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GETTING YOUR NAME OUT THERE
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NOT YOUR AVERAGE PORTRAIT SITTING How does 1m potential subjects grab you?
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CONTENTS ISSUE 91
Regulars
006 INBOX
038
Competitions to enter, new kit to drool over and all the winners and losers – every bit of industry news you need to read.
014 PORTFOLIO: GEORGE FAIRBAIRN
From photographing bands in local Cambridge pubs for free to being awarded an SWPP Fellowship, George’s career has really taken off since leaving the air force.
022 PROJECT: PILGRIMAGE
COVER Echoing the arduous journey his subjects made, the task of taking portraits amidst the melee of the world’s largest pilgrimage wasn’t easy for Justin Hession. 022
Pro Academy
030 LIGHTING MASTERCLASS
COVER Portrait photographer Matt Thompson talks creased cotton, velvet curtains and jackets, and walking the corridors of power – it’s all in a day’s work.
038 BURLESQUE BEAUTIES
COVER The inside story on bagging beautiful burlesque and boudoir photos.
044 GROUP COUNSELLING
COVER With family rifts, recalcitrant pageboys and unhelpful best men, group shots at weddings can be stressful. Our ten-point self-help plan will help.
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Business Matters
051 BUSINESS MATTERS
Take our advice to boost your bottom line, plan the year ahead and prove to Google you’re top of the pile.
054 MASTER MARKETING
COVER Join the Circle, collaborate in a Hangout or gather in a Community – a few of the ways to meet clients on Google+.
060 MOVING IN
COVER Imagine it, a room of your own; a space to express your creativity. Is it time you invested in your own studio?
066 TRIED-AND-TESTED
Gear
082 FUJIFILM X-T1
COVER This mirrorless, but oh so very DSLR-like, X camera could change some entrenched opinions about compact system cameras. We’ve got two opinions to get you thinking…
088 CHILLBLAST FUSION PHOTO OC V
When time is money you need kit that’s going to speed up your workflow and save your business cash. This fifth iteration of Chillblast’s photo editing workstation looks set to do just that.
COVER What’s the best way to get your name out there? Three experts, who’ve been there, done that and got the T-shirt, share their favourite marketing tips.
090 BUYERS’ GUIDE
077 HDSLR MOVIEMAKER
098 NEXT ISSUE
The latest from the movie world.
COVER Don’t lose your memory – or your images – with these cards and devices. Blogs, babies and medium-format CMOS.
Inbox Inbox THE BIG PICTURE
THE KING AND THE CAT
George Logan’s shoot for Whiskas Cat Food was a dream assignment, and his clever composites have earned him a Sony World Photography Competition shortlisting PICTURE GEORGE LOGAN
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Inbox
Anyone who has ever shared their life with a cat will smile with recognition when they look at the advertising series shot by George Logan for an ongoing Whiskas campaign. Common sense tells you that the various scenarios, which depict a domestic cat enjoying life in the African outback and interacting with the exotic animals more commonly found there, can’t be real, but the various components in each scene have been so carefully and cleverly crafted together that they look utterly
believable. That’s a massive testament to George’s skill, and this particular shot from the series, showing kitty nuzzling up to one of its less cuddly cousins, has just been shortlisted in the advertising section of the prestigious Sony World Photography Awards. “It really was a dream assignment,” says George. “To start with I went on a two-week shoot to the Shamwari Game Reserve in South Africa, where the Born Free Foundation organised everything for us, from vehicles to
get us around through to rangers who could show us the best places to go. We knew the subjects that we wanted to shoot, and when we got back to the UK we set up a day’s shoot in a daylight studio where we carefully matched the lighting in the African scenes. “Then it was a case of gently persuading our feline subject to take up the poses that we needed: for this shot the cat took a liking to a piece of material we had, and was quite happy to rub up against it.”
