April 7th 2010 - Inspiration

Photography is an art - as with any art, inspiration is key to fresh expressions and ideas.

The danger with photography now days is that many cameras do all the work, therefore, without fresh ideas and styles, all photography could end up being extremely similar.

I've broken down taking a 'cutting edge' photo into 3 stages:

1) The basic concepts of photography - without these you run the risk of ending up with useless photos, for example taking into account the rule of thirds, exposure, lighting, focus etc.

2) The research stage - what do you want to achieve? Look at other people's photos - what part of the composition is it which stands out? The lighting? Location? Makeup? Editing?

3) Bring together the research with the basic concepts and experiment. Don't be scared of breaking the mould and trying new things. If working with people why not try sites like purestorm and netmodel, sites like these are great - you can find models who will work on a Time for prints or Time for CD basis (TFP/TFCD) this basically means, you will get the models time for free in return for the photo's you have taken.

Photographers who have inspired me:

Dave Hill - http://www.davehillphoto.com/
Jeremy Cowart - http://www.jeremycowart.com/
Koen Demuynck - http://www.koendemuynck.com/

January 8th 2010 - PHOTOSHOP AND WEDDINGS

This is relevant to both photographers and to the couple to be. In most photographic studios these days, photoshop is a key step in the 'photo-creating' process.

Here's some things to consider with photoshop and wedding photos...

Photoshop is brilliant at so many different things, however, do you really need all of its available effects in one photo? Be selective about which effects you use/ask the photographer for. Effects can make or break an image. A simple black and white or sepia filter can really bring a photo to life.

2) 'Touching-up' the photo. Touching the photo up is fine, adjusting contrast, removing some glaring faults etc. but don't go mad airbrushing anything that has a pulse. Personally, I don't agree with airbrushing - especially in wedding situations, the bride will ALWAYS look beautiful on the day, don't ruin those epic photos by making her look like a barbie doll. A message to the bride-to-be: although the media gives you the impression you need to have the fake 'magazine cover' image, you don't - your true beauty is in those 'blemishes' such as moles, lumps and bumps etc. they make you YOU!

3) If it needs THAT much work it probably isn't worth picking it. If a photo needs lots of editing, colour correction, focussing, sharpening, exposure correction, lighting correction etc. Then the chances are - you need to pick a different photo! Sometimes the editing is included in the photographers package, other times you pay by the hour/photo. Do you really want to be paying a photographer to edit that one photo which looks like a 5 year old could have taken it better? Just be sensible with which photos you pick in the first place, there should be LOTS to pick from so don't waste time thinking 'if only' on every photo.

4) Don't be afraid to ask the photographer to edit certain things if that's what you want. You are paying the photographer to photograph your dream day in a way that YOU want. If you want that nightmare spot that miraculously appeared on the day, to be removed off every photo - then ask for it! Any digital photographer should be able to edit at that simple level. However, that said, you need to ensure this service is included in the wedding package you negotiate!

So there's a few things to think about! Happy new year!

December 20th 2009 - PRINTS OR DIGITAL MEDIA?

Prints or digital media?

The main difference between photographers these days is whether they offer prints/albums or whether they offer the photos on CD.

Obviously there are a few different reasons photographers provide the photos in these different ways:

• Providing the photos only on a CD is cheaper for the wedding party - prints are costly from the photographer. Ordering the prints takes time and obviously the printing costs money - the photographer will want a big cut of the profit if he/she is to order the prints. If you have a CD you have the ability to reproduce the photos, print them, use them on social networking sites etc. (you need to check what your rights to the photos are with each individual photographer)
• Longevity - There are bound to be couples who have got married, been given a CD and the photos are still sat on that CD. For many people, having a physical wedding album on the coffee table is a must have whereas for others, as long as the photos are safe on a disk to show their grandchildren, that's all that matters!
• As mentioned in the first point, you have all the photos which you can print on a CD - anyone who attended the wedding (or maybe didn't) who wants some prints doesn't have to pay to order them from the photographer - you can email them or copy them for anyone who might want a copy. It makes it cheaper/easier all round.

December 19th 2009 - WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHY, THE END RESULT

As a wedding photography, ultimately, all clients care about is the end result. Yes they care about the pre-wedding meetings, your attitude and presentation on the day, the way you treat guests etc. However, it's the end result the client is worried about.

So what can I do to improve the 'end result' (commonly known as the photos)?

• Ensure that the ushers/groom/best man is presented appropriately: is the boutonniere straight/at the right level, are all of their collar wings inside/outside of the jacket, does one of the grooms men have their hands in their pockets? Often with the grooms men, they aren't checked as much as the bridesmaids. The bridesmaids are often checked by their makeup artist, the hairdresser or the bride - often the grooms men are left to their own devices. When those photos come back and one of the ushers has his hands in his pockets and the others don't - it's you (the photographer) that they'll come back to. When one of their boutonniere's has dropped - it's you they'll come to. Before you take the photo, double check and triple check that the grooms men you are taking the photo of, are looking how they should look and are all matching.
• Check the background - I saw some wedding photos the other day where the photographer hadn't cropped (or photoshopped) out a very prominent disabled access sign infront of a beautiful set of church doors. Also, a photo with half of a church and half of a road is not going to be the ideal group photo background. Just think and then check BEFORE you take the photo. You only get one shot - a couple of extra seconds double checking everything isn't going to annoy the happy couple.
• Simple one - make sure EVERYONE is looking at you when taking the photos - it's extremely annoying when you look at the photos afterwards and the only decent photo has one person looking at their shoes. Just check!
• Make sure you've got a clean lens! Incredibly simple but one smudge can completely ruin most of the photos!
• Finally...LOVE YOUR JOB. If you love your job it'll show, if you aren't enthusiastic about being a wedding photographer this will show in your photos. Even if as soon as you get in the car to go home, you switch to grumpy mode, at least act enthusiastically whilst at the wedding. You can make a huge difference to the experience of the day, afterall, you are most likely the main professional at the wedding that all of the guests will come into contact with.

December 18th 2009 - PHOTOGRAPHERS RIGHTS

The laws on photography these days are extremely mirky waters.

Specifically photography of national treasures and infamous buildings, photography of childeren and even photography of the general public. With such unclear boundaries it's vital that photographers understand where the boundaries lie.

There have been many stories in the press about people who have been cautioned by police (read one here) for simply photographing famous tourist attractions such as the Houses of Parliament, Tower Bridge, The London eye. It seems even the Police are unfamiliar with the laws regarding photography.

Read this link to learn your rights as a photographer.

This recession has seen a hue variety of changes.

Just today I read about a producer from Uraguay who prouced a sci-fi film for just £186. Purely form that video, he has been commisioned to produce a hollywood film with a pay-cheque of £18.6m. Read more here on the bbc news website.

With new, low cost technology enabling such high quality results, why should individuals be paying so much for services? Well, in some cases, this is very true - beans are beans are beans, however, your wedding day - do you really want a 'Tesco's Savers' wedding? Yes, you want a low cost, good value service - but if you want a professionally photographed wedding with results you'll be more than happy with and photos with longevity, then it costs money.

Our wedding photography service offers an extremely low cost alternative to many specialist and often rip-off photographers. We've all seen the photos - out of focus, motion blur, people looking away, badly cropped!

Dorset Wedding Photography don't expect to be booked for every wedding, however, we highly reccomend that you thoroughly check portfolios of wedding photographers before you even consider a booking, obviously this is commong sense, but do you really want to end up with results like this couple received at their wedding in October 2009

Tip of the day: Check your potential wedding photographers portfolio!