Men will get naked & balloons will come out.....!!!!

Events photography is all about the guests and the host....If the host is fun and outgoing so will the guest be inclined to let themselves go......


When this happens you have to go with it...........


It can bring out fantastic photos of people looking their most natural in and out of their birthday suit....


The other thing in these situations is to allow yourself to be in control whilst being personable and willing to have a good time with the guests without these two qualities the below photos would be few and far between.


The below photos are all taken at 1/200 sec at f9.  the background has two slave flashes and the front lights have 80cm umbrella soft boxes (great for their portability, they fit in the same bag as your stand and take seconds to erect, a real bonus when it's 2am and you want to go home.....!!!!)

visit us at www.creative-camera.org to view more work and book us on your event....

Football Stadiums Don't Always Have Foot Ballers

Last week I got invited to cover a Sit-a-thon.  Now the thing with this gig was that there was no payment......  NO PAYMENT I hear you scream....!!!!  Then why do it....?
Being a successful photographer is not only about your prowess with a camera, it's also about your people skills....  The way you handle clients and contacts, the way you network......  The Sit-a-thon was for Greater Manchester Police with photos in the paper and a World famous School band playing.  The GMP Chief Inspector , the Mayor & Mayoress of Manchester and the Deputy Head of the School,  (from the School Band) where all in attendance.
This means that my face gets known.... 
My brand gets known....  (always pass out your business card,  even if they bin it, they've still looked at it and it's logo).
They get to meet you as a photographer.......


You also get to take great publicity shots for your portfolio,  photos that as Jo public you would never get....


So I'll let you decide.....

Organise your subjects...  you can see what your after, don't be afraid to direct people

Great leading lines great foreground and background interest

Now you know what the Police Commissioner looks like

Smithills School Concert Band

School Band Principle Cornet player

The Charity Promo Shot

And a composite bit of fun with multiple shots and photoshop layers

All in all not a bad days work.....  Got great shots, got to meet new people,  made some good contacts....

The Deputy Head gave me his Email for a copy of the shots,  so now I've got his email for mail shots and  the school proms / grad photos.

The Charity will keep me on the books for the Big job that comes up.

And I had a great day out in one of the best Football Stadiums in the Country...

Winner all round I'd say 

Summer Fairs bring out the stars & other reporters

Today I covered a Summer Fair for a local Hospice.  As you would expect the local press also turned out and I got to talking to the other photographer about how he works and how he gets paid.  He told me all about taking redundancy from his staff job and then working for the same paper as a freelance photographer.  Now to my mind I would never give up a staff position, (it was after all Peter Parkers dream to get a staff role), the car, the hourly rate, the portfolio, what's not to like.  Now on the other hand, if he doesn't deliver the goods on EVERY job he just won't get another assignment.  What this means for me is that the guy is going to have very sharp elbows and is always going to vie for the best position.  Don't get me wrong he was a nice guy,  he was just making sure he got the shot.  I, on the other hand, always get the shot in a different way.  Make sure you get to know the subject and the people who are close to the subject.  People are best influenced by the people they are close to and trust....  And just as with 0any scene you can't control you only have a split second to get the right shot.  So shoot on burst and always make sure your composition can't be compromised by the guy with the sharp elbows.

Nikon D300s with Nissin Di866Jason Done Waterloo Rd

I did show the photographer this shoot....  He was a little green....

You can't predict the weather....

All photographers will tell that a bit of cloud in the sky makes for interesting photos.  Solid cloud cover is a different matter though......


Where I live we have some great hill walks and all sorts of sculptures that the local Councils have had commissioned so as to make your walk more interesting.  One of these pieces is named the singing tree,  basically, it's lots of pipes that have been assembled so as ;

1. to resemble a tree sculpted by the wind
2. to whistle or 'sing' as the wind blows across the pipes

It works really well and creates a great aspect to the landscape.


Today I went up there with the sole purpose of photographing this tree......  Of course I had to hang around long enough to catch the only bit of blue sky to come my way in the hour I was their. 
I think the result (post processing, which is just a B& W conversion and a texture boarder) is really good.... Let me know your thoughts....

