two in one!

How to take these types of images.

For SLR users.

Pop your flash up but dial in -1.7ev compensation.
Set your flash to Slow or Rear sync.
Hold your camera as steady as possible
Fire!

** If you don't know how to change these settings, refer to your manual **

Compact Users

Set your camera to 'Night Portrait' or a similar setting.
Flash must be fired. If you can get it on 'slow' do so.
If you can, change your ev exposure to -1.

** If you don't know how to change these settings, refer to your manual **

So that's pretty much the technical part of the quick tips, I will post another quick tip on composition for Halloween in a couple of days, go and practise with your camera first!

Thanks for reading and if you would like to distribute this article, please do so but keep the links to the photographs intact. They are CC'd from Flickr.

Ludlow

2009-10-01T14:00:00.002+01:00

Took these pics for cometoludlow.co.uk.

This is where I live!

Jane and Jonathan :: Wedding

2009-09-19T14:36:00.003+01:00

Jane and Jonathan were Married at Kingdom Hall in Craven Arms and then had their Reception at Moor Park School near Richards Castle.

It was a fun event, with laughter during the very touching ceremony throughtout the group shots (of which there were quite a few, large families!) and the reception was amazing.

Everything was organised down to the last detail and their friends helped serve, decorate and generally made sure the day ran smoothy, and it did! The feast was roast beef cooked over oak logs with slad and new potatoes. The puddings were heavenly, chocolate tarts, sponges and cheesecakes with all the trimmings.

Oh and what a venue! Moor Park is a boarding school in term time but it totally rocks as a reception venue. The grounds are pristine, the staircases magnificent nand Jane, the most natural poser I have ever met, just made the shots sing! Please look through all of the photographs, stay with them right through to the end, you will not be disappointed.

Before and After :: II

2009-09-10T14:07:00.002+01:00

So for those of you who have been following the Blog for a time, you already know what this is about, for those of you who haven't seen one of my before's and afters, you are in for a treat!

Before and Afters are a 'Behind the Scenes' look at what I do after I've taken a photo...

I get home and download the Raw files (Raw is basically a digital negative which can only be opened by specialised software) I go through the initial previews and get rid of the ones that are rubbish, blinkies and the like. Then I go through again and if I have shot in 'paparazzi mode' then I'll go through all of those and choose the best one from that particular series.
Similar pictures get grouped together and if they are too similar to be counted as seperate pics then I'll choose the best and the others are untagged.

Once I've got a good selection of the best photos which meet my criteria...

They have to tell a story of the day or person.
They have to be well exposed.
They must be well composed
Backgrounds must enhance the story/person/thing.
They must look good.

I'll start to process them, digital processing is very similar to film processing, except it's a lot drier (except when you knock over a cup of tea!) The digital negatives have to be checked for any dust spots or 'scratches' next they go through the initial development phase which is a quick run though of exposure, colour balancing and contrast adjustments. Once that is completed I go though all of the images again weeding out the dodgy ones that I missed first time around.

It's at this point I look through the images to see which ones I want to put up on Facebook and here, on the blog. I'll spend a day on these, making them look amazing (which gives me a nice break from bulk processing!) and then I'll post them up as a Sneak Peek of the gorgeousness to come!

The longest stage is individual processing, during this phase I go through each image individually, tweaking the colour, brightness, contrast, exposure, blacks, conversions to Black & White, Sepia or applying a certain look to the image and much, much more! It takes on average about 15 - 20 minutes per photograph, and when you have over 100 photographs, from a wedding for example, then it's quite a chunk of time.

Once that stage is complete, usually after a week then I take a break for a day. I need it lol!

Next comes the fine tuning. I'll go through the processed photos and look to see if any need some special attention, most of the time they're fine but I'm a perfectionist so I usually end up with 30+ photographs to do something a little extra to. This will take another week to complete and once done, the pics are ready to put into the web gallery for my client.

As you can see the initial image is muddy with no contrast and the brightness is low.
After processing... I chose Black and white, mainly because the background is so graphic and for an intimate shot like this it's a bit more photojournalisty.

Here again you can see that the initial pic is muddy (low contrast, not very saturated or bright enough) After processing, I'm sure you'll agree that it's a lot more "Wow!". I enhanced the contrast, colour and brightness, to add some pop to the picture I increased the black point, this had the added advantage in darkening down the background behind Matt's head so they separate from the background a bit more.

