Glyn Dewis Blog

Come on over to my new 'Home'

2010-02-25T17:26:00.003Z

Real pleased to tell you that I've got a completely new and updated blog over at this http://www.glyndewisblog.com

All the original content from here has been imported so you can always look through earlier posts but in a way I think you'll find alot easier...less clicking around, not having to click on pictures to make them larger and so on.

Check out the new website too at: http://www.glyndewis.com ... same address as before but with a whole new look and you can access the new blog from there too.

So, come on over to my new 'home' on the internet...you're always welcome!

Using HDR for Interior Commercial Photography

2010-02-17T20:31:00.002Z

There's been quite a bit of discussion online lately on blogs and forums about the use of High Dynamic Range (HDR) Photography and I reckon it's fair to say that some people love it, and some people (clearly) hate it. Scott Kelby wrote on his blog recently asking for peoples thoughts on the subject and boy, did some people really let their thoughts be known.

I first became aware of HDR when a Photographer / Photoshop Guru by the name of Ben Willmore began posting HDR images he'd put together during his ongoing journey along Route 66. He'd edited them in such a way that gave them an almost surreal, futuristic look and to be honest it was this look that I associated with HDR and never considered it's other uses...until fairly recently.

Ultimately HDR enables the photographer to produce images (when not over processed) that capture much more detail in the shadows, midtones and highlight areas and so resulting in a closer interpretation of what can been seen by the human eye:

Over the past couple of months aside from my Portrait work, I've been finding myself getting commissioned to photograph interiors of Hotels and Restaurants and rather than adding in bursts of light during longer exposures I've opted for HDR for two reasons. One reason being the speed it enables me to work and secondly (& more importantly) it gives me exactly the kind of look I'm after...a definite win, win situation!

To create a HDR image, the process involves photographing a 'scene' but rather than taking a single photograph, a number are taken. Five is a generally a good number of photographs to take as the first photograph will be 'properly' exposed and then two photographs are taken either side of this exposure each 1 stop apart:

Setting the exposures for each shot can be done manually but by doing this there is always the risk of knocking the camera so that it becomes out of line. Most modern SLR's and some 'Point and Shoots' like the Canon G series, have this facility (known as Bracketing) built into them where you can select the number of exposures you want the camera to take.

Once you have your five photographs, it's then a case of combining them so that the full range of exposures can be put together to make one final image. I generally combine three of the images together: the 'properly exposed image plus the image that is 2 stops under exposed and the one that is 2 stops over exposed. Photoshop does have a built in 'HDR' creating function but to be honest it still needs a little work, so the software of choice is Photomatix, and I tend to find 99% of the time that the default settings work just fine. Once the images have been combined (tone mapped) I'll then do a little tweeking in Photoshop just to add some finishing touches.

Here's a couple of examples of 'overly' processed HDR images where I went for the surreal/drawing kind of look (just for fun you understand)

So, what's your opinion of HDR? ... like it or dislike it? HDR is no magic fix...it wont make a bad shot into a good shot. The old saying of 'Garbage in Garbage out' still counts for HDR because you still need to have good quality images to combine in the first place. Personally I think there is defintely a place in the 'tool kit' for it but I'd love to hear your thoughts / feelings on the subject so please leave a comment. If you've got any examples feel free to send them over and I'll post some up here in an 'update'.

Also, if you have any questions about this post or would like to see a video tutorial then just let me know in the comments section below or send me an email, message on Facebook etc... and I'll 'get on it'.

Bye for now.

InSight Workshop 'One2One' (Tester)

2010-02-09T21:49:00.009Z

Having held a few 'tester' Workshops with small groups of photographers over the past few weeks I've been getting the occasional email coming through asking about 1-1 sessions to include both lighting & editing techniques.

1-1's are something I do intend to be offering so with a little spare time available this past weekend and being a big believer in the mantra of 'Practice makes Perfect' I got together with a good friend of mine (and keen Photographer) Neal Hibbert to run through a 'personalised' Workshop.

We started the afternoon off by going through basics of how to control the ambient light in a scene and then how to bring in some off camera lighting to light the subject. We then moved on to run through my Invisible Black Backdrop Technique firstly outdoors, and then indoors to go through the same technique but also how to deal with the challenge of light bouncing off the surrounding walls and creeping into the shot.

Keeping in the tradition of running workshops when it's either raining or freezing cold, we then headed out into what seemed like Arctic conditions (maybe a slight exaggeration) to work on a couple of 'location' shots:

Having been out for no longer than half an hour we then headed back indoors and once body temperatures had returned back to a respectable 36.8 ºC we then loaded in some of the shots from the afternoon and ran through some simple editing techniques.

BIG thank you to Neal's daughter Leah who helped us out by being our model for the afternoon, but I'm sure this wont be the last bit of modelling she'll be doing as I've already been notified of Neal's purchase of a light stand, reflective umbrella etc... (Just don't blame me Leah....please)

Technique:

Image 1:

This shot was taken in Neal's kitchen during the middle of the afternoon and was created using the Invisible Black Backdrop technique. To minimise the spread of light coming out of the reflective umbrella I closed it down almost all the way and positioned it so that I was getting the light to give nice shadows on Leah's face.

*NB...'Closing down' the umbrella simply refers to releasing the catch so that the umbrella is no longer fixed open. This allows us to control the spread of light and give it more direction but still gives a nice soft light as it's still a decent sized light source and is in close to the subject.

Image 2:

This shot couldn't have been simpler. The ambient light was reduced by about 2 stops and then Leah was lit using a Nikon SB800 high on a light stand. Initially no light modifier was used however this meant that Leah's top half was lit but lower half and ground became very dark. The solution...use a 60" Shoot-Thru umbrella to create a larger light source and consequently a bigger spread of light. (Image 3 was made using the exact same lighting set up)

Bye for now.

* You can check out Neal's results from the afternoon by visiting his Flickr page.

InSight Photography Workshop 'Tester' by Moonlight

2010-02-05T10:12:00.002Z

Hi All,
Just to let you know the date of the next Photography (tester) Workshop is planned for Sunday 28th February in the Windsor, Berkshire area. This one is going to be a little bit different in that we'll be going through 'Off Camera Lighting' but this time we'll be shooting at night.

We'll be in various locations from a Town Centre, Multi Storey Car Park and maybe a few places you wouldn't expect so if you'd like to come along and join in (numbers are limited to 6 photographers) drop me an email or get in touch through Facebook / Twitter and I'll get more details out to you.

As with the other 'testers' I've organised over the past few weeks this is free to attendees so long as you give me brutal, honest feedback and we'll be concentrating on the 'shooting' side only and not the full 'theory' side that will be included in the complete workshop that'll be launched later in the year.

Lighting Walk-Through:Keep it simple with minimal kit

2010-02-01T09:37:00.004Z

Sometimes I think one of the biggest challenges to us as Photographers is not what shot to take, but what kit to take with us. Clearly there are times when we need all manner of lighting equipment, stands, props and so on but it was Zack Arias' influence that turned me towards the 'minimalist approach to produce maximum results'.

Although I have a number of lights that I can bring to a shoot, as a rule I like to work as much as possible with one light and that'll generally be a Nikon SB800 or my Alien Bee 1600 (if I need that bit more..oommppff!!!). This approach over the last year has helped me to 'Keep It Simple' and as a result get much better results, and in a much shorter period of time. That being said, there are always going to be those times when one light just isn't enough as you'll see a little later in the following lighting walk-through:

'Vince the Hat': Lighting Walk-Through

First things first, set my camera to manual mode and expose for the sky. Then I set up a single SB800 without any modifiers, aimed directly at his 'upper half'. The only problem with this was that the lower part of his body and the ground around his feet became quite dark as the light 'fell off'. So, the solution...fire the SB800 into a 60" Shoot Thru umbrella to create a larger light source; the result being that light then spread over a wider area ie his lower body and the ground around his feet.

The following two pictures show you the photograph as it was directly 'out of camera' and then the final image having had a few tweeks in Photoshop.

Now the second set-up which had us photographing 'Vince the Hat' in his shed was one of those times when one light just wasn't enough to get the job done.

I've included these two images to show you first of all what kind of photograph the camera would give us in 'Aperture Priority' mode and in natural/ambient light...pretty lame huh? So, to get the kind of photograph I was after, it was back into 'Manual Mode' and set the exposure so that we get some detail in the sky.

The result of doing this as you can see from the second photograph was a great looking sky but Vince going into complete darkness, so then it was a simple case of using the same Nikon SB800 and 60" Shoot Thru umbrella as before and aiming it in through the windows to create a large, natural looking light source.

This worked just fine but the only 'challenge' then was that the area under the shelf that Vince was leaning on was getting none of the light so the solution here was to bring in another Nikon SB800, hand held by my good friend Noel Hannan just outside of the doorway and aimed into the lower area of the shed.

These last two images show the photograph as it came out of the camera and then the resulting final image once I'd worked on it for a couple of minutes or so in Photoshop to remove some 'give away' shadows and tweeked the colour/tone.

Questions or comments about this post? Please let me know in the comments section below, but in the mean time,

Enjoy.

Help for Heroes..."If you don't ask, you don't get"

2010-01-26T20:57:00.006Z

Update: I've had an email from Daniel's mother Debbie telling me that tickets to this event are now completely sold out and so far £92,000 has been raised in Daniel's name for the Help for Heroes Charity. An awesome achievement but let's not stop it there. If you can offer anything to be auctioned or would like to contribute (however small) just drop me a line. Thanks

In December of last year I spend some time with some of the bravest and heroic people I have ever had the privilege and honour to meet. I was at Heathrow Airport at the time and met up with a group of 10 soldiers that had returned from active service out in Afghanistan and were flying onwards to family and friends. Each and everyone of them had suffered horrific injuries and indeed it was an absolute miracle that any of them was still alive. I'll be honest with you and say that I really struggled to fight back the tears when one young guy in particular relayed the story of what had happened to him; I wanted to be strong but clearly the effect of hearing his story showed in my eyes but then he asked me if I was ok...I mean, here's a 19 year old young man infront of me, wheel chair bound having lost a leg, severely damaged right arm and shoulder and loss of sight in one eye asking me if I'm ok...remembering this still leaves me speechless. However, as they put it, they are the lucky ones because they're still alive as we know all too well from what seems like daily news reports, soldiers are losing their lives out there.

The reason for this post is to tell you that this week I received a letter from a woman...a mother of a soldier who had served and died on active service out in Afghanistan. Wendy Ellis Stafford is organising a Charity Ball in Support of Help for Heroes to be held on the 10th July 2010 at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Marlow, UK which happens to be the anniversary of her son Daniel's passing. Amongst other fund raising activities on the night an auction is to be held where all the winning bids will also go to the Charity. As a photographer I've donated a Photo Shoot to the auction where the highest bidder will join me for a Location Portrait Shoot and also get a framed picture of their choice.

By writing this post I guess I'm really asking 'is there anything you could offer to the auction?' Hair stylists, makeup artists, owners of hotels and so on...would any of the people you know be prepared to offer something to be auctioned?

It would be incredible if we could all help raise a significant amount of money for the Help for Heroes Charity so thanks for reading this and as my late Grandad Fred used to say..."If you don't ask, you don't get"

Speak soon.

Photo Shoot: "Vince the Hat"

2010-01-25T20:19:00.003Z

Making the most of a bit of 'down time' yesterday I met up with my good friend and fellow photographer Noel Hannan to talk through projects for the coming months including some social events for photographers and one project in particular being a photo shoot at Brooklands which I'll tell you more about nearer the time.

Anyway having 'chewed the cud' for a short while we headed over to meet up with 'Vince the Hat' on his allotment to take some shots for the portfolio. (No prizes as to why Vince got the nick name).

Here's a few shots from the hour or so we spent with him before heading off for a debrief aka 'a pint' and I'll add a post in the next day or two to show a walk through of the shoot including lighting set up etc...

Enjoy.

Outtakes-The Invisible Black Backdrop Video

2010-01-20T20:54:00.001Z

Just a quickie...thought I'd share the reason with you why I decided to do a written tutorial of the 'Invisible Black Backdrop' technique as opposed to a video tutorial.

Enjoy

The 'Invisible' Black Backdrop

2010-01-18T20:11:00.004Z

Over the past few weeks in preparation for the launch of my new 'InSight Photography Workshop' I've been running 'testers' (mini workshops) with groups of photographers to teach a range of lighting techniques and also to get brutal honest feedback.

One of the techniques I've been teaching has become affectionately knows as 'The Invisible Black Backdrop' and without doubt has proven to be one of the most popular techniques amongst attendees. So, this got me thinking...why not write a tutorial, post it on the blog and then encourage those who give it a go to submit their photographs?...I mean, what better way to judge your teaching than by seeing the results achieved by others?

So...what is the 'Invisible Black Backdrop'?
Well as the saying goes 'a picture paints a thousand words' so here's what I mean:

There's no question that having this technique in your 'Photography Toolbag' can save you alot of time, effort and not to mention...money, but it also allows you to add a little extra creativity to your 'shoot' and get photos that you would have normally thought only possible in a studio or with a collapsible backdrop.

So, how do we achieve the 'Black Backdrop'?
Basically what we're looking to do is to tell the camera to capture no light other than what we introduce in the form of a speedlight flash for example. We don't want the camera to pick up any of the ambient/natural light at all, and by doing that we have an instant black backdrop.

Now I just want to add that this technique can be done with any camera that has the ability to be put into Manual Mode and has the ability to trigger off camera flash; so that means SLR's and some pocket cameras such as the Canon G range (G9, G10 and so on...)

There's only '5 Steps' to it...

1. Put your camera into MANUAL MODE. Yes, now we are in control: Shutter Speed, Aperture, iso...from this point onwards we're telling the camera what to do as opposed to the camera telling us and giving us the picture it thinks we want.

2. ISO...Set your camera to it's lowest possible ISO. In laymen's terms, the iso dictates how sensitive to light your camera's sensor is i.e a low number like 200 means it's less sensitive to light whereas a higher number like 1600 means it's more sensitive to light. On a side note the higher the iso number the more noise/grain can be introduced into your photograph, particularly in the shadow areas. Now, seeing as we're looking to make a black backdrop we're not concerned with how sensitive to light the camera is, so we'll be keeping our iso as low as possible; in my case, my Nikon D3 can go down to 100 which means the camera isn't very sensitive to light at all and the final picture will be nice and clean with minimal grain/noise.

3. Shutter Speed...Set your camera to its maximum/optimum sync speed. Basically this is the maximum speed that your camera and flash work together ie any faster than this and your camera's shutter is opening and closing too quickly to allow all the light from your flash to fill the camera's sensor. Common maximum sync speeds are in the 1/200th of a second to 1/250th of a second. Now although we could quite easily make the scene completely black by going to an incredibly high shutter speed like 1/8000th second the problem with this is that the shutter will open and close so quickly that none of the light from the flash will hit the sensor, so we must stick to the maximum sync speed that our cameras and flashes work 'together'.

