the Photographer - Winter 2015

the PHOTOGRAPHER

BIPP Awards

Catch up with the 2015 Professional Photography Awards and the 2014 Qualifications Awards

No drama Queen

Michael Wharley’s casting perfection The Magazine of the BIPP / Winter 2015

Winter 2015

Where photographers dare Hasselblad Master Bryn Griffiths steps beyond the studio

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Winter 2015

The Editor / Comment 2 Finally there’s some new pro-level equipment to get excited about.

One’s already been delivered, and another’s top of the wish list 2015 Professional Photogrpahy Awards 8 The BIPP Awards took place on 5 February at Hartwell House, recognising excellence across an amazing range of genres – all illustrating that top-end professional photography is alive and kicking

Cover story / Bryn Griffiths 34 As a Hasselblad Masters Winner, Bryn Griffiths headed to the strange and dangerous world of Chernobyl – oh and he forgot to mention it to his nearest and dearest. The stamp of a commercial advertising photo­ grapher is embedded in the results

BIPP News 46 Company partners, member benefits, regional events and national training

Membership Services Advisory Board Russell Baston HonFBIPP (National) Saraya Cortaville FBIPP (National) Tony Freeman HonFBIPP (National) Bryn Griffiths FBIPP (Midlands) Dave Hunt ABIPP (Scotland) Scott Johnson ABIPP (South East) Fyzal Kirk ABIPP (North East) Richard Mayfield FBIPP (Yorkshire) Alan McEwan FBIPP (National) John Miskelly LBIPP (Northern Ireland)

James Russell LBIPP (North West) Bella West FBIPP (National) Stuart Wood FBIPP (National)

Portraiture / Michael Wharley 52 There’s a science to everything and Michael Wharley’s made a point of positioning himself as a neutral expert in a niche area

One Vision 32 One Vision has a reputation for being one of the most forwardthinking professional labs in the country and there are plenty of reasons why silver halide prints are still vital to its agenda

the Photographer is published four times a year by the British Institute of Professional Photography, The Coach House, The Firs, High Street, Whitchurch, Aylesbury HP22 4SJ. T: 01296 642020 E: info@bipp.com W: www.bipp.com President: Roy Meiklejon FBIPP Chief Executive: Chris Harper FBIPP Directors: Suzi Allen LBIPP, Russell Baston HonFBIPP, Bryn Griffiths FBIPP, Scott Johnson ABIPP, Bella West FBIPP

Editor: Jonathan Briggs, editor@bipp.com Advertising: Tel 01296 642020 Email: jack@bipp.com UK Subscribers £20, EU £40, Rest of the World £50 ISSN: 0031-8698 Printed and bound by Magazine Printing Company, Enfield

Neither the British Institute of Professional Photography (BIPP) nor any of its employees, members, contractors or agents accepts any responsibility whatsoever for loss of or damage to photographs, illustrations or manuscripts or any other material submitted, howsoever caused. The views expressed in this magazine are the views of individual contributors and do not necessarily represent the views of the BIPP. All advertisements are accepted and all editorial matter published in good faith. The Publisher makes no warranty, express or implied, that any particular product or service is available at the time of publication or at any given price. No part of this publication may be reproduced by any means whatsoever, or stored in a retrieval system, or broadcast, published or exhibited without the prior permission of the publisher. This magazine is the copyright of the BIPP without prejudice to the right of contributors and photographers as defined in the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. Registered at Stationers’ Hall, Ref B6546, No. 24577. © BIPP 2015

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The editor / Comment

The perfect camera?

For landscape nuts and architecture obsessives, Canon gives us the EOS 5DsR; and for advertising work in and out of the studio the 5Ds. Canon makes no excuses about aiming directly at these niches – if it suits you, this could just be the return of the camera you keep for a very long time

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t seems like an age has passed since Canon brought out something really groundbreaking, but the wait is now over. When the original EOS 5D arrived it filled a niche and became an overnight success. There’s plenty of photographers who continue to work with it and with the mk II forms an extremely capable camera bag.

Development into the 5D mk III was incremental at best and many hung onto what they had – the feeling being that 20-ish megapixels was big enough and perhaps Canon would never push to beat Nikon at its D800/E/810 game.

Many mused over whether the pixel race was over and contemplated a future

without a next big thing. But no: the next big thing is indeed very big – in megapixels at least.

Just when we’d given up, out comes Canon with a monster.

The EOS 5Ds and sR are full-frame 50.6 megapixel 35mm DSLRs that really could change everything for £2,999 / £3,199.

They use dual DIGIC 6 image processors and offer a 61-point AF system with iTR AF technology for better accuracy when focusing and tracking moving subjects. As with the 5D mk III which they sit above in the range, the 5Ds and sR adopt a fully weather-sealed, magnesium-alloy construction, dual card slots (CF and SD), an optical viewfinder with 100% coverage and a large 3.2” LCD screen, in addition to full HD video recording, 5fps shooting speed, USB 3.0 connectivity, and an ISO range of 100-6400 (expandable to 50-12800). Side by side, the 5Ds and sR are nigh-on identical, but the 5DsR eliminates the low-pass filter intervention and, as Canon puts it, creates a ‘cancellation effect’ intended to cut the blur from images and make them sharper – on the 5Ds, the low-pass filter does that too, but to a very thorough degree. The net result is that the 5DsR acts as if it doesn’t have a low-pass filter.

To read between the specification lines, the EOS 5Ds and sR are not for the photographer who wants exceptional video performance, and are not for machine gun style action shooting, and perhaps even are not for those in any kind of a hurry with capture or processing. So if you go on-line and peruse detail specifications don’t start griping about those things, or ISO range for that matter too.

The bottom line is naturally the pixel count posting a maximum resolution of 8688 x 5792 pixels. Let’s work that into Photoshop speak… natively off of the camera it can achieve 73.56 x 49.04 cm at 300ppi. Hence Canon refers

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Image, above right: Official sample from EOS 5Ds from Canon. 1/125 sec; f/8.0; ISO100; EF70-200mm F2.8L IS II USM; Color temp 5200K; Picture Style: Fine Detail. © Canon Inc

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The editor / Comment

to this camera as billboard ready. For the photo­ grapher selling fine art, it’s going to be a highly persuasive bit of product pull for a world where quality at the bigger print sizes means everything to charge a decent £££.

The sceptic might argue of course that Joe Public would be quite happy with an A1 print scaled up from the 12.3 megapixels of the first generation EOS 5D and there could be some truth in that assertion. But following the mantra of ‘use the best possible gear within the realm of reasonable cost’ leads us very definitely to this camera being the one to get.

There are, as with Nikon’s forray into the big D-SLR world, potential issues with this number of megapixels in a 35mm-sized space. Vibration is one problem – or rather image stability – and so the EOS 5Ds and sister sR gets an all-new mirror mechanism. It’s no longer spring driven, now being motor driven and they say it’s far more sophisticated in reducing vibration. Then there’s a clever system that allows the user to determine the amount of lag that occurs between pressing the shutter button, the mirror going up and finally the camera firing. All very specialist but all very useful.

