Taking Better Photos - Part 2

So we've looked at the Rule of Thirds. Now it's time to add a bit of a dynamic edge to your photos. A good photo will tell a story, but it will also take the viewer on a journey...

Lead In Lines
These are a great way to lead the viewer's eye around the picture. Look for diagonal lines that will lead you to the main subject in the photo. Take a bit of time to walk around and move your shooting point to make the most of things like stairs, railings, footpaths and tree lines.

It adds a bit of movement to the shot and makes it a bit more interesting. And if you can combine this with the Rule of Thirds, even better!

Get out there and give it a try!

Taking Better Photos - Part 1

People often say to me that they'd like to be able to take better photos. Well, it's really not that hard! It takes years of experience to be a good professional photographer, but there are a few tips and tricks you can use to improve your photography, whether you're an enthusiastic hobbyist or just want better holiday snaps!

You don't need a big expensive camera. A phone is usually perfectly adequate! I won't talk about exposure or shutter speed here as most cameras will deal with all that for you. Have a go at these tips and see how your photography improves. This is part 1 of 3. Keep an eye out for the rest...

Rule of Thirds
Composition is a very important part of making a good photo. Think about where you want your subject to be positioned within the frame. Should it be in the middle? At the top? Where do you put the horizon???

A simple rule is the rule of thirds. Imagine the photo split into thirds horizontally and vertically. Something like this.

Try to place straight lines in the picture on one of the imaginary third lines. That's things like horizons, trees and towers.  Moving them off centre slightly adds a bit of interest to the picture and avoids it being split down the middle making 2 halves of a picture.

For an extra bit of interest, try to put interesting objects on one of the intersection lines as well. That's things like faces, rocks and anything else you want people to notice!

Give it a go next time you get your camera out and see the difference!

A Fantastic Wedding!

It occurred to me that I've never put up any photos from a wedding. Every once in a while a wedding really sticks out in my mind as being really good. From the bride's preparations in the morning, the group shots, the weather to the speeches and all the bits in between everything goes smoothly and it's a really happy occasion.

I won't write much more as I think the photos speak for themselves. Congratulations to Sami and Martin!

Coping with Competition

Every industry has competition and every industry has its competitors. It seems (to me at least) that photographers have more competition than most! I've mentioned in a previous post that photography is an easy business to get started in and it seems that anyone with a posh camera can call themselves a photographer! The local newspaper keeps printing stories about new photography businesses in the area...

But just because someone is in the same industry it doesn't necessarily mean they're competition. Yes, we're all looking for people to sell photos to, but are we all looking for the same people? I don't think so.

Photography customers all have different criteria when choosing a photographer. Particularly regarding wedding photography. Some people are on a budget and will book the cheapest photographer they can find (not something I recommend!). Some people like the kudos of booking the area's most expensive photographer. Others will book the best photographer they can afford (a much more sensible approach...). No one photographer can appeal to all markets so we have to pick one to work in.

There are literally dozens of 'professional' photographers in Grimsby and Cleethorpes, but I really only count 5 or 6 of them as genuine competition. We're all full time and fully insured. We all put a lot of time and effort into marketing ourselves. We all offer good customer service and excellent attention to detail. And we all supply the best products from the best suppliers. We don't appeal the the 'cheap is best' market, but none of us is the most expensive in the area either.

But even that competition isn't really a problem. There are about 150,000 people living in and around Grimsby and Cleethorpes so there's plenty to go around! There are tons of weddings in North East Lincolnshire every single weekend, so again there's plenty to go around without us all stepping on each other's toes.

And don't forget, photography is very subjective. We all have our own particular and distinctive style which some people won't like. It took a while to get my head around it, but I genuinely don't mind any more if someone books a different photographer over me.

Having said that, I still like it when I win a customer ahead of my competition!

Photoshop - How Much is Too Much?

Photoshop (or any number of other editing packages) is an essential tool for all photographers. There are many film purists who believe it's cheating, but it's really just a different development process. In the olden days you had your film and paper and dunked it in a series of chemicals. It's a skilled process and takes time and practice to get it right. You could also add variation to the chemicals, time and light modifiers to give special effects.

Today, with digital, it's exactly the same. You just do it on a computer! But you can take it further than you could with film. Exposure and white balance adjustments are easy and done all the time to correct a poor original, or just to enhance an already good picture. There is an argument that says it makes photographers lazy. "It's OK. I'll fix it in Photoshop!"  Well, yes. But if you take a lot of photos that need fixing you quickly learn to spend 5 minutes getting it right in-camera to avoid hours of staring at a computer screen... And don't forget, every edit you do in Photoshop degrades the original slightly.

I use Photoshop (or more often Lightroom) on all of my pictures. I'll improve the crop and boost the contrast and colour vibrancy. Occasionally I may need to get rid of a bit of red eye or brighten up a flash photo indoors. For studio photos I'll generally add a bit of punch and remove the background or clean up a dirty floor. I can also remove spots if you want me to.

Which brings me to my point. How much is too much? There are some excellent examples here of celebrity photos that have had 'work' done. But where is the line? My personal view is that I will get rid of anything that isn't permanent or that the camera has exaggerated. By this I mean I will remove spots, bruises, rashes, cuts and scrapes. I'll also remove baby dribble where I can. I can clean up fluff from clothes and even swap faces from one picture to another so everyone is smiling at once. I'll also remove ugly fire exit signs from the background in wedding photos. And I can reduce wrinkles and lines that look worse under the studio light.

