Creative Light - Issue 12

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Guild Awards Special Edition Rock Photographer - Nick Elliott PhotoHubs - Crewe Hall Master Craftsman - Mark Seymour Craftsman - Pip Bacon Craftsman - Gillian Lloyd Digital Marketing - Laura Hampton Issue 12 - Creative Light :

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Contents features 20 26 86 98 104 106 108 112 116

© Nick Elliott

Kevin Pengelly Chairman of Judges Nik Elliott Rock Photographer SIB - Stand-In-Baby Claire Elliott Photographs Lesley Chalmers, Photohubs - Crewe Hall

© Pip Bacon

Mark Seymour Master Craftsman Weddings Pip Bacon Successful Craftsman Laura Hampton Digital Marketing Mark Seymour Master Craftsman Narrative Gillian Lloyd Successful Craftsman

© Gillian Lloyd

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The Guild of Photographers W

hat an amazing time we had at our Awards night (and the connected PhotoHubs weekend)! Before we talk about the Awards themselves, we HAVE to touch on the magical atmosphere Guild members create. The whole weekend, at an amazing location was so much FUN and a true CELEBRATION of everyone’s personal achievements. The PhotoHubs element was packed with learning and insights from Catherine Connor, Andrew Appleton, Gavin Prest, Paul Callaghan, Guy Gowan, Kevin Pengelly and Creative Light Editor Julie Oswin amongst others.

steve & lesley thirsk

Steve Thirsk

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The Evening Awards celebration was supported and attended by several of our Trade friends including GraphiStudio, InFocus Insurance, Johnsons Photopia, Kaleidoscope, One Vision Imaging, 3XM, Folio Albums and Loxley Colour amongst others. The Awards presentation itself was fast flowing and emotional. There were lots of shocks, lots of tears and lots of applause and cheering – A truly electric atmosphere! As for the actual Awards themselves – Well, with around 10,000 entries, it was a remarkable achievement to be short listed as an Image of the Year, and likewise to accrue enough points to achieve the Photographer’s Bar or make the Top 10 equally remarkable! The standards just get higher and higher each year, and the Guild’s unique month after month assessment process, increasingly demanding. There is an article in the magazine about all the above, so we won’t go into more details, other than to congratulate our 2015 Photographer of the Year Gillian Lloyd, our All-Round Photographer of the Year Gavin Prest, and our Image of the Year Winners – Lee Jones (the Judges choice) and Simon Newbury (the Members choice). It really is our honour to present the Awards as they are so well deserved. We are privileged to see the way people push themselves month after month and the personal journeys we witness from


intending to be an active Guild Member! We are having a very active start to 2016 events wise…In March Lesley Chalmers is running an exciting trip to Iceland, in April we are off to Italy for training to GraphiStudio’s fabulous Castle and we are having a photo-walk in amazing Venice itself. Within the UK we have a Wedding Speedlights course booked in the Midlands on 17th March, will be at the Photography Show a few days later and have our next PhotoHubs event at Gatwick on 8th and 9th April – complete with it’s legendary ‘social’!

Lesley Thirsk entering are extraordinary. We applaud every single person who enters - You have our utmost respect! As well as becoming our All-Round Photographer of the Year and our People genre Photographer of the Year Gavin Prest achieved Master Craftsman status with the Guild. We have now invited him to become a Panel Member and he is now undergoing training as a Judge. We have also invited David Islip to join the Panel. David has been a member for some time, is a Master Craftsman, has a Fellowship and is a qualified Judge and respected Mentor. He also has won many awards including multiple WPPI International Awards of Excellence. He is a true “all-rounder” – a Newborn, Portrait, Commercial and Wedding photographer.

Finally, if you’ve not had chance to look please do go onto our website News section as you’ll find some exciting things there including up to 40% off at Zenfolio and 30% off a huge range of Westcot clearance items, as well as details about our new free to enter monthly Themed competition where you can win a £50 voucher to spend at Wilkinson Cameras. We hope you enjoy this exciting bumper edition of Creative Light, celebrating all the above as well as being its usual interesting self! - Steve & Lesley Thirsk

We want to thank Pete Bristo for his contributions as a Panel Member, as he is taking a break from the responsibilities for personal reasons. He is of course

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Editor “

Starting a new chapter is much like composing the perfect photograph. You must ensure the proper components are there. You may throw out the extra, but without the key elements the story goes untold.” ― Faith Tilley Johnson

A

timeless bridal portrait taken at one of my favourite wedding venues, Prestwold Hall, Leicestershire. I personally love the simplicity of the pose, the lines and shapes and the kiss of light on her face. A few minutes was all I had to capture the Bride as she was waiting with the Groom to be announced for the Wedding Breakfast. Impossible to believe that this will be the twelfth issue issue of Creative Light. The readership is up, membership to the Guild of Photographers has hit record numbers of over 2,000 and I am proud to be the Editor of Creative Light and bring to you the people behind the photographs.

julie oswin

Front cover is by the very talented Lee Jones. Congratulations on your invitation to be on the Television Programme, Look North, BBC Yorkshire. Also to Julie Moult for being invited to Radio Leicester to talk and share her success at The Guild Awards. Fantastic promotion for both of your businesses. If you have a story you would like to share to be considered for Creative Light Magazine then please get in touch with me - julie@photoguild. co.uk.

http://www.julieoswintraining.com © Julie Oswin

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The Guild’s Photographer of the Year 2015

gillian lloyd

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“

Gillian who had accumulated the highest total score from her entries into the Image of the Month Competition in any single genre�. - Steve & Lesley Thirsk

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gavin prest

All-round Photographer of the Year 2015

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“

Gavin accumulated the highest total score from his entries into the Image of the Month Competition from two different genres combined together�. - Steve & Lesley Thirsk

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beverley foster

Wedding Photographer of the Year 2015

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Award was collected on behalf of Beverley by her daughter, Rachael

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Newborn & Baby Photographer

sarah wilkes

of the Year 2015

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front cover “

I had been wanting to create something a little more distinctive for myself other than the usual portraits I take. I wanted to push my lighting techniques and be able to experiment with different lighting styles and set-ups. I didn’t want to find an experienced model, but I also wanted to challenge myself – I found Pip Atkins, Pip had a few different types of suits and I also sought out some handmade bespoke pipes. With the use of a smoke machine I created something with quite a dark and moody look, something that couldn’t be from any specific period in time especially with the tweed suit and pipe. Whilst I was changing the lights around, I moved Pip into a corner of my studio which I had recently painted grey, it is an area of my studio that has some natural light flooding in. To diffuse the light I used blinds and voile fabric. I added a large reflector to the layout to reflect light into the shadow areas. As the light was quite directional, I tried a few different poses but the one with Pip looking out towards the light just seemed to suit the mood perfectly”.

lee jones

- Lee Jones

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PhotoHubs Local photographic Trade Shows and Seminars with a difference!

A Hub - “The effective centre of an activity, region or network” 18

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Next Event The Holiday Inn, Gatwick on Friday 8th & Saturday 9th April 2016

The Holiday Inn, Gatwick

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ack by popular demand, and with a slightly different style, PhotoHubs will be rolling into Gatwick on Friday 8th and Saturday 9th of April 2016 and offering training and presentations from some of the industry’s ‘must see’ speakers, in a location which is second to none, we know that this PhotoHubs at Gatwick will be one to remembered and a great way to kick start your portfolio and motivation for 2016. We have scheduled training on site at the hotel, using the seminar rooms, and for the live demo’s this hotel offers a contemporary and modern architecture giving you the chance to create some really modern images for your portfolio.

Glyn Dewis | Pannikos Hastily | Beverley Foster | Lisa Beaney | The Guild Judging Panel | Kevin Pengelly | Julie Oswin

Tickets for the Two Day Event are £99 which includes ALL SPEAKERS plus unlimited tea/coffees. Tickets for individual days are £60 which includes ALL SPEAKERS on your chosen day of attendance and unlimited tea/coffees. FOR ALL DETAILS OF THE SPEAKERS AND TO PURCHASE YOUR TICKET PLEASE GO TO THE WEBSITE WWW.PHOTOHUBS.CO.UK Issue 12 - Creative Light :

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Chairman of the Panel W

ell what a fantastic night the Awards Ceremony was Many Congratulations to all the winners your work is outstanding and a pleasure to judge. The highlight of the evening was to present my good friend and fellow Panel Member Julie Oswin a Contribution to the Photographic Industry Award from Guild of Photographers for all the work Julie does behind the scenes and also for the fantastic magazine you are all reading now Creative Light. On the Saturday we had four submissions to Judge, two successful Craftsman panels by Pip Bacon and Gillian Lloyd. Congratulations to both of you and thank you for presenting fabulous panels of work. Mark Seymour for gaining a double Master Craftsman in Documentary Weddings and People. This is the first time ever that a double Master Craftsman has been achieved within The Guild.

kevin pengelly

It was a real pleasure to see so many attending the talk Julie and I held on the Saturday afternoon for PhotoHubs – Preparing your Images for Competition and Qualifications, the talk was very well attended. Although time was short it was great to judge so many outstanding prints in the ‘Live Print Judging Competition’ and many congratulations to the Winner Nathalie Rouquette.