It’s worth noting that these won’t be replacing the 5D Mark III, but rather are being added as part of Canon’s family of high-end D-SLRs. Bearing in mind that the Nikon 810 is ‘trailing’ behind with a mere 36.3 megapixel – ie the new Canons are a hair’s breadth off being 40% bigger in terms of pixel resolution – perhaps we’ve hit the point where the medium-format question no longer has to be asked? The EOS 5Ds and sR represent cameras that top-end professionals could use for many years to come. Billboard resolutions are not about to increase any time soon, and the sheer convenience of using a D-SLR for location advertising work is just so appealing. Assuming the reality matches up come product shipment in June, we have a game changer on our hands.

See also http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eosd/samples/ eos5ds/ for more full-res images 4 the PHOTOGRAPHER / Winter 2015

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ow for a bit more of the hugely impressive Elinchrom ELC Pro HD studio flash units.

We had an initial look at these – mainly commenting on their excellent ease of use as well as technical prowess – last issue, and it’s worth another comment here because a strange thing happened…

I’m not that much of a tech-head when it comes to filling my life with new equipment. Boring as it may be, I try to purchase what’s right for the job at hand and I’ll stick with that until such time as either (a) I need to achieve something that’s out of the range of the equipment, and then it’s time to hire or purchase; or (b) something new comes out that impresses in such a way as to make me actually want to do things differently or try new things, or indeed triggers me to add to the portfolio of images I might supply in a job.

With the Elinchrom ELC Pro HD gear sitting neatly in its bag, being lined up for return, I found myself falling into category (b) above. Admittedly I’d been musing over the idea of some new lights, but you know it’s the range of creative options you get opening up before your own eyes that’s the big draw here. Despite the sense of quality in handling them in real life, these are not heavy items at all and

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as previously noticed they’re really quiet as well (though don’t mistakenly think that means they should be used for video work). But anyway, it was decision time and out came the wallet, the moths flew away and a purchase was made – I liked them so much I had to have ’em.

It’s the additional modes that got me going, and how easy it is to access and proceed with them. Set the recycling time to fast and a world of possibilities is opened up. First, note that in fast recycling mode the Pro HDs are more than able to keep up with the latest cameras running even in full motor drive mode and since there’s lots of particularly Nikon users out there with very quick cameras this is a flash unit that can match you all the way. Of particular interest is the Strobo mode that opens up a set of creativity that is hard to find amongst competing studio flash units at this price point. There’s two elements to think about in the Strobo set-up. Frequency in Hz is how many times per second the flash will fire, and this is available all the way up to a heady 20 times per second – hence the comment about the units being easily able to keep up with say a Nikon D4S at its maximum frame and longest burst rate. Then there’s the duration for which the flash will fire at the chosen rate. To get any kind of result, you will want to be creating this in a darkened environment and have the camera’s shutter open for at least the duration of the flash burst. So for instance you could set up a couple of units to fire at 10Hz (ten times per second) and the camera’s shutter at one second and you’ll get ten flashes in the duration of the shutter being open. The result will be an image that looks very similar to a multiple exposure, and sure it is a multiple exposure that was created with the strobe of the flash rather than taking multiple shots. If you take things a step further it is possible to add in loads of motion blur (like this) too by having the powerful modelling lights on during the burst of flash. It’s an easy set-up of just a few entries in the unit’s menu system and has a great range of possibilities with some interesting trial and error.

I’d encourage some attempts at non-linear shots with actions moving away from the lens both left-right and through the depth of field since the straight up and down kind of shots have all been done many times before, and these kinds of movement pieces can offer a real idea of something happening, as well as extra passion and emotion, perhaps.

So with the bank account a good shade lighter, excitement is in the air – and with the Canon EOS 5DsR also looking like it’s going to get under my skin too, this non-tech head keeper of things until they die, might just be moving along with the times again! The Elinchrom ELC Pro HD 500/500 Kit reatils at £1,539 inc VAT.

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Simon John, FBIPP Gold Award, Weddings

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2015 PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

BIPP Photographer of the Year 2015

Simon John FBIPP The 2015 Professional Photography Awards were presented on 5 February at Hartwell House, bringing together a quite remarkable set of talent. The Awards brief was entirely portfolio based with all categories requiring five images to be submitted. Winner of the BIPP Photographer of the Year Award, Simon John FBIPP, felt that the format change made a significant difference: ‘I was very excited about the portfolio

idea – to produce one great image is difficult, but five that hang together as a portfolio… it’s a real challenge and very telling. You get a true opportunity to show what you are really about and what excites you visually.’ For Simon, challenging yourself is a big deal in itself: ‘The most important thing a vicar ever said to me was “change is to be alive” – if you stay stuck in your ways and hang onto what you know your work will very soon become tired. But it’s also important to be kind and patient with yourself. Allow any anxiety you have about photography or indeed personal issues to find their own balance – if you have a problem and just throw another log on the fire you keep it burning. Self-doubt and anxiety are very much connected with being or trying to be creative and I suppose this is something I feel I’m beginning to control in my life now.’

Wise words indeed… Simon’s book The Key to Creative Wedding Photography goes further still – find out more at simonjohn.co.uk

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Bella West, FBIPP QEP Gold Award, Portraiture

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2015 PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

Steve Mayes ABIPP Silver Award, Visual Arts

Architectural photographer Steve Mayes had a change of heart when it came to entering this year’s awards: ‘This time around, at the last minute, I decided to also enter some more abstract, perhaps more artistic, images that I’d been working on recently – my “Deconstructions”. These were not created for a client but as limited edition prints to sell. Being quite unusual, it seemed to make sense to enter a portfolio of five as together they tell more of a story than separately.

So the portfolio approach of this awards was particularly appropriate for my entry I felt. Of course, I still love architectural photography. The bulk of my work is for architects and developers, and I’ve always been

interested in producing portfolios of images that don’t just provide the “obvious” shots that the client needs, but more unusual angles and detail shots that can really add to the output for a project. It is often these that most impress and delight a client.

My skills and experience have increased dramatically over the past ten years, but my approach has remained similar – research the site and do my utmost to be there when the lighting is at its best.

Where I’ve changed particularly in recent years is in being a bit more demanding to get the right shot – ensuring lights are on for dusk shots, blinds raised, no cars in the way and so on – basically trying to control the scene as much as possible. My “Deconstructions” are not something that I’ve yet been asked to produce for my architectural clients, but I suspect it will only be a matter of time, and it would be interesting to apply that approach to different buildings.’

On the business of photography Steve comments: ‘It’s a tough market and you will be judged on the quality of your output.

