My Journal Behind The Magic
Behind The Magic – So you’re going to be a wedding photographer?
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...
Behind the Magic – Snow Fun – Ordinary to (hopefully) Outstanding!
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...
Behind the Magic – Inspiration & Influences
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...
Behind the Magic – Editing workflow
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...
Behind the Magic – Merged Sequences
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...
Behind the Magic – Always be prepared
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. My inspiration to write this blog stems from an American photo that went viral of some photographers...
Behind the magic – Behind the scenes studio lit shoot
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...
Behind the magic – 10 tips for taking a Christmas family photo
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. 1. Choose your location....
Behind The Magic – What I will, won’t & can’t photoshop!
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...
Behind The Magic – Shutter Speed, Aperture & ISO – The Basics
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...
Behind the Magic – Enhancing an Autumnal image
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...
Behind The Magic – You get what you pay for
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...
Behind the Magic – Stop, Collaborate & listen!
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...
Behind the magic – every day is a school day
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...
Behind The Magic – Finding stock photography
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,...
Behind The Magic – Backup, backup and backup again
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....
What would you like to know?
Have you got a burning question you would like to ask me? Would you like to know something about how I create my images or how I work? Drop me a line and let me know.