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Image of the Month continues to have a few simple errors and also major faults in the work that is submitted. It saddens me to see that there are still so many images that are out of focus. Please remember to look at your images 100% before submitting. Dust spots through lack of attention to detail are still being submitted and the results are, of course, low. Another area that we see on a regular basis is poor post processing, poor cloning where we have double layers, repetitive cloning elements. Please remember to always check all of your images at 100% before submitting for Judging. April 8th & 9th at the Holiday Inn, Gatwick we see our next PhotoHubs. Julie and I will be putting together another talk regarding the preparation of your images for Image of the Month and Qualifications, but we will have more time. Finally, following on from the feedback given by you at Crewe Hall we will be giving a live Judging Session on your prints but this time we will be putting single images onto a stand so that you can all see and hear what is being said about individual images. I look forward to meeting up with you at Gatwick. - Kevin Pengelly MCrGPP FBIPP Chairman of Judges


Š Kevin Pengelly MCrGPP FBIPP Issue 12 - Creative Light :

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www.folioalbums.com

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One of the world’s most revered rock photographers” – Chateau des Carrasses

“Rock photographer, Nick Elliott, has carved out an enviable reputation for producing powerful iconic pieces of photographic art in his own inimitable avant-garde style. Nick had a very successful career in Editorial and Advertising photography, commissioned by top London fashion and advertising agencies including; Saatchi & Saatchi, TBWA, Yellow Hammer, O&M, Young & Rubican, GGT, Carlson Direct, MSBK and Publicis, for major above & below-the-line campaigns such as Liberal Democrats, Coca-Cola, British Telecom, British Airways, Walt Disney, Lloyds TSB Bank, Sheraton Hotels and Jaguar.

nick elliott

After winning several awards, Nick specialised in the music industry photographing some of the most iconic artists in the business and his images have frequently been featured on album artwork as well as being published extensively across the media for over 20 years. Nick’s work is highly respected and his images are in high demand as fine art limited edition prints having exhibited in over a dozen art galleries in the UK, Europe and USA.

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Nick was approached by a specialist music book publisher and released his debut book, TEN-A Decade In Images in 2011. In 2014, Nick released 50Folk, a personal celebration of 50 years of the legendary Cambridge Folk Festival and released third book, Three Weeks One Summer, documenting a project with The Marmalade in 2015. Nick is currently working on a series of rock books. In 2013, Nick also became Director of Photography and Picture Editor at DeepRedMagazine.com, a contemporary, online, music and arts publication. His genius in the studio is only surpassed by his ability to capture the intensity of the live musical performance and Nick is driven by an incredible passion and the desire to create stunning images of the musical artists who have been his inspiration. Exposing the very essence of the performers’ inner most soul in a way that no other photographer can, Nick continues to produce contemporary collections of photographic art that will outlive time itself.”

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Nick’s warm and evocative photographs perfectly capture the intimacy and authenticity of a warm, evocative, intimate and authentic event.” - Mark Radcliffe (BBC Radio Presenter)

Q: Tell me a little bit about yourself and your approach to your photography, how did it all begin?

My career in photography began through a desperate urge to create David Bailey has had a massive influence on me and my work, the music scene, Patrick Lichfield, a mixture of all of this really kicked it off. Photography was always a big part of my childhood. My Dad was a very keen amateur and I remember as a little lad watching him mess about in the darkroom developing film and printing. Photography has always been something that I wanted to do and I am very fortunate to have been given the ability to be good at it. I am not really interested too much in photography, though, but I am in art - photography is the medium that I use to create my art.

Q: How did your photographic career in the world of music evolve.

I had this kind of itchy unhappiness where I was - I had come to a point in my life where I wanted to move the line, I am doing this all the time, moving the boundaries of what I am satisfied with. Not that I am ever satisfied, to be honest, I don’t think I ever will be, but that is the art of photography. I was doing a lot of magazine work, freelancing, sports etc. It was towards the end of the 70’s, early 80’s, that I decided Issue 12 - Creative Light :

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to go it on my own and moved into Creative Advertising. As with all of my work, I set my stall very high working with top Advertising Agencies, shooting legendary campaigns for pharmaceutical, cigarette, and car accounts like the Liberal Democrats election campaign in 1992. Creative Advertising gave me a very successful career and during this period I won a lot of awards but many of the campaigns I was working on were starting to cramp my creativity. It was time to move on and the digital era was starting to come in which changed the game plan, big time. Music is my second passion to photography - I had been around music all of my life, I knew a lot about it - it had a big influence on my life, the type of person I am and my creativity. I decided that I wanted to work with people in the music industry who were my heroes and whose influence has made me the person and photographer I am today. I concentrate on the areas of music, where my passion is. I think you have to do that. You have to understand where these guys are at and how they craft their art to allow me to craft mine. I don’t go near mainstream. I work predominantly in classic rock, heavy rock, some blues and shoot a lot of CD covers, album covers, promotional stuff, work with bands on tours, and cover a lot of live stuff. I am essentially known for my black & white, it reflects a retro style that replicates the music that I still listen to today. I have worked with legendary performers like Thin Lizzy, Motorhead, Metallica, Iron Maiden, Robert Plant, so many. I consider myself to be a Conceptual Photographer so when artists and bands come to me with, say, a new album and tour, I put together a visual concept for the whole product and we build around that. I create a complete branding around that brief.

Q: Your favourite lens and why?

Don’t have one, I don’t have any favourite equipment, for me it is always about the image I have created not how I took it.

Q: Lighting of your rock images, what is your

preferred light source and give an insight into what you are looking for when you are lighting and photographing your subjects? My preferred source is natural, the sun in most cases. To quote David Bailey: “there is only one light, the sun”. I don’t go for heavily lit scenes or sets and certainly with the live gigs, you have to shoot with what is there. Lighting an image, to me, is part of a love affair, an emotion, it is a chemistry, it’s physical, it’s

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definitely a sexual thing that makes you connect with the shot and your body tingles when you know you have created the image you wanted. That’s what it is and, to me, what art is all about.

Q: How important is the post processing of your images in your photography and do you shoot purposely for the effects you are going to use?

Because of the medium, we have to use postprocessing to a degree. To be honest, if I haven’t got it right when I first shoot it, then I haven’t done my job. In respect of taking things out of an image, moving parts of the images around, adding stuff, skin smoothing, lifting stuff out, imperfections, I don’t buy into any of it at all. To me, I believe in the initial creation, that there is beauty in everyone, whether old, middle aged or whatever, and as a photographer it is my job to find it. The bottom line is, too many photographers are just taking pictures and not learning their craft.

Q: How did you develop and build your

brand and what you do feel has helped your photography business to succeed? My brand was developed by my life, creating a style that is instantly recognisable to me. I take you on a journey, I base it on the music - my biggest musical influence is albums. The greatest album ever recorded, and still my favourite album, is by Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon. In my head it takes me to a different place every time I listen to it. I try to create a similar journey with all the images I shoot. I try and get behind the subject and find the secret inner self, get inside their personality.

Q: If you weren’t a rock photographer what

other area of photography would you be interested in or something entirely different? It wouldn’t be entirely different to what I am doing now. I’ve worked in Editorial, Fashion, Advertising, all different sectors of the industry for quite a

while so, I think, to answer to your question I would have to say I’d specialise in true Fine Art images. Can I define that? My photography would still be based on conceptual stuff, recreating the ideas that I produce in my head. I get strange concepts that I want to turn into an image, I have a head full of images.

Q: Locations for your shoots? Do you choose them or are they part of your brief?

Most of the time I have carte blanche to achieve what’s needed for the shoot. In most cases I already have a selection of ideas and depending on the brief depicts whether the location is inside or out. But, I am not a diva, so do not insist that it is my way or no way, the client always has the final say so. I am a relationship type of person and I prefer to work as a team to create and get the best outcome. I like to build solid relationships so that we understand each other. Without a relationship I can’t create.

Q: Your favourite location in the world and why? No contest - Monaco, South of France. closely followed by Scotland.

Q: What have you found the most challenging about being self employed?

In the UK it is hard work. To be honest I haven’t had anything that is really challenging, we have a great set up at the studio, it’s very important to me that I have experts who work with me. But to be honest, I think the biggest challenge has to have been the Issue 12 - Creative Light :

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digital revolution - I think it opened the flood gates up to a load of people that are in this business that shouldn’t be.

where I started, the concept I had in my head, and that I have never deviated from. Things have sometimes blurred the edges of my vision but I have always known what I have wanted for my career.

Q: Three interesting facts about you? • Opinionated

• Deep passion for many things in life and a big believer in fate. • Soft centered and sensitive individual.

Q: Your favourite food? Q: What tips and advice would you give to a

photographer keen to get into the music world of photography? Photography in today’s marketplace is a free for all, there isn’t any etiquette anymore. If somebody wants to get into this area of the business of photography then they have to start somewhere but, nobody wants to pay for anything anymore, everything is being done for free. That is no answer, though. Unfortunately, in most cases it is the photographers who are to blame for this because they are too quick to give stuff away and to show or tell someone else how to do it or how it was created. In a commercial photographic world, the industry has gone. It is a great shame. Digital has brought an abundance of everyone doing the same old #%xx, but what that does is allow the cream to rise to the top. There will never be a substitute for class, style, professionalism, and sophistication and that, in my honest opinion, is what photographers who are serious about their art need to do. Learn their craft.