No one should settle for “it’ll do”.’ And an example of Steve’s willingness to go the extra mile can be found in this approach to getting a good clean environment: ‘If you’re looking for clean shots with no people in but it’s quite a busy location, take multiple exposures, layer the files and delete sections until all the people are gone. Of course, this works for making scenes busier than they were at the time too.’ www.stevemayesphotography.co.uk

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Liam Crawley LBIPP Bronze Award, Weddings

Liam Crawley’s weddings business is formed with his wife Bee ‘tucked away in the digital darkroom’ whilst Liam’s creativity gets cut loose. The pair’s bubbly on-line personality has been getting quite a bit of attention – and their excitement for the job is put across very clearly. Liam exclaims: ‘There are two things that are important to me as a wedding photographer, and that’s great story telling and stunning, creative bride and groom portraits – this is

what drives me in my wedding photography.’ In stark contrast to the role of an unseen, unobtrusive photographer, Liam is upfront about being a big part of the day – understandable when it comes to producing these kinds of images: ‘I shoot a wedding story from close quarters – I won’t hide in the shadows. My goal is to be “different” and I’m massively into strong geometric compositions, reflections, humour, and awesome light.’ But despite the confidence, Liam says: ‘I’m a bit antisocial the night before a wedding which I guess subconsciously is to do with having your mind on the job. Even after shooting over 400 weddings I still get nervous before each one.’

He continues on the theme of being different: ‘Throughout my life I’ve always wanted to be different, to break away from

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2015 PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

mainstream ways. I’m no crowd follower, I like to find my own way and I bring this into my portrait photography, at weddings especially. I’ll shoot a standard frame to warm up, and then I’ll try to build it into something “different”, be that through compositional means, posing, or exploring a new perspective. Literally, I’ll try anything to achieve a unique image…

sometimes it doesn’t work, but the key for me is to be brave, to be daring and shoot from the heart. I like to create images that hold the viewer’s attention, and this only comes from trying to be yourself, to not be infleunced by other photographs and just shoot what’s going on in your head, and what you feel. This is what drives me in my wedding photography. My most powerful tool for this has been my personality. Be friendly, be smily, be warm to others and they will warm to you… only then can you capture nervous subjects in a natural way.’ http://cgweddings.co.uk Winter 2015 / the PHOTOGRAPHER 13

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David Wheeler FBIPP Bronze Award, Weddings

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Michael Wharley ABIPP Bronze Award, Portraiture

2015 PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

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Virginia Grey ABIPP Bronze Award, Visual Arts

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Tim Vernon FBIPP Bronze Award, Science & Technology

2015 PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

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Ian Flanders, Provisional Photographer of the Year 2015

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2015 PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

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Alex Bibby Winner, BIPP Open

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2015 PROFESSIONAL PHOTOGRAPHY AWARDS

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Sarah Martin Runner-up, BIPP Open

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2014 QUALIFICATIONS AWARDS

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2014 Fox Talbot Award – named in honour of William Henry Fox Talbot, this Award is only presented for exceptional achievement in photography.

In 2014 it goes to David Bull FBIPP, from the Image Resource team at Rolls-Royce, for his research and development of photographic processes.

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2014 QUALIFICATIONS AWARDS

Celebrating creativity, the 2014 Lichfield Award for the best creative use of people within an image, was presented to David Wheeler FBIPP.

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Bryn Griffiths FBIPP QEP 2014 Peter Grugeon Award for the Best Fellowship

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2014 QUALIFICATIONS AWARDS

Katharine Davies ABIPP 2014 Peter Grugeon Award for the Best Associateship

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Fiona Ingvarsson ABIPP 2014 Highly Commended, Peter Grugeon Award for the Best Associateship

Amy Lacey ABIPP 2014 Highly Commended, Peter Grugeon Award for the Best Associateship

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2014 QUALIFICATIONS AWARDS Leslie Bliss LBIPP 2014 Best Licentiate Award

Equine photographer Leslie Bliss worked in publishing before changing direction and steering towards photography head-on. She says: ‘Working as a journalist for so long was a huge benefit to me as I’ve seen thousands of equine images, which has helped train my eye and means I avoid the clichés and always look to produce something different that I’ve not seen before.’

Leslie made good use of mentoring time with Emily Hancock, seeing it as essential on numerous levels: ‘I’m self taught apart from the sessions I’ve had with Emily during my mentoring year. It was important to me to test the quality of my work at a professional level – it’s all very well people saying they think your pictures are great, but it’s quite something else to have photographers at fellowship level assessing your work. For

Emma Findley LBIPP 2014 Highly Commended, Best Licentiate Award

me the BIPP was a no-brainer because of the type of work I do and the fact that the submitted images have to be from commissioned shoots. To me this is what makes the BIPP stand out and makes a BIPP qualification something very special. It’s one thing producing stunning portfolio shots when that’s all you have to concentrate on, and quite something different when you are working under time pressure (sometimes lucky to get half an hour with some of the top riders). Also, a lot more images are required than for other organisations, which proves I am capable of producing consistent quality. The fact that supporting evidence is also required and your business as a whole is taken into consideration is an important factor in my opinion as a professional, charging for a service.’

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Fit for the future

Wedding and portrait photography © John Baikie

Fuji / Crystal Archive Paper

One Vision has a reputation for being one of the most forward-thinking professional labs in the country and there are plenty of reasons why silver halide prints are still vital to its agenda ADVERTISEMENT FEATURE

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ou don’t get to be voted ‘Best Professional Photographic Laboratory’ by members of the SWPP unless you’re going the extra mile to provide great quality products backed up by excellent service.

And that’s exactly what One Vision has been doing for the past 35 years (in its own right since 2007 and prior to that under the Colab umbrella).

Based in Coventry, One Vision services a diverse range of clients and prides itself on the fact that all of them receive the kind of tailored personal attention that only a professional lab is capable of providing.

The expectation of high quality printing is a given, and it’s Fujifilm’s silver halide media that are still the premium products on which the reputation of the lab is carried.

‘Our customers are a mix of professional photographers and commercial clients,’ says One Vision’s MD Derek Poulston (above), ‘and naturally they expect the highest standards from us on all fronts. The extra level of service we provide and the guaranteed quality and consistency of our print output is why they use us, and this is what differentiates a professional lab from one operating in the consumer sector. We all use the same machinery, we pretty much all use the same paper, so it comes down to the professionalism and skill of our staff and their ability to achieve supreme quality standards to justify the difference that exists in pricing structure.’

Why Fujifilm silver halide papers reign supreme:

• There is a sound business rationale underpinning the fact that Fujifilm’s silver halide papers, in the form of DPII and Crystal Archive, are the bedrock of the One Vision enterprise.

For more information on the Fujifilm professional paper range or to request a sample print call Peter Wigington on 01234 572138, or email: photoimaging@fuji.co.uk

• While inkjet technology has a role to play, and Derek acknowledges that it does have its place in the market, it’s still silver halide that’s the flagship product in terms of quality and value, and it explains why the vast majority of One Vision’s output is still based around traditional paper.

