Sarah Hobbs Photographer

Above are some images that i have been looking at by a photographer called Sarah Hobbs.

www.sarahhobbs.net

I came across this photographer when we were asked by Chris in another session to have a look on the internet and try and identify what the next big thing in photography is.

I think the thing i like about these images are that they have a link to art. Ultimately art influences photography and photography influences art. I think people are making alot more things to photograph. For example, sculptures and room sets to photograph, instead of just photographing what is already there. I also just really like the fun nature and aspect of these images, it is something i would like to experiment with myself in there future. 

Images to document the visit to Adrian Heapy Photographic Studio

Adrian Heapy Photographic Studio - Belper

Today we travelled to Belper to see a photographic studio that is run by Adrian Heapy. At the moment there is just Adrian and another man called Kieran that work together at the studio. when we got there we were shown firstly to the main studio. I have to say that it was impressive, one of the biggest studio spaces i have ever seen. We went to this photographic studio because it takes on LIVE work all the time. There are not many of this type of studio left in the UK of the size. They specialise in Industrial, press, commercial and room sets.

When we first got there Adrian talked to us briefly telling us how long he has been in the business and about the studio. Adrian has been doing photography since he was 18 years old and he is now 60. so he has been successful at what he does for many years. He bought the building in 1999 and he owned the building the only cost he needs to worry about as regards to the building itself is the gas and electric. He did say that he has been made many offers over the years to lease the building out. However, he hopes to continue on with the business for at least another 8 years despite his age.

Downstairs there was the main studio and an area that consisted of all of his materials that he uses to build different room sets. Also downstairs there was a changing room for clients/models and a second smaller studio that is mainly used for still life and product shots. This area of the business is mainly left down to Kieran these days and Adrian concentrates mainly on the room sets. He admitted himself that he can use Photoshop well, however Kieran definately has the edge over him and ultimately knows how to do a lot more a lot quicker which is effective for there business.

Upstairs there was a media centre, this is where Adrian says he does his own post production and where clients will go to discuss projects. It was a very warm atmosphere, very homely with several desks and a few sofa's. Perfect for chatting with clients!!

We were also shown where he keeps all of his props. In the attic!! Everything that he has collected and used on different shoots over the years he has kept. it was pretty amazing and like he said if you are a photographer you are usually a little geeky and like collecting certain things. I must agree this is true. There were things from pots and pans, knick knacks, stones, bark, manikins, chandeliers, EVERYTHING!!


"ITS TOUGH TIMES, YOU JUST HAVE TO KEEP ON MOVING"

We were shown some of the catalogues that they have produced work for, anything from furniture, jewellery, lighting, food, and lifestyle work. This gave us an insight into the type of work that they produce and how it looks when it is printed and in its final form. Often though, Adrian said that they do not get to see the final product as it can be changed alot of times and very rarely are you sent an actual catalogue with your work in.

He also mentioned the fact that many clients give him very little to go on, they come to him with a brief, thats lets say is very brief. He did say though that he prefers it this way as he can have more of a creative input. He also mentioned that alot of looks are copied over time partly because fashion always tends to come back round again even if you think it never will!!


He said that just the other day he was asked for an image he took in 1977!!! Luckily he has everything archived so well that he was able to find the certain shot in five minutes. Adrian said that his archive has over 2.5 million photographs all named and dated.

Adrian basically said that he is a "master of all trades" and a very good "jobbing photographer".

the reason alot of there work now is from room sets is because it is very hard for somebody that doesnt have a studio that size to reproduce a room set like one of Adrian's. So many people these days think that they are professional photographers, thats why sometimes now photography isnt classed as a highly paid skill like it used to be many years ago.

He Spoke honestly and said that 90% of the work you will do as a "jobbing photographer" is all pretty much machine like. You have to have a quick turn around to keep the client happy and so that they will use you again in the future.

A few pointers about working with clients:

• Always recieve payment off the client before you hand over the images.
• Always check out peoples background before you work with them.
• Also check out your local competition and know what they are doing so you know how to improve your work and appear "better" than them when a new client approaches you.
• He doesnt like working with advertising agencies because he likes to get paid!! :)
• Have terms of contract and conditions nailed down other things can get messy on the legal side of things.
• He wont photography anyone under the age of 18 without the parent being present at the time of the shoot.
• He also wont photograph a female model on his own in the studio, always has someone else with him at the time of the shoot.
• You have to educate your client on different looks you could create and always offer them alternatives.

AND FINALLY INFORMATION IS KING!!!

After we had an extensive talk with Adrian about alot of different areas in photography and his studio. We then went into the second smaller studio to be shown some of the Photoshop techniques used in the studio by Kieran.
I have to say i was very impressed by Kieran's Photoshop skills. He seemed to know alot and i was kind of overwhelmed by how much he knew.