Again, the left pic is muddy and the right pic is a lot better, if you look closely you can see I've darkened that blinding road in the background, the sun was reflecting straight off it, creating a really bright distraction.I've also made the colours a bit warmer, it was a sunny day so it needs to look sunny. Matt's shirt came out a little too blue, it was supposed to be white, so I took care of that.

So that's the end of our behind the scenes for for now, I hope you have enjoyed it, if you have any questions or comments, please click on the link below to post them.

Becky and Peter :: Wedding

2009-09-08T19:50:00.005+01:00

Main Proofing Gallery is Live click here.

Becky and Peter married in Overton Grange, Ludlow, which is an amazing place perfectly suitable for both goregous & amazing people such as these two.

I arrived at the venue to find Becky in a room filled with bridesmaids... she had seven.

Luckily the room was big enough for the bridal party and one photographer with cameras, flashes and a mission to get great photos...

Becky and Peter are the coolest people I know and the whole wedding was just great, thank you guys for letting me be a part of your big day, I had a great time!
If you would like to see some more from Becky's and Pete's Wedding click this line to go to Facebook.

Photography Course!

2009-09-04T12:28:00.003+01:00

Photography course hosted by me at Ludlow College.

Begins Wednesday 23rd of September 2009. Finishes 2nd December 09.
Start: 7:00pm Finish 9:00pm

Please call 01584 872846 or pop into the college to book your place.

The more people that book the better it will be!

This will not be an intensive course, it will be fun and informative but relaxed. It will definitely be a great place to meet new friends and learn about your camera.

I'll be covering What Shutter speed, Aperture and ISO is and how they talk to each other and relate to the photograph being taken, the rules of composition and what to do with them and hopefully I'll be able to get a show at the end of the course for everyone!

Please bring your camera with you on the course.

Michelle

How to rip off 1,000 photos.

2009-09-01T10:43:00.000+01:00

Even if you are not in the photography industry, I beg you to go and read the post linked below.

How to Rip off 1,000 Photos.

Basically, a pretty large photography publishers is ripping off ill-educated students of photography by asking them to submit their pictures for free and all of their rights to them signed away. And the kicker is that if a person featured in one of the photos is upset enough at being printed on whatever and decides to take the company to court, guess what... the company will refer to the contract and send the court case to the photographer who gets sued.

Great!
I couldn't believe it, sitting here, reading this.

I urge, nay, beg you to go and read and then write a couple of emails. Tell them how disgusting the contract is and how awful you think the exploitation of students is. Please.

If they win it'll be... One step for big companies, one giant fall for the photography industry.

Go, read, write: How to Rip off 1,000 Photos.

Fail lol!

2009-08-29T13:39:00.001+01:00

Am I worth it?

2009-08-28T12:29:00.000+01:00

I love weddings. I love my job. Wedding photography.

The most romantic day of someone's life should be special. My job is to make the photographs reflect the romance and fun of the day and I guess I do it pretty well, if I didn't no one would hire me would they?

I'm not cheap, not expensive either, there are photographers out there who charge a heck of a lot more than I do and some that are cheaper. I have asked myself, why not drop the prices? It's a difficult question to answer. The first thing that comes to mind is that I charge what I charge so I can keep working and paying the bills. The second thing is that I'm worth it. Now for me that's a hard thought to think. For most people, it's a hard thought to think. I know the Lorel ad's on the telly are always banging on about how "you're worth it" but who pay's any attention to them?

Most of us are just happy to go to work everyday and get paid at the end of the month. Are we worth it? Perhaps we are, we get paid to turn up and work, are we worth the money? Possibly.

So why do people pay £700 for their wedding photographer, a leap of faith that what you imagine the pictures look like will come true, perhaps, it's a hard notion to grasp for some, and most will shake their head and click on the next link to the cheaper photographers website, the guy down the road who only charges £200 or so for a full day of work. The photographs come back looking as if uncle bob had taken them and the beautiful wedding dress with all of the diamanté and beading detail you paid a fortune for is so over exposed it looks as if you are wearing a nuclear explosion, that beautiful detail is gone forever in the painful white of base paper.

After the tears I get a call, can I fix it? Probably not in all honesty. Once the whites have gone there's nowt to do but give up. They're gone for ever, the detail is lost.

On the other hand there is the under-exposed pictures where the dress is not white but a muddy yellow-grey and the Caucasian bride and groom look as if they had spent 48 hours in a tanning bed or the Black couple fade away into the darkenss of the (previously) candle lit reception.