Q: Apart from sheer hard work what would you say is the main ingredient to your success?

Staying power. Sticking to what I believe in and

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The full monty - a fried breakfast. I am also a big fan of a roll with a slab of really nice cheese, it takes me back to my childhood.


Q: What would you say has been your career highlight to-date?

Hopefully the biggest highlight is yet to come. In my life I have always looked forward and not back. I have worked with some of the biggest performers on the planet, they were heroes of mine and they still are. I think that would be the biggest achievement for me. Being recognised for my work and recognition for what I do as a rock photographer.

Q: Three single, individual words that describe you?

Passionate, romantic and a perfectionist.

Q: Where next?

Well, to be honest, I am working on so many projects at the moment. So, ‘where next’ doesn’t really have a known destination. Wherever my photography and fate allows me, I will go there, given the opportunity.

Thank you Nick for sharing your story with Creative Light. It has been an absolute pleasure talking with you. - Julie Oswin

Nick Elliott, Rock Photographer Nick’s website: www.nickelliott.eu

Digital – we now have an abundance of everyone doing the same old, same old, but what that does is allows the cream to rise to the top. There will never be a substitute for class, style, professionalism and sophistication and that, in my honest opinion is what photographers who are serious about their photography need to do”. - Nick Elliott, Rock Photographer

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Perfect Preparation Two Top Prep Tips to improve your images

If we’re into photography, either as a hobby or professionally, we are all occasionally presented with one of ‘Those Shots’. The perfect moment where you are uniquely in a position to capture a ‘once in a blue moon’ event. As my original photography teacher said to me many moons ago, that was usually when he stood aghast, mouth open and failed to remember to press the shutter. This perhaps explained his move into teaching from reportage photography but is hopefully something that not all of us suffer from. However, if you do manage to take The Shot, the last thing you want is to look at what you’ve captured later and realise that you now have a less than perfect image because you hadn’t done your preparation.

So how do we get ourselves prepared for the unexpected? Here’s a couple of ideas that might help.

1. Keep Focussed! We all like to think that modern technology is a wonderful thing, removing any of the frustrations of the past. Whilst we’ve certainly come a long way, total relaiance on anything coming off a production line being spot on accurate is perhaps misguided. One key area for photographers to be concerned about, as made obvious by the various camera manufacturers adding a focus micro-adjustment into the menus of their cameras, is how good your auto-focus actually is. In a study at the Photokina Show, results showed that over 60% of over 1,000 photographers tested had an incorrectly auto-focussing camera and lense combination, spread across the entire range from low to high end of digital cameras. Sadly it was those that only had a small inaccuracy when they half pressed the shutter release and tried to auto-focus that had the biggest problem as they were unaware that something was wrong and instead of a simple fix, were putting up with believing that either they had been at fault and had not focussed on the subject correctly, or that their cameras and lenses just weren’t up to the job. Fortunately, as mentioned, nowadays most cameras have a means to correct any issues with focus.

In order to use this micro-adjustment feature you need to have some sort of target to aim for. Whilst some The ‘0’ needs to be photographers attempt to bespoke their own from clearly in focus coathangers, cardboard and sticky tape, a far better solution is Datacolor’s SpyderLENSCAL. This device, suitable of working with all the main camera manufacturers’ built-in micro-adjustment menu function, gives you a robust target with an easy to read scale. Simply table or tripod mount it and having checked that it’s seated correctly with the built in spirit level, shoot the main cross-hairs target making sure you’ve set your camera to centre focus. If the lens and camera combination you’ve shot with shows the ‘0’ on the scale in focus then you’re good to go. If the focus is out, either forward or backward from the ‘0’, this indicates how much to adjust your camera’s micro-adjustment setting in your camera menu. Once adjusted you can shoot again to double check but otherwise you can wave good-bye to those times when you were dang sure that you’d got the focus spot on but the shot just didn’t come out right. Just keep in mind that the same lens on different camera bodies might show different levels of focus error so make sure you check every lens and body combination. Fortunately modern cameras can save specific adjustments for multiple lenses so you don’t have to worry about resetting everytime you change lenses on a shoot - just remember to re-check your calibration every 6 months or so - things do change over time!

Datacolor SpyderLENSCAL for correcting Autofocus

2. Give yourself a good reference Another common problem when taking photos is ending up with a lot of shots of your key subject but not really knowing what colour temperature, exposure and contrast of what you captured was in the first place and hence having to simply guess these. Maybe this is because your camera has been set up to over or under expose, or perhaps picked up lighting issues from the location. Either way you may have some great shots, crisply focussed and well composed, but if you need to make sure that you’re seeing the right temperature and exposure values in your images, how can you do this? Nowadays you can calibrate a screen very easily using the ubiquitous Spyder, but this only allows you to correctly see the colours that you are retouching, hence making sure what comes out (e.g. in print) is what you expected. If, however, you also need to know what the key image capture values were when you took the photos because you need to get these spot on rather than subjectively guess them, then you need to have at least one thing in your photo shoot that you know the grey value of. For this the use of a grey card is indispensible. In its simplest form a plain grey card containing no colouration, gives you something to measure and set white

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(grey) balance against, either in camera or in software such as Adobe Lightroom. For instance simply clicking the White Balance tool onto a picture of a grey card in Lightroom automatically corrects your colour temperature to remove any colour cast defects (e.g. due to lighting). Better grey cards have multiple patches of varying known values of grey, preferably covering from almost 100% white (usually 96%) down to a dark grey approaching black (c. 4%). Knowing these values allows you take a shot of the card at the time and in the lighting conditions of your shoot and then later read the patches with a colour picker and adjust the highlight and shadow values of your image to get the values in the picture to match the known values of the patches on the card itself. Having set white balance as already described this additional process allows you to correct exposure and contrast to how they were at the time of your shot of the card. These correction values for exposure, shadow and colour cast removal can then easily be saved as Presets in such software as Adobe’s Lightroom and Camera Raw and hence a click of a button can apply these same saved corrections to any other shots taken under the same conditions. Two problems with standard grey cards, however, are that they are either somewhat bulky (i.e. they are a flat A5 or bigger card with various grey patches on) or are fold out cloth cards. With the first, non-foldable variety you have the issue of needing a bag to carry it in and also the need to be careful not to damage it. With the second type, the very fold out nature means that the known values of grey tend to become inaccurate rather quickly making its use pointless. With either cards’ propensities to discolour, crease and blow away in the wind a far more robust, portable and hence better version of a grey card is Datacolor’s SpyderCUBE. This small, pocketable device is made of scratch resistant, through pigmented plastic making it far more hardy than mere paper or cloth cards and even adds an Absolute White and Absolute Black reference in the form of a silvery ball to capture glints of scintilation and a black trap via a hole into its darkened interior. It can be hung or even tripod mounted into a shoot and being cubic also makes angling your grey card at 45 degrees to the strongest light source (the industry recommendation for placement of any grey card as values change with lighting direction) almost automatic.

Datacolor SpyderCUBE The Ultimate ‘Grey Card’

N.B. For absolute accuracy in capturing the colours of what you see and also have a look at the Datacolor SpyderCHECKR So there we are, two top prep tips to get you ahead of the game whatever you photograph. By the way, both can also be used for set up of video shoots as well... Once you’ve captured your images of course you then get into the world of visually checking, adjusting and organising them which is the subject for another article on another day. Suffice it to say that key to any accurate, quality imaging workflow is the need to have calibrated screens for which Datacolor’s Spyder Screen Calibrator (now version 5) is an industry standard.

Datacolor Products are available from most major photographic and video retailers or online at the Datacolor Webstore at: http://spyder.datacolor.com/orders/

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Datacolor Spyder5 for Screen Calibration

For further information on focus calibration, colour accurate image capture and setting up colour accurate workflows visit Datacolor’s website at http://spyder.datacolor.com or sign up for one of their regular Free live webinars at http://spyder.datacolor.com/webinars/

To set up a complete colour managed workflow the SpyderCUBE also comes as part of Datacolor’s Spyder5STUDIO bundle (Including a Spyder5ELITE and SpyderPRINT) which offers over £100 saving off its constituent parts.

“Members of the Guild of Photographers receive a special 20% discount on purchases via the Datacolor Webstore. Please visit http://spyder.datacolor.com/orders/ and input code photoguild at checkout to have your discount applied. Only one discount code per order.”

www.datacolor.com

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New Panel Member

D

david islip

avd is a Fellow with the BIPP and a Qualified Judge and has recently joined The Panel with Guild of Photographers. David has a passion to create elegant and contemporary photography which is evident in his relaxed personality and his approach to photography. Winning many awards for his photography, he has won multiple International Awards with the WPPI in America. Essex photographers David Islip FBIPP and his wife Sandra Islip ABIPP are both full time professional photographers covering Family Portraiture, Baby Photography and Weddings in Essex and Suffolk and regularly photograph weddings at different locations throughout the UK from their base in Witham, Essex. We are delighted to welcome our new panel member, David Islip.

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PHOTOGRAPHER’S ‘BAR’

A unique distinction awarded to very few photographers who have successfully had images assessed by the Guild over the course of a year’s competition, and attained a score equating to an award for each entry made, thereby evidencing an exceptional level of professional skill and consistency”.

