Tag Archives: photo shoot

5 Top Tips for a stress free photoshoot

09 Sunday Jun 2013

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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

Cancer. The unplanned journey

10 Saturday Nov 2012

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Cancer.

It touches all our lives. Be it friends, family, loved ones, or even ourselves. It touches us all. How we deal with that first realisation that Cancer is in our lives goes a long way to determining our journey with it.

But this is a photography blog, why am I writing about Cancer?

I run a Bump to Baby and a My First Year programme for parents with young children, this provides them with several shoots over a given timeframe.

Sue (not her real name) contacted me 18 months ago and said she would like BOTH the Bump to Baby & My First Year photo shoots. The Bump to Baby shoot consists of a maternity shoot at approx. 40 weeks, and a newborn shoot, at approx. 10 days. The My First Year comprises three shoots, newborn, 6 months and 1 year old.

During the course of the last 18 months I have met Sue & her family on a number of occasions, they had a son together, Julian (not his real name) who I have photographed in a Vintage suitcase at ten days old and under a yellow towel at six months old. Every time I have met or spoken with Sue & her family it has always been a rewarding experience. 

It was Julians first birthday yesterday.

About six weeks ago Sue contacted me for an appointment for Julians final 1 year shoot, we had the usual chit chat and exchanged pleasantries and then Sue said, “I may have to cancel at short notice though as I have Cancer”

An uneasy silence followed as I was at a loss for words, so many thoughts flying around in my head. I wanted to say something but knew that no words I could say would be of any comfort. Thankfully, Sue broke the silence and said some silly comment which I forget now, but it made me chuckle and we said our goodbyes.

As soon as I put the phone down the worry started to set in.

About her family. About Julian her son. About the photo shoot. About EVERYTHING.

Yesterday came.

It was raining. 

We were meeting at a local National Trust site to get some pictures of Julian outside in natural surroundings. I arrived a little early to gather my thoughts. Then I saw them, Sue’s father was driving and I could see that Sue was wearing a wooly hat. Was that because of the cold, or because she was losing her hair? All those images of a Cancer sufferer I had in my head were coming to the fore and I was hating myself for it. 

Sue got out of the car and she could obviously see my facial expression as she said, “Blimey Colin, I have Cancer, it’s not contagious you know!!” And that was that. All the worry and fear that had been building up the last six weeks was gone in an instant. And I knew, what ever the weather, we would get some good pictures today.

Throughout the whole shoot Sue was chirpy positive and he usual funny self. Walking back to the cars afterwards I asked her why she was so positive? Her answer bought tears to my eyes.

“If I’m going to die, I’m going to die, there is no point bringing everyone else in my life down by being sad and unhappy. I have always been a happy person, I’m going to continue being a happy person. I don’t want to die, but If I do, at least I’m going out knowing that my family and friends can remember me as someone who was smiling and happy right to the end. Life is full of challenges. This is one of those”

Looking back on yesterdays shoot and my chat with Sue afterwards I have a good feeling that everything will be ok.

If nothing else it has altered my outlook on life somewhat.

keep smiling, be happy

Best – Colin

Why are some photographers so expensive?

02 Friday Nov 2012

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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

 

 

 

Behind the scenes

30 Tuesday Oct 2012

Posted by in Bridal Photography, General, Photography

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Afternoon

Pictures.

Our lives are consumed with them, every magazine, newspaper, billboard, side of bus or the Tube is covered in pictures. The Internet is awash with pictures, you cannot go through a single day of your life without looking at a picture of some description (unless you are a monk in Tibet, and even then there are no guarantees!).

But how many of us look at the picture and say, I wonder how he/she shot that, or, how many people were involved in that. I’m often amazed by clients that say to me, “I thought it would just be you with a camera and a flashgun!”

So I thought I’d share some BTS (Behind the Scenes) photographs taken for a local wedding gown supplier. The location was the local stately home, where we had free access to the library, bar and gardens.

On big location shoots such as this, the day is long and starts pretty early. Coffee and intros out of the way it’s straight into hair & makeup, this is Emily, one of the models being made up by Mary, our resident MUA.

Hair & Makeup

Starting off in the library we decided against using flash and opted for Lupolux HMI Continuos lighting instead (theatre lights). My trusty step ladder was called into action on more than one occasion, which caused some concern for our chaperone on the day!

Step Ladder Time

 

Moving into the bar area we shot some Bride & Groom images sat at the bar.

At The Bar

 

ooops, where has the photographer gone?

Where's he gone?

Different model, same bar,

 

After finishing up in the bar in was lunchtime, so after a quick bite to eat we moved onto the outside part of the shoot. Unfortunately as is the norm for the UK the weather had turned and it was dull grey and drizzly. Undeterred we set about setting up the shots for the next location.

Discussing the next shot

 

My ladder once again came in useful as the model was stood higher than me on the steps of the structure we were using.

