Speaking with Mr Steve

After once again speaking with Steve about my style and who i am as a photographer, my mind seems very boggled. I do know what i like to photograph i just need to find out where this can take me within the world of photography. 
Mr Steve and i talked about the wedding photography i have done and how i can put my own spin on them with my interests. This would enable me to get the shots that the client wants and then also create images with a spin on them that would be good for my portfolio. 


I am interested in close up macro work, lines and the abstract nature of the world. I love urban landscapes and architecture but i need to understand where this can get me in the commercial world. 
I told Mr Steve this week about my interest in medical photography and he said although this is great that i am thinking about this, to keep this seperate from the work i am producing for him. I explained about my confusion with how i would gain work that would stand me in good stead for if i had an interview or was showing my work to the NHS. He said this was a tricky one for gaining for specifically for this area, however by showing that i am into detailed shots and also showing my use of lighting techniques and individuality they would know that i was good at doing what i do. 


Because i like to work close up and personal, Mr Steve said that maybe jewellery shots would be a good thing for me to look into as this is looking at detail and lines but in a different way. I had not thought about this and i might look into this in the future.


As i have just moved to Derby i am definately going to try and find some companies possibly architectural/industrial. That i could possibly find some work from, i may also look into the jewellery idea, as now Mr Steve has suggested it i really like the idea of doing something like this. 


In the meantime, Mr Steve has told me to find a model and photograph her in a certain place. Looking at the architecture and detail of a certain building and the colours and trying to create a different style image. Ultimately.. how can i get the model looking great but with a interesting architectural abstract twist. This will link back to how i can create a different style for when i shoot weddings. 

Clients : Country Clothing

As a group we were asked to take some images for Country Clothing, this was not a real brief really, just one set up for the purposes of uni and meeting criteria for our marking. However, it did give us experience with photographing clothes and making them look there absolute best. The images would be used in the companys magazine and on the internet i think, so we had to make sure the images were of a high standard and also think of a few individual ways to photograph the clothes and hats that we were provided with.

I worked with three other members of the first year and these are a few of the images that we took on the day. Overall was a very good experience and enabled me to see just how hard it is to do the clothes justice!!!

Clients : Eden Project

Last year on my first year of the foundation degree, me and the rest of the group, some of us from the first year and some from the second year were asked to produce imagery for The Eden Project in Cornwall. The imagery was going to be used to re-vamp there website and give an excited new vibe and overall feel to the website. We were asked to take images of the whole place, which let me tell you was a pretty big place. We were asked to get shots of the biomes, the gardens, product shots, people experiencing the place.. every aspect of the place.

We went down to Cornwall and stayed there for the whole week so we could have as much time as possible to photograph the place. Overall i really enjoyed the experience and i think i ended up with some great shots overall!

Here are a few of my images from the week at The Eden Project:

So there is a selection of the type of images that i took for The Eden Project, i was really happy with the images that i took and one of my images was used on the website.

( Sorry that all my images run down in the middle of the post, I Could not for the life of me figure out how to get them all side by side... I am definately new to this blogger business.. Maybe someone will show me at a later date... )

Clients - Weddings

As we have been asked by Steve to put a variety of work from different clients we have had onto this blog.. I thought i would start by showing a selection of images from the weddings i have photographed. In total i have photographed four weddings now and i am gradually getting more confident with each wedding i do. It is a huge ammount of pressure as the couple you photograph are putting all of there trust into you to produce the shots and capture there special day. I do like shooting weddings i would just like to make myself different from other wedding photographers and stand out from the rest. Ultimately i know this will be hard but i am up for the challenge!!

Here are some more images from another wedding that i shot..

These are a selection of four images from another wedding that i shot, i really the look and feel of black and white images for wedding photographs. I did work with my digital Canon camera for all the weddings that i have shot, just because it is alot easier and quicker to get the shots you need. As the day is so important, i do not want to miss out on one of the many important moments during the day. I admire photographers years ago who shot on film and did a few weddings a day! That is remarkable and definately not my idea of fun! 