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Bar Winners • Howard Ashton-Jones

• Nicola Harvey

• Gavin Prest

• Ann Aveyard

• Henry Gail

• Henry Ransby

• Pip Bacon

• Nigel Hepplewhite

• Karl Redshaw

• Imelda Bell

• Jenny Hibbert

• John Retter

• Penny Bird

• Rob Hill

• Andy Robinson

• Steven Bradshaw

• Georgina Humphrey

• Dagmara Shannon

• Neil Bremner

• James Hutcheon

• Laura Spence

• Sarah Brooks

• Ashley Ide

• Paul Steven

• Christine Burke

• Alastair Jones

• Victoria Strongitharm

• Trudi Butler

• Gillian Lloyd

• Susan Swanson

• Charlie Davidson

• Tracey Lund

• Laurence Sweeney

• Allan England

• Mark Lynham

• Mel Taylor

• Ani Evans

• Ozzie Malik

• Amanda Tricker

• Beverley Foster

• Sarah Morris

• Miranda Walton

• Dade Freeman

• Kamal Mostofi

• Marie Warwick

• Donna Gray

• Julie Moult

• Sarah Wilkes

• Phil Green

• Simon Newbury

• Ashley Winter

• Clive Hall

• Shane Peagram

• Kevin Wyllie

• Alan Harbord

• Iain Poole

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Light Blue: designed to save time on photography business admin There are so many things to think about when you’re running your own business – remembering to chase up enquiries, invoicing, marketing to existing clients, and more. Light Blue takes the hassle out of admin. Because everything’s in one place, you always know where to find your information – and because it’s all linked together, you can really get on top of things.

New for Light Blue 6 Online forms – get the information you need from your clients, or easily set up contact forms – no more retyping things! Online invoice payment – accept payment for any invoice online by card or PayPal. Text messaging – cut down on those missed appointments and sessions. A fresh new design – making the flow of information more intuitive. …and lots more! Light Blue 6 is faster and better

Download a free, fully functioning 30-day trial of Light Blue today! Plus, there’s a free half-hour one-to-one screensharing session to help you get started!

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Twitter: @lighterblue


New Panel Member

We are delighted to welcome our new panel member, Gavin Prest MCrGPP - People Photographer of the Year for the last two years and All-Round Photographer of the Year 2015 and Runner-up 2014. Having been brought up with black and white film Gavin has a passion for this medium. With a colour image Gavin believes that you feel you can sometimes be distracted by the different sensations on the eye, whereas with black and white photography, your focus is purely on the subject of the image.

gavin prest

Gavin does shoot colour and loves the results but he will always remain a black and white fan for its truth, grittiness and power. As a photographer I love to create images with a narrative and give my viewers reasons to ask questions. My love for portraiture allows my creativity to express this story telling side of my craft. Gavin lives on the East Coast of Yorkshire and spends many hours capturing the beauty of this environment - landscapes, beach-scapes, people, local landmarks, events etc., - these are the things that inspire him. - www.gavinprestphotography.co.uk

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Image of the Year - Baby & Toddler PHOTOGRAPHERS SHORT LISTED : • • • • • • • •

Charlotte Rawles Gail Henry Hannah Merrett Charlotte Booth Julie Moult Julie Fraser Lauren Bennett Sian Shipley

RUNNER UP - Charlotte Booth

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WINNER - Julie Moult

Many congratulations on your winning photograph Julie, judged by The Panel”.

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Image of the Year - Birds PHOTOGRAPHERS SHORT LISTED : • • • • • • •

Mark Lynham Gillian Lloyd Henry Ransby Jenny Hibbert Marie Warwick Sarah Brooks Tracey Lund

RUNNER UP - Sarah Brooks

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WINNER - Tracey Lund

Many congratulations on your winning photograph Tracey, judged by The Panel”.

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Image of the Year - Children PHOTOGRAPHERS SHORT LISTED : • • • • • • • • •

Francine Given Julie Fraser Maryna Halton Nicola Harvey Paulina Duczman Pip Bacon Sarah Longstaff Sarah Wilkes Julie Moult

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WINNER - Sarah Wilkes

Many congratulations on your winning photograph Sarah, judged by The Panel”. Issue 12 - Creative Light :

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Image of the Year - Creative & Digital Art PHOTOGRAPHERS SHORT LISTED : • • • • • • • • •

Helen Walker Howard Ashton-Jones Imelda Bell Judith Lawley Lauren Bennett Nicola Harvey Shaheen Ali Simon Newbury Gillian Lloyd

RUNNER UP - Gillian Lloyd

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WINNER - Simon Newbury

Many congratulations on your winning photograph Simon, judged by The Panel”.

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Image of the Year - Events, Sports & Action PHOTOGRAPHERS SHORT LISTED : • • • • • • • •

John Retter Mark Lynham Alison Craven Arron Gent Christine Balshaw Harry Lessman Karl Redshaw Phil Hodkinson

RUNNER UP - Mark Lynham

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Many congratulations on your winning photograph John, judged by The Panel”.

WINNER - John Retter

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Image of the Year - Flora & Insect PHOTOGRAPHERS SHORT LISTED : • • • • • • • •

Clive Hall Gillian Lloyd Arron Gent Henry Ransby Imelda Bell Jenny Hibbert Katrina Wilson Sarah Brooks

RUNNER UP - Clive Hall 52

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WINNER - Gillian Lloyd

Many congratulations on your winning photograph Gillian, judged by The Panel”.

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Image of the Year - Nature & Wildlife PHOTOGRAPHERS SHORT LISTED : • • • •

Jenny Hibbert Paul Steven Gillian Lloyd Mark Lynham

RUNNER UP - Mark Lynham

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WINNER - Gillian Lloyd

Many congratulations on your winning photograph Gillian, judged by The Panel”.

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Image of the Year - Newborn PHOTOGRAPHERS SHORT LISTED : • • • • • • • •

Donna Gray Kati Fichtelmann Kelly Greener Lauren Bennett Sharon Wallis Trudi Butler Julie Moult Liz Roberts

RUNNER UP - Liz Roberts 56

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WINNER - Julie Moult

Many congratulations on your winning photograph Julie, judged by The Panel”.

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A4 Coffee Table books

Three new books, three great offers Esprit Book

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Bellissimo Luxe

3 is the magic number Introducing our latest products... The Bellissimo Luxe is defined by our all-new Smooth Touch material, flawlessly adorning the album cover, end sheets and matching presentation box. The Esprit Book is the complete all inclusive low-cost photography solution ideally suited for boudoir, family and baby shoots. From £120.00 including delivery. A4 Coffee Table Book is the newest addition to the Champion Product collection. Launches 18th February 2016, 10 spreads for only £20.00.

For more information… Visit loxleycolour.com or call 0845 519 5000 Issue 12 - Creative Light :

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Image of the Year - Pet Category PHOTOGRAPHERS SHORT LISTED : • • • • • •

Christine Burke Dagmara Shannon Kevin Wyllie Linda Johnstone Mel Taylor Julie Moult

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WINNER - Julie Moult

Many congratulations on your winning photograph Julie, judged by The Panel”.

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Image of the Year - Fashion, Beauty & Boudoir PHOTOGRAPHERS SHORT LISTED : • • • • •

Dade Freeman Howard Ashton-Jones Mark Lynham Lee Jones Gavin Prest

RUNNER UP - Gavin Prest 62

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WINNER - Lee Jones

Many congratulations on your winning photograph Lee, judged by The Panel”.

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Image of the Year - Rural & Lanscape PHOTOGRAPHERS SHORT LISTED : • • • • • • • • •

Mark Lynham Chris Chambers Alistair Jones Allan England Ann Stebbing Clive Hall Laurence Sweeney Phil Green Sarah Brooks

RUNNER UP - Mark Lynham

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WINNER - Chris Chambers

Many congratulations on your winning photograph Chris, judged by The Panel”.

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Image of the Year - Urban & Street PHOTOGRAPHERS SHORT LISTED : • • • • • •

Allan England Bernard Pretorius Chris Chambers Graham Jones Mac McBride Dade Freeman

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WINNER - Dade Freeman

Many congratulations on your winning photograph Dade, judged by The Panel”.

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The Art of Weddings Storytelling with Abigail Steed Photography

When you look at Abigail Steed’s website, two things immediately strike you: of course, the quality & uniqueness of the of the stunning wedding photography; but also the sense of personality shining through. You can just imagine having her at your wedding, an infectious energy and passion for her own job, but also, for your Big Day. For some it’s just a job, and for others it’s a true vocation. Just speaking to Abigail you get a sense of her true passion for wedding and portrait photography. We caught up with Abigail to discover her secrets and also to have a peek in her camera bag! ‘I live on the small but beautiful Isle of Wight and have been shooting weddings for about three years now. I always wanted to be a photographer, sounds totally clichéd I know, but it’s true. ‘I studied photography using film, but when digital became mainstream I made the switch, I am completely self-taught on programs like Photoshop and Lightroom. ‘When I started out, I never actually wanted to be a wedding photographer - because it felt as if it was a genre of photography that was looked down upon back then as being a bit cheesy. Thankfully the industry has changed considerably since then and is now producing some amazing professional photographers with truly inspirational work. ‘About three years ago, a friend asked me to shoot their wedding and it grew from there.

