Tag Archives: business

5 Top Tips for a stress free photoshoot

09 Sunday Jun 2013

Posted by in Business, Photography, Portraits

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It can be a very rewarding experience working with models, both for the photographer and the model. But when things go wrong all too often I hear models complaining about their photographer or photographers complaining about their model and worse still photographers and models making these complaints in online forums or on Facebook which sometimes attract many thousands of views – sadly neither put the model or the photographer in good light.

All too often these complaints are borne out of frustration that the shoot didn’t go as planned, or that the model or the photographer didn’t get the pictures they wanted.

Its an old adage I know, but one which is very apt for those in the photographic industry, “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail”.

Here are my 5 steps for ensuring that your next photo shoot goes without a hitch and model and photographer come away happy

1) Plan, Plan, Plan – I cannot stress how important it is for the photographer to plan their shoot – now I’m not suggesting planning with military precision down to the minutest detail – although if that’s how you work that’s fine – just ensure you have a photographic concept in mind, the right model, the right location, the right clothes and or props, a hairstylist and or Make Up artist, an assistant and everyone knows how to get to the location and at what time. Even in the Summer months make sure you have a warm coat and umbrella in the car – your freezing cold swim ware model will thank you for it

2) Communicate – I see so many photographers who sit behind the lens of a camera and click away without saying a word. Communicate with your model, they are not mind readers, they don’t know what you want unless you tell them. If you want the model to put her hand on her hip a bit higher than she has, tell her! All people need words of encouragement, tell the model her smile is gorgeous and she will smile a gorgeous smile – listen to some of the pro fashion photographers – they spend the entire shoot directing, cajoling and complimenting their models. The same communication needs to be for any stylists and MUA’s too – they don’t know EXACTLY what you want unless you tell them.

3) Always have a Plan B – Sometimes the best laid plans fall apart – always have a plan B, even if that Plan B is “we can’t continue – lets all reschedule”

4) Take regular breaks – It’s tough being a photographer – it’s equally tough being a model – you try standing on the beach in sub zero temperatures for hours on end! Always plan to have regular breaks for a drink, comfort breaks or just to look at what you have done so far – you will get more out of the model and consequently out of your shoot if you take regular breaks

5) Know when to stop – Its easy to keep clicking away – especially with modern DSLR’s of today – but if you have followed the four previous steps you will probably have “got the shot” by now – so stop – thank the model and the rest of your creative team and go home happy

Best

Colin

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Creating Composite Images – Part 2

21 Monday Jan 2013

Posted by in Photoshop

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Afternoon

Following on from my last post about compositing images, here, I’d like to show you how I created my “Snow Queen” image – quite apt considering the current British weather.

I had been looking at shooting a particular image to go with the composite I had in mind, however circumstances always conspired against either the shoot or the look I had in mind. I was doing some housekeeping in my shoot library and I came across an image that was marked as “throw away”. The image was part of a beach bridal shoot back in December and it didn’t quite cut the mustard.

However, the pose and hand placement were exactly what I was looking for for my snow queen idea.

This is the finished “Snow Queen” fantasy image with the lovely Miss Laura Mai

snow queen finished

This particular creation was (relatively) simple as I was using only a single background image. The following show the three main articles that went into making this composite.

snow queen composite

 

I explained in my previous post that the secret to successful compositing is getting the right perspective (with focal length of lenses) and lighting that matches foreground and background.

The other ingredient for successful images is matching colour between foreground and background images. Now while there are a number of ways to achieve this, this is the method I use. In Photoshop duplicate your background layer and move it to the top of the layer stack. With the duplicate layer still selected, go to the menu bar and select Filter>Blur>Average. Set the blend mode to “Colour” and then lower the opacity to around 20-25% – you may want to ad a layer mask to mask of the background – but that’s it, a simple trick that will match the colour of your foreground image to your background.

This image in total took around two hours to complete – there are only 17 layers in this image and the file size (unflattened) is 130MB.

The sparkles, wings, snow and staff were all added to the image for added realism and finally a small amount of mist was added to the lower part of the image to soften it up.

in my next post on Compositing images I’ll show you how I created a more complex fantasy image

Best – Colin

Facebook – to share or not to share.

03 Thursday Jan 2013

Posted by in General, Photography

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Morning,

Facebook is big, no, Facebook is HUGE, there are 7 billion people in the world and as of September 2012 there were 1 billion active Facebook accounts!

A staggering 44% of all Internet users are Facebook users and there are 600 million mobile Facebook users.

