When I started with digital photography I bought everything new, cameras, lenses, everything. Within a couple of years I learnt that is actually quite short sighted and expensive. Sure if you can afford it then feel free and go right ahead and buy new, but if not there is sense and good reason in purchasing [...]
The majority of churches are poorly lit and do not allow the use of external lighting. Light is vital for taking photographs. If we had our own way as photographers, we would only utilise venues and times of the day when the light is ideal, but more often than not we don't have [...]
It is becoming increasingly common for couples on a budget to ask family members or friends to be their photographer. That person may well be accomplished in another area of photography already, or may just be a happy amateur with 'a nice camera', either way it is likely that they have never photographed a wedding [...]
The recent snow allowed me to satisfy one of my bucket list photo shoots, namely horses in the snow. The last decent snow fall I experienced was about 6 years ago, and I was unable to tick it off my list then, but this year I was able to take full advantage whilst also producing [...]
Every creative person whether an artist, author, photographer or otherwise has sources of inspiration. Those sources could be anything and I really do mean anything. Personally I have a collection of sources that I regularly utilise in different ways. Now I will start by saying I don't go out and actively copy other photographers but [...]
I'm often asked about my workflow for editing a photo shoot so let me take you on a whistlestop tour of what I do from taking the photos to delivering the final images. In general I edit photo shoots in the order they take place. The slight exception is weddings which I dip in and [...]
The majority of the time I only aim to take one photo at a time but occasionally I will take a few successive frames which when merged together can make a great sequence. The keys to making a good sequence are to be relatively side on to the fence, so you can record the horse [...]
If you were ever a Scout or Girl Guide the phrase 'be prepared' will be well known to you. Preparedness is vital in becoming a successful photographer in so many ways. Prior to the cross country at Badminton I will walk the course at least once in the preceeding days. It allows me to [...]
Have you wondered how I create the beautiful low key black background portraits? This article will give you a behind the scenes look into how I use powerful portable studio lights that I can use almost anywhere within reason. I personally favour a one light set up as I like the dramatic shadows that can [...]
So it's under a week away, the time when families descend upon each other, often in numbers only seen once a year. It can therefore be a great opportunity to take a group family photo so here are 10 tips to help you take a better photo. Have some fun, try making one person [...]
Photoshop is a very very powerful tool when you know how to use it and can literally make the impossible possible. I utilise it on an almost daily basis but I try and use it to make photos 'cleaner' and try not to use it for things that are unbelievable. Occasionally I will do something [...]
Shutter speed, aperture and ISO are the three fundamental settings when using any DSLR camera. So what are they and how do they work both on their own and together? Firstly we will look at each individually. Shutter speed - This is fairly self explanatory. It is the speed at which your shutter works within [...]
It's Autumn here in England and the oranges are simply divine but sometimes it is worth enhancing the colours to really make an image stand out. BUT and this is a big but, if you are going to do it you need to do it correctly. I have seen an increasing abundance of orange photos [...]
Have you looked at three photographers one charging £50 for a photoshoot, another £150, and another £500 and wondered the difference? Let me try to explain to you, and more importantly how and why that is not their 'hourly' rate. To break it down I'm going to let you know a little bit more about [...]
Last week I took the opportunity to meet up with three fellow equestrian photographers, Rose, Laura & Louise, for an afternoon of idea sharing and education. All four of us are established photographers but have different styles and areas of expertise, so what better than the chance to throw around ideas and see how each [...]
I was asked recently how I became a professional photographer. Did I go to college or university to study or was it all 'just there'? In my case I fall somewhere in the middle, I would like to think that I have a natural eye for composition and subjects, whereas a lot of the technical [...]
Do you work in a business that needs marketing images? Do you have a project to do for college, university, school or even work? If so the majority will probably have utilised google image search to find a suitable photo to use at some point. There is no denying it, almost everyone has, but the [...]
A lesson most photographers learn the hard way is to have backups, and not just one, of their photos. There is nothing worse than a card or hard disk failure and loosing irreplaceable photos. I learnt the hard way when a hard drive filed on me a few years ago. Thankfully I was able to [...]
Horses are naturally wary animals and many are known as being spooky especially at new things. Portable lighting which I use for my studio lit photoshoots are incredibly powerful and do result in a wide range of reactions from horses. From all that I have photographed though only one we decided it was in the [...]
You may think this post is going to be a rant and it is but perhaps not in the way you will expect... 'Everyone thinks they are a photographer' and the truth is everyone is. In the same way that everyone is a cook. Some do it well, some do it badly, and lots are [...]
Now I love to photograph tight crops. The reason? The photograph is (normally) all about the subject and cluttered backgrounds detract, tight crops focus in on that subject and allow you to tell a different photograph. Granted there are times where you want the background as it in itself tells a story but I will [...]
I love love LOVE the golden hour, although actually it's normally not an hour long and there are two of them per day (weather dependant!). As the sun progresses through the sky during the day it starts low to the horizon moves over head until again dropping down to the horizon at sunset. If the [...]
Portrait created utilising my Elinchrom portable lighting system There are so many different forms of photography, even within portrait photography you have everything from newborns, maternity, weddings, family and so on and so forth. Different photographers specialise in different areas, some are jack of all trades some are specialists in one specific area, [...]
The bouquet focused on in the front of the frame the couple are left lovely & soft in the background You have undoubtedly seen those lovely dreamy photos where the background is beautifully blurred often to the point of seeing sparkles in the background and wandered how that was created. This is bokeh, [...]
When I was going through my photos of the action at Barbury on Sunday I had the sudden strong urge to go almost all black & white for editing. I don't normally put so many black and white images in an event but the backdrop and the competition itself just lending itself to the format. [...]