F22 ND filter ND8+4 for 0.5 sec

I fired my flash during the exposure in order to bring out the structure on the near side of the image....
Cropped 20 in x 8in

You get to meet some really interesting people

I do some work with a great guy called Paul.......  Paul knows people, who know people....
So when he says "Hay Simon, how do you fancy being one of the main photographers on the Miss Manchester Beauty Pageant, they'll be lots of celebs there and you'll be taking photos of 35 model quality young ladies,  how do you fancy it.....?"

Well what can you say to that.......  "I'll clear my calendar....!!!!"

Now it's not the Celeb factor.....  It's not the Models.....  It's the fact that the best photographers in the World are not their on talent alone.....  They are their because they recognised opportunity when it passed them in the street and clung on to the coat tails until they could walk tall beside it....

These gigs are the type of things where you get maybe 20 seconds to get the shot because things happen once and then they are gone and if someone else gets the shot and you don't then thats it.......

I try to get the Client shots.....

Miss Manchester 2009

And I try to get the shots for me....

Charlotte.....  Contestant

The girls were great just giving all that you asked, some girls with a lot of experience in front of the camera and some with none.......

The thing is that these events are, for me as much what goes on behind the sense as what goes on in front of the people.  The real beauty is in seeing how people hold up under the pressure......  Just keep smilin'

F7 with slave flash at 45deg up and a direct flash

you also get to take stunning shots whilst they are waiting to find out who's the winner......

And then she wins and back stage you get to see the real reaction....

Miss Manchester 2011

Well done she was great on the night and not groomed to win......

Always get the photos the clients ask for but always capture the events action and re action....  

Kit......

Nikon D300s

Sigma 18-70mm f2.8

Two off camera flashes with stands

It's not about the camera.....  It's about the attitude....

Keep smilin'

Well Done Nichola

You never know what situation you're getting into.....

Here's the situation.......
A client asks you to come and take photos of the director of a kitchen company handing out training completion certificates to newly appointed sales folk.  So what kit do you take....?

• 16-70mm f2.8 lens
• 50mm prime f1.4 lens
• Camera...  the choice of the day was my Nikon D300s
• Pop up backdrop 
• Off Camera Flashes x2 + triggers

Right that should cover it.........

you arrive and the client wants a few photos of the sample packs the sales team will be using.....  not really set up for that but, no matter, I can do that (with a little bit of post production).

So now comes the space you've got to work with........

It's a class room....Bugger.....!  Glad I brought the wide angle lens.

So the products get laid out and you try your best to not get the 20 year carpet in the shot whilst colour balancing the flo tubes and your flash.

Result....

If you get the right composition, you can make it right in post production....

- I cut out the samples from the background. Added a nice wooden floor (I have a file full of backgrounds and skies).  Converted to B&W and then just brought the colour of the labels back out....

Next the client wants a group shot of the Bosses.....  Right make sure you get this one right or that will be the death of this relationship......  but who is most important.....?  Do you ask....?  Body language....?

Look for the man in the nicest shoes and great watch......  Doesn't always work but 9 times out of 10 it does the trick.  You know that theses shots are never going to be the best....  Out of the studio, crappy white board backdrop not enough space to put the lights......  

What to do.....?

Place one light at the back to blow out the white board.

Place the other light to the right of the most important person and let the light fall off down the line....

Result...

This way everyone who needs to feel part of the image is prominent within the frame.

Next is......  Can you just take some candid shots without using the flash during the pep talk....?

So out comes the 50mm Prime f1.4, give it some distance (back of the classroom) and fire away making sure that the point of focus was ALWAYS the speakers eye.  If you don't do this at a wide open aperture you will get the subject blurry beyond belief and the best photoshop skills in the World won't help you.....!  You need to get the sense of environment into the shot in order to give it context,  who is he speaking too,  are they attentive.  Without these elements the images are worthless.

Result....

The easiest part of the shoot was the part I was asked in for, because that is what I set up for....

The best part of the shoot was knowing that I had the kit that was flexible enough to cover the unexpected......  That's the key.....  Never say no to the client , always be flexible......

Be a Mexican, Not a Mexican't....

That's the difference between a Good Photographer that works all the time and the Good Photographer who doesn't....