My favourite subject

Keeping it Unique

‘I really love to focus on photographing people. I’m a natural people watcher and the voyeuristic aspects of photographing a wedding really appeal to me.

I’ve never consciously thought about my style - I’d say style is something that is unique to everyone and you can get really bogged down trying to define yourself in too narrow a way.

‘You are there but not really part of it - like being the Invisible Man.’

‘I shoot the way I do because of everything I’ve experienced in life has contributed to how I see things and what interests me. So whatever I point my camera at is what I find amusing, interesting or resonates with me emotionally. ‘I’m not trying to just tick off a ‘wedding photography checklist’. I want to focus on what tells the story for me and of course, my clients. I always feel like I just happen to be photographing people at a wedding, rather than being a wedding photographer.

‘You’re given pretty much free reign to capture raw emotion from the wedding party at their most vulnerable, yet happiest moments. I can appreciate a pretty photo, but that isn’t what drives me, I want to capture reactions and emotions. ‘Telling a story is what is most important to me.’

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Dream Clients

What’s in Your Camera Bag?

‘My dream clients are anyone who specifically wants me to shoot their wedding instead of just hiring me because they ‘need’ a photographer. Couples that “get” what I do and love my style are a dream to work with. One of the best locations I’ve shot at was probably the Lake District last year, they were definitely a dream couple and the Lake District is spectacular. I’m glad to hear that my personality comes through in my work – that will help attract the perfect match for me in terms of future clients.

For weddings I use a Nikon DF, a Nikon D800E, Sigma 35mm F1.4 ART, Sigma 24mm F1.4 ART, Sigma 85mm F1.4, a Samyang 14mm and two speedlights that’s it except of course all the usual batteries and memory cards.

Can’t live without… ‘Obviously I can’t leave home without my actual camera or lenses, but the thought of going out without my phone worries me. I frequently get lost and often have to turn to Google maps to make sure I am where I’m supposed to be.

Taking on the challenges The biggest challenges when shooting weddings are almost always timings and logistics. They are the things that can make life a little harder, weddings always overrun, always. This can make things difficult especially in the winter when you are chasing the light.

Can you just…? On the morning of one wedding the bride’s Dad decided he wanted a haircut and I somehow ended up doing because no one else wanted to (I cut my children’s hair so I was fairly confident that it wouldn’t be a disaster!). I can turn my hand to many things, but I’d rather stick to the photography!

Storytelling with Sigma ART ‘I’m not a massive gear junkie, I don’t buy things just because of the name and I actually hate buying new things unless I really need to! I like things to work like they’re supposed to - so I use Sigma lenses because they just work, the quality of the ART range is easily on a par with both Canon L Series lenses and Nikon lenses. The sigma 24mm and sigma 35mm are pretty much glued to my camera at weddings and I rely on them completely. ‘I like to shoot wide so I can get up close, I’m not very good at shooting from afar, I kind of like to get in the action and close to people. The Sigma 35mm is my favourite focal length followed by the 24mm. I have the Sigma 85mm which is a little beauty of a lens, but don’t use it as often as I should just because I can do everything I need to with those two other lenses. ‘As soon as the 35mm ART lens came out I bought it straight away and it was everything I hoped it would be. I have always had Sigma lenses, this was way before the new ART range came out so I already had that brand loyalty. ‘Sigma has really upped their game as a viable alternative to Canon and Nikon lenses, there used to be this stigma that if you were using third party lenses you were somehow less of a professional and I think Sigma has smashed through that kind of thinking, which is a credit to them and their commitment to producing such premium quality lenses. ‘I’ve always used primes, I did actually buy a zoom lens once, used it for a day and then sold it on. I’m just too used to moving with my feet! I’m actually debating replacing my Samyang with the Sigma 20mm for dance floor shots, the AF would be really nice to have as I’m manual focus sing at the moment!

Exclusive Creative Light reader offer from Wilkinson Cameras

SAVE 10% off selected Sigma ART lenses For more information visit www.wilkinson.co.uk or visit/call any of our 10 stores. To find out more about Abigail visit www.abigailsteedphotography.com Or you can find her, and her hair cuts & colours on social media: Facebook: www.facebook.com/abigailsteedphotography Twitter: www. twitter.com/elvisandriga

DG 20MM F1.4 HSM “A” DG 24MM F1.4 HSM “A” DG 35MM F1.4 HSM “A” DG 50MM F1.4 HSM “A”

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Offer available on Canon EF & Nikon fit lenses only, must be purchased before 10/03/16

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Image of the Year - Wedding PHOTOGRAPHERS SHORT LISTED : • • • • • •

Ozzie Malik Beverley Foster Lee Jones Maryna Halton Susan Swanson Chris Chambers

RUNNER UP - Chris Chambers

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WINNER - Chris Chambers

Many congratulations on your winning photograph Chris, judged by The Panel”.

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ZENFOLIO IS YOUR GREATEST BUSINESS PARTNER. Ask any photographer running their own business how much time they actually spend behind the camera, and most will respond with “not as much as I’d like.” Despite the public perception that a photographer’s time is mainly spent shooting beautiful images, the reality is that the administrative tasks of running a successful photography business can consume the bulk of your working hours. Martin Hobby, a commercial photographer from Kent, knows this challenge all too well. As a full-time professional photographer with an expanding client base, the last thing he needed was for the task of designing and managing his website to become another time-consuming chore.

Martin Hobby is a commercial, music and wedding photographer based in Kent and a member of the Zenfolio Pro Team. Check out his work at: martinhobby.co.uk/home Image credits clockwise from top left: www.conceptaphoto.com, danballardphotography.com, www.jerryghionis.com, www.blakegardner.net, www.shelleypaulson.com, www.jerryghionis.com, www.damontucci.com, www.loufreeman.com, kevinmullinsphotography.co.uk, ericapeerenboom.com, ©Andrew Peacock/www.footloosefotography.com

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PHOTO CREDIT martinhobby.co.uk

“Zenfolio makes it so simple to set up and maintain a great looking website that impresses new clients when they see it. I’m a photographer, not a web designer, but I do want to be hands-on with the site and have the ability to update my pictures as often as I like. Not only is Zenfolio easy to set up and manage, but my clients love the ease of use on the site too. They can view every photo large and clear regardless of the device they are on, and can download high-resolution files directly without the need for sending countless emails and file names back and forth. The site also makes it easy for clients to buy prints, which go straight to the lab for processing before being sent on to them directly. I don’t need to do anything—I simply collect the profit and enjoy the positive feedback from satisfied clients. Zenfolio has helped me grow my business in many ways, but what impresses me the most is the time it saves me by speeding up my workflow. My site also gives me and my clients peace of mind knowing the images are stored in a secure off-site backup. What I love most of all besides that is that my website is making me money while I sleep.”

Voted #1 by professional photographers year after year, Zenfolio is the premier place to display, market and sell your work online. With beautiful responsive galleries, unlimited storage, an integrated blog, mobile apps and a comprehensive suite of marketing & selling tools, Zenfolio offers the complete all-in-one solution for managing your photography business online with no coding required. Visit www.zenfolio.co.uk to join our growing family of more than 100,000 photographers, and find out for yourself how Zenfolio can be your greatest business partner online.

20% OFF With code

ZENGUILD20 zenfolio.co.uk The 20% discount is for NEW accounts only, and is applied to the first subscription fee charged. Enter code ZENGUILD20 when signing up to get the discount. Cannot be combined with other offers. This discount expires 31-Dec-2016.

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image of the year Congratulations Simon Newbury Members Choice 2015

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image of the year Congratulations Lee Jones Judges Choice 2015

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Hempstalls Lane, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffs, ST5 0SW. t: 01782 753304 e: sekonic@johnsons-photopia.co.uk w: www.johnsons-photopia.co.uk

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Join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ johnsonsphotopia


Contribution

Photographic Industry to the

“H O

ur Award goes to Julie Oswin!

jluie oswin

Chairman of the Judging Panel, Kevin Pengelly presented this Award and wanted to personally acknowledge Julie who has been involved in the Photographic Industry for over 20 years.

aving taught Photography at Loughborough College for over ten years, she then went on to be the fourth woman in the UK to receive a rare Fellowship in Wedding Photography with the BIPP in 2013; a Nikon trainer; a MPA Regional Chairman and Director; she has twice been the UK Wedding Photographer of the Year; a multi award winning photographer - all before finding her home with The Guild of Photographers. Since joining the Guild and the Panel, Julie has not only helped photographers through mentoring and training but she has done so much more, including being the Editor of Creative Light Magazine. The eleven editions of Creative Light she has worked on have already reached over 500,000. Those that know or have had the pleasure of meeting Julie will have found a generous, warm, kind-hearted and sharing person. A mum of two daughters and a fantastic, dedicated photographer and trainer. Whether helping photographers improve their art or helping couples have one of the most memorable day of their lives, She is quite simply, Julie Oswin”. - Kevin Pengelly Chairman of Judges

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Guy Gowan Special Achievement Award

“

This Awards evening is not all about the Guild. We love the fact we have an opportunity to give an Award for a person’s contribution to the photographic industry in general. In whatever field we work we hear of talented individuals and then we hear of the once in a generation extra talented people who transform that field. This person is one of the latter, yet many people have yet to realise it. I’m privileged to have got to know this person. Guy started in the days of film and chemistry and has worked as a trainer, a developer and as a consultant and a presenter for Adobe, Apple, Nikon, Canon, Epson, HP and many other major names for many years so has had a significant input on the software we all use. Today he teaches efficient work-flows, returning the highest quality results in a cost effective time frame in an unbiased way with his own unique perspective. Many people look at upgrading their camera and their kit but Guy can show people how to upgrade their knowledge (with no spin or sales pitch), and that knowledge can truly transform what you achieve. We are privileged to give Guy a Special Acknowledgement Award for his contribution to the Photographic Industry! - Steve & Lesley Thirsk

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Beverley Foster Special Achievement Award

We want to acknowledge a special member - Beverley Foster. Funnily enough, she was our local competition I suppose when we set off on our photographic journey. Beverley and David ran the business everyone aspired to run in our area .. then along came two little upstarts- that’s us. The upstarts had an unusual approach as they wanted to be friends not rivals.