Facebook is hugely popular for sharing photos, in fact there are reports that we upload 300 million photos a day, every day and some figures are available to suggest that Facebook hosts nearly 230 billion of our photos – truly mind staggering figures.

It’s very easy to see from these figures that content we upload can be seen by a huge amount of people around the world. This can be fantastic for getting content seen by the masses, we are becoming a content consumption society, with our iPads & iPhones we constantly crave content, consuming with an insatiable appetite.

But problems can arise when content is posted that specifically elicits opinions from the masses. A good example if this happened recently, a clothing designer took a photograph of a model wearing one of his new designs, he immediately uploaded the photo to his Facebook timeline and asked for opinions on the photo. As expected there were tens of responses from his Facebook friends all saying things like, “wow, great photo”. But then someone shared that post with a person outside his circle of friends (Facebook security is overly complicated – but that’s another post)

Very soon the post generated slightly less favourable comments – nothing too disparaging – just constructive criticism. As is the way Facebook works I saw this post on another timeline, the picture was of a very well known model, and the clothes looked great on her, but the overall photo could have been significantly improved.

Within 30 minutes of the first “negative post” there were dozens of truly horrible comments made, mostly, believe it or not, by the original poster, the clothing supplier, in response to the negative comments. I watched the thread descend into vitriol and abuse and I finally reported the Facebook user when death threats were made.

The post was swiftly taken down by Facebook and I heard the clothing supplier server a three day Facebook ban.

The point of this story is that art, all forms of art, be it music, paintings, photos etc is very subjective, just because you think it is fantastic, does not mean everyone will think it’s fantastic. With a billion Facebook users you can bet there will be some that don’t like your art. The masses are not qualified to give objective opinion, if you want or need objective opinion find and join one of the many Facebook groups that suits your particular art form.

Best – Colin

Always open your post

11 Tuesday Dec 2012

Posted by in Business, Photography, Wildlife

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Morning

Most mornings when I open the mail it’s either bills 😦 junk mail 😦 😦 or some other meaningless piece of paper that either ends up in the bin, or worse, left unopened.

Today though was a different matter!

In the mail today I received a certificate from The Societies.

The Societies are the fastest growing worldwide association for professional photographers. They manage eight internationally recognised photographic organisations focusing on prime services to full time and aspiring full time photographers

Each month they run competitions under each of their organisations, I myself belong to the SINWP and the SWPP (Society of International Nature & Wildlife Photographers & Society of Wedding & Portrait Photographers)

The standard of these competitions is very high as the entries each month come from photographers from all over the world. Each entry is ranked as follows:

Gold: Awards will go forward to the annual judging and are deemed to be images of the highest standard and will be published in Professional Imagemaker 

Highly Commended: Above standard. These images will be reviewed every three months and have the potential of being reclassified as Gold.

Not Awarded: Unfortunately these images fall below the standard required to be given an award.

Disqualified: These images have not adhered to the competition rules or category definitions.

The annual judging takes place at a hotel in London in January where the winner of each category is crowned Photographer of the Year and wins a nice trophy.

So I was happy today.

The image is of a common Buzzard in flight and posted below – along with the certificate 🙂

Buzzard

goldawardswpp-blog

Best – Colin

If you fail to prepare.

10 Monday Dec 2012

Posted by in Photography

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Morning

When I arrive at a clients premises for a photoshoot more often than not the client will look at my gear and say to me, “do you really need all that for this shoot?”

I do take a lot of equipment on every shoot – two camera bodies plus my x100, multiple Speedlights (flashguns), an assortment of lenses ranging from 24mm through to 200mm, flash triggers, at least two sometimes three stands, two umbrellas, a softbox, various reflectors, spare batteries/flash cards and various clips and clamps.

As with all things electrical, if it can fail, it will fail, at some point, and its better to be prepared for that failure rather than have to cancel a shoot (and have an unhappy client)

Case in point – only yesterday I had the final shoot (of three) for a client that had signed up to my, “My First Year” package. I shoot the child when it’s born, then at six months and finally at its first birthday, this provides the client with a record of their child’s first year.

As with every shoot I do, I prepare the day before, make sure everything works, all the batteries are charged up, and pack everything I need for the shoot.

But yesterday was just one of those days.

I set up, went to fire a test shot and one of my Speedlights did not fire, even though it fired the night before. The client then said to me, “can you smell burning? Sure enough, the smell was coming from my fried Speedlight, slowly cooking inside. I quickly whipped out the batteries and put the unit outside – the client watching on nervously.

After setting up another Speedlight I took another test shot and this time once again, the flash failed to fire. Worried now I checked the unit and it appeared ok and fired when I manually fired the test button – I could not smell burning – so I suspected the remote triggers. Swapped out the batteries and all worked ok.