The model was after her iPhone which was ringing right at this point ..grrrrrr

 

 

Another model this time (and another gown)

 

 

The rain was really coming down when we moved onto our final location, the model in this images was dripping wet, and an umbrella was being held over her head in between shots. It didn’t save the dress though.

And just to show some finished images from the shoot that relate directly to these BTS shots……..

Finished Image

Finished Image

 

Finished Image

 

Finished Image

 

Finished Image

 

Finished Image

 

Finished Image

 

So there we have it. A BTS look at a photo shoot. Lots of people involved, lots of time and planning involved but lots of fun too.

Best – Colin

 

Should I allow a Chaperone?

25 Thursday Oct 2012

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Afternoon

About a month ago I was contacted by a lady out of the blue that had seen my work (via various www & social networking sites) and wanted me to shoot her with a very specific theme in mind. She was able to provide a MUA (make up artist) and all the necessary props for this shoot, she just wanted me to source a location that fitted the theme, and of course, take the photographs.

I won’t mention the theme of the shoot as that will be for another blog post – but suffice it to say the lady will be fully clothed, it is not topless/nude/implied nude, just a regular shoot with a cool theme.

There is a very good location available for this shoot, an abandoned building that suits the theme well, I even went and double checked to make sure. We exchanged a few emails, arranged a date and time and she even provided me with the details of the MUA she had chosen. So it was all in my diary.

Then I get another email from her today, completely out of the blue, saying that she was bringing her husband along as chaperone, end of.

Now the internet, for all its problems, can be a wonderful thing – the very first thing I do, when I receive any contact from a client, or prospective client, is to check them out on the web – nothing too heavy or deep, I’m no PI, but I do like to check people are who they say they are and do what they say they do – it’s just common sense really.

I’d also assume that any female contacting a male photographer would do the same, probably to a greater degree, you do hear so many “horror stories” that surely it’s the most sensible thing to do. And certainly as she contacted me she must have at least checked me out to some degree.

So the email from her was a little surprising, to say the least.

I only ever shoot one on one with a client or model if I have worked with them before, they know me and I know them. There is always a secondary (sometimes more) person present, usually an MUA, or stylist (or both). If this was a topless/implied nude shoot then I could understand a chaperone request, but not for this.

The MUA’s & stylists are professionals, they know to keep out of the way on set, the chaperone is not, so that is one extra person I have to be aware of, and I don’t want to be worrying or thinking about this person when I am trying to be creative with camera. Nor do I want husband tripping over a cable and breaking a leg either.

Some men (read most men!!) get extremely protective of their wifes/girlfriends especially when other men are around – a million years of evolution hasn’t changed much there! So when I say to the model – do this or do that, or pose like this or smile in this way, I want the model to do it without a glare from the husband/boyfriend – it just makes life easier.

So my dilemma is this – do I break my own rules and go ahead with this shoot with the chaperone present, or do I stick to my guns and explain my stance with the client?

Would be interested to know what you would do in this situation.

Best  – Colin

Do you trust your models?

23 Tuesday Oct 2012

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Evening

I was chatting to a photographer friend of mine today over a coffee in my local Starbucks and the subject of using models on a TFP basis came up. (for those non photographer readers here, TFP stands for, Time for Print, which is a throw back from the pre digital age when photographers and models would collaborate together but no money would change hands, the photographer shoots the model and the model would receive prints as payment, hence TFP. These days with the advent of digital it is usually abbreviated to just TF, same rules apply, but model receives digital images in place of prints)

During the course of the conversation my friend mentioned that he only ever provides low res Facebook quality images to models, AND they are watermarked. This did seem a little strange to me, after all, the model has given up her time for free and in most cases has travelled at her own expense to the location, so why only give them 800×800 pixel images with a watermark as payment – I mean, models want to use images for their portfolios too!

His response to this was that with the advent of the digital age, no one ever wants prints (and if the models asks for prints he will provide a print at cost price, but NOT the image file). Models are only interested in posting to Facebook or Twitter (or other social media websites) and sharing the pictures via email to all their “hundreds” of friends.

This is very true, I see pictures that I have taken pop up almost daily on Facebook profiles etc and can totally understand the immediate gratification when posting an image online, a picture posted now can be seen by someone everywhere in the world within minutes – how cool is that !

But, as the conversation rumbled on my friend said something that really did get me thinking. Lets say I do a photo shoot, it went REALLY well, the images were AMAZING and I had agreed to provide high res images to a model – what is there stopping that model then selling my work (as it is high res 300 dpi) and making money – or worse still (in his opinion) either the model, or the models partner “having a go at it” with “Photoshop” and then posting it on the Internet but still crediting me.

Wait, a “license to use agreement” I hear you all cry!

Well yes, that SHOULD do it, but lets be honest, if a model is that unscrupulous that she would think of selling your work in the first place would a license agreement deter her. After all, what are the chances of being found out?

As for the Photoshopping that can also be stopped by a license agreement, but if someone wants to photoshop one of my images, with photography being such a subjective art, who is to say that their version is better/worse than mine?