When asked about how he got into photography he said he did an apprenticeship about 15 years ago and that he would definately recommend it to future photographers.

He mentioned something called.....


CLIPPING PATHS

He said that if you know how to use this on Photoshop then it gets you out of a lot of tricky situations and makes your life alot easier. clipping paths are used to cut out products from images. For example he showed us an image of a chair that has been took in the studio. When the image was placed against a pristine white background the other background looked grey. That is where he used the clipping path to cut out the chair and place it onto another background. He did say that he uses clipping paths all of the time so it is definately something that we should be learning how to use if we want to seriously go into the photography business.

He said that he also always uses layers on his images in Photoshop and always saves the images as PSD,TIFF,RAW,JPG amongst other formats. He showed us the way that they archive and sort out there work and the different folders that they use when a new client comes in. Basically they have a default folder and everything is the same for every client but the work is obviously different.

Another thing that he said you should use to your advantage are stock photos. He showed us an image of a model they had took in the studio and then he used the clipping path to cut her out and placed her on a stock photo. You would never know that it had ever been Photoshopped. Sometimes sets are just too expensive to create and take alot of money and resources, so other people use your photography to there advantage so why shouldnt you use stock photos when you really need to for a certain client. I was shocked that this is the case but i was pleased that he was so honeset about the type of work they produce at the studio.

Chris Whitehead - Photographer

I have not long ago come across the website of Chris Whitehead, he has been a photographer for many years and photographs a wide variety of imagery. From portraits, to charity work to medical photography. 

As i am interested in medical photography i thought i would take a look, his images i really like. I like his portraits a lot and i am interested in the medical work he has done for and in hospitals. I am thinking about getting in touch with him about the work he does and how he has got into take medical imagery. 

Above are some of his portraits which i really love. I love the feel they have to them and the quality of the images and the skin tone is lovely. I would be taking a lot of portraits in medical photography and this is something i would like to progress with. 

These are some of the medical photography shots that he has taken, it is quiet hard to find actual names of photographers that take medical photography on the internet. Whether that be just general photography in the wards or different photography of patients.

Medical/Clinical photography as a career

I am now very interested in becoming a medical photographer, i have done alot of research that i have compiled together in a folder and this is what i took with me when i went for the meeting with Alan Greenman - Head of The Medical Photography Department - Burton Queens Hospital. 

I have just got together a selection of images that represent what medical/clinical photography is and a few screen shots of the IMI website which stands for the institute of medical illustrators. This website has been very useful for my research that i have been doing over the past year and Alan seemed impressed that i already knew about this and possible career routes before i went to meet him at the hospital. 

NHS WORK/MEDICAL PHOTOGRAPHY POSSIBLE CAREER CHOICE

As i have said before previously on my Tumblr i have been researching into medical/clinical photography for the past year.

Recently i became aware that the head of the photography department at Burton Queens Hospital Alan Greenman, was looking for a few students to photograph an annual awards event and produce portraits of the staff that work there in there working environments. Also taking some general photography on the wards once he gets clearance for a student to photograph on the different wards.

I will be doing this work alongside another student that is on my course, I have been in contact with Alan via email and i arranged to have a meeting with him last tuesday. 

The meeting went very well, and i have to say Alan was very welcoming and i learnt and was shown a lot. I took with me my research that i have gathered together on medical photography and ways of progressing into this career and the type of work that they produce. Alan seemed really impressed that i had researched and knew so much about quiet a lot of the things he was talking about to me.

He mentioned that he is part of the IMI which i already knew was the institute of medical illustrators, and he also talked about a book that he and other members of the institute had put together. It is a book for medical photographers detailing the different positions for different parts of the body, basically a handbook to always refer too. I already knew about this book from the research that i have done and i think he was pleasantly surprised to find that i already knew about it.

After a brief chat about what i would be photographing and also a look at the research i had collected and me asking him about his career path and how he has progressed within his field, he showed me around the department. He showed me all the different software, printers and equipment that they use. I was then shown the studio and the different backdrops that they generally use, as well as the database that they use to store all patients photos on. I was introduced to the other two clinical photographers that were working at the time, and i also asked them about how they got into the profession, how long they had been doing it and what they thought were the best aspects of the job.

I knew that having this meeting and getting a feel for the place and the atmosphere would definately make my mind up whether this was the career for me or not. 

And it did just that….. I am definately wanting to go into this career and i am very excited about the work that i will be doing for the NHS and also anything that could come from it. 

Alan said that even though there are no positions available at the moment. (of course i have not completed this course yet so am not looking to apply for a trainee position until middle or end of next year). He did say that doing this work will look very good on my CV and be great for my portfolio when i do go and apply for jobs as a trainee because other candidates may not have this kind of work before they apply for a trainee post. 

Overall… EXCITED! :)