4. Aperture...The final setting on our cameras is the aperture or basically what 'f' number we should select. Now, knowing roughly what 'f' number to use will become second nature after you've done this a few times so the best thing is to choose say, f/5.6 and go from there. Once you're at this stage take a photo of your subject and see what results you get. The objective here is to see absolutely nothing on your cameras display ie you should see a completely black screen. Now, if you don't and you're seeing a bit of the environment then clearly some natural/ambient light is creeping into the scene. So, all we have to do is close down our 'f' number a little ie if you're getting natural/ambient light into the photo at say f/5.6 then try going to f/8.0 and see what that gives you:

5. Bring in the flash...Now we've 'set the scene' with our camera's and have a completely black screen, the final phase to this technique is to 'bring in the flash'. Where you prefer to position your flash and what modifier you use is entirely down to you depending on the look you want to achieve but I find I get great results using a 60" reflective umbrella. This is a great piece of kit that creates beautiful light but I can also 'close down' to control where I want the light to fall and how much etc...

Again experience of having done this a few times will dictate what power level you put the flash on so until that time just pick a power level ie 1/4 power, then take a shot and see what you get. If you want more light then increase the power of the flash in increments until you get what you want. If the light from the flash is too bright then simply lower the power level in increments.

As a rule, Shutter Speed controls Ambient/Natural light and Aperture controls flash power but in this technique once we've set both the shutter speed and aperture to give us our black background we really need to leave them well alone and control the power of the flash manually by walking over to (or better still having an assistant) adjust it by hand.

Triggering the flash
As this technique uses 'off camera' flash we need to have a way of triggering our flash. I use Pocket Wizards which are the industry standard radio triggers; great pieces if kit, very reliable that work at ridiculous distances, but they do have a price tag to match. However, there are lots of alternative ways to trigger your flash from a simple 'sync lead' which forms a physical connection to your camera and flash (with obvious limitations), an infra red trigger, Nikon users can use their 'Pop-Up' flashes to trigger another flash using the Nikon CLS (Creative Lighting System) and there's even budget radio triggers you can get off ebay that seem to work just fine.

In Summary:
1. MANUAL MODE
2. LOWEST 'ISO' (200 or lower)
3. MAXIMUM SYNC SPEED (1/250th sec, 1/200th sec etc... depending on your camera)
4. SELECT AN APERTURE (ie f/5.6 as a starting point)
5. BRING IN THE FLASH

So, that quite simply is all there is to it. Now I've deliberately not gone into too much technical jargon to explain this because I want this to be a 'how to' tutorial as opposed to a 'why' but should you wish to know the ins and outs of the technical side I'll gladly pass on details of books that will cover it all.

A couple of things to note:

1. If you're using this technique indoors be aware that once you introduce flash, the light might end up bouncing off light coloured walls which will then light the room up and so destroy your black backdrop. My advice when using this technique indoors would be to restrict where the light falls by using such modifiers as a Honl Speed Grid or a Lastolite EzyBox, or 'close down' your reflective umbrella.

2. If you're using Speedlights outside to do this technique you may find that if you're doing it in the middle of a bright afternoon your cameras aperture (f number) will have to be set so closed down (eg f/22) that your speedlights wont be powerful enough to light the sensor. The answer here is to find a covered/shady area or better still wait for the sun to ease off a little. This technique can be done in the middle of the afternoon on a bright sunny day but that would call for alot more powerful lighting to be used which in turn would cost alot more money.

So what next?
If you have any questions then post them to the comments section...that way others with the same question will get the answers too. Also let me know how you get on...I'd love to see some of the results you come up with, or any challenges you experience and if you get the urge why not leave a comment...any feedback is great and don't worry, I've got broad shoulders.

Enjoy.

>In the meantime, here's a few more examples:

Why not try this technique on 'still life' too as in this photograph I took of a Prototype Microphone whilst shooting at the Imperial College, London

Photoshop Editing-Heathrow Policeman

2010-01-17T10:58:00.004Z

Following on with the 'Workshop' theme here's a short video to show how I edit certain photographs using photoshop.

The video itself runs a 2x Speed so that you can see the process in 'quick time' but over the next few days (having been convinced by my buddy A.J. Wood) I'll put together a series of short tutorial videos as well so that you can follow along at a normal pace.

To watch the video in a larger window you could always visit my YouTube Page.

Enjoy.

ps> I intend (diary willing) to be posting videos on a fairly regular basis showing some Photography & editing techniques that I regularly use, so if there's anything you'd like to see or would just like to leave a comment, then please feel free to pass it on.

More iPhone Applications for Photographers

2010-01-03T18:52:00.010Z

Anyone who knows me is more than aware of how much I love using my iPhone to take photographs on an almost daily basis and with the ever growing number of applications being made available through the iTunes App Store editing and sharing them gets easier and easier. Two applications that I've been getting alot of use out of lately are Photoshop.com and Strobox.

Photoshop.com Mobile as the name suggests is Adobe's contribution to editing applications for mobile phones and with a price tag of 'FREE" it's a must have.

As you'd expect it's an incredibly easy App to use offering all manner of editing tools such as Exposure, Contrast, Soft Focus and a number of 'one click' Special Effects. Be warned though...it's addictive. You can download it direct from the iTunes App Store here.

* To give you an idea of the kind of editing you can do with Photoshop.com Mobile here's a 'before' & 'after' photograph I took using my iPhone of the nose cone of Concorde which took about a minute.

Strobox is as it says, an App for sharing Lighting Diagrams.

For regular followers of this blog and for those who've attended some of the InSight Workshop 'Testers' over the past few weeks I'm sure will agree that my drawing skills leave alot to be desired when it comes to lighting diagrams, so this great little App has been very well received. An incredibly easy App to use, you can create lighting diagrams by placing all sorts of objects (camera, softboxes, people and so on ...) and save them to show others or even email them all from within the App itself and again with a price tag of 'FREE' for any photographers out there who use lighting diagrams it's a must. You can download a copy from the iTunes App Store by clicking here.

Enjoy ;o)

Goodbye 2009; Hello 2010...

2010-01-01T15:10:00.022Z

Well that's it folks...as we say goodbye to 2009 we venture into a new decade with the arrival of 2010. So, how was your year? Did you manage to fit everything in? I've said it before on the blog more than once but are the years going by faster or what? Or is that I've got less friction as 'up top' thins out just that little bit more??

Anyway, 2009 has been quite an eventful year in both a personal and business sense so I thought I'd take this chance to write a few lines and mention just a few things from the past 12 months:

Zack Arias - OneLight Workshop
* During November I got the opportunity to fly out to Atlanta, USA to spend time with Zack Arias on his OneLight Workshop.

Zack is an amazing 'teacher' who just keeps on going until you can take no more. I think we finished just before 2am on the final day having been at it from 9.30am the previous morning; a truly unforgettable experience for a whole host of reasons not least for the generosity of Zack & his wife Meghan.

Visionmongers by David DuChemin
Just had to mention this book! This is the bible of 'how to' when it comes to running a photography business. Seriously I could go on and on, even dedicate a entire blog entry to this book but all I will say is that if I had to throw out all the business related material I have and could only keep one...this would be it! Check it out here on Amazon.

Most memorable Photo Shoot of 2009:
Hands down this has to be the 'Trash(ish) the Dress' Project with Dave & Michelle Caton-Richards which ended with Michelle waist high in the River Thames wearing her Wedding Dress on a freezing, and I mean freezing cold November afternoon. If you missed it you can see some of the photos and a 'behind the scenes' video by clicking here.

Other Stuff:
Moving into 2010 there's alot of 'stuff' in the pipleine. I'm real excited to be working with San Francisco, USA based 'LiveBooks' who are designing us a brand new website.

One of the big learning points for me during 2009 has been not to 'skimp' out when it comes to a website and to go to the professionals.Without doubt there have been a few missed opportunities during the past 12 months because of having a website that just wasn't 'working' for me as it should have been. Thankfully that's now being rectified so I'm real excited to see how the new site will be received. Talking of the 'web' we've also got a completely new blog coming in the near future, so I'll be sure to keep you posted re the progress there.

InSight Workshop
We're working hard behind the scenes on the new Workshop which I plan to launch this Spring.

We've already run a couple of testers with a number of photographers for honest feedback, and this has been incredibly useful. I've got another couple more testers running this month and then we'll be working on finalising content, workbook, locations etc...

In conjunction with the Workshop I plan on getting stuck into doing more videos alternating between photography tips/techniques that I use and editing techniques using Photoshop / Lightroom. I want to keep the videos short (3 minutes-ish) so that they cover one quick tip on a regular basis. You can check out some of the videos we've already published on my YouTube Page by visiting http://www.youtube.com/glyndewis Oh, and we're also looking at starting a newsletter to keep you informed on what's going on, tips & techniques and so on, but I'll let you know more about that at a later stage.

So we've plenty to be getting on with and I'm guessing there's going to be quite a few late nights coming my way but hey what's the worst that could happen? ... lose my hair?

What have you got planned for the new decade and what are you going to be working on? Dare I ask what your 'New Year Resolutions' are? I'd love to hear so feel free to post a comment, drop me an email or get in touch through FaceBook or Twitter.

Happy New Year & Thankyou for your friendship and support during 2009

Photoshop Tutorial-The Screen & Multiply Blend Modes

2009-12-29T11:35:00.008Z

I thought for the second instalment of 'Photoshop Tutorial' videos I'd show you a technique that I use on a day to day basis before uploading images to the web. It's a technique that makes use of two of Photoshop's layer blending modes, namely 'Screen' & Multiply' to remove black or white in a layer, and is so quick if you blink you'll miss it.

Anyway check out the video attached to see how I use this technique to help speed up my workflow:

To see more of my Photography & Photoshop videos you can check out my YouTube Page by clicking on this link.

Enjoy ;o)

InSight Photography Workshop - 2nd Test Phase

2009-12-23T17:56:00.007Z

We managed to squeeze in another tester/mini InSight Workshop last Saturday; this time over in Windsor, Berkshire on what was a rather chilly day to say the least. I'm beginning to think I should publish a 'HEALTH WARNING' for those photographers that come along to the next one cos I seem to have an uncanny ability to pick days when it's pouring with rain or freezing cold; still it's character building I guess...lol

As it was so cold and really quite slippy under foot, the majority of the workshop was held in one area, but a place that gave us plenty of scope to try out all sorts of different shots. Our model for the afternoon was my good friend Danny Bartlett who for those regular readers of the blog will remember from previous photo shoots:

Once we'd spent a few hours out shooting we headed back indoors to warm up and grab a drink and just chat generally about what we'd covered and it was great to get all sorts of feedback from how the afternoon went and suggestions for what to include next time. Stan Coetzee, one of the guys who'd come along and who is very new to photography actually said that he'd never thought he'd ever be able to take photographs like he had done today; to hear that was the icing on the cake...a great end to a really enjoyable day.

I'm going to be running a couple more 'testers' during January 2010 in preparation of going 'live' with the Workshop in late February. One of the Workshops is being held down in West Wittering on the 31st January which is now full, but I'll be publishing the other date for January very soon, so if you'd like to attend keep checking back here on the blog or follow me on Facebook or Twitter.

Speak soon ;o)

Corporate Photography - Imperial College, London

2009-12-20T19:54:00.012Z

Last week I was at the Imperial College, London taking photographs of a Dr Patrick Naylor: Director of Postgraduate Studies at the College specialising in 'sound'.

When we first met up to discuss the 'shoot' Dr Naylor did begin to explain some of the equipment that he uses to me but he must have noticed the glazed "you've lost me" expression that enveloped my face; still, I did ask more about the iPhone prototype he's working on that has six speakers built into it...nice!

Having worked on the 'must have' corporate shots and got them 'in the bag' we then worked on a few fun ideas that we'd had over coffee, such as working at the laptop and one that included a composition/montage of several 'Dr Naylor's' in the main lecture room:

Disclaimer: Any resemblance of Dr Naylor's poses to those of actual students is purely coincidental...honest

Technique:
For the 'laptop' shot I put 2 pieces of white A4 paper over the computer screen and fired a single Nikon SB800 which was hidden out of sight onto it; this mimicked the light which would come off the computer screen. Another SB800 was placed camera left on it's lowest power setting and aimed at the back of the computer to light it up otherwise it was too dark and just blended into the black background.

The lecture room composition was put together by fixing the camera in position on a tripod and then photographing Dr Naylor in several different positions. Dr Naylor was lit by a single bare Nikon SB800 which was moved around for each shot being careful to keep it the same distance away each time. Ending up with about 7 photographs they were then blended together in Photoshop using Layer Masks.

Enjoy ;o)

Adobe Community Expert Nomination - Speechless!!!

2009-12-16T20:28:00.011Z

Update: I've just received notification from Adobe that I am now an Adobe Community Expert. HUGE thanks got to A.J. Wood from Media Cats for even thinking of nominating me and a big thank you to everyone that's sent messages through Facebook and Twitter...You guys rock!

It's not often that I'm left speechless, but this morning I gotta admit that's how I found myself; and the reason...I've been nominated for the Adobe Community Expert Program 2010. Here's a link to explain what this is all about but also, here's a copy of the nomination sent in by A.J. Wood who runs Media Cats; a very successful Digital Media Training Centre in Dallas, Texas:

When I think of an Adobe Community Expert, I think of a group of professionals coming together to share their experiences & talents. I also think about the type of person who has the knack for relating to other people, and generally loves sharing what they know without all the pomp & circumstance. I think of Glyn.

Glyn Dewis is a gifted individual who has taken his love of photography & Adobe products and turned it into a new career. When we met at Photoshop World years ago, he was still working as a police officer. He was quite the character, excited to be at PSW, taking in all the classes, just soaking up all the information. But Glyn is not the type of person to sit idly by.

In the years that have past he has continued to excel in his craft of photography & Photoshop work. He has quite a bit to share regarding Lightroom, and publishes video commentary on his blog. A person who understands the importance of community, he has led many photowalk outings, including Scott Kelby's Worldwide Photowalk held this past July 2009. Glyn is constantly looking to improve himself & his work, and I admire his dedication & ambitions.

I highly recommend Glyn Dewis for the Adobe Community Experts program not only for his current expertise, but the potential & experience he will share with all of us and his community.

Saying 'thankyou' to A.J. for this nomination just doesn't seem enough and to be honest whether or not I'm picked is irrelevant. Of course it would be great to be successful following this nomination but to be put forward in the first place by someone I have alot of respect for not only as a person but also as a very talented and knowledgeable Instructor is a gift in itself.

Headshots & Promotional Photography - Tom Colley

2009-12-15T19:25:00.012Z

I got to work with a young and very talented actor/musician recently by the name of Tom Colley for some 'headshot' and 'promo' work.

The shoot itself was all done out on location in Amersham, Buckinghamshire as opposed to a studio, which gave us alot more freedom and variety to the photographs we were working on.