By this time young child was getting a little agitated and restless, so I said to the mother to give him a feed while I finished my setup. While she was feeding him I needed to change the angle of my umbrella, so I twisted the handle of the Manfrotto 155 bracket and it snapped right off in my hand.

At this point I was beginning to wonder who I had upset “up there” as things were going wrong one thing after the other and I was running out of excuses for the client!

I was down a flashgun, I had no way of modifying the angle of the umbrella now the bracket had broken – what could I do – I had to get this shoot finished (started!).

Then I had an idea – the Dad was just stood around watching so I asked if he would mind holding a reflector for me while I used my Speedlight on camera and bounced the light into the reflector being held by Dad.

The shoot turned out ok in the end, everyone was happy.

Happy one year old - Lit with Speedlight fired into reflector held by Dad

Happy one year old – Lit with Speedlight fired into reflector held by Dad

But THAT’S why I have to lug around a huge bag of equipment and assorted items when I go out on shoots!!

Best – Colin

Wedding Catwalk

03 Monday Dec 2012

Posted by in Bridal Photography, Photography

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Morning

Occasionally I am asked to Video Catwalk events, Bridal, Fashion etc which I do alongside my photography. There is usually a lot going on, especially at Bridal Catwalks and it pays to keep your eyes peeled for any unguarded moments – such as these two lovely models, Helen D & Hannah W doing their thing!

Best – Colin

Back to Basics – one light setup

07 Wednesday Nov 2012

Posted by in Business, Lighting, Photography

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Morning

All photographers need light, be it daylight, sunlight, flashlight, or even moon light, we all need light, because without light there is only darkness.

I see photographers spending hours setting up 3, 4, 5, 6 or even more lights to light a single subject in a studio – fine if you are being commissioned to shoot a big brand commercial where you only have one opportunity to pull off the shot, but for normal paying clients it’s really NOT necessary.

Sometimes people over complicate things, you don’t really NEED to use multiple lights to get the best out of your subject. You might think that using a main light with a fill light and perhaps a hair light to separate them from the background is the way it should be done – and if you read most of the text books on studio lighting you will be right – but you don’t HAVE to do it that way.

If you know how to shape and modify light, and position the light correctly, you can create a stunningly simple image that your clients will love.

This image of Emily was taken with a single light, a single exposure and the only Photoshop work was to convert to mono, everything else is straight out of camera.

One Light

Have a think about how I shot this, with just a single light source.

With one light it is quite simple to add light modifiers to shape the light and add some drama to your image.

This picture of Holly was shot using a continuous light source off to my left and simply shot through a set of blinds strapped to a light stand. Careful positioning results in a pleasing composition, with the light striking the eyes and the mouth.

One light

So you see, it is quite easy to create beautiful and simple images that clients will love, with no more than a single light source and some light modifiers.

Best – Colin

 

 

Why are some photographers so expensive?

02 Friday Nov 2012

Posted by in Business, Photography

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Afternoon

It’s a question I hear quite regularly, a client rings up for a price on a family portrait session or maybe a pre-engagement shoot, and then after informing them of the cost, there is a sharp intake of breath and the words “why are you so expensive, xyz photographer can do it for £x”

There is more to being a “Professional Photographer” than just having a £600 DSLR and being able to take “nice pictures” the skill needs to be honed over many years. In fact, running a successful photography business these days requires more than just good photography skills, you need a sound business head, with good marketing and sales skills, and above all you need to be a “people person”

Coupled with this the fact that a “Professional Photographer” may also have a studio to run, with all those associated costs, not least the photographic accessories like backgrounds, props, lights, stands and all the other paraphernalia that makes up a photographers studio space. Even without the studio space, there are still computers with enough storage space for the ever increasing size of image files, software programmes for editing, a website to be managed and kept up to date, and don’t forget Public Liability and Professional Indemnity insurance.

Breaking this down even further, lets say I charge £250 for a 1 hour photo shoot. Many clients see that as me charging £250 per hour, more than the cost of their lawyer in some instances. But lets take a look at the work involved.

1hr Photo session (Studio Shoot)

  • Telephone/email discussions with client (30 minutes)
  • Studio Prep (30mins to 1 hour)
  • Photo Shoot (1 hour)
  • Load images onto computer (30 minutes)
  • Back up images to external media (30 minutes)
  • Catalogue, key word, and grade images 30-60 minutes)
  • Editing of images (2-3 hours depending on level of retouching)
  • Backing up of edited images (30 minutes)
  • Arrange viewing session with client (1 hour)

If the shoot is on location then there is additional prep time, load/unload vehicles, travel to/from location.

