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On Frames

July 13, 2011 in Words with 10 Comments

I studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics at University. My first proper job was managing a small Italian restaurant. Two of my regular customers ran a stockbrokers and they offered me a position in their business, which I took. Six years later, after the tech bubble burst and the brokerage was bought out by a large Canadian bank, I went to a Facilities Management firm as Business Information Director. I worked there until the end of last year.

This is relevant because the following post might be achingly obvious to anyone who’s walked a more ‘artistic’ road. I’m a little lacking in the Fine Art History stakes. I know Van Gogh hacked an ear off and that a Picasso is a French car for people that don’t like driving. And that’s about it.

A beach, earlier this week...

10 Things Photographers Do Online That Amuse Other Photographers

June 27, 2011 in Words with 12 Comments

We all do a little bit of self promotion. But every time you try and subtly mislead your market or indulge in a little bit of self aggrandising you raise a knowing smile from another professional photographer.

On Style

June 23, 2011 in Words with 0 Comments

This isn’t much of a rant, so if you’re after a daily dose of vitriol you’ll have to go and read the Daily Mail’s letters page instead.

Image, style and public perception are critical to anyone that has any kind of media profile. The need has been around as long as the concept of celebrity itself, but the sheer number of mediums that require an accompanying photograph is increasing with each new social media channel.

Facebook, Twitter, Websites, Blogs, Wikipedia – they all demand an image to present a public face to the world

So why do so many people in the public eye either get it so wrong or simply not see the value of appropriate, relevant photography?

For a recent commission I did some background research on how celebrity hair stylists present themselves in the media. The results were interesting so I thought I’d share some thoughts.

On Associations

June 9, 2011 in Words with 20 Comments

Anybody can be a professional photographer

There are no professional barriers to entry, no minimum standards, no accredited associations, no qualifications needed, no regulatory industry body.

There are, however, various clubs you can join to confuse clients into thinking that there is some kind of regulation, and that you’ve been accredited as reaching some kind of notional standard.

Official looking logos and acronyms always look good on websites and business cards, so I had a look at some of the most popular photography clubs.

I almost wished I hadn’t.

On Portfolios

May 27, 2011 in Words with 3 Comments

“Hey – do you do model portfolios?”

That question is probably the one I’m asked more than any other, simply because more people are in a position to ask that than “Hey, will you shoot my high profile advertising campaign over a week in the Maldives?”. They see how I’ve made other girls and boys look and want a piece of it.

And yes, certainly for the moment, I do shoot portfolios. I’m good at them – I can bring out the good things in models, emotions and expression, fierceness and aesthetic. Power. I’m not so good at ‘polaroids’ – the static, wistful B&W head shots with hair swept back and eyes fixed straight ahead. Headshot, three quarter length, full length. Strappy top and jeans. I’m happy to leave those to the agencies to take in their basement – actually on a real polaroid (no skin retouching needed – the magic fairy inside every polaroid camera does that) or a point and shoot. I’ve chosen models for commercial work based purely on their polaroids – they’re the most valuable shots in a new face’s book. They tell me what I need to know.

On Blogging

May 23, 2011 in Words with 0 Comments

No, I haven’t given up already – just been genuinely busy with jobs since musing On Glamour photography…so as a quick ‘filler’ post I’ll tell you what I’ve been up to.

Do you know how long an off-the-cuff diatribe actually takes to write? Literally several minutes, and I just haven’t got that time right now…

I don’t usually open my diary up – incessant Facebook posts about all the amazing things people are up to grate on me and I figure I can’t be the only one, but at least here you have the choice to read it or just go look at some photos instead.

On Glamour Photography

May 13, 2011 in Words with 16 Comments

About a year ago my mother dropped into conversation that she’d told her friend I was a glamour photographer. I hit the roof.

I shoot commercial and editorial fashion, beauty, my cat and the very occasional sunset – but surely I don’t shoot glamour. Do I?