Priority was given to the 'headshots' which we did in the covered Market Place that we used the week before when photographing 'Caroline' during one of our InSight Workshops.

Once we were all happy with the 'headshots' we then moved on to a number of different locations; some within walking distance and a couple that we needed to drive to. Having initially met up at midday, time played a big part in how the day progressed as at this time of year, we're losing light quite quickly from around 3.45pm however Tom being so easy to work with and having a good friend along to help move kit around meant that we were able to go through the 'shoot' at a good pace but without rushing.

To keep things simple I used just one flash/stobe at each location; a Nikon SB800 in the Market Place for the headshots and for a bit more 'clout' the Alien Bees when we were out in the open cos of the bright sunlight and it's this style of lighting I'm covering in my new Workshops. Talking of which, I'll be releasing a couple more dates for 'testers/mini workshops' in January 2010 before we go 'live' in February and I'll publish more details including what we'll be covering when the new website is launched.

In the meantime,
Enjoy ;o)

No day is ever the same...

2009-12-12T05:14:00.005Z

One big thing I love about what I do is the variety; no day and no photo shoot is ever the same and lately this has certainly been the case. This past week has seen me photographing a woman in her wedding dress in the freezing cold River Thames to photographing a woman in a grave yard wearing an evening dress (the client..not me, I hasten to add).

Julia Reichel was one of the attendees at the first of the 'InSight' mini Workshop on the 29th November who at the end of the day asked to book me for a portrait shoot...but with a slight twist. Now, as a rule I like to plan each photo shoot by at the very least scouting out suitable locations but it didn't work out that way in this case because of the urgency of the job; i.e I had just 24 hours to meet up, shoot and supply the edited images.

Anyway..we met..I got the brief (to be photographed in a grave yard wearing an evening dress and looking slightly 'hungover') and we did the shoot.

See I told you there was variety in what I do...lol

Another day at the office ...

2009-12-08T18:05:00.017Z

As a general rule November in the UK is not usually the time that you'd consider getting outside and into the water...let alone The River Thames.

Well, I guess 'rules' are made to be broken cos that's exactly what happened last week when Michelle & Dave Caton-Richards decided they wanted a 'trash the dress' style photo shoot. To be fair this particular shoot has been in the planning phase for some time now but due to a number of reason had to be put back a few times until it got to the stage when it was a case of "we're doing it now or not at all".

I photographed Michelle & Dave a few months back for what was Part 1 of this 2 part shoot; part 1 being in a car workshop, which you can check out by clicking on this link.

Part 2 of the shoot saw us down by, or should I say 'in' the River Thames in Shepperton, Middlesex but before venturing into the icy cold waters we took a few shots on a grass verge nearby. To be honest I was wrapped up like Mr Staypuft and was still feeling the cold so I've no idea how Michelle stood there in her wedding dress; I'm guessing the uncontrollable teeth chattering generated a bit of heat.

Anyway, having 'warmed' up on the grass verge we then made our way down to the now fast flowing and fast rising river bank for the 'trash the dress' shots. Thankfully Michelle's husband Dave is into all sorts of 'adrenaline junkie' type activities and had a variety of safety ropes etc on hand...just incase; and yes I'd checked the insurance policy small print before we stepped anywhere near the water :o)

I've attached a video so you can see the 'behind the scenes' footage but make sure you're wrapped up warm before you watch it..lol

Enjoy

ps> BIG thank you to Michelle's friend Sarah who helped me out by being a VAL (Voice Activated Light stand) for the 'grass verge shots and to Dave for braving the Thames and holding the flash in there too ;o)

pps> All the lighting techniques in these shots are covered in my new InSight Workshop so if you want to learn the 'how to' then drop me a line/email to find out more.

Photoshop tutorial-Extending the background of a photograph

2009-12-06T20:43:00.006Z

At the first of our new InSight Workshop's I mentioned to the attendees that to create the kind of photos where the subject/model is on a plain black background and positioned to the left or right I don't actually photograph it that way. To get the desired look I actually extend the background in photoshop, so to show how (& why) I do this I've attached a short video tutorial:

This technique can be used to extend any background with a solid colour really quickly. You could also extend a background that has a gradient to it ie goes from dark to light grey or whatever but this would certainly take alot more time and effort to make it look believable. Me? ... I want to work through my editing as quickly as possible so I can spend more time behind the camera.

Enjoy.

*If you'd like to view the video in a larger window, you could visit my YouTube Channel by clicking on this link.

InSight Photography Workshop - Test Phase

2009-12-03T01:10:00.017Z

During the first quarter of 2010 I plan to launch a new Photography/Lighting Workshop that I'm calling the 'InSight - From Concept to Print'. This one day course will be designed to teach how to take an 'idea', light it, photograph it and then finally edit & prepare it ready for print.

The content is very much in the development phase at the moment which is why between now and when the course goes 'live' I'm running a series of 'testers'. The 'testers' or 'mini courses' I'm using to get out and teach off camera flash techniques but the main objective is to get masses of feedback so that I can over time, fine tune what it is I want to deliver and how.

The first 'InSight' Workshop tester was held last week in Old Amersham on what turned out to be a very cold and wet November day. I met up with the five photographers who were attending at around 11.30am in Starbucks, for the essential coffee, where we talked through kit and then ventured outside to go through an overview of how to use the cameras 'Manual' controls to get the desired look in the photo.

The rest of the afternoon was spent photographing our model Caroline, who very kindly gave up her own time to help out.

The weather played a big part in how the afternoon progressed but by no means put a 'dampener' on things as we managed to work through a couple of 'in the open' shots before the heavens opened and the rain came down but then ventured into a covered brick market place which then gave us a few more lighting options.

Overall a great afternoon where it was clear that alot was learned both by the attendees and me.

NEXT WORKSHOP DATE:
I plan to hold another 'tester' Workshop on the 19th December 2009 in Windsor, Berkshire. The numbers are limited to six photographers so if you'd like to come along then please get in touch by email and I'll send you out more details.

*NB...The 'tester' workshops are free to attendees; all I ask is that you give brutal, honest feedback (I've got broad shoulders so I can take it)

Desperate times call for desperate measures...

2009-11-24T19:07:00.010Z

Being someone who prefers to photograph in the great outdoors can be somewhat tricky at times when you have to depend on the Great British Weather to play ball. Well, this past weekend I was down in deepest Surrey to photograph my brother in law, Bill and his family but Mr Rain & his close friend Mr High Wind made one heck of an appearance so that put pay to what we had planned. However, desperate times call for desperate measures so we re-scheduled! ... but I did take some photos.

These shots are of my nephew Ashley; a great little guy who is one mean 'Gamer'. Trust me you do not want to challenge him on X-Box, PlayStation and whatever other gaming consoles there are out there. I tell you, seeing his fingers in action on the controller would make Clarke Kent look like a slow coach!

These photos were taken in the family living room using just one Nikon SB800 Speedlight and my other favourite piece of kit, a 60" Reflective Umbrella. The black background was achieved by controlling the shutter speed on my D3; something I'll be covering in the upcoming InSight Workshops.

Enjoy :o)

Photo Shoot / Impromptu Workshop

2009-11-21T21:47:00.008Z

Yesterday afternoon I was over in Egham, Surrey with Dave & Michelle-Caton Richards for the second part of their 'Trash-ish' the Dress Photo Shoot. However, because of 'changeable' weather (to put it politely) we decided to re-schedule so I suggested Dave bring along his camera and we all head up to a local beauty spot known as 'Virginia Water' for an impromptu photo shoot come Mini Workshop.

Here's a few images of Michelle taken using a single Nikon SB800 Speedlight and Reflective Umbrella.

More to come this week including details about the new website and blog launching very soon,

Bye for now.

The Atlanta OneLight Experience

2009-11-18T19:15:00.014Z

Well if I'm honest, I'm sat here with mixed feelings...Motivated, excited but also a little bit flat; only natural I guess when a week you've been looking forward to comes and goes way too quickly. You see last week I was fortunate enough to spend some time over in Atlanta, Georgia USA with photographer Zack Arias and take part in his now world famous OneLight Workshop.

I could go on and on about what an incredible experience it was... and believe me it was! Zack, aside from being a truly gifted photographer and teacher is without doubt one of the most generous, warm and honest people I've ever met.

I first met Zack, his wife Meghan and other team members Sherri and Erik the night before the workshop at what Zack calls a 'Mixer'. This is where he opens the studio to any photographer in the area to pop in for a chat and chill out, but not just that there's also a large spread of food and drink available too, and this is FREE to anyone who wants to pop in. Unbelievable!

Needless to say we had a great night, leaving in the early hours of Wednesday morning, only to return at 9.30am for the Workshop.

The Workshop itself was a packed day of teaching and shooting, full on from start to finish which I hasten to add was 2am the following morning; in Zack's own words "I'll keep talking and teaching until you're done".

I'm a firm believer that no-one knows it all, and we constantly need to keep studying this craft so to get the chance to spend some time with Zack was an experience I'll never forget for a whole host of reasons; how much I learned, the generosity and the new friendships to name but a few.

Thank you to Zack, his wife Meghan and team Sherri and Erik for making me feel so welcome and for an experience I'll never forget; I look forward to catching up with you in 2010.

* Here's a few photographs of some of the other attendees, Sarah McGee and John Shim:

Evening Portrait Photo Shoot

2009-10-30T21:49:00.007Z

As always I've been working on my portfolio, and here's a few images from a photo shoot this past week with Phillip Hughes; a great guy who also happens to be an amazing hair stylist (not that I have much need for that).

We met up early evening around 3.30pm for a quick coffee and chat and after 10 minutes or so of 'warm up' shots we headed off ...

This series of shots were taken on a grass verge next to a main road in Old Beaconsfield:

... and this is a sample of one of the shots taken on the top level of a multi storey car park overlooking High Wycombe.

I'll add a short post showing the lighting set up and editing in a couple of days or so but in the meantime,

Enjoy ;o)

Photo Shoot on my Doorstep: A Walk-Through

2009-10-25T17:51:00.019Z

Following on from a few requests I thought I'd post a short 'walk through' for the recent 'Photo Shoot on my Doorstep' Post so here goes....

Firstly, here's a shot of the location used taken as the camera sees it ... no flash, no exposure compensation, nothing, nil, zilch, rien, nowt ... just plain old 'P'rogram mode:

With the camera now in 'M'anual mode I brought down the exposure a couple of stops to give the sky a bit more 'mood'. I did intend to use just the one light i.e. my trusty Alien Bees 1600 fitted with a large Octabox but the colour of the motorbike just meant it blended in with the background and all it's detail was being lost, so the solution ... throw some light on it.

Here's a diagram of the lighting set up:

The extra light on the bike came from a 'George' Stand i.e. a V.A.L. (Voice Activated Light Stand in the form of my next door neighbours son, George) holding a Nikon SB800 Speedlight aimed at the bike from the right of the camera.

... and here's the resulting image along with the final edit following a short time in Lightroom and Photoshop:

And that, as they say (whoever 'they' are) is all there was to it.

Bye for now ;o)

Interior Photography - Something different

2009-10-25T17:18:00.006Z

Rather than shooting portraits, I got the chance to shoot some interiors the other day; commercial work for Oxygen Hair & Beauty Salon in Beaconsfield, Bucks.

Having gone through a major refurbishment, the owner Angelo asked me to photograph the beauty treatment and colour rooms so that the images can be used to advertise their expansion and the new services available to clients.

The big question on the day was 'What technique do I use? ... Flash? Available Light? HDR? ... the list is literally endless, so to make the decision easier the answer had to be do a mixture, and that's exactly what I did.

Right, now to get back to photographing people ... phew!

Quick Photo Shoot on my doorstep ... sort of.

2009-10-19T19:24:00.012Z

Here's a sample shot from a recent photo shoot with a great guy by the name of Lee Steptoe. This was taken at a location I've only just discovered and that happens to be literally ten minutes from my front door (Note to self: may just use it in an upcoming workshop).

I'll add more of the images from the shoot in due course but for now I need to catch up on some editing so I'll bid you farewell.

Enjoy

** Another note to self: Get out more to find other cracking locations on my doorstep rather than driving miles hunting for the same..doh!

iPhone Photo Gallery - France

2009-10-18T18:26:00.013Z

Continuing with my tradition of photographing any outings using the camera on my iPhone and believing that 'the best camera to use is the one you have with you' here's a few shots from a recent trip over to France; starting at Dover then over to Calais & Boulogne.

As is always the case, all the photographs are edited using iPhone Applications and not in the computer.

Any avid iPhone camera user will know that there are now literally hundreds of picture editing applications available but having tried quite a few of them, I'm tending to stick with: Photogene, PhotoFX, TiltShift and Best Camera, a recent addition from Pro Photographer Chase Jarvis.

You can check out my iPhone Photo Portfolio by clicking here and to keep up with all the latest photos, news and upcoming events why not join me on Facebook (GlynDewis) / Twitter (@GlynDewis)

Enjoy

News & Stuff

2009-10-17T14:35:00.010Z

For those of you who have connected with me through Facebook or Twitter you'll know that I regularly upload pictures from recent photo shoots for you to see. By doing so people add comments and add a marker if they like them which is a great way to get feedback. Anyway long story short, the other day I noticed that Photoshop & Photography legend Scott Kelby had marked that he liked some of my recent work.

To me this was a much needed & very welcome boost. Getting positive feedback is always nice, but when it comes from one of your peers, someone you aspire to it means a heck of alot...not least when they're the World's Number 1 author of Photography & Photoshop Books as well as the President of the NAPP.

Looking through the new Loxley Colour product brochure the other day I was made up to see that they're using one of my images to promote their new range. Loxley are a printing lab' for professional photographers and are very respected amongst the industry so I was pretty stoked to see that they chosen one of my images.

Sunday 22nd November is the day that I plan to hold my first workshop and I'll be sending out the invites very soon. I'm really looking forward to this especially as I'll be still on a 'high' having just got back from Atlanta USA spending time with Zack Arias on his famous OneLight Workshop.

That's all for now, so have a great weekend.

Insight Photography Workshop - Trash the Dress

2009-10-12T19:19:00.009Z

Finally got round to editing some of the video footage from the recent 'Trash(ish) The Dress Photo Shoot in Egham, Surrey and have put it together to form Episode 2 of my new video series 'Insight - From Concept to Print'. I call it a Trash(ish) the Dress shoot cos we didn't actually wreck the dress, but then we are having a second session so watch this space.

In the video I go into the lighting set up which was actually very simple using just the one strobe but a couple of different modifiers (softbox & shoot-thru umbrella). This time you don't get to see any editing and the reason for that is the only editing involved was converting the image to a black & white.

Enjoy

ps> If you didn't already know I now have my own YouTube page where you can view videos from previous photo shoots; you can check it out by clicking here.

Trash The Dress - Well, sort of ...