ISSUE 91 PHOTO PROFESSIONAL 007
PROJECT
Pilgrims
Kumbh of the
The Kumbh Mela in India last year was estimated to be the largest human gathering of all time, and if he was to come away with meaningful pictures of the event Justin Hession knew he needed to be prepared WORDS TERRY HOPE PICTURES JUSTIN HESSION
Like so many of his fellow Australians Justin Hession grew up with a lust for travel and an international perspective on life, and this spirit of adventure has never left him. Growing up in Melbourne he set off to backpack around the world after finishing school. “It was a really important time in my life,” he recalls. “I visited a lot of countries but unfortunately I didn’t take a camera with me because photography was not something I’d been exposed to up to that point. It wasn’t until I got a job on a bungee jumping site in the Greek Islands that I became interested, and even then it was in a roundabout way. I became friends with the photographer there, and I thought he had a rather good job as he slept in every morning, hardly did any work during the day and made more money than all of us. The next summer I came back as the photographer. After that I wanted to become a sports photographer but thought I should study the craft first. With this in mind I returned to Melbourne, where I swiftly came to realise there was more to photography than action.” As Justin became more established he worked extensively with international and local agencies, and his current client list includes the likes of Prime Communications and Forbes, Cartier, Glencore, Gategroup and Takeda. He also lectured on photography in both Melbourne and Delhi, before following his heart and moving to Zurich eight years ago. Justin has never lost his urge to see the world and to experience different cultures. It was this continuing sense of adventure that led him to take on his first major personal photography project since graduating. “In 2001 I spent a year teaching photography at the highly acclaimed National Institute of Fashion Technology in Delhi, India,” says Justin. “It was there that I heard about the Kumbh Mela, a mass pilgrimage of faith in which Hindus go to bathe in a sacred river. It’s held every third year, and in 2007 I travelled to Allahabad to witness the festival on the banks of the river Ganges. While I was there I became aware how many photographers, most of them local, were covering the event. 022 PHOTO PROFESSIONAL ISSUE 91
It had become something of a paparazzi fest and, to me at least, everyone appeared to be taking essentially the same photos.” Returning home Justin continued to think about what he’d seen and to consider how he might do something significantly different. “It was a very difficult assignment because millions of people walking en masse on a dry riverbed kicks up a dust cloud,” he says, “which meant that showing the size of this event or any landscape was almost impossible. But what intrigued me the most about the whole event were the characters of the Kumbh, especially their spiritual devotion. I had spent a lot of time in India and the Kumbh had the craziness that I liked. It was chaos.”
Individual portraits
Justin formulated a plan to strip away the background noise and to concentrate on individual pilgrims, isolating them and showing their true gracefulness and dignity. “Religion, I realised, gave the poor dignity,” he says. “I wanted to somehow show this but then work got busy again and I wasn’t able to give my planned project another thought until around three months before the Kumbh Mela that was due to take place in Allahabad in February 2013. At that point it all came to mind again and I was fired up to take on the story. “I decided to travel to India there and then to see if someone there could rent me a large tent space so I could set up a temporary studio. With millions and millions of people due to descend on the area, however, I was on a difficult mission. In the end no one could help. I spent three days in Allahabad searching and came away a little dejected. It was possible to find accommodation but I needed to be in the middle of the madness because I knew it would be difficult to convince the pilgrims to walk very far just for a photo. I deliberated the risk for a month: should I just show up to India with a full studio under my arm so to speak and hope I could find a tent? Two weeks before it all started I decided just to do it and a mad journey began. There was a lot to organise and I would only have two days in Delhi to do it all.”
IMAGE The Kumbh Mela attracts 100 million pilgrims, and is a chaotic experience. In contrast, Justin's images are quiet and contemplative, focusing on individual pilgrims and emphasising their grace and intense spirituality.
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LIGHTING THE PORTRAIT
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Originally a DJ for Kiss FM, Matt Thompson discovered a love for photography and switched careers. His incisive portrait work has won him regular commissions from some of the world’s leading publications WORDS CHRISTIAN HOUGH PICTURES MATT THOMPSON
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ESSENTIAL PRO SECRETS REVEALED
Providing you with the essential skills, techniques and ideas you need to make it as a successful professional photographer
030 LIGHTING MASTERCLASS Creased cotton, velvet
curtains and jackets, and the corridors of power – all in a day’s work for a pro.
