The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics are fast approaching… and with all these patriotic outdoor festivities, and so much to share with the rest of the world, the Great British Weather is proving its usual tricky self! I thought I would share one more shot from my day trip to Greenwich as it seems to sum up the mood of the nation at the moment!!

I had a great day out last week in Greenwich with four other photographers from all round the country who enjoy street photography as a chance to unwind and do something they enjoy without the pressure of paid work. There was plenty of banter,  equipment talk and tea stops.  Once back we then share our pictures… and it’s amazing how each of us sees things differently.

I had the honour to be asked to photograph a wedding taking place in the village in which I live. The bride and groom had gone out of their way to make it a local affair, using a local house and caterer for the reception, a florist from the village (Paula Rooney Weddings – www.paularooney.co.uk - I can highly recommend), myself for the photographs and even using the village shop to supply the wine.

I had the incredible privilege of attending a lighting workshop by Faye and Trevor Yerbury on Tuesday. I have admired their work for a while now and couldn’t believe my luck when a photographers group I belong to organised a day with them.  Six of us attended and had plenty of fun and laughs while learning some simple and effective techniques for bringing out the very best in clients. Below are some of the pictures from the day:

On Saturday I was asked to take part in a WI craft afternoon. The WI in my village charged £1 entry to the village hall, a free cup of tea and a cake, to see the different skills that the members have between them. There were beautiful examples of painting, needlework, baking and jewellery making… infact it was very enlightening to see what my neighbours are up to! I was also pleased to be asked along because not everyone sees photography as an art form.

A machine does capture the image, but it is the work of the photographer in seeing a picture, composing the shot and choosing the right ‘settings’ to get the effect that would best suit the subject. Do they want a clear background ot one out of focus to ensure the subject stands out? Where is the frame is the best place for the subject? How to use the light to greatest effect to make the subject interesting?Black and white or colour? Etc etc etc…..The difference between a good photograph and a snap is often about the work that has gone into creating a picture, not just a lucky snap. That is why you pay professional photographers for their work rather than taking them yourself. Good photograpphy is not about having a goodcamera. It is what you do with the camera that makes a photograph a great picture.

Straight forward advertising here… I have some new card designs out! Whilst I have been off the scene having lost my voice for a very long twenty one days, I did make the best of the get well soon flowers I received and photographed the blooms.  I have tried to make the pictures as bold and vibrant as possible but keeping the colours true. Printed on high quality card they should cheer up anyone’s day.

I am probably about to make sweeping generalisations here…. Many of the men whose photography I admire use lots of lights to create fantastic dramatic images and to make the very best of their models. On the whole, the women whose pictures I love use natural light where ever possible and a flash gun if necessary.

On the forums the men are usually into the gadgets. They know about all the latest cameras on the market, they have a wish list of models they want, they know the benefits and disadvantages of all the software packages and keep up to date with new developments. The girls say they need something and the men always come back with a list of options for them to try.

I am not afraid of all the gadgetry, although it can be very intimidating and wildly expensive, but I hate the complexity of it all. You can’t just put on a light, it has to have a stand, a trigger lead or a wireless trigger system. It needs to link to another light, as one is rarely enough and three is even better. The lights have to be pointing in the right direction, the shadows just so (that is what makes a photograph after all!!) and to know just how much light is required you need a light meter. Diffusers, soft boxes, umbrellas, snoots, barn doors and reflectors… Come to think of it, using a simple flash gun gets equally as complicated when you use it properly!

Anyway, the point of this ramble is to tell you that I dusted off my lights (which I share with my good friend, Mandy)and found some willing volunteers to let me play with them in my portable studio. Helping another photographer, who I work for occasionally, set up his lights seems to have helped me overcome my dislike of wires, cables and triggers and I was set up in five minutes… and here is the result!

For this picture of Emily I used one light with a soft box. She has the most amazing skin so I made the image very ‘contrasty’ when I converted it to black and white so that it was black and white, not shades of grey. The pictures of me that I took however are in shades of grey because my poor old sun damaged skin can’t handle all its faults being exaggerated in any way! I may share them in a later post…

The problem with being a photographer is that that we are our own worst critics, which is good because it means we constantly try to do things better.  I try to attend some kind of training event regularly with tutors whose work I admire, I belong to photographic forums and groups where I am surrounded by years of experience and advice, and I look at literally hundreds of photographs for ideas and to learn. Funnily enough, when I left school I thought I had enough of learning, but now that I have found an interest that is rapidly turning into a passion I can’t get enough of it!

I think people choose a photographer on the pictures they see and not the qualifications they have. There are so many photographic qualifications out there they are fairly meaningless to most outside the industry, and if I were going to choose a photographer I would want to see their portfolio, not their certificates, to see that they produce consistently good images in a style that I like. I used to think that anyone with a fairly good eye for a picture and a half decent camera could make a quick buck and that most photographers charge way more than is reasonable… that was before I decided to set up in business… and discovered how much money is required to set up a professional service in terms of kit, how much time it takes to produce photographs people love and just how much hard work it takes to be technically of a standard to ensure that you can consistently come up with ‘the goods’!

I digress! So, being of the opinion that qualifications are a ‘nice to have’ and not a necessity, I surprised myself by submitting twenty of my pictures for qualification with the Guild of Photographers… and was delighted that to find that I am now a ‘Qualified’ member of the Guild, and not just a member! I still think that my potential customers will choose or reject me as a photographer based on the work they see, but  The Guild of Professional Photographers have seen fit to award me ‘a qualification level which indicates competence to the level that the public should be ‘pleased with the results’ when employing the services of a “Qualified” photographer. In other words ‘Qualified’ means ‘competent’ and those who achieve that level should be proud of doing so.’

And do you know what? I am still my own worst critic… but I am a little bit proud!

I don’t feel right about sharing my weekend’s work on the blog so I have tried a different angle… I was photographing a Freestyle Disco competition and, although this is my second, I still find them rather alarming. I worked for another photographer and concentrated on taking shots of the dancing while he did studio portraits and winners photographs. The girls themselves love the events, this is clear to see. The dressing up, the competition and the chance to cheer on their team mates would appeal to anyone. The noise was incredible… a heavy disco beat in an echoing sports hall with lots of people shouting to make themselves heard for nine hours… my ears are still ringing two days later! The girls’ costumes are equally as loud. Brightly coloured, covered in feathers, crystals and faux fur, they really are works of art. Expensive ones at that. My problem comes when I want to share the day with you. I don’t think it would be right for me to post pictures of the girls in their loud, but often very skimpy, costumes.

Apart from the noise, the colour and the competition the other things that I couldn’t get over were the judges’ choice of footwear… They are standing nearly all day on a hard floor and I really have to admire their stamina. With the obvious exception of the middle pair(the head judge) you have to hand it to them, they judge in style!!