Clearly from this we can see that I am not charging £250 per hour!

But lets get back to the question, why can xyz photographer down the road shoot the session cheaper than me? Well, there are many reasons for this, they may be “weekend warriors” a slightly disparaging term for Photographers who during the week are at work in their chosen profession but at weekends they shoot weddings or portraits for money, either as a hobby or genuinely because they are just starting out in the business.

They may have a different business model than me, i.e. low price, high turnover or they may not offer any additional services i.e. they don’t do any retouching. Their overheads maybe considerably less too. And one very important thing to ask yourself is, do they have the proper insurance in place.

I often say this to my clients. Buying the services of a pro photographer is no different to buying the services of a lawyer, plumber, electrician or dentist. You wouldn’t hire a lawyer because he was the cheapest, so why hire a photographer because he is the cheapest?

Remember, in life, you get what you pay for.

Best – Colin

 

 

 

Doing Business

11 Thursday Oct 2012

Posted by in Business, General, Photography

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Morning

A few tips today about doing business to business transactions or working together in a business partnership. This post is based on a very true story, the names of the parties will be changed to protect the innocent. This story is about the photographic industry, but applies equally to other industries.

Dave (not is real name) a professional studio photographer was just locking up after a long day in the studio when he got a tap on the shoulder from John (not his real name) a business tenant in the same building as Dave. John runs an online business selling specialist clothing to private individuals

John tells Dave he has been looking for a photographer to go into business with and he has a fantastic business proposition for Dave which will make both of them heaps of money. Dave is intrigued and decides to meet with John to discuss.

Over the next few weeks they meet regularly to discuss Johns proposition, the business idea evolves into a tangible plan of action to move forward. Johns business idea is to use models (supplied by Dave) to model his clothing lines and have professional location based photographs taken (by Dave). The finished photos to be sold on a subscription based website (by John) They agree on a 50/50 partnership with all profits split equally

Dave wants to put something down in writing and set up a company, but John wants some test shoots completed first. Dave organises a test shoot, finds a model who will work on a TF basis (TF = time for, model works for free but receives edited photos for her time) finds a location.

Everything goes well and a few days later John receives the edited pictures, he is blown away by the quality of the photography and the editing. He asks Dave to organise more shoots ASAP

There is still nothing written down or agreed in writing, but Dave is happy to organise more shoots. The next shoot goes as well as the first, John loves the photos but then out of the blue Dave receives an email from John saying that as the pictures are so commercially saleable they must not be released onto the Internet, the models must not be allowed to have more than a single image, John requires all the RAW images along with full Copyright of all the images.

Dave gets straight on the phone and explains to John that the industry does not work like that, models have to have the images else they either won’t work, or need to be paid, a photographer should never give up RAW files and there is no need for copyright assignment as a license to use agreement could be put into place.

A heated argument takes place, John does not understand any of this and just wants all the images and all the copyright. Eventually Dave convinces John that a license agreement is sufficient, RAW files are not needed and models will receive a limited number of finished images.

Dave had booked three shoots the following day with three different models at three different locations, all models were working TF and were travelling up to 50 miles.

On the morning of the shoot Dave receives yet another email from John saying after he had slept on it he wanted joint copyright to the images or he was not prepared to shoot. This was 1 hour before the first shoot of the day. As a photographer dealing with models he has a reputation to uphold, not just for quality of work, but also for reliability. So with that in mind Dave agreed to joint Copyright, sent an email confirming and got ready for the shoot.

During the shoot the tone of the posing and direction from John changed dramatically and Dave ended up shooting images he was really uneasy with. Upon reviewing the images after the shoot Dave said he was not prepared to shoot this type of images – John was angry, said shoot it or don’t work again, Dave walked away.

Dave spoke with a solicitor concerning the joint Copyright and asked if he could stop the images he was uneasy with from being published – he could not.

So, both parties ended up with joint Copyright of a single set of images, but the business idea failed as the two would never work together again.

Some lessons to be learned, know the industry you want to work with and if you don’t know it well, then trust that the person you wish to work with does actually know the industry and listen to them. Put written contracts in place before you agree work, not after you have started and photographers, never ever sign away Copyright before you have shot!

If there were binding contracts in place then Dave and John would more than likely be running a successful business together making lots of money.

But sometimes you just have to walk away – Dave didn’t and should have done, he ignored the alarm bells because he thought he’d make lots of money – which turned out to be a poor business decision.

Best – Colin