038TheBURLESQUE insider story on burlesque & boudoir.
044 SELF-HELP Our ten-point plan is
the stress-free way to successful group shots. ISSUE 91 PHOTO PROFESSIONAL 029
SHOOTING BURLESQUE
PUTTING ON THE STYLE AT
MURDER MILE Burlesque specialist and occasional performer Tigz Rice held an intimate workshop for a handful of lucky delegates at Murder Mile Studios in East London recently, where she shared some of her own secrets of success
JEZ SUGARS
WORDS TERRY HOPE PICTURES VARIOUS
ISSUE 91 PHOTO PROFESSIONAL 039
GROUP THERAPY SHOOT WEDDING GROUPS
Even in these days of reportage wedding coverage, most photographers still need to shoot the time-honoured group picture. Annabel Williams presents a ten-step approach to take away the stress WORDS & PICTURES ANNABEL WILLIAMS
It can be difficult to get a large group into one photograph so adopt a high viewpoint as used in this shot. Other possible photos could make use of stairs or even shooting out of a window.
ISSUE 91 PHOTO PROFESSIONAL 045
BUSINESS MATTERS MASTER MARKETING
GET THE MOST OUT OF
GOOGLE+ With a staggering 300 million active users, Google+ provides a valuable opportunity to network with your community and, as Donal Doherty reveals, it should form a crucial part of your marketing strategy WORDS DONAL DOHERTY PICTURES LISA BETTANY
f you’re not on Google+ yet this feature will show you what you’re missing and will hopefully demonstrate just why you should be looking to join its 300 million active users. In addition to the social network’s large number of followers, Google+ has one of the most popular apps on app stores and, through its other platforms, delivers access to an additional 240 million active users. For photographers, Google+ represents a fresh way to interact online and to build meaningful connections with your tribe. As with other social networks it’s not a standalone solution to your marketing needs,
I
but rather should be part of an integrated marketing strategy. Google+ gives you a chance to establish yourself as a thought leader in a space where your competition is not actively participating. Look at how Google+ can help you to fulfil a need other social networks can’t, and then build your strategy around that.
Google+ features
Circles are the means by which you connect with other users. By putting your contacts into different circles you have complete control over the information you share. Tailoring content in this way increases relevance and, ultimately, the quality of your interactions. You can also
use a content filter to determine what you would like to see in your stream. By creating a prioritised list of suggested circles in the About tab of your profile page, those visiting can determine if your page might be of interest. Circle Count helps you to find new relevant people. You can search certain keywords and it provides statistics on specific users. Events sync with your Google calendar and send notifications out regarding what you’re planning. You can also integrate it through Google’s services. There is an email invite option too, so you can invite people who don’t have Google+. Those attending the event can then enable ‘party mode’ on their phone,
ISSUE 91 PHOTO PROFESSIONAL 055
BUSINESS MATTERS
A RO O M O F YOU R OW N
STEP UP TO A
STUDIO
Maybe you’ve been hiring space, or possibly you share, but have you ever dreamed of running your own photographic studio? Zoe Richards has just made such a move, and here she explains what was involved WORDS & PICTURES ZOE RICHARDS
aking the decision to open a studio can be quite daunting but, let’s face it, it can be really exciting as well. But how do you know how to get started in terms of choosing the right place with the right footprint? As it happens this is something that I’ve recently gone through, so I thought I’d share my experience. The good news is that it shouldn’t be too traumatic, but you have to be prepared for the various stages that you’ll need to go through. My own background is that I currently have a small studio in a shared building in Liverpool city centre. This arrangement works well for me but it’s not perfect, and last year I decided it was time to move back into my own building with my own front door. I started off by looking at where, ideally, I wanted to be; after all, we’re told it’s all about location, location, location, so I knew I had to get this right. Initially things were difficult: to start with I was looking at relocating nearer to where I lived, but looking at properties in the towns and villages on the outskirts of the city discouraged me. I encountered high rents, units in a really bad state of repair, poor locations and unusual layouts, and I just knew these units were not right for my business. It was back to the drawing board, and I sat down and worked out precisely what I needed and came up with the square footage that would work for my business. I calculated this by working out the rooms I needed and then the space within the rooms. Now I knew I
M
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needed to find somewhere with scope for the following features: •S tudio space of approximately 16x20 feet •O ffice space sufficient for three people •A reception area •A viewing room • Toilet • Storage •A car parking space
Rethinking my requirements
By stepping back a little and taking a cold, hard look at what I wanted I also found myself revisiting the idea of a unit located in the city centre. This revised thinking raised some fresh issues: for a start, there are very few business premises available in Liverpool city centre where you can have your own front door and they can be expensive; if you don’t want to break the bank it’s difficult to find the right place. I trawled the agents, asked around, and lived on rightmove.com searching for properties of approximately 1200 square feet. It still all sounds exciting, doesn’t it? A hunt for a great location and a cool building. But behind the scenes I also needed to make sure that the sums were right. If you’re considering taking on a studio, make sure you work out your costs properly. You will need to allow for the following: •R ent (and if you’re not VAT registered, remember that in the main the rent that is quoted is exclusive of VAT, so this is an additional cost to your business).