What I won't do is give you longer legs or bigger boobs. I won't take 2 stone off you either! There's plenty of discussion about the damaging effects of Photoshopped celebrities to young girls (and boys) which I won't go into. But to me the issue is more fundamental. A photo is a memory captured forever. If the photo doesn't reflect the way you actually looked at that time, it's not really a memory, it's a fantasy. There is a place for fantasy, but that's not really my business. My job is to make you look your best. But importantly you are still you!

Why Use a Studio?

In the current climate, photography is a very popular profession for people going self employed, whether following redundancy or just to supplement an existing income. It's (relatively) inexpensive to set up and you don't need any special qualifications or really any experience to get started. (OK, you'd be daft just to start up without a bit of ability, but you'd be surprised the number of people who do...)

The easiest way to get started is to go mobile. Whether it's in the home or on location, by far the highest number of 'professional' photographers don't use a studio. It has its obvious financial advantages to the photographer, but there are also advantages to the customer as well - no need to pack the kids up in the car, no need to find parking, no need to leave the house at all! Location shoots are good to put the shots into context and can help people relax. Kids are often more comfortable in the park than in a studio, for example...


But I still have a big soft spot for studio work. But why? Well, for one thing it's a bit of an event coming into the studio. It's nice to make an outing of it. It's as much about the experience as it is the photos. My studio (and many others) is set up to make individuals, couples and families comfortable and relaxed. When you walk in it has the 'wow' factor! It's not just a photo shoot, it's a Photo Experience!

From a technical point of view, there's a lot more flexibility in the photos I can take in the studio. There are no space concerns that you can have in a living room, so I can fit a lot of people into one shot, I can get in close or back away to give different perspectives. I also have everything I need in one handy place. If I want to take some contrasty black and white pictures I have the kit to do it. That's not so easy in your home...

I have a whole load of props to use to add a bit more interest to your shots that I can't transport, such as chairs and two chaise longues!

I also have the space for you to come and view the pictures on a big screen. I don't need to invade your house for a second time and we don't all need to crowd around a laptop screen to see your shots!


As always it's down to personal choice, but please do think carefully before investing in your memories!

Just Do It!

Since setting up on my own I've learned a lot of things about business and even more things about the mind set behind running a business. I won't bore you with stuff like tax, accounting and insurance, but I thought I'd share a few things I've picked up about getting your head in the right place. This has all come from my own experiences as well as advice from eFactor and people I've met at networking groups.

Just Do It!
The first thing I learned a long time ago is to go for it. If you have an idea the only thing stopping it working is you! OK, some ideas are daft, but do a bit of research to see if it's viable and do it. There's a massive temptation to make sure everything is perfect before you launch a new business or idea. If you wait until every last detail is ironed out you will never do anything!

No-one likes failure, but how do you know if something will work or not unless you give it a go? The most important thing here is not to avoid trying something for fear of failure. It's very tempting not to give it 100% so you can say later that you didn't really put in the effort which is why it didn't work... It's a horrible feeling to think you gave it your all and it still didn't work, but suck it up, and get on with it!

Have a Plan
Having said that, it's important to have a plan! Do the research and work out what you're going to do before just flying at it hell for leather (whatever that means...).

Don't Make Excuses
If it goes wrong there is always a reason. But it's surprising how many times it's down to you. Whether it's lack of effort, lack of commitment or bad planning you can often track a failure back to your own actions. Put in the effort, give 100% commitment and do the groundwork and you can avoid or at least mitigate 99% of any problems that come your way.

Get Back Up Again
Just like Chumbawumba said...! You will experience problems and you will get knocked down, but don't let it become an issue. If it all goes tits up, dust yourself off and put it right. More importantly, know why it went wrong and learn from it. Everyone makes mistakes, but there's no excuse for making the same mistake over and over.


Take Advice
Listen to what everyone tells you. But be warned, EVERYONE you speak to will have a 'good idea'. And some of them will be contradictory. Listen to them all but use your own judgement to decide which ones to act on. Agencies like eFactor have a whole host of business experts with a variety of specialisms. Find the one that knows your industry the best. Networking groups like 4Networking have thousands of members who have all been through what you're going through, so speak to as many people as possible.

Don't Wait for it to Come to You
Because it won't! Brilliant, you have a website. Well done, your business cards look lovely and your roller banners are stunning! Has anyone seen them? Market yourself to your target market. Get those leaflets through doors, promote your website, get adverts in papers, join a networking group, get on Twitter and Facebook, attend shows and fairs, pick up the phone, go door to door, whatever. Just get yourself out there! People won't order anything from you if they don't know you exist! It might take a bit of time but stick at it.

And Finally... Smile!!!
Keep positive! If you experience a problem go at with the mindset of "how can I solve this?" rather than "oh no, this is a massive problem..." It's amazing how much easier things are with a positive outlook on life!

I'm no expert but these are a few things I've found useful and I hope you do too. For more stuff like this (only much better) have a look at Get Off Your Arse by Brad Burton. Straight talking advice from someone who's been there!