‘Inkjet processes can deliver fantastic results,’ acknowledges Derek, ‘but silver halide still has the edge in terms of quality – offering better colour saturation and sharpness, and price points that are compelling too. It’s basically a superior product. It’s still cheaper to work with at the moment – and long may that continue to be the case. We rely on silver halide papers and it’s very much in everyone’s interests that we continue to work with this technology: the quality hasn’t been surpassed yet, and it’s still the media that professionals want us to output their prints on.’

The optimum product Scottish Highlands-based social photographer John Baikie echoes that sentiment. He’s been so impressed with the quality of One Vision’s service that he’s been a customer of the lab for the past fifteen years.

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‘One Vision has been a great lab to work with,’ he enthuses. ‘Staff are really helpful, the service is second to none and, most importantly, the quality of the prints they produce for me is first class. Colour, sharpness and saturation is all spot on, and results are incredibly consistent. That’s exactly what I need and, in my opinion, silver halide is still by far the best print technology around.’

One of One Vision’s major partners is Zenfolio, who specialise in producing websites for professional photographers where work can be showcased and then ordered directly by clients online. After a two-year search Zenfolio settled on One Vision as its UK fulfilment lab and, for John, that’s made his whole print ordering process so much easier. ‘Because I know that I can trust the lab implicitly I’m happy for them to send prints directly out to my clients once they’ve been ordered from my Zenfolio site,’ he says.

‘This speeds everything up massively: if everything had to come up to me in the Highlands first for approval that would be another layer and it would add at least another couple of days to the process. Instead One Vision sends prints direct to my clients and that allows turnaround times to be really fast. It’s a really good system for me, and it’s never let me down.’

One Vision tailors its service to fit whichever client it is working with, and the lab goes to remarkable lengths to guarantee its trademark values of consistency and quality right across the board. A key component of this is the fact that virtually all the orders that come in are colour graded using the lab’s bespoke software before they’re sent across to be output on the lab’s Fujifilm Frontier printers. It’s an extra stage that’s designed to ensure optimum results.

‘While we might expect our customers to handle such things as sharpening and cropping, we’ll look after the colour, density and contrast of every file that comes into the building,’ says Derek. ‘When we went through that transition from film to digital lots of photographers were delighted, because they felt that now they would have full control over their colour. In reality we probably saw more colour issues in the field than ever before, because now photographers were trying to become printers and, to be brutally honest, the vast majority of them failed miserably.’

‘Now probably around 99% of the photographers who come to One Vision just give us the files and say ‘you do it’. They rely on us to look after everything. It’s just what we do and it’s why they pay a little extra to use us. There wouldn’t be such a thing as a pro lab if we couldn’t offer that level of service.’

Along with the many photographers One Vision works with, including those working in the highly seasonal schools market, there are also commercial clients that need a combination of high volume and fast turnaround, and once again it’s silver halide that’s the preferred media.

During the time of the London 2012 Olympic Games the lab was working flat out to turn around prints of medal-winning Team GB athletes overnight for sale in a selection of outlets the following day – while more everyday requirements might be for background images designed to enhance a piece of sporting memorabilia, perhaps a framed signed shirt or maybe even a football boot in a bespoke case, or framed 360-degree shots of famous European football stadia or top sporting events, such as the Champions League or UEFA Cup Finals.

Even pictures for items like illustrated key rings or fridge magnets are output on silver halide: the sharpness and quality of the smallest print still shines through on this media.

So, given the considerable advantages of Fujifilm’s silver halide option, is it more difficult to handle than digital media?

That may have been true in the past but these days modern methods have rendered the entire process extremely straightforward. ‘The chemistry is just so stable,’ says Derek, ‘and the consistency of the paper is remarkable: it just never changes from batch to batch. It’s also very easy to store, and with the experience we have of handling the paper there’s never an issue with density, colour and contrast either.’

When there is just no room for compromise Fujifilm silver halide prints, with their consistent supreme quality and their outstanding archival attributes, continue to hold sway – even in the modern digital age.

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Master of contradiction Being a Haselblad Masters winner brings a big chunk of expectation, along with the accolade. The celebrated winners are expected to complete a Masters project that forms a chapter in that year’s Masters book. Bryn Griffiths bravely left his studio confines when his name was called

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verseen directly by the company’s senior executive committee, the Hasselblad Masters Award is granted to selected photographers biannually across various specialties in recognition of exceptional accomplishment through photography. If there is a hierarchy of award winning in the worldwide photographic industry, then the Hasselblad Masters is at the very top. Just being on the shortlist can be a career-changing moment, but to be a winner is really something else. Product and advertising specialist Bryn Griffiths has now experienced both sensations and attempts to describe the moment: ‘I had the absolute privilege of being a Masters finalist in 2012, which I was amazed at and then when I was shortlisted again for 2014 I was just overwhelmed. However, nothing beats the sheer exhilaration of being actually announced as a Hasselblad Masters Winner in 2014.

I could not believe it; I was walking around in a daze for a few days after I heard the news; this has to be the greatest achievement so far in my 30-year career as a photographer and I’m very proud to have received the accolade.’ After Bryn settles down a little he continues: ‘The reason it’s so special is that the Hasselblad name is up there at the very pinnacle of our profession – the competition is truly global

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and to be recognised by my peers on the judging panel is extremely humbling.’ Indeed, this isn’t just any awards, it’s the ’blad Masters.

So what does this mean in practice? You only have to look at the jury to realise the gravitas: Tim Flach, Joe Felzman, Joe Windsor Williams, Milwoz Wozaczynski sit amongst no less than 24 international heavyweights of the current photographic world.

Bryn wasn’t exaggerating when he said he was humbled. The winners are provided with the means and equipment to fulfil a project as a part of the Masters Book for the year, of which they are responsible for a chapter of images. The Hasselblad Masters Book is a largeformat masterpiece in its own right from TeNeues. Then there’s an international touring exhibition, too. All in all you can excuse Bryn his couple of days’ daze…

Bryn’s product and advertising work has produced some really special images for top-end brands with cars and bicycles featuring heavily across his portfolio. He comments: ‘My intention is to reinforce inherent brand values by approaching them differently – adding the magic that turns the ordinary into something extraordinary, and creating stunning images that you don’t have to be an art director to want to hang on your wall.’ But for Bryn it could have all been so different. The man who is equally known for particularly stylish suits (or might that be just loud ?) couldn’t decide between accountancy and photography at the tender age of 15. The irony g

Image © Bryn Griffiths

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now is of course that plenty of financial services companies turn to Bryn to produce their advertising campaigns – but to be honest the bean-counting world just wouldn’t have coped with Bryn. However, their loss was the photography world’s gain and Bryn’s big personality works just fine in an arena such as advertising that is still very much powered by personal relationships.