2009-10-03T14:54:00.010Z

'Trash the Dress' is the name given to a style of photo shoot where a woman will again get dressed into her Wedding Gown but instead of having 'Wedding' style photographs taken, the artistic approach is pushed that much further. Out in the US where this concept was born it's not unusual to see photographs of brides in caves, submerged and I've even seen shots where the dress is actually on fire whilst being worn. Here in the UK, Trash the Dress has started to filter in but from it another concept called 'Cherish the Dress' has appeared which is really more of a fashion style shoot and is guaranteed to leave the dress completely intact.

Some time ago I was contacted to see if I would photograph, and I quote, a 'Trash(ish) the Dress' shoot. Turned out what was being asked for was a sort of half way point between 'Trash' and 'Cherish' so after several get togethers with the clients, Michelle & Dave Caton-Richards, the date and location for the first shoot was set.

The first of the two shoots found us in a Garage/Workshop in Egham, Surrey where the owner kindly gave us permission to do whatever we liked once the last customer had gone. Michelle was very keen to recreate the tyre shot made famous by Herb Ritts and that I recreated a few months back (shown here with model Danny Bartlett).

... and here's Michelle

I remembered that when we first met I asked Michelle & Dave to bring along some pictures that they had seen in magazines that they really liked the look of, and one in particular was of a man & woman grasping onto each other in an archway. The picture oozed passion and it was this kind of a feel that both Michelle and Dave were keen to achieve.

This was in fact the last series of photographs we worked on as by this time both were very used to being photographed and feeling considerably more at ease, but then that's probably down to the wine that was on the set too.

My good friend and video Guru Vince was with me on the shoot; a big help with setting up and filming what went on. This footage I'll be editing over the next few days and will post here on the blog along with some of the editing that I've done on some of the photographs so you can see everything from set up to final images.

The second photo shoot with Michelle and Dave is planned for later this month where we'll be photographing in a Country Park, a derelict Abbey and temperature permitting...a Lake, so watch this space.

More later,
Enjoy

iPhone Photo Gallery - Dorset

2009-09-28T04:02:00.011Z

A few days ago Anne (aka Mrs D) and me spent some time down in Dorset; nothing planned just an impromptu overnight stay following a photo shoot being rescheduled, but to be honest we very rarely need an excuse to visit anyway.

I'd normally take my camera kit down with me, but this time decided against it, but only because I thought I'd see what I could come up with using my iPhone. Regular readers of the blog and those who've connected with me through Facebook & Twitter will know that I've been posting up regular images to the web that I've taken with my iPhone for some time now; a project inspired by Pro Photographer Chase Jarvis.

The intention is to take an 'iPhone Photo' on a daily basis which I do manage...most of the time and having such an 'ongoing' project has been great for keeping me focused inbetween commissioned & personal work. One rule that I've set my self is that none of the photos are to be edited in the computer; all are edited using applications freely available in Apple's online 'App Store'

Having posted up some of the recent photos onto my Facebook & Twitter pages some great feedback has been sent in; one in particular which I was thrilled to receive was from Tim Wallace...Official Photographer for Aston Martin who wrote:

"I always say at my seminars that Photography is a little like music, give Keith Moon a couple of baked bean tins and he'll bang you out a decent tune, I rest my case. Nice one mate!"

You can check out my iPhone Photo Portfolio by clicking here and to keep up with all the latest photos, news and upcoming events why not join me on Facebook (GlynDewis) / Twitter (@GlynDewis)

Bye for now.

Baby Photography - Imogen

2009-09-21T20:22:00.008Z

This past weekend I was photographing Baby Imogen - the beautiful daughter of Paul & Erin O'Connell, who's Wedding I photographed back in early 2008. I was originally contacted by Erin's father and someone I'm very proud to call a friend, Frank Samaras (You can read about Frank in an earlier blog entry by clicking here) and we set the date once Imogen had reached around 3 weeks of age.

Imogen was an absolute delight to photograph; in fact I'm convinced that despite her age she knew exactly what was going on as even after having been moved from one position to the next and going through several wardrobe changes she didn't complain once.

When photographing babies or very young children when possible I like to use available light rather than strobes. I prefer this approach for a number of reasons but the main ones being that I don't want to risk the child having an adverse reaction to the light flashing and also the light could startle them and maybe start them crying which is a definite 'no, no'.

All of the photos of Imogen were taken using natural light coming through a large window in the living room where we were set up and also a California Sunbounce Reflector was used on the opposite side. On a few of the shots I asked that Imogen lay down on white towels which look great for a clean, fresh, soft look but also are great for bouncing a little light into the shadows.

Enjoy

Monday Morning News

2009-09-21T07:31:00.008Z

Hi All,

As it's Monday and the start of a new week I thought I'd kick things off with a little news.

Firstly, I was asked by Erik Bernskiold the editor of Mac App Zone, to write an article/review of my early experiences with Snow Leopard - Apple's latest operating system to hit the shelves. Snow Leopard has only been out a matter of weeks and as expected there's been just a few teething problems but alot of nice surprises. Understandably the review is around my experiences of using the operating system as a photographer and what if anything it 'brings to the party'. You can check out my review online by clicking here.

My first 'Insight' - Photography/Lighting Workshop was originally planned for this month but this has now been rescheduled for Sunday 22nd November because of a very exciting development which I'll let you know about in the coming weeks. I'll be sending out invites via email, Facebook & Twitter (@GlynDewis) so stay tuned.

This week I plan to release Episode 2 of my new video series 'Insight - From Concept to Print'. The shoot is this coming Wednesday and without revealing too much it involves a bride, a wedding dress, a car repair garage, a vintage sports car and a little engine oil thrown in for good measure.

Right, that's all for now as I needed to be out the door 5 minutes ago, but I'll be adding more here later.

Enjoy

The Debonaires - Album Launch Party

2009-09-13T20:16:00.008Z

I'd been looking forward to Saturday for some time now as we were heading down to the famous Ace Cafe in London for the launch party of the Debonaires first album "You don't know me". Back in February of this year I met up with the guys as they were starting to put the album together and had hired me to take photos for the CD artwork. We immediately hit it off and I'll always remember the shoot for the laughs and for the treat of listening to them play; it was like my very own private concert ... nothing short of awesome!!!

At the party the guys played on an outdoor stage and blasted out sounds faultlessly to hundreds of people. Mick Colley, the bands drummer and a vocalist who originally contacted me, gave me my very own copy of their CD which I'm proud to say looks incredible, and makes me feel very proud to have contributed to.

You can find out more about The Deboanires by visiting their site, and to see some of the images from the shoot and behind the scenes, click here

Enjoy ;o)

Family Photo Shoot - Competition Winners

2009-09-13T19:55:00.004Z

Regular readers of the blog will know that a couple of months back I held a competition for 4 consecutive weeks called 'Free Photo Shoot Friday' where readers had to answer a question and got the chance to win, as the titles suggests, a free photo shoot. Well, this past Friday I was with the Quigley's over at Epsom Downs for their free 'shoot' after their son, Fionnan answered a question correctly.

Now, I did set rules for the competition but one I didn't think of was 'no helping' and the reason I bring this up is that Fionnan is only 2 years of age and something tells me he was given a helping hand; I guess I'll have to let this one go ... just this once :o)

Insight Photography Workshop - Model Headshots + Editing

2009-09-03T12:39:00.006Z

Well it's taken me longer than expected but I'm finally able to show you the first episode of 'Insight-From Concept to Print'. This is my new video series which gives you a 'behind the scenes' look at some of my Photo Shoots including the lighting set-up and the editing that I do in the computer.

This first episode is taken from a recent commercial shoot at Oxygen Hair & Beauty, Beaconsfield, UK where we were working with them to produce photographs showing 'before' and 'after' shots of the models once they'd had the 'Oxygen' treatment. The photographs are then going to be used to advertise/promote the salon and also appear in the stylists' portfolios.

In the video you'll get to see how the photographs were lit and why, due to the limited space available and then finishing off showing you an example of the editing I did to produce the final images using both Lightroom & Photoshop. It's worth noting that as the images are being used commercially, the editing involved was considerably more than I would do for a normal portrait (unless of course the client asked for it).

Enjoy ;o)

ps> The editing has been speeded up in the video; I'm quick but I ain't that quick :o)
pps> Credit to Scott Kelby of the NAPP for the idea of the lighting set up and guidance on the editing style.

Shooting a 'Shoot' - The Country Life

2009-09-02T07:54:00.008Z

Monday of this week I was just outside of Ripley, a quaint little Village in Surrey photographing some personal work to add to the portfolio. I'd arranged to meet up with a couple of guys Mark Powley & Steve Dabinett who are Shotgun licence holders and keen Clay Pidgeon/Sport Shooters cos I had a few ideas for some 'Country Life' style photographs. The day started off perfect for the kind of shots I was looking to put together; cloudy overcast skies and more importantly dry. However, by the time I arrived there wasn't a cloud in the sky and the sun was knocking out some serious rays.

Anyway after a couple of hours or so of enjoying the countryside and being shown one end of a shotgun from the other we were ready so it was 'location scouting time' and out came the camera along with my Alien Bees Lighting.

I've attached some of the 'shots' from the day to give you an idea of what I was looking for; all taken using just one light and on occasion using the sun as a back/rim light.

* Hmmm 'High Speed Continuous Shooting' on the Nikon D3 :o)

Enjoy ;o)

Oxygen - Makeover Model Shoot

2009-08-21T20:25:00.005Z

On Wednesday this week I was at Oxygen Hair & Beauty Salon, Beaconsfield for a full days shoot photographing 16 models. The day had been planned some time ago now and the idea behind it all was to photograph 'makeovers'. The models (15 female, and 1 male) were going to be coming to the salon throughout the day whereupon the stylists were being 'let loose' to create all manner of styles, colours etc ...

My job was to photograph the 'before' and 'after' shots which are then going to be displayed in large format around the salon, local press and the stylists own portfolios.

I'm in the process of editing video footage from the days shoot and also recording the editing that I do in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop to produce the final images and this (fingers crossed) will be here on the blog in the next few days.

Anyway, the weekend is upon us, so whatever you're doing, having a good one.

More later ;o)

Portrait Promo' Video 2009

2009-08-16T19:17:00.003Z

I've been meaning to put a couple more videos together for some time time now; mainly an 'About Me/Mini Bio' for the About Me page on my main website and with Christmas only 130 days away, a Portrait Promotion.

So after a little bit of filming last Thursday and a good few hours editing, this weekend I posted up the Portrait Promotion Video onto Facebook & Twitter to get some feedback (good, bad and indifferent) just to see how it would be received and so far it seems to be going down well (phew). Anyway, I thought I'd post it here too for those of you who aren't Facebook / Twitter users and extend the request for feedback.

So, if you've got 2 minutes and 16 seconds, please take a look and let me know what you think; in fact take a look anyway, if not just for the 'recovery' at the end ... you'll see what I mean.

Right, must dash ... lots more coming so keep checking back.

Enjoy ;o)

* Thanks to my buddy Vince Callaghan for filming some of the footage (@VinceCallaghan on Twitter)

* Press the HQ button to watch a higher quality version or visit my Vimeo Page here.

Latest News / Update

2009-08-10T17:56:00.008Z

Hi All,
Well there's definitely an 'air of excitement' here at the moment and I've got lots to tell you about with regards to what's going on now and what's in the pipeline, so I'll try and keep it brief and being a typical Virgo I'll do it in list form...here goes:

1. September 20th ... I'm running my very first workshop covering lighting and editing. I'll give more details over the next week or so, but this is something I'm really excited about cos it's 'different' ... I'll say no more for now ;o)

2. Podcast ... Very soon we'll be launching our brand new video Podcast on iTunes called 'Insight - From concept to print'. This will be a regular downloadable series where you'll get to see behind the scenes of one of my photo shoots and also the editing involved; again, more details soon.

3. This Thursday we start recording some more video for the website. The first video we'll be working on is an 'About Me' video or Mini Bio' and I hope to have this ready for viewing in about a week from now.

4. I now have a dedicated YouTube Channel which you can visit & subscribe to by clicking here.

5. I'm putting together a Facebook Business / Fan Page so all of you who are currently 'Facebook Friends' I'll be sending out a message soon so you can take a look. If we're not yet connected through Facebook, then please follow this link and add me in so as not to miss any upcoming events etc ...

6. ... and finally (for now atleast) I'm going to be be adding a custom Twitter background to my Twitter Homepage which I intend to have up in a few days too. Follow me on Twitter by clicking here.

So all that as well as Photo Shoots there's much to do and so little time ... all I need now is to ask Santa for a 36 hour day and we'll be sorted.

Take care out there and I'll see you 'online'

More later ...

iPhone Photos - 'Before' & 'After'

2009-08-09T18:49:00.004Z

A while back I wrote a post about my 'iPhone Photo of the Day' project; my only regret was that I couldn't show you the 'before' and 'after' photos (because I'd deleted them) so I thought I'd take a few moments just to show you a few.

As each day passes it seems that another editing application is released for the iPhone and despite the fact that the editing is 'Global' (it affects the entire picture as opposed to specific areas), some of the results can be really quite dramatic. At last count I had just over 2 pages of camera applications on my phone and I would say that each of them would get used at some point depending on the look I'm going for; and I'll always use a number of them at once to 'mix' them together.

Now, the camera on iPhone is no NIkon D3 nor are the editing 'apps' a mini version of Photoshop CS4, but they're good .... real good and if nothing else they're great fun to use. So there really is no excuse to not take 'that' photo nowadays; I just wonder what we're going to have available to us in the future.

Here are some other images without their 'Before' & 'After' shots. To see my growing iPhone Gallery you can use this link or just go to the Portfolio Section of my main site.

More later ;o)

My Gorgeous Little Nephew

2009-08-03T16:38:00.007Z

I can't believe it's now 2 years since my Gorgeous Little Nephew Rowan came into my life; time really has flown by. I was always told as a kid that the older you get, the faster time seems to pass; something at a young age I couldn't quite comprehend. Well now I'm a 30 something, geez does it seem true.

It's when I see Rowan that I get reminded just how incredibly important photography is; capturing special moments forever that in reality are gone in the blink of an eye. I'm sure by now Rowan thinks that his Uncle Glyn's face has the word 'Nikon' stamped across it, or his hand has an Apple symbol tattoo cos virtually every time I see him I have to take a photo ... be it with my Nikon D3 or my iPhone. I keep an 'album' on my iPhone with photos from the day after Rowan was born to present day and I'll regularly look through them to pick me up if I'm having a low moment, as we all do from time to time, or I'll look at them just because ...

Being 'Uncle Glyn' is just the best feeling in the world and I'll forever be thankful to my Sister Sian, & Brother in Law Andrew, for not only making me an Uncle but asking me to be Rowan's God Parent too.

I guess if there was any message I'm trying to get out to you from this blog entry it would be 'snap away'. Keep taking photos and if need be, become the pest in the family that always has the camera out because in years to come everyone will be glad you did ... guaranteed!