Beverley’s daughter collecting the Award on her behalf.

After a few years on the wedding show circuit, at one particular show 6 or so years ago we told them we were taking over the Guild and behind closed doors we now know David and Beverley thought we were mad and we probably were, but they joined the Guild at that point to give use their support as they liked our friends not rivals approach which in now the ethos of the Guild. Beverley was the first person to become a Master Craftsman after we became the Directors and since then she has entered the IOM competition for 5 years out of 6 (everyone’s entitled to a break). We all know how tough the IOM is but in those 5 years Beverley has either been the Winner or Runner-Up in the Wedding section. That is an incredible achievement which will be difficult to surpass and richly deserves our acknowledgement!” - Steve & Lesley Thirsk

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Hempstalls Lane, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffs, ST5 0SW. t: 01782 753304 e: westcott@johnsons-photopia.co.uk w: www.johnsons-photopia.co.uk

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Join us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/johnsonsphotopia


Contribution

Photographic Industry to the

“T

here’s one final special award!

This one is for … Andrew Appleton to acknowledge his commitment to the Guild and the impact he has on so many member’s personal photographic journeys. He is an exceptional photographer but beyond that We put on event and ask for trainers – he’s there! We ask for help with Judging – he’s there! We ask for anything – he’s there!

andrew appleton

People being trained by him ask for something and guess what – he’s there! He has a relentless timetable – Almost 1 in 2 days he’s training someone somewhere. Whether that’s as a key speaker at major events in South Africa or on an individual 121 basis in Stoke on Trent! You may not know, but Steve is a qualified trainers assessor and he’s assessed many trainers. He refers to Andrew as one of the very best trainers in the industry, and I have to agree. He’s also such a nice guy!” - Lesley Thirsk

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newborn baby beanbag chair E

xclusive to Newborn Baby Posing we have the IN STOCK the Newborn Baby Beanbag Chair.

newborn baby posing

Fabulous beanbag chair, ready filled with polystyrene beans, in a faux brown suede made especially for us here at Newborn Baby Posing Limited - tried and tested by Russ Jackson.

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New Prop!

Main image on the page opposite is of a 4 week old baby weighing approx 9lb Cover is hand-wash only in mild detergent. Simply decant the bean fill into a container and wash the cover. We recommend you use a cut up absorbent liner beneath the baby’s bottom to help soak up any accidents. As with any prop of this nature always use a spotter to keep baby safe at all times. This is not intended as a baby beanbag chair - it is purely a posing prop and the spotter must be at the baby’s side.

New Prop!

- www.newbornbabyposing.com

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New Prop!


! s u o t e siv

u l c Ex £45+ vat

© Russ Jackson

Order here

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Stand-In-Baby “

It was exciting to be the first Road Show in the UK to have a SIB in attendance. It certainly added to the strong Buzz at the 2 day event, and was a huge talking point in the Trade Room. Hopefully it will be at some of the future PhotoHub events too. As well being educational, I must admit that it was a little amusing too to see how many people automatically “rocked” the SIB when they picked it up, such is its realistic feel. We are in close contact with the talented Team behind it in Australia, and intend to keep people updated with the production of this exciting and invaluable training resource”

photohubs

- Steve Thirsk, The Guild of Photography

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http://video214.com/play/ n25VWHA4RQnGtZo3xvCdbQ/s/dark


Photo: Claire Elliott

Photo: Claire Elliott

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gavin prest

People Photographer of the Year 2015

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gillian lloyd

Open Photographer of the Year 2015

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PROFOTO B2 WITH TTL & HSS ON OR OFF-CAMERA www.profoto.com/uk/offcameraflash

EXPERIENCE THE B2 & OCF NOW AT THE FOLLOWING DEALERS AJ’s - www.aj-s.co.uk - 01749 813 044 Calumet - www.calphoto.co.uk - 0333 003 5000 Conns Cameras - www.connscameras.ie - 00353 1 6777 179 CVP - www.cvp.co.uk - 01527 854 222 Dale Photographic - www.dalephotographic.co.uk - 01132 454 256 Fixation - www.fixationuk.com - 020 7582 3294 Park Cameras - www.parkcameras.com - 01444 237 070 ProCentre - www.procentre.co.uk - 020 7729 8822 Teamwork - www.teamworkphoto.com - 020 7323 6455 Wex Photographic - www.wexphotographic.com - 01603 486 413 Wilkinsons Cameras - www.wilkinson.co.uk - 01772 252 188

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Profoto present a new system of compact off-camera flashes and Light Shaping Tools, designed for fast and easy on-location photography The most attention-grabbing item in the Off-Camera Flash system is the new B2. The B2 is a lighter, more portable counterpart to the B1. The B2 consists of a battery pack and a head. The battery pack can be put on the shoulder or hip, while the head is small and light enough to be mounted onto a monopod or a bracket on the camera. This will allow the photographer to stay moving. If that is not necessary, both the pack and head can be put on a stand and the B2 can be wirelessly controlled from the camera. This makes the B2 the world’s first off-camera flash that can be used both on and off-camera. In addition, the B2 has all the benefits that made the B1 an outstanding success. It has TTL. It has HSS. It is fast enough to keep up with your camera and five times as powerful as the average speedlight. It can be used with the entire range of Profoto Light Shaping Tools. All this in a head with the same size and weight as a speedlight. The Profoto Off-Camera Flash system also includes the new OCF Light Shaping Tools. The OCF Light Shaping Tools are smaller and more lightweight. They also consist of fewer parts and use smart, patent-pending solutions that make them fast and easy to mount and use. The assortment includes four new Softboxes, a new Grid Kit, a new Snoot and a new Barndoor.

Profoto Ltd | Unit 21 Mcdonald Business Park, Hemel Hempstead, HP2 7EB| PHONE 01442 204919

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Glen Parker Special Recognition Award

It’s almost 6 years since we took over the reins of the Guild of Photographers, with just 80 members. We never dreamed that so many like-minded people would join us on the Guilds journey, and be as passionate as us about what we do, but they have and we thank each and every one of you for the fun, the support and the friendship we experience every day. The Guild is unique and it’s unique because of you! The member we want to highlight has been with us pretty much from the beginning and has shown incredible commitment to the Guild. I really didn’t think for one minute that he was expecting this recognition even though it is richly deserved. He was the Guild’s shadow from the moment we went on the road. When we attended Road-shows he was there, offering help, and that hasn’t changed – this person was the first to offer to help Nik at the recent London Convention. He also runs local Guild groups, organises events, forwards suggestions and ideas to help the Guild and recently helped run an on-line Guild Christmas party. Steve & I wanted to give a Special Acknowledgement award to Glenn Parker and we know that he didn’t see that coming. Congratulations Glen. - Steve & Lesley Thirsk

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The Guilds Top

Ten Photographers PEOPLE WINNER: Gavin Prest RUNNER UP: Julie Moult Mark Lynham Sarah Wilkes Pip Bacon Sarah Morris Rob Hill Nicola Harvey Simon Newbury Kamal Mostofi & Sahne Peagram

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WEDDINGS

BABY & TODDLER

WINNER: Beverley Foste RUNNER UP: Ozzie Malik

WINNER: Sarah Wilkes RUNNER UP: Gail Henry

Kevin Wyllie Ani Evans Steven Bradshaw Susan Swanson Alistair Jones Victoria Strongitharm Andy Robinson Andrian Spencer

Ashley Ide Julie Moult Dagmara Shannon Georgina Humphrey Trudi Butler Donna Gray Amanda Tricker Laura Spence Ashley Winter

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OPEN - TOP 20 RUNNER UP: Gillian Lloyd WINNER: Gavin Prest Mark Lynham Jenny Hibbert Marie Warwick Henry Ransby Tracey Lund Howard Ashton-Jones Sarah Brooks Imelda Bell Phil Green Julie Moult Karl Redshaw Mel Taylor Allan England Ann Aveyard Laurence Sweeney Simon Newbury Paul Steven John Retter

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photohubs - the event @ Crewe A

photography get-together in a Jacobean mansion? Combining learning and sharing with lots of sociable chat and a good look at some great new products? With a health club, pool, spa and afternoon tea as options, and a black tie awards gala as a crescendo? Lead me to it! And that’s just what our sell-out PhotoHub did in early February. After the success of the first ever PhotoHub at Hinckley, the second was timed to coincide with the Guild of Photographers’ Annual Awards Dinner at Crewe Hall in Cheshire - a wonderful black tie, sparkly frock event that always has everybody smiling, whether they’re called up as a winner or not.

lesley chalmers

There’s a tremendous wow factor as you approach the imposing mansion, which rises up in front of you, complete with towers and turrets. Checking in next to the monumental marble fireplace carved with ‘Welcome’, you glimpse the stunning Hall of Pillars and the old chapel beyond.