• Rates – there is currently a government scheme that allows businesses in a unit with a rateable value that’s less than £6000 to pay zero rates, but sadly this won’t last forever. With rates and VAT included, a property that starts of with a rent of, say, £12,500 a year, can very quickly cost you £20,000. • Fit-out costs – if you find somewhere that’s perfect for your needs from day one you’ll be incredibly lucky. The chances are that you’ll need some level of building work to create the right internal structure for your needs. • Utilities – electricity and gas, and remember to include water rates in your calculations even where you don’t have a toilet or sink as you will need to pay for surface water. • Telephone and Internet. • Insurance – you may find that your landlord will organise building insurance and charge you IMAGES Zoe is primarily a wedding and boudoir photographer, so along with all the usual costs associated with setting up her own studio, she had to factor in a budget for kitting out the space in a way that would make her clients feel as comfortable as possible.
BUSINESS MATTERS
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BUSINESS MATTERS
TIME TO GET P U B L I C I S E YOU R B U S I N E S S
MARKETING! Most successful photographers are not just great at taking pictures that sell, but they also have a strong grasp of the art of marketing. Here are some tips that will help to spread the word about your own business WORDS TERRY HOPE PICTURES VARIOUS
e’ve all heard about photographers who wow others in the business with their skill behind the camera, but struggle to make ends meet because they haven’t got a business brain and no grasp of what it takes to run a commercial enterprise. Equally we must all be aware of photographers who are workmanlike in what they do but make a fortune because they are brilliant at selling and making sure that everyone out there who could be a potential client knows about them. Modesty and humility are natural British traits, but endearing though they can be, they
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can hold you back when it comes to telling the world how good you are at what you do. When you’re looking to attract new clients all shyness has to be put to one side and you need to be out there shouting about your virtues and highlighting your achievements. Without encouragement – we’ll see later on how that can be given – others are not going to bang your drum, and if you spend your life imagining that clients are going to spend the time making the effort to find you simply because others tell you that you’re a great photographer, you’re in for a big disappointment.
The modern photographer realises that they need to work at least as hard at marketing their business as they do in actually producing the work that makes the money. Initially that can be a difficult thing to come to terms with, because it means setting aside serious amounts of time for no immediately obvious return. And, if you’re not disciplined, it can indeed be dangerous: social networking in particular can become an addiction, and you could find yourself sitting in front of a computer screen discussing trivia for long periods and achieving no worthwhile end result at all.
BUSINESS MATTERS
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090 BUYERS’ GUIDE: MEMORY GADGETS
You won’t lose your memory – or your images – with this selection of cards, readers and SSDs.
082 FUJFILM X-T1
This mirrorless, but oh so very DSLR-like, X camera could change some entrenched opinions.
088 CHILLBLAST FUSION PHOTO OC V
When time is money you need kit like this photo editing workstation to speed up your workflow.
ISSUE 91 PHOTO PROFESSIONAL 081
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BIG BUSINESS
Jeff Mitchum on his love of landscape and setting up galleries in Las Vegas casinos
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