Green Family Photo Shoot

2009-07-31T19:06:00.004Z

Thought I'd post a few images up from a recent photo shoot with the 'Green' Family. All in all there were 9 members of the family present who were great fun to spend time with.

We started off taking a few variations of a main group photo and then moved onto doing portraits of couples and individuals making sure not to forget the star of the show, their dog George.

Must admit, this was the first time I've used sandbags on a shoot to weigh kit down so it doesn't get nicked by a little dog, rather than stopping it from falling over; small dog, BIG character for sure :o)

Enjoy ;o)

Guildford, UK Photo Walk - Winner

2009-07-31T04:22:00.008Z

Well I've finally made my mind up and decided on the winner for the Guildford, UK Photo Walk; not an easy task by any means but after looking through the photos that had been submitted many (& I mean many) times the Winner is:

flyjules 1976 (Julia Reichel) with 'Bikes' (See attached photo)

Congratulations to Julia who not only wins a copy of Scott Kelby's brand new book, 'The Digital Photography Book - Volume 3' but also gets entered into the Worldwide Competition and the chance to win thousands of pounds worth of photographic equipment (I shan't list it here for fear of getting a repetitive strain injury from typing as there is so much).

Good luck Jules!
More later ;o)

21st Birthday Portrait Shoot

2009-07-27T15:35:00.007Z

This past weekend has been a 'photography fest' with photo shoots on both Saturday & Sunday. Saturday's shoot was with Katy Russo who's brother Angelo had paid for her to have a portrait shoot as part of her 21st Birthday Present. I met Katy & her boyfriend, Tom in Costa Coffee Beaconsfield at around 3.30pm where we had a coffee and a chat before heading off to some pre-planned locations that I'd scouted out earlier.

We initially spent some time in New Beaconsfield, shooting in a stairwell so as to keep out of the bright sunlight and took natural light shots and also made use of a California Sunbounce Reflector (Zebra/White) which I'm now hooked on.

I'm guessing that after just short of an hour of shooting in the stairwell, we then made our way off to Winchmore Hill to a corn field, so as to get some images incorporating the beautiful blue sky and clouds. This called for my Alien Bees Lighting rig as the sun was still quite bright so using it I was able to balance out the environment and control the light falling on Katy (& Tom) separately.

We finished off spending some time under a motorway bridge to get some 'urban' style shots and made use of both natural light and a single Nikon SB800 Speedlight fired into a Lastolite Ezybox for a few shots.

BIG 'thanks' to both Katy & Tom for being such good sports and great fun to work with; it really was a pleasure.

More later ;o)

Inspired by the weather ...

2009-07-24T16:31:00.005Z

The photograph attached to this blog entry wasn't for anything in particular (client or portfolio) it was just something I was motivated to take I guess by all the 'great' weather we've been having lately. Now, don't get me wrong I'm not going through a 'dark' phase, quite the opposite infact, it was more a case of 'if you can't beat them, join them ' so get out and make a photograph and get something positive out of the bad weather. Mind you, I've got shoots booked this weekend and you can bet it'll be bright sun and I'll be wishing it was cloudy ... are we ever happy? :o)

Anyway, the guy in the long coat is my Buddy Vince, who's always willing to lend a hand and only accepts coffee as payment. Thanks Vince for standing there and putting up with all the strange glances from the dog walkers; still, no pain, no gain.

More later ;o)

Happy, Happy, Happy!!!

2009-07-20T16:06:00.004Z

After a great weekend of photography the new week kicked off to a good start too. This morning, as is normal practice for me I read through the blogs and sites that I subscribe to, only to see that the video of our Photo Walk made it onto Scott Kelby's Photoshop Insider Website.

Scott & his team are responsible for putting together the Worldwide Photo Walk - an incredible event which at the final count had over 32,000 photographers participating around the world, so for our video to make it onto his site feels pretty darned good I can tell you :o)

Right, must get on ... lots do to but I'll be back later with stories/shots from upcoming model and family shoots this week.

Enjoy ;o)

History in the making ...

2009-07-19T21:54:00.021Z

Saturday 18th July 2009 will surely go down in history; a day when 30,000+ photographers in cities around the world took part in a Worldwide Photo Walk. This worldwide photo walk was the brain child of best selling author, Adobe Photoshop Guru and Photographer Scott Kelby and is the second of it's kind. Last year was a huge success but this year saw numbers of photographers becoming involved, far more than anyone ever expected.

The idea of the photo walk was to get a group of no more than 50 people together in a City, anywhere in the world and go on a photo opportunity 'hunting' exercise for 2 hours. Having been contacted by Scott several months previous, I had the opportunity to organise and lead a UK based leg of this record breaking event. The city I chose to do the walk in was Guildford, Surrey so at 1pm a group of keen photographers all met in Starbucks for the obligatory caffeine hit and then made our way off around a pre-determined route taking us through cobbled High Streets, to Castle Grounds and then ending off near a lock on a canal.

It really was a great day having the opportunity to mix with people from all backgrounds but with one common interest...photography. Walking round it was really intriguing to see what members of the group were photographing; things that others just hadn't considered or seen but then that is what's so intriguing about photography and how we all 'see' things differently.

At the end of the walk we 'debriefed' and took a quick look at what photographs had been taken whilst sampling some of the local ale. All that remains now is for me to pick the winning photograph from what was taken by everyone, and whoever took it wins a prize and the opportunity to win many thousands of pounds worth of photography gear as the overall, wordwide winner.

Kudos to Scott & his team for planning such an enormous event that was clearly enjoyed by everyone involved; many new friendships have certainly been made.

Officers' Farewell

2009-07-15T20:41:00.009Z

I took the two photos attached to this post a few days ago whilst working down at Heathrow Airport. The two guys concerned are soon to be retiring after 30 years service as Police Officers and I was asked (not at gun point I hasten to add) whilst down there if I would take a photo of them both that could be presented by their team members as a momento of their time at Heathrow.

Time was limited so there wasn't the opportunity to get the necessary permit to photograph within the airport itself, so we made do in one of the car parks and I allowed myself a little creative licence by adding in the distant aeroplane.

Enjoy ;o)

Time Out ... well, sort of

2009-07-13T04:30:00.003Z

Every now and then I need a little 'time out'; time when I just go for a walk, camera in hand with no real purpose and yesterday was one of those days. I met up with my buddy Vince at the usual haunt (Starbuck's, Windsor) and after downing a bath full of coffee went for a stroll.

Armed with only a little kit (camera, couple of lenses, tripod) and no plan as such we walked around taking shots of whatever took our eye.

As usual, I couldn't resist taking a portrait; this shot of Vince is a HDR image (High Dynamic Range) and is a blend of five (5) differently exposed shots combined together.

... and this shot of the Windsor from across the River Thames, I took with my iPhone.

All in all, a much needed couple of hours; very relaxing and great for clearing the mind.

* Note to self: Don't drink too much coffee before going for a walk!

Congratulations Mr & Mrs Finden.

2009-07-07T05:31:00.006Z

Last Sunday saw me packing the car full of photog' gear and heading to Somerset for the wedding of Gary Finden & Louise Fursman. The ceremony & reception was being held at the delightful Hornsbury Mill; a beautiful location with it's own lake and landscaped gardens full of all manner of wild birds, peacocks, swans etc ...

A great day was had by all and thankfully the weather behaved itself, with the heavens opening almost as soon as we'd finished taking photographs outside; talk about lucky :o)

I'll post a few more images once I've had time to do some more editing but in the meantime,

Enjoy ;o)

The name's Bartlett ... Danny Bartlett

2009-07-03T04:19:00.007Z

One of the shoots from this week was with male model, Danny Bartlett who you'll remember I photographed a few weeks back in a local garage to emulate a classic shot by Herb Ritts (Image below)

This time with Danny we wanted to go for a completely different look so I asked him to wear a tuxedo complete with 'Dickie Bow' and to bring along his BMW M3 which I wanted to include in some of the shots.

I had in mind quite a few different looks that I wanted to achieve so this meant bringing along quite a bit of kit ranging from Ring Flash to my Alien Bees Lighting Rig.

I'm guessing we were 'shooting' for around 2 hours making use of strobes and natural/ambient light but making sure to give ourselves plenty of breaks to take in some water cos despite it being quite late, it was still very warm.

All in all, a great evening. Big thanks to Danny for being such a great talent to work with and for being prepared to wear a tuxedo in the heat, and also a big thank you to my buddy Vince for assisting with setting up the lighting and keeping an eye out for the b&£$*&d 'clampers'.

More later ;o)

* NB ... this final images was actually taken during a lighting set up before the final front light was added but to be honest I quite like the 'edgy' feel the rim lights give on their own.

Gary Finden & Louise Fursman

2009-06-30T04:54:00.006Z

Last Sunday I was yet again over in Windsor, but this time with Gary Finden & Louise Fursman who's Wedding I'm photographing on the 5th July 2009. With only 1 week to go, we got together for a Pre-Wedding / Engagement Photo Shoot and here's a sample of some of the images from our time together and that I've edited so far.

Following their wedding this coming Sunday I'll post some of the images here on the blog so be sure to check later later.

Bye for now ;o)

One location, 3 different looks.

2009-06-25T12:27:00.008Z

With the wonderful weather we've been having lately I just had to get out and take some 'personal' shots. I approached my neighbours Steve & Edwina cos I thought it would be nice to take a photo of the two of them seeing as we'd taken shots of their children Phoebe & George a couple of months back. I explained the kind of shot I was looking for and after taking a few shots locally to get 'into the groove' we all headed off to West Wycombe, just near to a place called Hell Fire Caves. This is great location, high up overlooking the Chilterns and perfect for what I'd thought of doing.

For once, the flashes remained in the kit bag as I wanted to make use of the evening sunset and take some silhouette photos of Steve & Edwina (both keen bikers) and here is what we came up with:

I went a little further with some of the images to see what different editing styles would produce:

I've got a couple of shoots coming up over the next few days so I'll be sure to post some of the results here on the blog, but in the mean time,

Enjoy the weather ;o)

The 'Andy Warhol' Technique

2009-06-20T16:15:00.007Z

A short while ago I was given an old photograph by a client of a Vespa Scooter and given the 'brief' ... "I don't know what I want but can you do something with this? " Initially I got to be honest I was stumped. I mean, where do you go from there? How do you interpret what the client is looking for when they don't know themselves? Potentially you could spend hours working on all sorts of edits and still be no closer to what the client (doesn't know) they want.

In situations like this you've just got to dig deeper. Who did the bike belong to? What are you looking to do with the final image? What styles of images have you seen that you like? What is the decor like of where the image is going to be displayed ... modern? old fashioned? ... the list goes on, but asking these and more can save a whole heap of time.

Eventually I discovered that the photograph had sentimental value as the moped in it had belonged to the clients father. The client wanted something 'out there' and 'retro' so my mind immediately began drifting towards the style made famous by Andy Warhol. (The images attached show the original photograph that I was given which I scanned and the two final colour versions.)

I initially created the 4 colour version but changed to the Red / B&W once the client had seen the proof and asked for the colour change as it would be more in fitting with the room that it will be displayed in once it's been put onto an 18" x 12" canvas.

So, a happy client and BIG Thankyou to a friend of mine Matt Kloskowski at the NAPP for showing the technique I used to create the final look once I'd repaired and 'cut' the moped out of the original photograph.

The Techno Guru is back from 'Down Under'

2009-06-19T17:44:00.006Z

Yesterday morning I met up with my good buddy Vince Callaghan who's been away travelling in Australia for the past 4 months. I first met Vince a year ago when I was leading the first Scott Kelby PhotoWalk in Windsor when we had a blast. Lots of ideas were talked through before Vince (Mr Techno Guru) went away so now he's back we're going to be teaming up on a few photography projects and also working on some video which I'm really looking forward to.

After chatting through ideas and with both our heads buzzing, we headed off to find another coffee house but took some photos en-route. I've attached some shots of Vince, all taken using available light (the natural kind) but I'm sure you'll be seeing alot more of him here on the blog in some way or another in the near future.

More later ;o)

Restoring Priceless belongings

2009-06-19T16:37:00.003Z

Before becoming a Photographer, I started out as an 'editor' of photographic images using Adobe Photoshop and still do occasionally take on a few 'editing' jobs such as restoring damaged photos, designing posters for advertising etc ...

This past couple of days I've been working on a few photographs that I was given by clients; one in particular being an old photograph that had faded, discoloured, scratches, water damage and to top it off had stuck to the glass that it had been framed behind. Just about everything that could have happened to it, had.

So, on went the relaxing, chill out music and the slippers (did I really admit to that???) ... time to get comfortable and begin cos this kind of work isn't something to be rushed.

Anyway, after spending some time removing all the water damage and so on, here's the final result:

More later with an 'Andy Warhol' style edit ;o)

Nice to see :o)

2009-06-14T06:38:00.005Z

Just a quickie ... Had a nice surprise yesterday morning when I was walking through Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire after an early breakfast; spotted this van parked up displaying my photographs along the side and just had to take a quick photo with my iPhone. The van belongs to The Cape South African Deli and the photographs on the side are just some of the ones I took a few months back for their soon to be released cookery book.

More later ;o)

* iPhone Photograph

Mark & Samantha's Wedding

2009-06-06T12:18:00.009Z

After photographing Brian & Chris' Wedding on the Friday, the very next day I was up in the Cotswolds with my good friend Steve Pratley at the stunning Matara for the Wedding of Mark Fryer & Samantha Luker.

The day started off at a nearby hotel called the Egypt Mill where Samantha and members of her family had been staying. We had enough time to photograph some of the detail before photographing Samantha in her wedding dress and then making off back to the Matara to meet up with Mark.

Yet again the day just couldn't have been better. Beautiful clear blue skies, bright sunshine, a stunning location, great guests and a wonderful Bride & Groom; an absolute gift.

As is the always the case with me I'd been up to the venue several times prior to the wedding scouting out locations for photos and planning for every eventuality; even though we'd been promised a sunny day, this is England so anything can happen.

With a timetable of when I'd be photographing certain items and events, the day ran like clockwork, was incredibly relaxed and great fun; just couldn't have wished it be to better in any other way.

Following the outdoor ceremony next to an ornamental pond we made our way around the grounds with Mark & Samantha to take some 'personal' photos away from their guests. At a location such as The Matara there is so much choice with stunning surroundings, shaded areas and beautiful soft light spilling in through the tree canopy into a woodland area. We walked around a pre planned route for roughly 45 minutes before heading back to the main building.

Mark & Samantha were great fun to photograph, putting their trust in me and 'going with the flow'. This again I'm convinced is because of the earlier 'pre wedding / engagement' shoot where they'd had the opportunity to be photographed before the wedding and see how I work. There's just no way I would enter into a wedding without first having been out on a 'pre wedding / engagement' photo shoot or as Brian Whyte called it 'The getting to know you shoot'; it's just so incredibly valuable.