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We began with two full-day Friday workshops. First, Catherine Connor from Aspire Photography Training kicked off her Business Boot Camp. Catherine is an exceptional speaker, combining years of experience and a generous heart. Just days before, Aspire was voted best Photography Industry Training Provider for the 4th year running, and Catherine herself received an award for her Special Contribution to the industry. We love her! The morning session focused on bringing motivation, confidence and drive to our businesses, the afternoon on marketing and branding. Amanda White said “What a fantastic day! Thank you Catherine Connor! I’ve got so many plans & ideas….!” What did Catherine say? “Great people, great day.” Yay!!! Andrew Appleton’s Speedlight Masterclass included practical hands-on shooting. From the basics of how they work, The morning moved from the basic “how do they work?” to different modes, then high speed sync and hypersync. Using an on-camera speedlight for both fill and main lighting, and how to make it look like it’s off-camera even when on were brilliant. Off-

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camera flash was next; triggering, mixing with inside and outside ambient, using modifiers, white balance and gels. A studio set-up with a professional model gave us the chance to practice portraits before a last session on freezing action with high speed flash. Thomas Demol said “It was the perfect mix of theory and practice and gave me some great ideas to work with.” Meanwhile, Claire Elliott was meeting StandInBaby™ (SIB), a world first. Fully articulated, life-like and camera-ready for posing, SIB is a training aid designed for newborn photographers, by newborn photographers, to raise levels of safety and education in the newborn photography industry. The prototype was flown to the UK from Australia by creators Brendon and Sandra Moffat, newborn photographers themselves, and PhotoHub delegates were among the first to see it. It had to be held as well as seen the weight and articulation was incredible, and almost without exception, everyone who held it started to sway as they unconsciously began to gently rock the baby! The trade stands in the spacious events centre had a nice buzz and bustle, with lots of 1-2-1s going on. The 3XM Solution showed their stunning presentation products, with their gallery system to boost sales. Graphistudio’s new fine art matted album and their HD prints attracted a lot of attention, not least the choices of papers and materials, including classy woods for boxes. Loxley Colour too caused a stir, previewing the new Harris Tweed cases for their successful tweed album - one a zip case, the other handbag style; beautiful, and very upscale. Jon Mullins, ace lens calibrator of Camera Focus Support Services was popular too, with the orange Pelicase he uses for equipment transportation next to huge bowl of Ferrero Rocher on his table. Gavin Prest has lived on the East Coast of Yorkshire all his life and spent many hours capturing the beauty of this environment. A Guild Master Craftsman, he has developed a distinctive and aspirational style in powerful narrative portraiture that wows as it tells a story and conveys emotion. Being “brought up with black and white film” gave him a passion for black and white “for its truth, grittiness and power”. On Friday afternoon, his workshop used both old and new parts of Crewe Hall, beginning in the fantastic Hall of Pillars, to share his thinking and methods for creative portraiture. Assisted by partner Michele Thompson and professional model Angela Hudson Gavin showed how the magic gets made. Ann Aveyard loved it. “I found it inspirational! I came away with my head buzzing with new ideas”, she said. Friday night was a chance to catch our breath and catch up, swapping news of the day and journeys through the first gusts and squalls of Storm Imogen. The bar and brasserie were full of PhotoHub and photography chatter, before a busy Saturday lead-up to the Awards Dinner. In the events centre, Guy Gowan began his eyeopening workshop. PhotoHubs was delighted to have

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Nathalie took home a £150 voucher from Loxley Colour, along with her trophy and a bottle of MOET champagne personally donated by the Chair of Judges. She was surprised and delighted, and said, “I had never in a million years thought that I would actually win. It was my first time really seeing my pictures printed and mounted - it was such a pleasure. What an honour winning! Thank you”. Nathalie flew from Denmark for PhotoHub - imagine her horror when her luggage was mislaid on her way home. Trophy and MOET MIA” she posted, but they arrived eventually, thank goodness! tempted Guy over from Sligo for a powerful in-person session. “Mindblowing – take what you thought you knew before and bin it. My whole approach to postprocessing has been rebuilt from the ground up!” Thousands subscribe to his online training in digital imaging, workflow and manipulation, but seeing him in person shows why he’s influenced hardware and software manufacturers alike, including Adobe, Apple and Wacom. 25 years of experience means he knows both fact and fiction about effective post production. Using Guy’s methods, you can give yourself the most significant camera upgrade ever…without actually upgrading your camera. Guild Master Craftsman Paul Callaghan is the only wedding photographer in the south of Ireland with a Fellowship in Weddings. Wedding photographers are often faced with a new venue and difficult conditions, and must be nimble and creative to shoot portraits with impact and appeal. We’d all agree that the Hall of Pillars is ‘light challenged’ - an ideal place for Paul’s ‘using the venue’ workshop. He and his light meter whizzed around his model, Sam Shermin, as he switched poses and shooting levels. One minute he was sitting on the marble floor, next, he’s shooting down from the gallery with Sam lying full length on the table. What a great demonstration of getting the best from a venue! Verdict from Lee Jones? “Paul’s workshop was great – aside from being such a nice bloke, he broke down all the elements of the image into simple components for practical use. I’ve got ingredients to add together to make my own image now, not just a recipe to create the same thing over and over.”

Steve Thirsk of the Guild said: “Well done to everyone who entered the PhotoHubs Print Competition. It’s so different to a digital image competition and brings a lot of learning with it. Great atmosphere, great prints and well-deserved winners. The next print competition is at Gatwick PhotoHub next time, could it be you?” So, that was it. We applauded Nathalie before going to get ready for the Awards evening after a wonderful couple of days. Both the Gatwick PhotoHub on 8th and 9th of April, and the Glasgow PhotoHub on 6th and 7th May will feature a great social evening and dinner on the Friday night, a live print competition on the Saturday afternoon, and fantastic speakers and workshops over two days, at great value prices. PhotoHubs allow photographers to combine business, learning and pleasure in one place, either through an all-inclusive and tax deductible package, or just to dip in here and there. Your choice. I hope to see you there!

- Lesley Chalmers

PhotoHubs then took a look at image preparation, with Guild Chair and Vice-Chair of Judges Kevin Pengelly and Julie Oswin talking through areas to look out for when submitting images for competition and qualification. They covered what’s important in preparing your images, and some of the mistakes that are so often overlooked. Using examples really helped illustrate their points - but there were still more questions than time available! Even more chairs were rounded up for the final PhotoHub event - the Print Competition. The room was packed as the judges worked their way through four categories, picking 1st, 2nd and 3rd place in each, before deciding on the overall winner. That was Nathalie Rouquette, whose dreamy fine art landscape just pipped Sarah Wilkes classic portrait. Issue 12 - Creative Light :

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Gold Awards

© Karl Redshaw

january 2016

© Judith Lawley

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© Linda Johnson


© Mark Lynham

© Rob Hill

© Judith Lawley

© John Retter

© Heather Burns

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Mark Seymour Master Craftsman A

s a Documentary Wedding Photographer Mark records the day through storytelling images.

documentary weddings

Using a lot of contrasting black and white he enhances the intensity and depth of an image.

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Mark’s Panel of work includes moments throughout the day that are totally undirected and therefore natural. Documentary Wedding Photography is still about good composition, beautiful light and the third component is knowing where to position yourself and capture the moment. The Panel has been compiled in chronological order starting with the tension the bride feels whilst in preparation for the day, through various ceremonies such as the bedeken, the tisch, the marriage and finishing with the celebration party dancing. Congratulations Mark on your successful Master Craftsman submission.

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Pip Bacon Craftsman “

A journey through time, looking at the impact of light and shade. Each shoot has been an exploration of how different types of light have affected the mood and overall effect of the images I have chosen to use to apply for my Craftsman Qualification. The one constant throughout all of the shoots, is the space I utilised for my sessions, my studio, a converted cabin in my garden, it has three separate rooms, and entrance with a comfortable sofa, leading into the main studio which is 5m x 3m and a room at the back, which is used for changing and storage for my props. On bright sunny days the light is beautiful and emanates beautiful beams which illuminate my subjects gloriously, however on typical British days, it can be very dark, dim and a cold space to work within. So with this in mind, each shoot has not only been an exploration and development of my style and creative editing, but more importantly a process which has helped me learn how to best utilise, harness and implement the correct light source for the portraits I produce for customers.

fine art portraiture

- Pip Bacon

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Pip being presented with her Craftsman Certificate by her Mentor, Julie Oswin

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Creating an SEO Friendly Content Strategy Digital Marketing Manager for Impression and will be writing articles on Google for us. Impression based in Nottingham has a team of 15 digital marketers, website designers and web developers and serves clients across the UK and beyond. Their services include SEO, PPC, content marketing, digital PR and website design and development.