Bryn says: ‘It’s still about talking to people, going and having a chat face to face. When your client base knows you and all about you the link is so much stronger and the understanding is greater. In this sector it’s a must that my clients understand what I can do for their brand. Photography for me has always been personality driven, and that approach seems to work. A great photograph is one that truly engages with the viewer. In product and advertising work that may be to communicate the quality of design and engineering in a product, its form and beauty – and my role is to elevate those aspects and provide a context within which such values are clear and can be aspired to.’ Bryn was once given a key piece of career advice: ‘I once met Terence Donovan on a train, going to a BIPP conference where he was speaking. I was a shy 18-yearold, and gingerly I showed him some of my work. “Keep going lad, you’ll get there in the end”, he said. So after all these years, I’m still going.’

But now, can Bryn finally decide he’s arrived? Indeed he can, but there was of course the small matter of the Masters Book project to tackle. What to do? Where to go? What would it all be about? Bryn explains: ‘My initial idea for the project was simply to showcase the usual type of work I do – that being well-lit shiny, glossy product shots. As the deadline approached for the Masters Book, however, I had the

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opportunity to go to Chernobyl. I realised that this could be a fantastic way to challenge all my normal habits and conventions – to introduce to the chapter material that would be a contradiction of my normal working practices: only using available light and focusing on old, used, weathered and decayed objects.’

When the Chernobyl catastrophe took place on 26 April 1986, the nearby city of Pripyat was not immediately evacuated. The population went about their usual business, completely oblivious to what had just happened. However, within a few hours of the explosion, dozens of people fell ill. Later, they reported severe headaches and metallic tastes in their mouths, along with uncontrollable fits of coughing and vomiting. The general population of the Soviet Union was first informed of the disaster on 28 April, two days after the explosion, with a 20-second announcement in the TV news. Only after radiation levels set off alarms at the Forsmark Nuclear Power Plant in Sweden, over 1,000km away from the Chernobyl Plant, did the Soviet Union admit that an accident had occurred.

Fast-forward 28 years to Bryn’s visit to Chernobyl. Bryn takes over the story: ‘I was with my photo-assistant and a Russian chaperone – a former KGB officer – taking pictures in what had been a secret robot testing facility. We had Geiger counters with us because even now there are still “hot spot” areas. It could be an acceptable 50 RADS (radiation absorbed dose) where you’re standing but just a few feet away it might be ten times that and a very real danger. g

Image © Bryn Griffiths

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g We were just exiting the facility and I was

lugging my tripod with my H5D still attached. I wasn’t looking where I was going and I contrived to fall down a well – for real – I was still holding on to the tripod as I fell and mercifully the camera contrived to get jammed on the ledge as I dropped and it broke the fall. I was left dangling but in one piece.’

Bryn (as you do) had neglected to explain to his wife exactly where he would be going to shoot his pictures for the Masters project – and considering his career to date, she had no reason to think he might be down a well in Russia. Bryn says ‘no, I hadn’t gone into any specifics whatsoever…’.

He continues: ‘I do take photographs across a number of disciplines but my first love is product photography. I love a studio setting; just me and my ’blad and bron’ gear and whatever the product happens to be.

I am intrigued by textures and the tiny nuances that can make the difference between “ok” photography and really great photography. Right now I am shooting extensively in a graphical style – as with the Condor cycle saddle and the Morgan steering wheel – but this was all about going out on location, using natural light and a wide-angle lens and photographing dereliction and decay – and indeed not manipulating it, photographing what I found in place – the exact opposite of my commercial shoots.’

In his chapter Bryn contrasts a £12,000 state-of-the-art Condor road bicycle with a rusted, bent wheel he came across in Chernobyl, complete with a gas mask still hanging on its rim; a classic Morgan steering wheel against another corroded specimen; a Condor saddle and frame against an old bike carcass shot in a gradually decomposing room; a pristine, clinical studio image of

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fresh paint pouring from a shiny tin – against a shot of a dilapidated stairway and a wall with decades-old paint curling and falling away in its moribund final nod to an irradiated city and a shocking, devastating piece of history.

What’s unmistakeable in Bryn’s Chernobyl work, however, is the stamp of an experienced commercial advertising photographer. It’s not unusual for photographers to break out of their usual stamping grounds heading for pastures new, but the results aren’t always so enticing. Bryn’s work succeeds because he didn’t go there and try to produce reportage – he let his inner creative advertising photographer lead the way and find the subtleties of shape and light for him.

Some time ago in an interview Bryn commented: ‘It is my eye for form, colour, lighting and an instinct for styling that I think sets my work apart. Stringent production values are a given – and my range of major clients expect nothing less.’ For the Masters book, Bryn went on a mission to find contrasts or contradictions to set his commercial work against, and captured them without the normal trappings of studio control. That the resulting images have a distinct commercial edge and refinement can only mean that to some extent at least, advertising photographers are born and not made. tP

Image © Bryn Griffiths

See more at: www.bryngriffithsphotography.com www.hasselblad.co.uk/masters-2014-

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BIPP / Company partners

Bowens International is a world-leading manufacturer of photographic lighting systems. For over 50 years Bowens has maintained its position in the photographic market as a favourite among professional and amateur photographers alike. Today, Bowens continues to design professional photographic and video systems from its head quarters in south-east England. With distribution in over 70 countries, Bowens’ lighting equipment is one of the most widely used flash systems in the world. www.bowens.co.uk

Graphistudio was founded in 1981 as a small graphic and photographic advertising studio. In 1987 it expanded into the wedding photography market.

The idea was to offer newlyweds a photographic album using the latest creative graphic techniques. The first Wedding Book was launched to the public in the spring of 1997. Wedding magazines described it as the best wedding momento that had ever been produced. The fame of The Wedding Book soon spread internationally and it was not long before it was presented at international fairs including New York, Atlanta, Tokyo, Barcelona, Athens, Rome and Vienna.

Graphistudio was not only the first in Italy but also in the world to introduce digital print technology to the wedding photography market. It was also the first to develop specific software for the graphic paging-up process and also the first to create this method of book binding for wedding photography, combining it with another first in being able to personalise the album cover by printing directly onto silk. www.graphistudio.com

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BIPP / Member benefits

Payatrader is a low-cost ‘pay as you go’ card acceptance service that allows you to accept card payments – without the need for a traditional terminal or any on-going financial commitment. There is no monthly contract, no terminal and the ability to take cards over the phone, by e-mail or on your ipad. The virtual terminal can sit on your desktop and you don’t need a merchant account.

Benefits include: • • • • • • • •

Low rates Pay as you go transaction fees Free virtual terminal Free payment button for your website No separate Merchant Account needed No physical terminal needed No monthly rental or minimum usage fees to pay No minimum contract

The initial one off set up cost is usually £99 however BIPP members can use a special code to reduce this to £69!