Anyway, I've got a little more editing to get on with before Mark & Samantha return from their honeymoon so I'd better crack on. Oh, and for any of you interested all these shots are lit using 'natural' light; the only flash I used during the day was right at the end for the 'first dance'.

Bye for now ;o)

Brian & Chris' Wedding

2009-06-05T14:47:00.015Z

In a word, last Friday was 'Superb'. I was over at the Frimley Hall Hotel, Camberley, Surrey photographing the Wedding/Civil Partnership of Brian Whyte & Chris Rivett. The weather was just incredible; beautiful clear blue skies and plenty of sun and we couldn't have wished for a better bunch of people.

Being Brian & Chris' Photographer was a huge honour; to me it meant a heck of alot to be asked to capture their Civil Partnership for a whole host of reasons, some that maybe to them weren't relevant or they'd even considered.

Anyone with a camera can photograph two people together, but to photograph an emotion, a connection between those people is something else. It was incredibly important to me to get this right. Brian and Chris are life partners, lovers, and it was vital that I could portray this in their photographs rather than them just showing two men stood together.

I blogged earlier about their 'pre wedding / engagement' shoot and this to me proved invaluable. Maybe I didn't need to show this to the guys, but I felt I need them to see that I wanted to photograph them as 'lovers' and that they shouldn't hold back when it came to showing their feelings towards each other.

It wasn't long at all into the 'shoot' that everyone relaxed to the point where we were taking more than portraits but were photographing that 'connection' between two people who have such strong feelings for each other that they're prepared to commit for life.

Brian & Chris' Thank You so much for asking me to be part of your Big Day; a day packed with emotion that I'll never forget.

Technical:
As with all Weddings when it comes to photography, being organised is vitally important, because without it time will literally fly by and before you know it, the day is coming to a close and you've not got the shots you need.

On this particular occasion for my lighting set up I decided to use a Nikon SB800 Flash and Tri Grip Diffuser rather than a shoot thru umbrella and light stand; main reason being it's portability and speed in setting up a shot. All that was needed was for me to position Brian & Chris how I wanted them in each shot, and then get my good friend Dave Gurnhill who was helping me on this day, to step in with the SB800 and Tri Grip. Obviously the closer in he brought the Tri Grip the softer the light, so long as the flash was held far enough back to allow the light from it to spread onto it's surface. I opted to use the Nikon CLS (Creative Lighting System) to trigger the SB800 so to do so I put another flash on my D3's hotshoe and set it to Master. I could have maybe opted to use the SU-800 controller but as we were working in bright sunlight I didn't want to risk it not triggering. Using the CLS allowed for quick adjustments of the ambient light and flash power from the camera itself rather than having to shout out to Dave any adjustments that I needed, and so long as the Infra Red 'eye' on the flash was pointing in my general direction, we were 'Good to Go'.

More Later ;o)

2 Weddings in 2 Days ...

2009-05-31T22:36:00.007Z

This past weekend was a 'Photography Fest' having photographed two Weddings; one on Friday and one on Saturday.

Friday was Brian Whyte & Chris Rivett's Wedding at the Frimley Hall Hotel, Camberley in Surrey who's Pre Wedding / Engagement Shoot I blogged about on 12th April 2009.

Saturday was Mark Fryer & Samantha Luker's Wedding at The Matara Centre, Gloucestershire who's Pre Wedding / Engagement Shoot I blogged abut on 13th May 2009.

I'm going to write about each of the Weddings in a couple of days (including more photos and how I took each shot) once I've had time to do a bit more editing and my feet have stopped screaming at me. For now though I just wanted to say that despite it being a non-stop busy weekend it's been an amazing experience with some great people at stunning locations.

HUGE 'Thank You' to my good friends David Gurnhill & Steve Pratley who assisted me at each of the Weddings. It's because of their help that both days photography was a dream; extremely well organised and relaxed.

Winner No. 4: Free Photo-Shoot Friday

2009-05-31T22:30:00.006Z

The answer to last weeks FREE PHOTO-SHOOT FRIDAY Competition was: A.C.E. stands for Adobe Certified Expert; a qualification I passed back in February 2007.

Out of all the correct answers emailed in, the Winner is a Karen Hutchison from Amersham; Congratulations Karen, with the great weather upon us let's get a date in the diary for the photo shoot.

That's it now for FREE PHOTO SHOOT FRIDAY during the month of May, but keep an eye on the blog or follow me on Twitter / Facebook to find out when the next competition is going to be announced.

More later ;o)

FREE PHOTO-SHOOT FRIDAY - No.4

2009-05-29T06:36:00.003Z

Well it's the last Friday in May which means this is the last FREE PHOTO-SHOOT FRIDAY (for now), so for your chance to win a Portrait Shoot all you need to do is answer the following question:

"Some time ago I got the A.C.E. qualification. Question is, what does A.C.E. stand for and when did I pass it?"

As usual, email your answer to me by midnight on Sunday (31st May) and I'll announce the winner here on the blog Monday morning.

Good luck ;o)

ps> Did I mention this was the last one ?
pps> Answer is somewhere in the blog ;o)

Phil & Tom's Portrait Shoot

2009-05-27T16:28:00.009Z

At the start of this week I was out in Old Amersham, Buckinghamshire on a portrait shoot with two guys, Phil Hughes & Tom Beynon. Having arrived a couple of hours earlier and scouted the area for good 'shoot' locations, I met up with the guys for the usual coffee and a chat through what shots I had planned.

We headed off on foot, starting with some simple 'practice' shots to get into the right frame of mind (pardon the pun) and then onto some other locations that I'd discovered earlier. Both Phil & Tom had brought along a few changes of clothing to give the photos a bit of variety but to be honest it was me that could have done with some. Let's just say that next time I'm photographing in a field with long grass I'll take extra care when I'm getting down for a low angle shot; who said that it was 'lucky' to step in a Dog's Number 2????

We were out photographing for just under 2 hours, finishing off in a covered Market Place before making tracks for an urgent clothing change :o)

Technical:
A couple of hours before the guys arrived I'd been out an a recce; the weather was dry and fairly overcast so I intended to use the Nikon Speedlight as there wasn't that much sun coming through to overpower.

For the shots of Phil & Tom together in the field I went for a high vantage point to 'shoot' downwards, which in turn eliminated the sky out of the frame. Flash Power wasn't too much of an issue in this case, so an SB800 fired into a shoot-thru umbrella, close-in was all that was needed. Tom and Phil were then positioned in such a way that there was an even spread of light hitting both of them.

For the shots of Phil on his own in the field I went for a low angle, aiming upwards towards him which ofcourse meant that sky was going to be in the shot. I needed as much power as possible out of the SB800 so opted to use it with no diffuser but a Honl Speed Grid; just that extra stop of light or so that this gave me was just enough to get the sky looking how I wanted.

Finally for the series of shots in the covered Market Place I used the SB800 but this time with the Lastolite Ezybox. This is a great piece of kit that gives a much more directed spread of light onto the subject and minimises spill onto the surrounding area. Being in a shaded area, the flash could be dialed way down which in turn gave quicker recycling times and allowed for me to take a faster series of shots with minimal delay.

Right, busy weekend fast approaching with two day long photo shoots (Friday & Saturday) so it's time to check, check and check again that all my kit is in order.

More later ;o)

My iPhone 'Photo of the Day' Project

2009-05-26T19:25:00.009Z

Since starting my 'iPhone Photo of the Day' Project, I've been overwhelmed by the interest that it's generated, so I thought I'd write a short post to explain how I go about it.

Two of the most common questions I get asked are:

1. Are the photos taken with your iPhone?
2. What have you done in Photoshop?

Well, the answer to both questions is: Yes and Nothing. All the photos are indeed taken with my iPhone and all editing is done 'in phone' using some of the many applications available from the iTunes 'App' Store. In fact the only time the pictures see my computer is when I'm downloading them from my phone into Lightroom or iPhoto for cataloguing and uploading to the iPhone Gallery on may main website.

There are literally hundreds of applications available form the 'App' Store with more being added every day, especially with the imminent release of the new model of iPhone and 3.0 Software.

Anyway, here's a list of the 'apps' that I regularly use:

My 'editing' workflow is pretty simple: I'll generally open up an image in Photogene and adjust the Shadows, Midtones and Highlights to how I want them and then it's a case of jumping in and out of the other applications until I get the desired effect I'm after. What I love about each of the apps is that once you've made an adjustment to an image it saves out a copy which I can then adjust further, all the time my original image remains safe and untouched, just incase I need to go back to it.

Despite the iPhone's camera far from being the best 'phone camera' out there, there is a heck of alot you can do with it ... in fact the front cover of this weeks 'New Yorker' Magazine was taken with an iPhone. So remember, the best camera to use is the one you have with you!

Happy Shooting,
More Later ;o)

Winner No. 3: Free Photo-Shoot Friday

2009-05-25T08:41:00.003Z

.... and Winner number 3 of FREE PHOTO SHOOT FRIDAY is ... (drum roll please, followed by ridiculously long pause which only serves to annoy the viewer rather than build suspense) ...

Fionnan Quigley, with the correct answer of Personal Portfolio (No: 22)

That's now the 3rd FREE Portrait Shoot for the month of May, with only 1 more remaining so be sure to check out this coming Friday's question (May 29th)

More later ;o)

FREE PHOTO-SHOOT FRIDAY - No.3

2009-05-22T04:25:00.003Z

Already at Week 3, here's this weeks chance for you to win a FREE Portrait Shoot with FREE PHOTO SHOOT FRIDAY;all you need to do is answer the following question:

My new website has 4 Portfolios:People, Commercial, Personal & iPhone and in one of them you'll find the picture below. The question is, which of the portfolio's does it appear in???

As usual, email your answers to me using the address on my contact page by no later than midnight on Sunday 24th May and I'll announce the Winner first thing on Monday morning.

Good luck ;o)

How 'Stoked' was I ?

2009-05-20T11:42:00.007Z

How 'stoked' was I to see today that one of my images had been given 'Editor's Choice' by the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP) for this week, and to read some of the comments that my new portfolio has received :o)

I've been a member of the NAPP for some years now and it's thanks to these guys and their workshops I've attended out in the United States, that I became an Adobe Certified Expert (A.C.E.) in February 2007. The NAPP has roughly 100,000 members worldwide; a membership which grows day by day because of the 1st class teaching it provides by the worlds finest in Photography & Photoshop.

The upcoming Photowalk on the 18th July I've blogged about earlier has been put together by the President of NAPP, Photoshop Guru, Award winning Author and all round 'great guy' and friend Scott Kelby, so if you're into Photography of any kind and at any level I urge you to get involved in what is a great fun & FREE event. (For more details see the post below).

Here too is a larger version of the image that got Editor's Choice and a link to my NAPP Portfolio. (Many of the images you'll see on my main site too)

Enjoy ;o)

Scott Kelby's 2nd Worldwide Photowalk

2009-05-18T07:04:00.007Z

July 18th sees Scott Kelby's 2nd Worldwide Photowalk come to a City in the World near you.

Last year I lead a walk around Windsor, Berkshire and had a blast! Everyone that came along said how much fun it was and what a great social event where lots of new friendships were made as well as some great photographs.

This year I'm going to be leading a Photowalk around Guildford, Surrey between 1pm - 3pm. The finer details such as meeting place and route are yet to be worked out but we have space for 50 people. So why not come along on July 18th and join in; it's FREE and you get the chance to win some awesome prizes; Digital SLR, Point and Shoot, Camera Phone etc ... Everyone is welcome to come along.

To sign up and join us in Guildford simply visit the site and add your details by clicking here.

To find out more about what this massive, Worldwide event is all about, visit the dedicated website by clicking on this link.

* Remember: Only 50 places available so don't delay, sign up today :o)

Winner No. 2: Free Photo-Shoot Friday

2009-05-17T22:37:00.008Z

Congratulations to this weeks winner of Free Photo-Shoot Friday: Helen K (sorry I don't know your surname Helen but that's all details I have) who emailed in with the correct answer of "Orange & Black".

A return email has been sent to Helen with the news so all that needs to be done now is to organise a date for the 'shoot'.

Only 2 more weeks remaining, so remember to check back this coming Friday (22nd May) for round 3 of Free Photo-Shoot Friday and win the chance of a free portrait shoot.

More later ;o)

'Exposed' Episode 3 - Garage

2009-05-17T17:16:00.008Z

Following on from the post below about yesterday's 'Herb Ritts' style tribute shoot, here is the latest episode in the 'Exposed' series of 'behind the scenes' videos.

Big thanks to my pal & all round good guy Barry for playing the part of Videographer.

Enjoy ;o)

NB ... Pressing the HQ button in the bottom right of the video player window will show a Higher Quality version.

Herb Ritts Tribute - Sort of ...

2009-05-17T15:56:00.006Z

Yesterday morning I was down at a local garage photographing a male physique model by the name of Danny Bartlett. This was a shoot I'd been thinking about for a while now and was to be a sort of tribute to world famous photographer Herb Ritts and as always, I was being helped by my good friend Barry Payne who was videoing the shoot.

I'd planned to start at 10.30am but unfortunately the model, Danny was delayed and didn't manage to arrive until nearly 2 hours later. This cut down on our 'shooting' time considerably as we we'd been given permission to use a local garage which was open to the public at the time but was due to close at 12.30pm.

Once we'd had a chat about what we were looking to achieve, Danny got changed and we cracked on focusing on just a couple of lighting set ups and here are some of the results:

Shot 1: Herb Ritts Tribute

Shot 2: Profile

Technical:
I was very conscious of not over staying our welcome at the garage as the guys had been extremely generous to allow us to make us of it, so speed was the name of the game which is why I opted to use the shoot thru umbrella. For the first shot, the umbrella was positioned in such a way that it cast nice shadows across Danny to emphasise his definition but also spill onto the back wall and machinery ogherwise it would all have been way too dark behind him.

For the second shot I've put the black cover on the umbrella but only on the half nearest to the back wall. Doing so prevented any light going onto the back wall and allowed just enough light to fall onto Danny. As I wanted the area to turn completely black I've set the D3 at 200 iso and the max flash sync speed of 1/250sec. Light on Danny was then controlled by the Aperture setting which in this case was f/7.1 with the flash at 1/8th power.

Enjoy ;o)

FREE PHOTO-SHOOT FRIDAY - No.2

2009-05-15T08:43:00.004Z

Well it's Friday and it's the month of May so it can only mean one thing:
FREE PHOTO-SHOOT FRIDAY.

We've now booked a date for Chris' shoot (last weeks winners) so for your chance to win this week all you have to do is answer the following question:

"Exposed" is the name I've given to my new series of 'behind the scenes' videos of photo shoots; of which there are currently two on the 'video' page of my new site. In both shoots you'll see that I'm using my Alien Bees Lighting Kit. My question is: what colour is the holdall containing the external battery pack which you'll see me connecting the flash head to?"