W

e all know how valuable content can be to boosting the rankings of and traffic to ours websites. Whether that content is text, imagery, videos or graphics, it all plays an important part in helping Google, and our audience, understand what our website is all about - and what search phrases it should therefore rank for. It’s not always easy, however, to come up with great content. Here’s my guide to creating an SEO friendly content strategy:

1. Service representation

laura hampton

The first step to creating great content for your website is to ensure that all of your services are represented with their own pages. This means having a separate page for ‘wedding photographer’, ‘bridal photographer’, ‘events photographer’, ‘portrait photographer’, ‘landscape photographer’ and so on (if, of course, these are all services you offer).

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To give your service pages the best chance of ranking well, start by writing a list of all the services you offer. You can then use a tool like Google’s Keyword Planner to tell you how many people search for each word or phrase each month. Use this to test variations on a term, e.g. ‘wedding photographer’ vs ‘wedding photography’ and choose the one which gets the most searches. The example here shows a screenshot of Google Keyword Planner. The top box compares the two terms I’ve entered - ‘wedding photography’ and ‘wedding photographer’ and shows the monthly search

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volume and the amount of competition for that phrase. The price shown is related to Google AdWords - you can ignore it for our purposes here. The bottom box is a list of suggestions Google has for other terms people might search, again showing search volume and competition. The higher the competition, the more difficult it will be to rank highly for the term. Aim to find terms which


best represent your services, have a good level of monthly search volume and are low to medium in competition where possible. You can find less competitive keywords by appending location to the terms, e.g. ‘wedding photographer Nottingham’ is less competitive than ‘wedding photographer’. Once you’ve selected the term you’ll use for each service, you can then optimise your page for that term to help improve its search ranking position when people search for it. Google ‘on page optimisation guide’ for more information, or email me directly and I’ll be happy to provide our guide for you - I’m laura@impression.co.uk.

2. Answering customer queries Once your services are all well represented, the next source of great content ideas is your audience. As we all know, when seeking photography services, clients often have a number of questions they want to ask, both before employing you and during the process of getting their photos. Consider the questions you’re most commonly asked, and make a list of them. They might include, for example: • how to choose a wedding photographer • how long does a family photoshoot take • how old does my baby need to be for a photoshoot what does a wedding photographer do on the day And so on. Once you’ve made your list based on experience, there are other tools to help you find new questions your audience might be asking. One tool is Google itself; type in your search query, e.g. ‘wedding photographer’ and look at what Google suggests to you in the drop down area and at the bottom of each page. These are all related phrases that you might want to write about.

3. Assessing seasonal trends in search volume When planning what content to write, it is also useful to know what kind of topics people are searching for over the course of the year. Google’s Keyword Planner will show you this for the year when you put your search terms in, letting you see at what points in the year each term is most popular. You can also use Google Trends, which allows you to see much further back in time too to spot any trends that recur year on year. Here’s an example for the phrase ‘wedding photographer’ and ‘wedding photography’’: You can use this tool to review all of the terms you want to rank for, to identify the best time of year to create and promote that content. This can then feed into a content calendar, which is used as a schedule to ensure you keep your site fresh, up to date and full of useful content. - Laura Hampton

Another example is a tool called Answer the Public (www.answerthepublic.com), which generates lists of search terms based on your original term, as shown in the screenshot below: Each one of these questions warrants its own page and would make a great addition to a blog or an FAQs section on your site. Each one of these pages should be optimised to give them the best chance to ranking highly, too. The added benefit to answering customer queries on your site is that you reduce the need for the customer to pick up the phone to ask those questions of you, which can be frustrating for them if they just need a quick answer (although also have your phone number available for those who prefer that method). By writing this type of content, you’ll position yourself as an expert in your field, too, and benefit from more search traffic coming to your site through a wider range of search terms.

Laura Hampton Digital Marketing Manager Impression, Nottingham www.impression.com.

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in focus photography Insurance

Photographers & ‘Complaints Department’

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f you have only two minutes, watch this introductory video about Professional Indemnity insurance starring a Vaudevilleesque Flash the frog by visiting our website or following this link http://www.infocusinsurance.co.uk/our-policies If you are hungry for a little more information then read on. Professional Indemnity insurance is a critically important insurance protection whenever you provide a service to a client especially for a fee or commission. When you do this you raise the bar of responsibility and expectation owed to your client. If you fail to meet the professional standards they expect or simply fail to provide the service they have paid for then they can point the finger of blame at you and expect compensation in some form or other. If clients enlist the help of a lawyer to press their case then it can quickly become a disastrously expensive affair. What can go wrong you may think; • Failing to turn up at a planned fashion shoot. Studio costs, model fees, Set costs, incidental costs of all let down Parties are examples of claims • Quality of Wedding pictures is a common complaint • Loss of pictures especially of one-off never to be repeated events • Accidental breach of Privacy arising from unwanted media or online publication of pictures • Accidental breach of Intellectual Property Rights mainly Copyright

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To be honest there is not enough room to illustrate the extent of the problem except to say that every Photographer should have a virtual complaints department. They should know in advance where to go to and get help in managing all complaints. When you have a policy with us, your very own complaints department is actually Infocus Insurance and ultimately your Professional Indemnity insurer. You have already paid for their help so it is madness to try to handle complaints on your own. If you do and you fail to notify and get permission from your insurer you can end up being set adrift by them and your complaints department will not be able to help. For more guidance speak to one of our trained advisers 0844 811 8056. Treat it like your very own complaints department. - Steve Hewlett In Focus Photography Insurance

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Mark Seymour Master Craftsman Dad’s Story

M

documentary narrative

y dad was an amazing man, I know all sons would say that, but Ronnie Seymour was and is my hero. Dad taught me so much in the way he raised me and my brother Colin, his work ethic, his skills around the house making and building everything from the cupboards to the bricks in the garden wall. But most importantly as a man devoted to his wife and family.

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Ronnie was a real character, and even as the Dementia stole many aspects of the man we knew and loved away from us right to the end everyone would comment on the twinkle in his eye! Oh the stories I could share with you, from his pride and joy motorbike, a Vincent Black Shadow, to his garage filled with every type of nail and screw possible just waiting for that next project, the hand built canoe strapped to his bike which as lads we were embarrassed to walk with him, to his DIY roller-skates he made so he could go out with his grandchildren, yes it’s all true, and so much more! When I first started out this project it was with the view to just document my Dad’s life from the time when we first had an inclination, to his diagnosis and his final days. Little did I know that the Alzheimer’s Society would use the images to show others what this is like in real life. The panel of work is in not choreographed, it is captured moments that depict ‘Ronnie’s Fight’. - Mark Seymour MCrGPP

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Gillian Lloyd Craftsman L

earning about the environment, habitat, behaviour, personality and character of a species is fascinating. Capturing an image in a way which ‘tells a story’ as well as illustrates one or all of these aspects involves photographic skill but also requires research, patience plus a sprinkling of ‘luck’. Wildlife is unpredictable and so, whilst I often plan for the type of image I’d like to capture, I have learnt to expect little and am thrilled should I achieve the ‘capture’ which I had in mind. I wish for my images to evoke a reaction from the viewer: a smile, a question, concern, debate, intrigue…..it doesn’t matter which as long as the image is not ignored.

Gillian being presented with her Craftsman Certificate by her Mentor, Lesley Chalmers

I naturally prefer to capture my images of wildlife within their natural environment. However, sometimes I have an idea for an image which may realistically only be achievable within ‘non-wild’ conditions. In these instances, I may use a studio (specifically licenced) or visit a wildlife park or Conservancy. The only time I use artificial light is for studio work and then only for a couple of shots and under properly licensed and controlled conditions so as not to distress the creature in question. The use of lights and the fact that a studio is an alien environment to the species makes pre-planning and being ready to take the shot essential.

wildlife

I do not use additional light for any other of my shots even though lighting is one of the biggest issues I face. When selecting a spot to settle down and wait from (I could be in one spot for several hours), I would assess the light pathway so as to ensure I maximise my chance for the best light. Thought is also given to the background and foreground and, depending on the species, wind direction. With regards to the light I try to avoid taking shots during the main part of the day; instead aiming for the few hours after or before the ‘golden hour’ of the morning or evening.

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Photographing Wildlife is very unpredictable as you can never guarantee that you will see, let alone photograph what you want to see. Therefore many of my images are as a result of careful planning. This involves research as to where I would be most likely see the species in question and when i.e. time of year /of day. Plans for some (hopeful) shots are made several years ahead and many times several days may be required to obtain the shot. A necessary skill required for capturing wildlife is having a quick reaction. Being able to pre-visualise the final capture and then pre-setting the camera accordingly is a must. I also am disciplined in ensuring that in between shots, that I reset my camera to settings which, should something unexpected occur I will have a chance to capture it. - Gillian Lloyd CrGPP


“

Photographing Wildlife is an adventure but most of all a privilege�.

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the boys Š 2016 Mark Lynham http://www.marklynham.com

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Š Keith Yallop

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