For full details including the discount codes, please login to the members area at www.bipp.com

First Assist Legal Protection – Commercial Lawcare As a BIPP member you gain access to a free 24-hour telephone advisory service on legal issues.

Their services include: • Access to Commercial legal advice • Access to Employment law advice • Access to Personal legal advice Lawcare gives you access to the First Assist team of legal experts at any time, day or night.

Bookaxis is a forward-thinking and dynamic company – one of the UK’s largest suppliers of academic and professional books, with a range spanning over 350,000 titles.

With over 30 years experience they supply professional books to multiple channels, from local bookshops to multi-national companies and e-commerce outlets. Customers benefit from same working day dispatch and worldwide delivery.

BIPP members receive a 10% discount on all products at Bookaxis.com

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BIPP / Regions

Midland Paul Witney ABIPP linkingrings@hotmail.com

North East Kevin Weatherly LBIPP kevinweatherly@mac.com

North West James Russell LBIPP james@jamesrussell photography.co.uk

EVENTS & DATES COMING UP

MIDLANDS Stu Williamson Tuesday, 24 February 2015 Stu Williamson will be coming to present his work and chat about his recent repatriation from Dubai to the UK and setting up again in the Midland region.

Wedding & Portrait Photography with Kevin Wilson Hon FBIPP & Chris Harper FBIPP Wednesday, 12 August 2015, Liverpool 10am-4pm When you invest in training, it’s vital that you choose the best way of maximising that investment. If you want to learn from the best, here it is. A fast-paced day of knowledge, honesty and, of course, photography!

NORTH EAST

NORTHERN IRELAND

Capturing Natural Light in Environmental Fine Art Portraiture with Bella West FBIPP & Chris Harper FBIPP Wednesday, 29 April 2015 Join Bella & Chris for this day of practical tutorials. Discover how the simplest of backgrounds can produce the strongest shots and how to work with natural light to form the most flattering portraits.

A Traditional Chinese Wedding Experience with Denis Brady ABIPP Monday, 16 February 2015 Denis will be doing a presentation on his recent trip to Jincheng, China, to shoot his last wedding.

NORTH WEST Twitter Seminar Wednesday, 11 March 2015 Are you interested in learning how to use twitter effectively, in order to make your business more successful? Join Loan Said LBIPP who will show you: • How to find your target market • How to write engaging content and what is the best time to do so • How to ensure the right people see your content • How to analyse the reach of your tweets North West Region Annual Awards Presentation Thursday, 16 April 2015 Visit www.bippnw.wordpress.com for details on how to enter the awards.

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Annual Visit to The London & Essex Group Tuesday, 10 March 2015 A few hardy souls took part in our inaugural visit in 2013 before we returned the favour in February 2014.

We will be hosted by members Kevin Pengelly FBIPP, David Islip FBIPP and David Court ABIPP, on what promises to be an educational and social visit.

Annual Seminar & Print Competition Monday, 20 April 2015 This year our seminar will be delivered by Dublin based commercial and fine art photographer Vincent O’Byrne.

SCOTLAND Scottish Region Annual Awards Sunday, 17 May 2015 Further details about the annual seminars & regional awards will be announced soon.

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Northern Ireland John Miskelly LBIPP john@johnmiskelly photography.co.uk

Scotland Mike Brookes-Roper FBIPP mike@brookes-roper.co.uk

South West Suzi Allen LBIPP info@suziallen.com

South East Chris Harper FBIPP chris@bipp.com

Yorkshire Stuart Clark Hon FBIPP stuartclarkphotos@ talktalk.net

EVENTS & DATES COMING UP

SOUTH EAST An Afternoon with Bryn Griffiths FBIPP QEP Thursday, 23 April 2015 Stringent production values are a given – and Bryn’s broad range of commercial clients expect nothing less – but it is his eye for form and colour, mastery of lighting and an instinct for the perfect styling that truly sets his work apart. This is a rare opportunity to hear Bryn speak about his career, the Chernobyl project, and how a camera and tripod helped save his life!

Rediscovering Social Photography with Chris Harper FBIPP & David Wheeler FBIPP Thursday, 28 May 2015 It can sometimes be easy to fall into a routine when shooting weddings and portraits. Why not allow yourself some time to stop and think? Take this opportunity to work with David and Chris on producing simple, but effective shots that would delight your clients. Indulge yourself in a day which will re-invigorate your passion for weddings and provide lots of ideas for your next portrait session.

New Faces – BIPP’s Brightest Rising Stars!

Thursday, 25 June 2015 The BIPP continues to evolve and this is a great opportunity to find out how! In short, informal presentations, newly qualified BIPP members will tell you of their journey through photography, how and why they qualified with BIPP, what they have learned through the process and how they have built up their businesses to become successful, and busy, photographers. This is a great chance to get back to grass roots – understanding why we all love photography so much and how much we’re able to learn while developing our own skills and creativity.

Wildlife Photography with Amy Lacey ABIPP Wednesday, 16 September 2015 Join Amy for a relaxed afternoon discovering the joys of wildlife photography. She will talk you through her work, her love of wildlife and why it’s so important to record and capture these creatures in their own habitat. In addition to being a photographer, Amy is a zoologist and conservationist. Her journey to becoming a wildlife photographer started from a very early age and was born out of a love and fascination of the natural world and an enduring desire to explore exotic places.

SOUTH WEST South West Regional Awards Presentation Tuesday, 24 February 2015 This year’s awards, judged by Bella West FBIPP and Chris Harper FBIPP, will be held at Padbrook Park Hotel.

YORKSHIRE Capturing Natural Light in Environmental Fine Art Portraiture with Bella West FBIPP & Chris Harper FBIPP Wednesday, 29 April 2015 Join Bella & Chris for this day of practical tutorials.

Discover how the simplest backgrounds can produce the strongest shots and how to work with natural light to form the most flattering portraits.

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BIPP / National Training

BIPP Spring Training School Wednesday 15 April - Friday 17 April 2015 BIPP Head Office, Aylesbury This training school has been put together for you, the photographer. With three varying genres, three unique tutors and three days to put your skills to the test, the BIPP Spring Training School 2015 is something to put in your calendars!

Image © David Wheeler

Day one will focus on portraiture, day two will be weddings and day three will be product photography.

With practical shoots, tutorials and discussions, these intensive training days are a great way to gain inspiration, ideas, learn something new and get to know new faces. You’ll come away having gained a unique set of new skills and information that you can take forwards with you and apply to your own work.

FINE ART PORTRAITURE WITH BELLA WEST FBIPP Wednesday 15 April 2015 CREATIVE WEDDINGS WITH DAVID WHEELER FBIPP Thursday 16 April 2015 THE PRINCIPLES OF PRODUCT PHOTOGRAPHY WITH JONATHAN BEER FBIPP Friday 17 April 2015 *15% discount if you book all 3 days!!* Book all three days of the BIPP Spring School and you will benefit from an exclusive 15% discount.