After the tears I get a call, can I fix it? Possibly, although it depends if the photographer took the photographs as jpegs or raw(raw is the negative. It contains 16 bis of information, jpeg only contains 8 bits) Most of the time the photographs are in jpeg, nothing can be done.

I hate telling people there is nothing I can do but it's the truth, it hurts me to see them in pain.

So I suppose I offer my knowledge, training and experience, a 'trust' that what I say will be done and the feelings, emotions and details will be captured properly with the romantic eye. That the dresses will be white and detailed, that everyone will look fab and sexy.

Every time I question my worth I remember my clients, their faces and comments when they see the photographs, when their leap of faith pays out and they have that album with all of the details, romance and emotion for ever.

Everyone asks themselves from time to time, "Am I Worth it?"...

YES.

Bushmoot 2009

2009-08-14T16:57:00.004+01:00

I started going to the BCUK Bushmoot last year and had a great time, this year I went again and had an even better one.

Below are some of the photographs I took, I've tried to select a few that help explain what bushcraft is for those readers who haven't a clue what I'm on about.

Ps, The moot is only for bushcrafters. ;)

My younger sister getting water for a cup of tea.The fire is more than decorative, it's essential if you want hot drinks and cooked food!

This was our home for a week. It's a little hard to see but the tent like canopies are tarps/bashas and we slept in hammocks strung up beneath them.

THe kids job is to get water, it was about a minutes walk and while we only expected them to come back with half a barrel, they came back with a full one everytime, what troopers!

As you can see, on the left is a cast iron cooking pot called a dutch oven and on the right our cast iron kettle!
Wood was our main source of fuel although we did cheat a bit and take charcoal for the oven, you need heat on the bottom and the top for it to work as an oven. Oh and yes, that is a real axe :)

Sunday Roast in Dutch Oven and it was very nice!
One of the mods (moderators of the BCUK forum) mucking about after a session I taught on photography where I briefly went on about posing styles for men and women, so Dave had to have a go when he stumbles across me and another bloke during a 1 to 1 session about landscape photography.
The main meeting area was under a parachute, how cool can you get?!
One of mine to illustrate how to take silhouettes during the 1 to1.
Andy, the guy I was teaching 1 to 1. I loved the reflections of the trees in his glasses and since I'm a people photographer, this one came out better in my opinion than my landscapes.
Another illustration of converging lines and light.
Playing with lines and light again.

One of my mates teaching a young lad how to make a whistle out of a bit of tree!

Everyone (200+ in a 10 acre woodland) had a great time and it was wonderful to meet old friends and make new ones! So now you know why I had such a mess to deal with when I got home :)

Martin and Charlotte :: Wedding

2009-07-26T17:02:00.002+01:00

I'd never met Martin and Charlotte before, two days before the wedding, we were meeting for the first time during an e'session. (Post that later) We clicked immediately they both have almost the exact same sense of humour as I do and we laughed and joked our way for two hours of shooting, more to come on that in another post.

Their Wedding was yesterday at Penrhos Court, Knighton. What a fabulous day! The sun was out, with little fluffy clouds scudding across the sky, perfect. Charlotte (Charlie) had slept like a baby the night before and even had breakfast that morning. The day unfolded well and everyone was super cool. One of their friends played the saxophone before the ceremony and everywhere you looked the were wild and garden flowers everywhere.

Martin was waiting in the ceremony room, trying too look cool and failing miserably. Charlie arrived in the car and started to walk towards the gate, Martins face lit up like a lighthouse and I legged it outside to get her coming in. The day rocked, the food was fantastic and everyone had a great time, the rain that was threatened never came and the sunset was gorgeous.

Saxophone... Yeah Baby!

Aren't they the cutest!

Arriving at the Wedding with the bridesmaids and her dad.

Martin and Charlie exchange the rings on the porch.

Confetti!

Paparazzi moment, this always makes me giggle.

Charlie bought wings for her two littlest bridesmaids.

Taking a moment away from the hustle and bustle for a romantic session that quickly became a joke fest.

Bridal Yay!

I so want a pair of these, I adore that strap.

If it's there....

I loved the flowers, even the bouquets and baskets were wild flowers.

Best wedding cake ever... Very tasty jelly cake with wild fruit on logs, how cool is that?!

Setting sun portrait.

Playmobil bride and groom, too cute! Martin is a doctor, Charlie a Nurse... don't ask about the knife.

Bride's portrait.
Thank you Martin and Charlotte for allowing me to be a part of your day, it was so relaxed and fantastic, and I don't think I've ever laughed so much!