As before, same rules apply and send your answers via email (details on the contact page) by midnight Sunday and the winner will be randomly selected from all the correct entries and announced here on the blog Monday morning.

Good luck ;o)

Keeping it Simple.

2009-05-13T18:15:00.009Z

Following on from the recent 'Engagement / Pre Wedding Shoot' with Mark & Samantha I thought I'd post a few of the shots here on the blog along with an explanation of the lighting technique and settings used on my Nikon D3, so here goes:

Samantha against Pillar

For anyone who knows Windsor, this shot was taken at the Civic Hall in Thames Street. This is at the front entrance where there is a covered area with concrete pillars and three open sides allowing in beautiful ambient light. For this portrait I set the D3 into Aperture Priority Mode at f/4.0 on my 70-200mm f/2.8 Nikon lens for a shallow depth of field with an iso of 400. This gave a decent enough shutter speed to hand hold and allow for a good quality file. To give a little more light onto Samantha's face I just added 1 stop of Exposure Compensation.

Mark on Bench

This particular shot required the use of a Voice Activated Light Stand or V.A.L. as they are commonly known, which in this case was Samantha. Mark was sat on a concrete bench against the church but unfortunately the sun was shining through the trees quite strongly giving lots of specular lighting. To soften this I gave Samantha a 1 stop Lastolite Tri Grip Diffuser which she held up between the sun and Mark. Mark was then lit with an SB800 camera right which was fired into a reflective umbrella which I had 'closed' down'. By this I mean that rather than having the umbrella completely open which would have thrown light all over the place, I let it close which then narrowed down the spill of light. Ofcourse this could have been done using a Lastolite Ezy Box but this was an Engagement / Pre Wedding Shoot so minimum kit was the order of the day.

Settings for the camera were iso 200, 80mm, f/4.0, 1/250 sec and the SB800 flash head was on 1/2 power. The SB800 was triggered using the Nikon CLS which called for a second SB800 on the camera hotshoe set to Master.

Mark's Profile Shot

This final shot of Mark was taken in a recessed part of the church wall with three walled sides and one side open. It was in quite a dark, shaded area of the grounds with light being blocked out by a thick canopy of tree branches. To light Mark I set up the remote SB800 and reflective umbrella camera left; this time with the umbrella being fully open to allow much more spill of light. I was looking to achieve a more 'moody' feel to the picture so feathered the light off Mark a little by turning the umbrella away from the camera; this reduced the spill of light onto Mark and gave a few more shadows.

Camera settings: iso 200, 35mm, f/4.0, 1/250sec with the Remote SB800 at 1/4 power, again fired using the Nikon CLS.

So, nice and simple with minimum kit: Nikon D3, 2 x SB800's, Reflective Umbrella & Stand, Lastolite Tri Grip Diffuser and a couple of Lastolite Tri Grip Reflectors.

Enjoy ;o)

Anatomy of an Engagement / Pre Wedding Shoot

2009-05-13T12:35:00.007Z

Last Sunday I was photographing Mark Fryer and his fiancée Samantha Luker in Windsor for their 'Engagment / Pre Wedding' Shoot; Mark & Samantha are to be married at the stunning Matara, Gloucestershire on the 30th of this month. We had originally booked the 'shoot' for approximately 3 weeks previous but ended up re-scheduling it for this past weekend for some reasons I'll cover in a moment.

Now I have mentioned in an earlier post that I'm moving away from photographing weddings and focusing more on my portrait and editorial work; infact Mark & Samantha's is the 2nd of the final 3 that I'm doing this year, but despite that I thought I'd write a blog entry on what I would give as my 'tips' for anyone photographing a wedding; in particular focusing on the 'engagement / pre wedding shoot'.

So why do an 'Engagement / Pre Wedding Shoot' ?

1. An engagement / pre wedding shoot I think is vital. Not only is it another opportunity for you to meet the future bride & groom before the big day, in turn helping to build that all important relationship but it gives you, the photographer a 'heads up' with regards to what you can and can't do with that particular couple. Some people are more 'tactile' than others and quite literally can't keep their hands off each other, but there are those who aren't so 'open' about showing their feelings. Knowing this before the wedding can only be a big help so you'll know in advance what kind of pictures to plan for.

2. It gives your client an insight as to how you work so they know what to expect and will know what you mean when you suggest something. Being able to say "Do you remember when we ....." will be a big time saver as your client will be on the same 'wave length' as you and know what you're looking for.

3. Seeing great photographs being made there and then gives the client even more confidence in your ability, which in turn builds yet more trust.

I guess the list of benefits is endless really but this is just to give you an idea of what I think are the main ones.

The Engagement / Pre Wedding Shoot

1. Shoot in a location you're familiar with. The idea of the shoot obviously is to produce great photos but personally speaking I don't want to be 'hunting' for locations when my main objective is to 'learn' about the couple i.e. the best way to photograph them and their limitations.

2. Arrive early to avoid surprises i.e. taking your couple to a location only to find someone's piled a load of tables and chairs in the way, the location is being used etc ...

3. Meet the clients for coffee beforehand rather than just 'cracking on'. Chatting through the wedding plans and what you'll be doing all helps to relax the client before you head out.

4. Involve your clients in the the making of the shoot by holding lights, tri-grip diffusers and so on which helps to take their mind off being photographed. However, do explain that they wont be doing this on their wedding day as you'll most likely have an assistant with you.

5. Show photos to your client on the back of the camera as you go round. This again will help them to relax and enjoy the process even more when they see the results you're getting.

6. Don't over complicate things i.e. keep your kit to a minimum cos you don't really want to be getting into 2, 3 or 4 light set ups. This is an engagement / pre wedding shoot not a commercial shoot and let's face it, stunning results can be achieved with natural light and one light; you only have to look at the work of Zack Arias to realise this.

7. Plan your route and know what photographs you intend to take where. For any of you with an iPhone, two applications that I use alot when planning a shoot are: 'Sun n Moon' and 'Focalware' ; these two little gems tell me when the sun will be around and where it will be at specific times during the day.

Again, I guess this 'tips' list could go on and on, but these 7 are the ones that immediately come to mind.

Hope that's of some use,
Enjoy ;o)

Winner: Free Photo Shoot Friday

2009-05-11T08:52:00.006Z

UPDATE: Forgot to mention, the winning answer was 24th September 2007 ... oops :o)

Morning All,
Hope you all had a great weekend. Thankfully the weather forecasters were spot on as usual saying it was going to rain but instead we had glorious sunshine; now that kind of 'getting it wrong' I can live with.

Well, after receiving a surprisingly high number of entries for the first Free Photo Shoot Friday Competition, I'm pleased to announce that after pulling winning entries 'out the hat' Chris Darvil from Oxford was the winner. Chris wins a free 'on location' portrait shoot which we'll be booking up asap and will show some of the results here on the blog.

Having had a re-think, rather than running Free Photo Shoot Friday every month, I'm going to do a run of them every Friday during the month of May, so be sure to check back on Friday 15th May for the next round.

Bye for now ;o)

Video Page now added to website

2009-05-10T07:54:00.003Z

Now that the new site has been up and running for a couple of days I've been thinking more and more about what 'extras' I can add in. One that I've always intended to add was a page that holds the ongoing "Exposed" video collection that shows 'behind the scenes footage' of photo shoots I've been on. I was looking to add this in a couple of weeks or so but as a few people have asked where it was in the feedback I thought I'd add it now. So, another late night later and voilà (who needs to sleep anyway :o)

As always, thanks for the feedback but keep it coming in plus any suggestions you may have; let's see how little sleep I can survive on.

Enjoy ;o)

Multiple Exposure and the 'About Glyn' Collage

2009-05-09T07:32:00.006Z

Since launching my new website I've been receiving some really positive feedback and some really interesting suggestions for what I could include in the future. One message in particular came from a fellow photographer and twitter(er) Martin Saint (@SaintyM) who gave feedback regarding the original 'About Glyn' picture. In his own words (and I tended to agree) it was a little cliché; you know the one:photographer, camera in hand, kit at his feet and looking all mean and moody. Anyway, Martin's comment got me thinking and that's how I ended up with the 'About Glyn' collage:

Multiple Exposure
The collage was made in part by using the little known and little used function in the Nikon D3 called 'Multiple Exposure' found in the 'Shooting Menu'.

Basically what this allows you to do is to take a series of photos one after the other and the camera automatically blends them together to produce one final image. As always my good friend Barry Payne was there to help out so I set the camera up handed it over and then 'worked it' ... well, sat there really doing my best 'the camera loves you baby' poses.

My original idea was to use one of the multiple exposures but in the end I wound up blending' three of them together (see attached photos which are straight out of the camera) in Photoshop to make the final image using some gradient masking, contrast boost and adding a slight cyan tint.

Right that's all for now folks so have a great weekend,
Enjoy ;o)

New Website is launched ... finally!

2009-05-09T06:54:00.006Z

Well after what seems like a lifetime, I'm pleased to say that my new website has finally launched. As is always the case it's a 'work in progress' as over time I'm going to be adding more and more to it. In fact, in the next couple of days I'm going to be adding a 'video' section which is where I'll be putting my new ongoing series of 'Exposed - behind the scenes' videos plus at a later stage camera & lighting tutorials, photoshop techniques etc ...

I've been receiving plenty of feedback by email and Facebook so thankyou to all of you who have sent that in, but don't stop there, keep it coming ... good or bad I want (and need) to hear it.

Thanks again.

FREE PHOTO-SHOOT FRIDAY

2009-05-08T07:49:00.010Z

So ... what is FREE Photo-Shoot Friday?
Basically, on the first Friday of each month I'm gonna be running a competition here on the blog and whoever emails back with the correct answer gets the chance to win a FREE photo shoot ... it's that simple.

Now, the question I'll post up will most likely be about something here on the blog or on my main glyndewis.com site; for example, I'll post a picture up that has been previously shown and the question may be "What is the date of the blog entry where this photograph appears?" All you have to do is search through the blog, find the picture and then answer the question; and like I said, whoever answers correctly gets the chance to win themselves a Portrait Shoot.

Now as in any competition there are gonna have to be a few rules/guidelines, so here's a couple I can think of:

1. You can't enter that particular weeks competition if you're the person in the photograph...that would be cheating (shame on you :o)

2. The competition is only open to those living in the UK and will be 'on location'.

3. The Photo Shoot is FREE. (Any subsequent print orders are at the normal rate).

4. The cut off period is midnight Sunday (weekend the competition starts) and the winner will be randomly picked and announced on Monday of the following week.

... that's all I can think of for now but if I think of anymore then I'll be sure to update you. Okay so, let's kick it off with the first question:

FREE PHOTO-SHOOT FRIDAY
Below is a photograph of the famous Pegasus Bridge near Ouistreham, France which I took whilst on a holiday with Mrs D; what is the full date that this photograph was added to the blog?

Good luck ;o)

A little update & more iPhone Photos

2009-05-05T04:45:00.005Z

Hi All ... just thought I'd write a little post to give you an update:

1. Free Photoshoot Friday will be starting this coming Friday (8th May) so make sure you check back here for more details at the end of the week when all will be revealed.

2. A reminder that the 18th May is when I'll be able to reveal some BIG news for all photographers out there. I'm sworn to secrecy at this stage but I promise you it'll be worth the wait ;o)

3. Last bit of news is that finally the new site is as good as complete and ready to upload. We're just in the testing phase now and the 'go live' is scheduled for Friday morning (8th May) ... honestly, no really :o)

iPhone Photos
Thought I'd post a few more photos that I've taken recently using my iPhone; all of which are straight out of the phone i.e. all editing done 'in phone' using applications (no retouching on the computer).

Enjoy ;o)

Food Photography at The Draycott Hotel

2009-05-02T14:26:00.009Z

Thursday of last week I was in Chelsea, London at The Draycott Hotel photographing their new menu. (I'd been approached a couple of weeks previous by the General Manager John Hanna who had seen some of the food photography I'd done for The Cape in Beaconsfield).

The photographs I was taking are going to be used in a new 'Room Service' gadget being trialed at the hotel, where rather than just reading from a menu, guests will actually see examples of the food on a handheld electronic device and at the press of a button have it sent to their room ... all very impressive stuff.

I got to the hotel after a surprisingly stress free journey through rush hour traffic just after 8am and once I'd unloaded my kit had the obligatory coffee to start the day. John & his team were a great help and George, the Head Chef did an amazing job, cooking and preparing some beautiful food all day to be photographed.

All in all there were some 30 dishes photographed, and hand on heart I didn't pick at any of them; mind you I did devour a greek salad during a break for lunch which was delicious.

Technical Info:
To photograph the food I decided to use a table near to one of the large windows in the room because of the light coming in from outside. On the opposing side of the table I set up a Nikon SB800 Speedlight into a Lastolite Ezy Box. This way the food had light coming in from both sides and above; all I needed to do now was to soften the light coming in from outside and I did this by holding up a Lastolite 1 stop Tri Grip Diffuser. I shot using my D3 with a Nikon f/2.8 24-70mm lens on a tripod and also made use of a cable release to minimise the risk of any movement in the camera.

The SB800 (triggered using the Nikon CLS) was set to 1/16th power, so the recycle time was kept to a minimum and infact just the one flash was used for the entire day. I shot in Aperture Priority Mode throughout, varying between f/4.0 and f/5.0 so as to have a shallow (ish) depth of field.

*The photographs of George were taken using my Nikon 85mm f/1.4 lens and lit with an SB800 in close, camera left and fired into a closed reflective umbrella. The umbrella was closed to minimise 'spill' onto the back wall ;o)

iPhone Photo Gallery

2009-04-30T17:03:00.004Z

I'm a big believer that photography is one of those things that you can't just pick up every now and again and expect to improve; you need to be out as often as possible taking photos and pushing yourself to keep in that 'creative zone'. Now I know it's not always convenient to carry your camera round with you when you're popping out for the day, and let's face it a Nikon D3 doesn't exactly fit in your back pocket...so this is where my iPhone comes in. Granted, the resolution of the images it produces aren't up there with most DSLR's (yet) but that's not what it's there for; it's just that having it just keeps me looking for the next shot.

Here are just a few of the photos I've taken lately using my iPhone and edited 'in phone' (no photoshop).

Phoebe & George's Photo Shoot

2009-04-26T11:07:00.006Z

I've mentioned a few times in previous blog entries about our great neighbours: Steve & Edwina and their two children Phoebe (aged 12) & George (aged 10) whom both Anne and myself feel extremely blessed to have as great friends. Well this past week, wanting to make the most of the Bluebells that are around in their masses before they disappear for another year, I suggested that we all meet up for a bit of a 'social' - but also to take some photographs. I specifically wanted to take some nice shots for Steve & Edwina of Phoebe & George, not for any particular reason other than to say ... 'Thankyou'.

We headed up to Bluebell Woods with minimal kit and the photos attached are just some of the results we came up with.

The evening ended with a little drinky at the local public house (Hit or Miss, Penn Street); yet again a night of good fun and laughter in great company.