To view the discounted three-day rates, as well as detailed information on each day, please visit www.bipp.com/events This is a fantastic opportunity to gain new experience in three very different areas of photography. Be quick though, once the places are gone they’re gone!

BIPP Summer Training School 15, 16 & 18th July 2015 BIPP Head Office, Aylesbury • Mastering Portraiture with Simon John FBIPP Wednesday 15 July 2015 • Timeless Wedding Photography with David Stanbury FBIPP Thursday 16 July 2015 • Commercial Photography with Byrn Griffiths FBIPP Saturday 18 July 2015 Further details to follow soon.

For costs, please visit www.bipp.com/events

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BIPP / National Training

Portfolio Reviews, Portfolio Builder Days and Qualification Assessment Dates BIPP runs One-to-One Portfolio Reviews to support members who would like to achieve a professional qualification with the BIPP. Each review lasts approximately 50 minutes and is a great opportunity to go through your images with a BIPP Approved Assessor.

Upcoming Portfolio Reviews 24 February 30 April 23 June 11 August 13 August

Exeter North East/Yorkshire London Manchester Liverpool

Costs Members £35, Friends £63, Non-Members £70 (plus VAT)

Portfolio Builder Days – these days provide a more in-depth look at the qualification process. You will look at sample submissions, discuss how to build a successful portfolio with our Approved Assessors and learn how to be self critical with your selection of images, whilst gaining inspiration from other photographers.

14 April 14 July 29 September

Head Office Head Office Leeds

Costs Members £150, Friends £180, Non-Members £200 (plus VAT) For further information, visit www.bipp.com/events

Qualification Assessment Dates Tuesday 2 June 2015 BIPP Head Office, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire Submission deadline: 5 May 2015 Tuesday 8 September 2015 BIPP Head Office, Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire Submission deadline: 11 August 2015

Representing BIPP Photographers at Wedding Shows: Over the last few weeks, the BIPP have attended The UK Wedding Show in Newcastle and The Wedding Fair at Bluewater, Kent.

Both of the events proved to be very successful, with buyers of photography finding the information and advice regarding booking a BIPP Professional Photographer extremely useful.

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Casting takes centre stage Knowing your product brings self-belief, meaning you can express and sell it a whole lot better. The precursor to that has to be research, especially when you’re entering a new profession and a niche that’s on the move. Michael Wharley did his analysis and hasn’t looked back

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changing industry isn’t usually the kind of market condition that encourages new entrants – indeed, people tend to leave an industry for just the same reason. But as entrepreneurs know very well, opportunities come around when change is afoot. Being at the forefront of that change can create contrasting market conditions, and the chance to grow a reputation as an expert, as a leader. The psychology of business and what you need ‘up top’ to launch a service and make a success of it – from scratch – is particularly pertinent to photographers since so many of us get into the industry by some quirk of fate or accident and without so much as plan or an ounce of market research. Many readers will be chuckling right now thinking ‘oh yes, that was me, but it’s turned out well enough’ and that’s actually ‘fine enough’. But where are we when thoughts turn to the long-term future, and how much better the position could be now if you’d have done things a bit differently?

So it’s time to introduce the photographer-subject of this piece, Michael Wharley. In the context of the preamble you might be thinking we’re about to proceed with some high-handed and tedious narrative of detailed business planning and carefully formulated aims and objectives. We’re not. This is about the Arts after all.

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But we are about to try and provide some insight into how Michael came to decide on photography and the particular genre of the entertainment industry. His success in this area could easily translate into any number of others.

Michael is a very laid-back guy: gently well spoken, welcoming and – just like many people who are succeeding at what they’re doing – is immediately as interested in you as you are in him.

Whilst this can cause insecurity on the part of the interviewer (hell, I’ve got to stop talking so much!) it’s genuinely a trait of well-liked people. In business, that gets you a long way. Michael read English literature at Oxford and in his second year picked up the theatre bug, big time. When Oxbridge and acting come together, that so often then means heading on to somewhere like the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama and hitting the stage. This is what Michael did for six years, appearing in over 30 productions. That could have been ‘end of story’, but for Michael something was changing: ‘The enjoyment of being on stage began to evaporate,’ he says. ‘I was thinking “people will often go to extreme lengths to get this job and I’m doing it right here and now and not actually enjoying it”.’

The average actor who claims they’re working flat out will likely be occupied sixty per cent of the time at best, and this was true of Michael’s albeit successful stage career. To fill in, he was working g

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as a legal journalist for Chambers & Partners. The two careers ran quite nicely side-by-side. There was none of the dabbling in photo­ graphy in advance of a switch that so many experience. But leaving the stage behind became a firm decision: ‘When I stopped acting I decided to take a bit of time to work out what was next. I was editor at Chambers for a new project in the US, and it made me take up a good deal of responsibility. As an actor you are quite passive. You have a role and you are directed, and that’s not much good when it comes to running a business. You’re always on the back foot, whilst the bigger role at Chambers put me into developing a product and managing a team of people – seeing a project come together all the way from its inception. The experience gave me a bunch of good business tools. But still I resigned from Chambers and really had to think what was to come next at 30 years of age. Realistically, how many more times would I get the opportunity to work up a new career? Photography just kept nagging away at me and in truth I’d say I gave in by degrees – what would a month of it be like, what would the sacrifices be, for how long could I just eat beans?’

Whilst Michael admits to taking whatever he could get in the initial months of his new business, the intention was always there to work in the entertainments sector. He explains: ‘Actors’ headshots are my bread and butter. An actor is sold on the value of a photo or headshot portfolio so I am providing a product that holds clearly g

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defined value and there are around 45,000 serious actors in the UK who need new photos most years, not to mention hundreds or thousands of new entrants each year from drama schools. The better the headshot is in terms of its usefulness to casting directors, the more auditions for work of the type the client wants will follow. It’s an actor’s shop window and a key route to getting work.’ In total contrast then to other genres of photography where the value attached to a shot comes under endless pressure, Michael appears to have picked a market that views his end product differently. He says: ‘Yes, it’s different than the pressure on editorial fees for example, or press and general PR work. But the headshot is just a one-word description of what I’m doing – there is a science behind the work and that’s fundamental to my positioning in the marketplace.’

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Image © Michael Wharley

Michael describes the state of the market when he decided to enter it: ‘It was old-fashioned, with little consistent branding – it was homely and parochial. No one was doing much other than saying “I’m ok at what I do” and this was against a background of the use of the headshot changing too. As a result I decided to have clear and consistent branding designed and, more than just marketing myself on the strength of my work, to try and generate a reputation as a neutral expert in the field, as well as providing an extended product.’ Michael’s tactic was to effectively get paid for doing his own market research and so pitched a article to entertainment weekly national The Stage surveying casting directors to explore how the modern on-line casting environment was changing the make-up of an actor’s promotional toolkit. It’s an area that has

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since been regularly revisited and complimented by a series of videos on YouTube and numerous talks and seminars, all largely about what casting directors want and how actors can get the most from their headshots. It’s not, however, just a marketing tactic. Michael explains: ‘It’s true that I’m interested in the extended idea of the headshot. The on-line world has changed everything and I’ve positioned myself as someone who knows about those changes and can deliver results that are optimised to how the images are being viewed. I’ll show casting range for example – an actor might say they’ve been doing a lot of comedy and that they want to get some work that’s more serious and gritty.