 I usually shoot in colour and then turn the images black and white afterwards in Photoshop. I usually supply the images to couples on disc and ask them if they would like me to create an album for there photographs. I have created albums for two of the weddings that i have done and the other two have just had the images on a disc and then printed there own photographs out at a later date. It is hard work produing a wedding album for a couple, as you want to get it looking absolutely perfect.

I have really enjoyed all of the weddings that i have shot but i want to put my stamp on then too, not in a way as to take away from the images and make them look really wacky or crazy. Just add an element of surprise to the images, make them a little different so that they dont look like everybody else's wedding shots. I think it can be hard in these modern times to be taken seriously as a wedding photographer as good cameras are more widely available and cheaper than they would have been years ago. People can easily judge and say that anybody who was a guest at the wedding with a camera could take wedding photographs. However, i do not think this is the case and i can tell from a wedding photograph if the person that took the image is a good photographer or just had a good camera that can do the work for them essentially.





After speaking with Mr Steve...

After speaking with Mr Steve about what i have been doing recently, as regards to weddings and model portfolios and also the fact that i want to take my love of abstract, lines and colour further by researching into industrial and architectural photography.
He then said that i should put work on here that i am proud of and the work that shows what i do best, then put other work on that i am interested in after researching more into architectural photography.


I am going to work towards finding a link between all three and thinking about how i can incorporate my specialist area (e.g abstract, colour, lines and light) into wedding and portfolio work to give the images a more unique feeling and to show MY style within the work as well as it being individual for the persons wedding or portfolio.

Who have i worked with

Whilst i was on the National Diploma i entered a competition with a small group for the car brand Chevrolet. We ended up winning the UK competition and then went on to win the European one too. It involved us taking a chevrolet car on location and making our idea which was an Alice In Wonderland theme into a reality. I do like commercial work like this, however it is not my favourite type of photography.


On the first year of the course i have worked with clients such as The Eden Project, The National Forest,  and a country clothing company.


In my own time i have done several paid weddings and paid location shoots for some of my friends who have wanted images for modeling portfolios. I did a wedding for a woman who i knew and then from there i have photographed two other weddings.. if you do a good job then people recommend you to other friends or family of theirs and ultimately thats how my other wedding jobs have came along.
At the moment i am in talks with a friend of mine who is looking for me to create studio and location images for her new modeling portfolio. We are in discussion about the types of images that she wants and locations she is interested in. I have told her to research into looks and locations she likes and then we are going to meet up and discuss dates and times when we are both available for shoots.


If i have the choice and i go out and take photographs by myself i am always looking at buildings and the different ways that colour and light make places look. I am interested in abstract photography and seeing the world in a different way, at a different angle and perspective. i like to look at the fine details and this had made me think that i would really like to try my hand at industrial photography and architectural work. Looking at exteriors and interiors. I like clean lines and bold colours so i think this would be a good avenue for me to pursue.


I have recently just moved to Derby so i am going to research into photographers in the area that produce industrial and architectural imagery. I am really excited about this because Derby is a much bigger place than Burton and i am keen to explore the opportunities it has for me in the areas i am interested in. I hope that i can find some interesting companies and photographers in Derby and hopefully some clients!

New Blogger - Client Response

Second day back on the Foundation Degree and we are with Mr Steve on a wednesday evening, after talking to us briefly about what we are going to be doing i have learnt that we must find our own clients and write about the work that we do and links that we find on this blog. We are not going to be given any work by Mr Steve, we must find all work ourselves! This is kind of scary, but at the same time very exciting!


All of us have been told to create this blog, as we will be keeping all work on here and following each other as well as the blogspot for the Foundation Degree which is where we will find out about all assignments and Mr Steve can keep up to date with all the work we are doing easily and at any time.


So lets get blogging..... !!