Technical Info:
Earlier in the week I photographed in Bluebell Woods using my Alien Bees R1600 Flash Head with large Octabox but this time opted for a more minimalist approach of one Nikon SB800 Flash Head and a Lastolite Reflective Umbrella. Reason being, with all the tree coverage this particular location needs a slow shutter speed to bring in some of the much needed ambient light. Consequently, to light the subject of the photograph doesn't need that much power, so the SB800 is more than capable ... especially when fired into a reflective umbrella. (See attached lighting diagram)

Gabriel Davies' VIP Tour of Heathrow Airport

2009-04-26T08:20:00.007Z

Thursday last week was the day when Gabriel Davies, along with his parents Christine & Dylan, was given the VIP treatment at Heathrow Airport. I mentioned briefly in an earlier blog about Gabriel but as promised, here's his story written by a close family friend:

Gabriel Davies is a toddler battling an extremely rare and aggressive cancer, he will be turning 4 years old on 11th April 2009. He was diagnosed with an Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid Tumour (AT/RT) of the brain and spine in August 2008. Gabriel became ill the day his baby sister, Imogen, was born. Gabriel’s parents were told on August 7th 2008 that he had two or three months to live, so the very fact that he is still with us today is an absolute miracle.

Following a lifesaving operation to remove the brain tumour last summer, doctors at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge, advised Gabriel's parents, that the cancer was so aggressive that palliative care was the only available option.

They took the heartbreaking decision to take him home to be with his family, but Gabriel was doing so well after two months on a low-dose chemotherapy that his team of doctors decided to attempt to treat the cancer on an intensive experimental chemotherapy regime. Gabriel's fighting spirit has carried him through and the tireless efforts of the team at Addenbrooke's resulted in an experimental treatment protocol being formulated. The doctors are not promising anything, but they are buying more time in the hope a new treatment becomes available, he has also recently undergone a stem cell transplant.

Gabriel has also been nominated for the Pride In Bedford Child Of Courage Award.

I was honoured to be asked to come along and document his visit by taking some photographs, in particular at the Airport Fire Station where the guys had, had a mini Fireman's Uniform made up complete with helmet. Amongst other things Gabriel was given a tour round the station, driven around in one of their huge Fire Engines and then taken to the training area where he let rip with a water canon. Airport Police also came along with some goodies and treated him to a ride round the airfield in their Police Car. Needless to say, the beaming smile on his face said it all.

Following his time spent with some of the Airport Emergency Services, Gabriel was then treated to all manner of things by BAA which included a trip inside the new Control Tower.

All in all, an incredibly humbling day and something special to see how everyone pulled together to make Gabriel's visit extra special, with not a dry eye in sight seeing this brave little boy having a really great time and smiling from ear to ear.

To keep up with Gabriel, his parents Christine & Dylan have created a blog which is updated on a regular basis: http://www.ourpreciousgabriel.blogspot.com/

Exposed - Episode 2 "Bluebell Woods"

2009-04-22T18:18:00.005Z

Following on from the post below about the shoot in Bluebell Woods, here's the second installment of our new 'behind the scenes' videos, this one titled: Exposure - Episode 2 "Bluebell Woods"

*Reminder: Pressing the HQ button in the video player window, plays a higher quality version.
Enjoy ;o)

A Little Angel in Bluebell Woods

2009-04-22T16:18:00.009Z

This past Monday evening I was out at a wonderful location by the name of Bluebell Woods in Buckinghamshire, photographing the daughter of a very good friend of mine Barry Payne and his wife Kerry. For a while now I've been promising Barry that I'd photograph his daughter Samantha; not for any particular reason other than thanking him for being such a good friend and someone I know I can call on anytime if I need help with anything.

I knew the kind of photo I wanted to create (fairytale etc...) all I needed to do was find the right location, and as luck would have it, Bluebell Woods was right on my doorstep although I'm ashamed to admit that despite having lived in the area for nearly 11 years I've only just found it (Note to self:Know your patch!!!). Still, better late than never and I'm sure after having photographed there this week, I will definitely be returning. I briefed Barry & Kerry with what I wanted Samantha to wear so that everything worked and they couldn't have got it more spot on; Samantha looked every bit the little Angel in a plain white summer dress; so, the rest was up to me....eeeeeekkkk :o) !!!!!!

We were 'shooting' for just over an hour before the evening sun started to disappear, so when it eventually gave it's final farewell we packed up and headed over to the local public house (the Hit or Miss) for a bite to eat. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable time spent with great friends, in a great location on beautiful summer evening...what more could you ask for ? :o)

The set up for these photos was nice and simple (see attached diagram): One(1) Alien Bees 1600 with a large Octabox affectionately known as Big Bertha providing the soft, dreamy light which was essential for these shots.

Enjoy ;o)

Latest News Odds n' Sods

2009-04-19T17:56:00.008Z

Hi All,
With all sorts of things going on and projects in the pipeline I thought I'd write a little post to keep you up to date:

Firstly, I want to thank my good friend Barry for helping me out yesterday with a much needed photo. My new website is virtually finished now (thank god) but one thing that was missing was a photo of myself that I wanted to feature on the 'About Me' page. Barry, as always was there to help out and the photo attached is what we came up with for a quick 'self portrait'. To be honest, I'm not sure of this is the final image I'll use, but hey it's a starting point. (*Note: as this picture would be a web page, the right hand side has purposely been given lots of space to allow for text)

I'm really looking forward to this coming week. I'm going to up at Bluebell Woods in Buckinghamshire; a stunning wood that's, wait for it....full of bluebells. It's too good an opportunity to miss so I've organised a couple of portrait shoots Monday & Thursday evening. (I'll be sure to blog the results)

Also, this coming Thursday I'm going to be photographing a very brave little boy by the name of Gabriel Davies at Heathrow Airport. I'll blog Gabriel's full story later in the week but to give you a brief background, Gabriel who is only 3 years old is suffering from an extremely rare and aggressive form of cancer (Atypical Teratoid Rhabdoid Tumour). BAA at Heathrow Airport have organised for Gabriel to be given a tour of the airport which will include a ride in one of the Airport Fire Service Fire Engines and I'll be going along to create a really memorable photo for Gabriel and his parents. I've got plenty of ideas, and I really can't wait. The photo shoot will be video'd too so I'll be sure to post everything here for you to see.

Other News: Friday this week I'll be announcing a competition that I'm calling 'Free Photo-Shoot Friday' so be sure to check back here for more details as the week progresses.

Finally, I'm going to be announcing something v.soon for all you photographers out there regardless of skill level. I can't say anything just yet but needless to say it's gonna be worth looking out for.

Anyway, I'll let you all get on now doing whatever it is you're doing and will catch up with you soon,
Enjoy ;o)

Parent & Child Relationship - Absolutely Priceless!

2009-04-12T16:08:00.005Z

Photography as I see it is all about capturing a moment, an emotion and a feeling and if there's one subject that can encompass all these it's the relationship between a parent and child. Every time I get the opportunity to photograph a family I think it's so important to create images that show that special bond because let's face it, in years to come without wishing to be depressing in any way, there will be a time when that 'someone' wont be around. Every time I look at photos I've taken of parents with their children I just think to myself how special it will be in years to come when that 'child' looks at that photo and I wonder what they'll feel.

Maybe I feel like this because I for one don't have photos like that, that I'll be able to look back on in later life but hey I could bore you to sleep talking about that ;o)

The 'Getting To Know You' Photo Shoot...

2009-04-12T13:20:00.008Z

This year has seen a few major changes in direction with regards to my photography; the main one being that I'm focusing on my Portrait & Editorial Work and pulling away from photographing weddings. That doesn't mean to say that I flat out 'will not' be photographing weddings, cos I will...it just means that I will limit myself as to how many. I'm a big believer that when it comes to photography you really can't be a 'Jack of all Trades'. In fact saying that you do 'everything' can have an adverse affect, because no-one can, so defining who and what you are is really important.

This year I've limited myself to 3 weddings and each has their own qualities as to why I've chosen to do them. They are all in fabulous locations as you'd expect but one in particular is at the gorgeous 'Matara' - a tranquil and beautiful venue set in 28 acres of woodland and parkland in the Cotswold Hills, Gloucestershire - a real gift for a photographer.

Another of the weddings I'm photographing is a Civil Partnership at the Frimley Hall Hotel & Spa for Brian Whyte & Chris Rivett. Being asked to photograph their big day means alot and I'm totally thrilled that they asked me to do so.

As with any wedding I think it's vitally important to do a photo shoot with the couple way before their big day for a host of reasons such as: giving an insight into how I work so there are no surprises on the day which also helps build trust; enables the client to get some great photos, again building trust and confidence and most importantly to help build a relationship so that everyone is that much more relaxed on the wedding day.

I've attached a few of the photos from Brian & Chris' photo shoot this week which was a blast. Brian aptly named it the 'Getting to know you' shoot, which I'm sure he wont mind me 'stealing'.

Enjoy ;o)

Family Portrait Shoot - Zaf Mughal

2009-04-07T06:31:00.010Z

Had a great time last Sunday on a family portrait shoot around Windsor and the WIndsor Great Park. Zaf Mughal, his wife Shabeen and daughter Zayna were great fun to work with and just went with the flow; just as well really as the first place we started taking photos wasn't the most picturesque location to look at (an industrial area at the back of some shops) but from a photography point of view was a gift. Here we were able to 'get into the groove' away from prying eyes and take some close-in / headshots before we ventured out into the 'public domain' but by then everyone was more relaxed anyway.

Before finishing off we set up a few flashes for a photo with their car and then headed over to the beautiful Windsor Great Park.

We were so lucky with the weather - bright sun & blue skies, so we picked out a prime location and started shooting. Just as well really as before we knew it, men in black overalls and balaclavas parachuted in and at gun point asked if we had a permit; ok, I'm exaggerating a little, but the warden in his Land Rover did have a stern expression on his face.

A few portions of humble pie later and we made tracks, but to be honest we'd finished anyway ... thankfully ;o)

"Exposed" - Episode 1

2009-04-05T07:08:00.011Z

"Exposed" aka "Behind the Scenes" is the name I've given to the series of videos we're going to be putting together from now on that give a quick peek at what goes into making some of the photos I post up here on the blog. This video is "episode 1" and as the first crack at this is just over 1 minute long. (Thanks to Big Dave, Lord McCutcheon and Johnny, or more appropriately, The Stig :o)

Can't wait to get more put together cos making it was great fun which I hope you see comes out in the video.

Enjoy ;o)

ps> Clicking on the HQ button in the video player below, shows the High Quality version.

Just a quickie ...

2009-04-04T07:48:00.003Z

Just a quickie ... Thought I'd post up this 'headshot' taken during the week of a guy by the name of Stuart Craggs, and also give you the 'heads up' that I'll be posting a short (and I mean short ... like 1 minute short) video of an equally brief photo shoot v.soon.

Geez, how many times am I gonna write the word 'head' in one post??? :o)

A Little Update ...

2009-04-01T07:56:00.005Z

The past week or so has been real busy 'topping' and 'tailing' a few things so I thought I'd just add this little post to give you a breakdown of what's been going on:

* Several meetings with the Fire Brigade, Ambulance Service, Police and British Airports Authority re the forthcoming 'Local Heroes' project ironing out such things as copyright issues, auditing of funds and so on. Looks like the project will start in early May which I can't wait for, so watch this space.

* This past week I've been out on a couple of recce's for upcoming photo shoots, one of which is this coming Saturday and should see the return of my smoke bombs.

* The new website although delayed, is well and truly on the way and I'm expecting (hoping) it will be ready to launch imminently with a few videos included.

* I'll soon be starting a 'Strobist' style group where photographers of all skill levels are welcome to come along to meets throughout the year to all sorts of venues for a day of photographing models. I'll be posting these details up on my Facebook, Twitter and Flickr pages.

So, plenty going on and no time to waste so I'll catch up with you soon,

Enjoy ;o)

> Here's another piccie from the shoot with Powerlifter Gareth Davies who is competing this coming weekend; go for it big fella ;o)

Sunset - Anytime, anywhere ...

2009-03-22T12:04:00.006Z

I get a real kick out of experimenting with flash photography; changing the light in a scene to give the final picture a completely different feel. (The photo attached is an example of what I mean). Yesterday morning I was out on a portrait shoot taking head & shoulders shots and when we were all finished, I couldn't resist trying out one more.

Despite it being a fabulously (is that a word???) sunny day with bright blue skies, I thought it would interesting to make a photo that gave the feel of an evening sunset, so ... make some adjustments in the camera, take one Nikon SB800 flash, some coloured gels and put it outside firing back into the house through a window with blinds in; add to that, a pressed, I mean willing client and voila :o)

Enjoy.

NB> Here's what the room looked like with the bright sun coming in through the window before I 'tweeked' it a little :o)

Gareth Davies - Powerlifter

2009-03-16T05:56:00.005Z

Friday of last week I spent some time photographing a guy by the name of Gareth Davies, who despite being an incredibly good powerlifter destined for BIG things, is incredibly modest and humble - and not forgetting very patient as we went from one area to the next around the gym.

This was more of a 'test' before we get together in the near future for a bigger 'on location' photo shoot where I'll be using a 24' England Flag amongst other things ... so watch this space :o)

Enjoy.

The Debonaires-Slideshow & Soundtrack

2009-03-13T08:21:00.006Z

I promised the guys from 'The Debonaires' that I'd add a slideshow on the blog for you all to see with photos from the album photo shoot we did a few weeks back ... but only if they gave me a sample from the album recording they did recently. Well, the guys came up trumps yet again so here it is. Enjoy :

Credit to the Sound Engineer Simon, from Hillside Studios for doing a wonderful job; can't wait to get a copy of the album :o)

Vettese Family Photo Shoot

2009-03-01T17:36:00.006Z

Yesterday morning I headed down the motorway for a photo shoot in Loxwood - a beautiful village in West Sussex and the home of Marco & Diana Vettese who three months ago were blessed with the birth of the son, Sam. I'd been contacted by Marco a few weeks ago but due to the freaky weather we've had lately, we had to postpone the 'shoot' until yesterday. So, with the sun shining I made my way down to them listening to some relaxing music by Slipknot, Linkin Park and others known for their calming, therapeutic tunes and arrived a little over one hour later.

I've said before in this blog that my work introduces me to some wonderful people and yesterday was no exception. Marco & Diana were incredibly welcoming and despite initially feeling a little self conscious having their photos taken, soon got into the swing of things. Baby Sam was an angel although he definitely let us know who was boss by deciding that enough was enough and went for a sleep half way through the shoot :o)

I've now starting adding some finishing touches to the shots but I thought I'd post a few of the results here for you to see in the mean time.

All in all another great day spent with great people ... thanks guys, oh and thanks so much for the food - you certainly didn't have to but my was I glad you did ... delicious :o)

*NB - This photo of Marco playing his guitar was taken during some 'time out'.