A headshot session can be tailored to offer that potential. But at no point is this about creating character shots – casting directors just are not interested in that.’

So has the whole world of black and white prints gone completely? Michael comments: ‘It’s less and less print orientated as on-line casting tools like the Spotlight website are the main conduit of casting information. And the specific mechanics of how those sites work means that showing a range of casting “facets” in pictures is important, rather than the classic “main” casting shot in the singular. Video is becoming more important, but stills remain vital. Actors increasingly need to promote themselves much more broadly than just in casting channels, and they want to manage their on-line identity – they might want a slick-looking profile on www. imdb.com and often require high production values and more “fashiony” images on file for editorial campaigns associated with film or theatre productions. So, as for print headshots, I may not be supplying them much to clients but I am supplying carefully tailored images for web and print use. And I’ve talked to the production departments at Spotlight, Casting Call Pro and CNI UK to help get the most out of portfolios on these sites.’

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They say about newly established businesses that after three years or so the work should start coming to you – otherwise the offering should be reassessed. Michael’s five-year targets came and went a year or so early and he explains: ‘A critical mass of recommendations occurs – actors see photos of their friends or colleagues, agents see your work and they want it for their clients. Now I feel I can control, to an extent, how much of the headshots work I do because it’s important to allow space for film and theatre promotion shoots and campaigns. It’s the kind of work that comes a lot through connections – a PR contact might ask me to do theatre or film posters and you can’t really advertise for that kind of assignment, even if you can pitch for it. I really used my ABIPP submission to beat my portfolio into shape so I can slam it on the desk and say who I am and seek out that work.’

It can be understood, then, that Michael’s approach is not actually about advertising – rather about being known. ‘It’s been about awareness: I’ve penetrated the market partly by producing reliably high-quality work, but the effort to market myself and become known as someone who understands the needs of the industry has really made the difference in getting the work noticed. Of course, the reason an individual actor chooses me is a little melting pot of factors – agent advice, personal preference, a feeling you’ll get the best out of them, recommendations from friends, maybe valuing the idea of expertise.

But funnily enough given their profession, most actors hate being in front of a stills camera so the value of being approachable carries a lot of weight too, and that’s easier I think in the digital era.’

Historically, from the 1920s when headshots were first used, until the last five years or so, just one photo would represent an actor and be all things to all people. And because it would be shot on film, the process privileged the photographer. ‘There were great guys doing it,’ says Michael ‘but the business was fundamentally on the back foot: shooting one “look” or style was all you needed to make your business. The client now expects variety, but also to be part of the process: I let them in and we review and talk about shots as we go – I’m never trying to mystify the process. So, the client is happier because they are able to manage their image and be part of the refining of their brand, they’re happy because they get numerous distinct looks, but they feel better about it all as well, because the process is open to them. And the way someone feels is just as important in generating good word of mouth.’

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He continues: ‘I think clients are surprised by the detail and technical lengths I will go to – they appreciate the process and could be here for anything from an hour and a half through to a whole afternoon. Some people just can’t be shot quickly and some demand more of the psychotherapist element of being a photographer, but almost all will respond to being given time and being listened to.’

With the bread-and-butter work running off of its own energy, Michael’s creativity has turned to further developing the campaigns side of the entertainments spectrum. It demands a high level of production and control together with investment in personal work.

‘I’m planning the post-production ahead of the point of shooting, as it’s not about fixing but creating. In the last year I’ve managed six personal shoots aimed at this side of my business – you have to be doing things to be in advertising or film/theatre commissioning. I think people often only know they want your work when they can see a picture that they imagine working for their production and it triggers a thought. And it might take time for that seed to flower. You must allow that process to happen and be always thinking ahead.’ tP See more at: www.michaelwharley.com

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Spring Training School This training school has been put together for you, the photographer. With three varying genres, three unique tutors and three days to put your skills to the test, the BIPP Spring Training School 2015 is something to put in your calendars!

Day one will focus on portraiture, day two will be weddings and day three will be product photography.

With practical shoots, tutorials and discussions, these intensive training days are a great way to gain inspiration, ideas, learn something new and get to know new faces. You’ll come away having gained a unique set of new skills and information that you can take forwards with you and apply to your own work.

Fine Art Portraiture with Bella West FBIPP

Creative Weddings with David Wheeler FBIPP

The Principles of Product Photography with Jonathan Beer FBIPP

Wednesday 15 April 2015 BIPP Head Office, Aylesbury

Thursday 16 April 2015 BIPP Head Office, Aylesbury

Friday 17 April 2015 BIPP Head Office, Aylesbury

The second day of the Spring School will focus on creative weddings with none other than David Wheeler. You will work alongside David and discover some of the key aspects in creating thought provoking, memorable and dynamic wedding images.

Join Bella for this intensive one-day training course that will cover the major principles of portrait photography. The day will be constructed around a practical shoot, various talks and tutorials, and you will also have the opportunity to work closely with Bella, discussing some of her work, and different ways of experimenting with the uses of natural light through portrait photography.

The day will largely evolve around a practical shoot where you’ll get the opportunity to put some of what you will have learned into practise, and experiment with new ideas and knowledge gained from talks and tutorials that will have taken place in the morning.

Working closely with David, you will learn how to bring the surroundings and the venue into play, and how to use that to your advantage when composing your images. You’re guaranteed to come away from this day with an increased knowledge of lighting and location and how to really obtain the atmosphere from the day’s events.

With a focus on individual style, you will partner light and location to create unique and dynamic portraits.

To learn more about Bella herself, look at her website – www.bellawest.co.uk

For more on David take a look at www.davidwheelerphotography.co.uk

Day three of the BIPP Spring School will focus on product photography.

The day will be predominantly practical, although there will be some short talks and tutorials where Jonathan will guide you through certain techniques that you can then go and practise with.

You will work alongside Jonathan to produce some truly remarkable imagery. From this one-day training course, you will gain: • • •

An increased knowledge about product photography, what it involves and how it works at the highest level.

Inspiring new ideas from group discussions and the practical shoot.

How quality lighting can help to display a product in its best form for your clients.

The biggest gain however, will be the skills you acquire from working closely with Jonathan and learning from his expertise.

To learn more about Jonathan, take a look at www.jonathanbeer.co.uk

Book your place now at www.bipp.com/events or call Jack on 01296 642020, and get 15% off if you book all three days!

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