Jane and Jonathan :: E' Session

2009-07-24T18:53:00.005+01:00

Jane and Jonathan are getting married in September, two people who are so well suited for each other, if I wasn't taking pics at their wedding, I would think that they have been married for ages!

Last weekend, we went for a look around Moor Park, the Reception venue and they chose to do the E' Session there.

It wasn't the driest day! In fact it was raining so much the pebbles on the tarmack were jumping up and down.

We first went around the building, Moor Park is a private school mainly, but in the hols the manager lets it out to couples who want a beautiful location for their wedding day.

After about a hour, the rain eased off and we went outside to take some shots...

Comments welcome!

If this post recieves at least 15 comments before their wedding day (05.09.09), Jane and Jonathan recieve a free mounted 8x6" print... so get commenting!

If you want to see the full gallery, please click this line

Corner Shop

2009-07-02T14:27:00.002+01:00

Day 16.

Waterin' the Plants

2009-07-01T17:14:00.000+01:00

Day 15.

385 Catchup

2009-07-01T13:49:00.002+01:00

Days 10 - 14 Poverty

Speed

Dora

Butterfly Bush

Tallow

Sylvia

2009-06-26T14:47:00.004+01:00

Day 9

Sylvia has helped me out with my teaching course so many times it's hard to count.

Stop motion with wolf and pig.

2009-06-25T14:42:00.001+01:00

Stereogram

2009-06-24T21:45:00.000+01:00

Ok so the trick is to go cross eyed, sitting quite far back if you haven't done this before, so the two pictures combine in the middle to make a third, this one looks 3D.

Let me know if you do it!

Ok, so if you can do that one, try this one now!

Mrs Lewis

2009-06-24T21:25:00.003+01:00

365 - Day 8

Hannah

2009-06-24T16:01:00.003+01:00

365 - Day 7

Went to see Sir David Frost at the Ludlow Assembly rooms, I did debate on whether or not to play the press card and ask for a picture of him, but he looked tired so I didn't. Why is it that every time I see a celebrity at that place, they always look tired? If I was working there, I'd take them a piece of cake and a cup of tea to pick them up.

So this is Hannah, she's a very good friend and we went to the talk together, she had to work, she was writing a review and so afterward we met up with our other friend for drinks at the Parkway.

This is taken in the Buttercross, about an hour and a half after sunset.

Time out

2009-06-22T18:59:00.002+01:00

365 - Day 6

Granddad

2009-06-21T22:39:00.002+01:00

365 - Day 5

Elizabeth

2009-06-20T22:23:00.000+01:00

365 - Day 4

365 Day 3

2009-06-19T23:18:00.002+01:00

"Tinned"

365 Day 2

2009-06-18T22:21:00.002+01:00

Terry & John

Classmates at college - CTLLS.

Extreme Shepherding!

2009-06-18T11:00:00.003+01:00

Oh yes!

365 :: Day 1

2009-06-17T15:32:00.007+01:00

365 is my year long project, every day I take one photograph that is inspiring, or of something or someone that has inspired me photographically.
Today this photo is of a roe deer skull I use to hang my jewelry from. It was given as a present to me by a special friend and i didn't know what else to do with it.

Below are the works in progress photographs with a little info about them. I hope to provide new and pro photographers a sense of how I work! Enjoy :)

Initial image capture, using flash to the left of the camera, as you can see it's slightly underexposed, the next one is better, I opened up the aperture up to allow more flash in. At this particular moment, composition isn't something I was consciously thinking about I just wanted to get the right settings for a well exposed photograph.

Once I had the settings correctly exposing the image, I wanted a tighter beam of light. I knew I still wanted a soft light so I chocked up the umbrella down the shaft a bit to create a soft spotlight effect, as you can see from the photos above.

This is my final idea for composition, and here you can see me playing with light angle. The distance is pretty much set it in as I like the fall off and as the subject is sitting flush against the background, "subject - background" distance isn't playing much of a role in this piece.

The first one is lit straight on, the light does the job, but due to the crap hanging off the horns, there isn't enough light to reach the textured skull.

The second attempt is backlit, I like the way the eye sockets are lighting up but what I don't like is the lack of detail in the foreground, I could've used another flash but I chose a reflector instead, which helped a little.

The third go has the brolly opened up a little more and the angle is about 30deg from horizontal and set just behind the skull to give separation. the reflector, a silver one, was held just out of shot to provide fill.

The finished piece.
The final photograph has a slight sepia tone and grain has been added for a gritty feel.
If you look closely you can see the lighting in the sunglasses!