Friday 22 April 2011

Their Are To Many Apostrophe's Around!

So this is just a little personal rant.  I'm a bit of a grammar freak so it probably affects me more than it should, but it really bugs me to see spelling and grammar mistakes all over people's marketing materials.

I'm not talking about silly little typos, we all make those.  And I'm not talking about the complex syntax of our unnecessarily complicated language.  I'm talking about basic grammar we should all know from school.  My top 3 are:

there/their/they're
where/were/we're
apostrophes

Seriously... there should be no excuse!  Whenever I see them it makes me cringe!

It's bad enough to see it in personal Facebook feeds, but basic errors in marketing materials are unforgivable.  And I do count Facebook business pages in that.  I see loads of leaflets, brochures, flyers, websites and blogs with these basic mistakes.

I might be over sensitive, but I think it reflects badly on the owners of the business and the business itself.  As a photographer, I get paid to take photos.  And I'm chosen (or not) by the quality and style of those photos and not the grammar used on my adverts.  But getting it wrong implies (to me at least) a certainly lack of attention to detail.

Just my thoughts...

Thursday 14 April 2011

Twitter Girls Charity Calendar

At last... I can finally talk about it!  After a strict embargo here it is!

Ages ago I saw a retweeted request on Twitter from @ByGinaEvents looking for models, venues, lingerie and photographers for a charity calendar in aid of PC David Rathband's Blue Lamp Foundation and Help for Heroes.  I thought why not?  I always like doing my bit for a good cause and it might be a good publicity opportunity for me as well...  So I got in touch with Gina (and her partner in crime, Jo) offering my services and pointing them at the Boudoir page on my website.  I assumed there would be loads of offers so forgot about it for a while.  Until I got an email through giving me a date and a location!

So on a beautiful if cold 2nd March I trundled off to Langley Priory armed with my camera, a few lights and a coat.

I arrived and was introduced to the models.  Vicky, Laura, Kerri, Candice and Helen were all lovely.  And terrified!!!  Let's just say there wasn't a lot of conversation...

Gina arrived and the girls disappeared upstairs to get changed and have their hair and make-up done.  That's no place for a 6'1" bald bloke with a beard so I went and scouted out a few locations around the venue for shots.  Unfortunately for the girls a few of them were outside!

Once Laura was done I took her off for a few photos on her own.  Might as well make the most of the moment!  Nervous isn't the word, but she was brilliant!  By the end I think she quite enjoyed herself...  Candice was next, then Kerri.  Who were both also incredible!  I think a few photos beforehand was a really good idea.  They seemed to relax into it and were ready for the group shots when everyone else was finished getting ready.  Especially Kerri "America's-Next-Top-Model" Miller!!


Next were the group shots.  We started on the stairs and moved into the Drawing Room.  Which, now I've read it back, sounds like something Barbara Cartland might have written!

Moving on...  The girls were all fab and settled into it really quickly.  I think they might even have enjoyed it.  Just a little bit...  Kerri had to shoot off so we cracked on and got as much done with all 5 as quickly as we could.  Then 5 became 4 and we moved outside.  I was NOT popular at that suggestion.  But, completely professional, out we went and stripped off in 6 degrees.  Not me of course.  I had a coat!

Laura dashed off as well so 4 became 3 and we moved inside to the fireplace.  That brought a few contented smiles.  But didn't last long once we went outside again!  I think it would be fair to say the spray from the fountain was cold!  A few shots by the lake followed by some on the bridge and we were done!

Vicky and Helen used the last few minutes to have some individual shots of themselves before we all packed up and went home.

A few hours of editing later and I'm very happy with the results.  I really did have the easy job in all of this though.  This has got to be the most fun I've had on a shoot for ages.  Gina has worked incredibly hard to organise the shoots all over the country.  Not to mention the amount of driving she's been doing!  The venue is beautiful and the hair, make-up and outfits were fab.  Vicky, Laura, Kerri, Candice and Helen were all incredible.  Fun, professional and hard working.  And let's not forget stunning!  All in all a brilliant day, a brilliant project and 2 brilliant causes.

I can't wait to see the results!

Monday 11 April 2011

Disappointments...

Just thought I'd update on the new studio.  You might have seen on Facebook or Twitter that I've been in the process of sorting out a new studio.  Well I've had a bit of a setback.

Way back in October I found the perfect studio in Grimsby.  Well actually Cleethorpes.  Massive studio room, entrance reception, kitchen, toilet, main road location.  Just what I wanted.  I spent a while deciding then went through the long winded process of applying for planning permission for change of use to a photography studio.  That in itself was an ordeal with conflicting advice being given to me and the landlord.  But that's another tale...

But to cut a long story short, permission was granted and I went back to the estate agent only to be told the property had been let to somebody else!  Throughout I was told I was fine and I didn't need to start lease proceedings so I took the agent at his word.  Other words I can think of regarding the agent are unprofessional, unethical, misrepresentation along with several others not suitable for a mixed audience!

I obviously won't name the agent in question but they do have a reputation in the area so I should have known better really.  But I wasn't going to let a perfect property slip just because I didn't like who was letting it!

Gutted is not the word!  But as I said here and here. I can't let it get me down.  I think I've just about snapped out of the low spot now and have found somewhere else!  It's actually in a better area.  Not quite as big, but much nicer.  So once again... watch this space!