There is a whole can of words to be opened up with this, but personally I think it just boils down to trust – I trust people until proven other wise – if I found an image of mine had been commercially sold by a model that I had trusted with a high res image, then I’d never work with her again and would certainly let it be known within my circle that she (or he if a male model) shouldn’t be trusted!

This industry is very “tight” word soon gets around.

And just to make my position clear on this, I always provide unmarked low res Facebook images, I also *usually* provide high res images on a CD, with the requisite license agreement. (Occasionally I forget to do the high res images and time passes by, but when prompted by the model I always deliver)

To my knowledge I have never had an image used without my permission, modified or sold (touch wood!!)

We could both still have been sat in Starbucks now discussing this, we will never agree, neither of us are wrong, but what works for me, just doesn’t work for him….

Best – Colin

Thinking outside the box

22 Monday Oct 2012

Posted by in Bridal Photography, General

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Hello

The photography business is a great business to be in, going to exotic locations, driving fast cars, shooting beautiful models every day…………

Right, sorry, I was just day dreaming a bit there.

It’s actually pretty mundane unless you regularly shoot covers for Vogue, then its pretty exciting, but for us lesser photographers it’s usually 10% photography, and then 90% work (marketing, sales, networking etc) trying to generate that 10% photography.

But occasionally a job comes along that gets the old grey matter thinking and does make it all worth while. Back in the Summer I was contacted by a local model from Model Mayhem (a photographer, model, MUA, networking site) who explained to me she was in a band and wanted to branch out on her own in a different direction and so wanted some promo shots.

Nice and easy this one, her modelling profile shouted “Goth” and her normal everyday look was “Goth”, so I straight away was thinking red candles, dark stone walls, maybe some roses strewn across the floor and for good measure a bit of smoke too – job done.

Or so I thought.

This model really wanted something completely different from her normal Gothic look, something pretty unique to me, she said. Can I leave it with you? Was her parting comment!

So how do you shoot some different unique images of someone who lives eats and breathes a particular look – simple – you stick them in a wedding dress!

When I came up with this idea I needed a reasonably unique setting to put her in, after all, I couldn’t just put her in a wedding dress and stick a guitar in her hand and expect a picture now could I?

So after a bit of searching I found a terrific piece of graffiti, that fitted quite well with the look I was trying to create – a beautiful girl with angels wings, holding a spray can – a bit of an angelic rebellious message there.

Anyway, the model loved the idea and the shoot went really well. My favourite image of the shoot is on here below – I think it turned out rather well, and the model was over the moon too

Best – Colin

Listen to your models

16 Tuesday Oct 2012

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Afternoon

Short (well, short ish) post today!

I shoot models. In fact, at some stage or another in their careers most “people” photographers shoot models too. You can’t always shoot for a client, you can’t be too creative with a client, you can’t do your own thing with a client.

So you shoot models.

But how often do you you actually listen to your model. I mean, you usually shoot a model because you have a specific shoot planned and you know what you want and you know how to shoot it, so what does the model know?

A lot actually.

A good model can usually pose and move with little direction, but a great model can give some great insight into what is working and what is not and can even change the direction of the whole shoot.

But you gotta listen.

I was shooting a vintage shoot on a beach with two models, blazing sunshine but bitingly cold, two girls in circle dresses having a vintage picnic on the beach, nice idea, great theme, good props, but it just wasn’t working.

One of my models then said to me, look, I have a vintage swimsuit in my bag, let me wear it and you shoot me walking up out of the sea? I wasn’t sure it was going to work, but I went with it

You know what – they were the shots of the day!

best – Colin

Sometimes you just gotta break the rules

15 Monday Oct 2012

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Afternoon

Having a thorough technical understanding of photography is a good foundation for working in the business, F-stops, apertures, ISO, Guide Numbers, it might sound like gobbledegook but unless you know that stuff you’ll never really take your photography to the next level.

There is a lot on the web about how the technical aspects of photography must be followed to get a good shot, and to some extent that is true, but there comes a point when you just have to say, stop, hang on a minute, that photo is “technically perfect” correctly exposed, sharp, rule of thirds etc, but…there is something missing.

That “something missing” bit is the most important ingredient for making a good photograph into a great photograph, the creative input of the photographer, the thinking outside the box, breaking all the rules

I was on a shoot recently photographing models in wedding gowns, for a wedding gown  supplier, pretty boring, but steady work. Towards the end of the shoot one of the models walked across a window and I noticed the sun streaming behind her, so I thought, lets see what that looks like.

The model was happy to “do her thing” in front of the window while I shot without my lens hood on (to accentuate the flare) and shot from a lower viewpoint to get the sun directly in the frame (whilst minding sure my eyeballs were not scorched to a cinder!!)

The purists amongst you will say the resulting image is a little soft, lacks a bit of contrast, has waaaay too much flare – and you’re right – but it’s a pretty darn good image, I love it, the model adores it and the client even asked for a copy!

Obviously I wouldn’t shoot ALL my work like this, but every now and then you just gotta break the rules.

best – Colin