It doesn’t help matters that, as with most genres, there is no fixed ideal of what ‘glamour’ photography is – it’s simply another labelled bucket for people to throw things into. The connotations though are definitely slightly negative – “oh, he shoots glamour” is seldom spoken with the same respect that someone might say “oh, he shoots high fashion”. In fact it’s often on a par with “oh, he shoots donkey porn”.

I’ve tried before to think of a suitable term for that side of my photographic identity. Fashion models who want me to shoot in that style call it ‘edgy fashion’. Great, but vest tops, slogan tees, watermelons and toasters have never been the height of fashion. Plus, I still have no idea what ‘edgy’ actually means.

Edgy Fashion...

On Exposure

May 4, 2011 in Words with 11 Comments

No Money for Old Rope

Photographers are driven by different motives to shoot. But one driver is common across every photographer I’ve ever met – the desire to have their work seen

There’s an extension from that, to having their work appreciated and acclaimed, but the first step in the chain is simply having it seen.

At its most basic, what’s the first thing that you do in the pub once you’ve snapped your friend having his eyebrows shaved off? You show the picture on the phone’s screen. “That’s a good one”. Debatable, but the social pattern is set. The only person who agrees it’s actually shit is the bloke with one eyebrow. And even then he means it’s a shit picture of him, not a shit picture per se. There you have the digital workflow in a nutshell – identify a scene, shoot it, display it and get instant feedback.

On Photoshop #1

May 1, 2011 in Words with 12 Comments

Photographer or Digital Artist?

When people look at your images what’s the first thing they’re reacting to, your photography or your photoshoppery?

Every blog by every photographer will likely cover their views on Photoshop, retouching or digital art at some point, so I’ll get mine out of the way early. In some ways it defines who I am as a photographer, so it’s a good place to start.

This isn’t written for professionals – they’ll have realised most of what I have to say years ago and formed their own opinions – but to anyone who’s approached photography through the same self taught route and insulated online communities as I have it might strike a chord.

When I first started looking with interest at fashion, advertising and commercial photography I couldn’t understand the popularity of Terry Richardson, Juergen Teller, Martin Parr. Anybody can do that. Anybody could have taken those snaps. I looked at the great and the good on Model Mayhem and marvelled at the highly polished images (because that’s what you do when you start out and haven’t had the benefit of doing an Art Foundation course to give you a clue).

Fast-forward to today, and I appreciate the real genius of Mssr’s Richardson, Teller & Parr as photographers. Equally, I can see why the majority of internet photographers never quite make it whilst technically inferior photographers (in their view) regularly shoot high profile campaigns.

The Photographer’s Other Eye (#1)

April 27, 2011 in Words with 0 Comments

Floating My Boat

Loaded Magazine – for helping me feed the family this month
Liam Bailey (Plan A?), Luke Fenlon and rediscovering The Grey Album – perfect music for the start of summer
Models that can actually Model – and grasp that the image isn’t just about them
Lavazza ‘Il Perfetto Espresso’ straight from a Bialetti Moka pot just before the boil – a garage full of broken Gaggia’s prove that basic is sometimes just better. And Illy is just way too overpriced for photographers to afford.
Girl Management – probably the most down to earth models in the world, they just deliver
Shooting outdoors again – there’s only so much white studio wall a man can shoot. It’s clearly far more interesting shooting white walls outside

Liam Bailey for Loaded

Bialetti

Amii @ Girl

Sinking My Ship

Chasing Invoices – November is so last year
Creating literature – I would happily just rip off other people’s booking forms, portfolios and flyers – but I can’t find any that aren’t a bit shit
Facebook Photo Critics – ‘Amazing shot!’ – um, no it really isn’t, and you’ll just encourage them
Models that Bitch – Online and on Facebook. Except ModelBitch, who’s fairly amusing and at least putting some effort into her bitching
Photographers that Bitch – Online and on Facebook. Except me.
SEO – shit floats, apparently. However it may be a while before Google develops totally subjective rankings based solely on my perception of image quality…