As you read in my last blog post, we have been having what can only be described as random weather here in the North West of England. One minute it’s beautiful sunshine, next it’s torrential downpour.

On the recent Bank Holiday Monday, I woke up to beautiful sunshine. I just shook my head at the weather report I had read on the internet indicating it was going to rain heavily. The weather, here in Wrea Green, was gorgeous. This would be perfect weather for doing a Preshoot. The weather, planned, for where I going to shoot wasn’t looking particularly glamourous. It was due to rain…but, according to my iPhone, not till after the planned shoot.

Nitica & Fred live quite close to some beautiful beaches and after a lot of potential candidates, for locations to shoot at, Nitica plumped for Thurstaston Country Park which had a beach close by. Perfect. I was previsualising doing half the shoot in the country park and half on the beach. Great light. Great location. Great couple.

Nitica and Fred

I turned up at the house, Nitica was looking beautiful, Fred was looking great, weather was holding but it was getting cloudy. I chatted with the couple. Nitica was ready for a shoot but as we got out, the heavens opened. It was raining. Not badly. No storm but nevertheless it was raining.

Nitica wasn’t going to postpone this shoot. She definitely wanted it done. I had thought and discussed the possibility of doing it indoors, at the house, but none of us were that keen when the alternative was a great location like Thurstaston. My iPhone said it was sunny. Fred’s smartphone (not an iPhone so I’m not mentioning any names here…Apple need all the help they need selling those cheeky phones of theirs) was rather more accurate with it’s forecast. It also pointed out that it was going to stop in about an hour. So we went for it in hope it would get better. The rain continued.

Beautiful beach. Beautiful Couple.

So, here’s the video of what happened when a couple who obviously love each other met up with a photographer on a wet afternoon to forget about the weather and enjoy what mattered most….each other’s company.

P.S. The rain did eventually stop, as you’ll see. Enjoy and till next week.

BEHIND THE SCENES

I was planning on bringing an assistant for this shoot but unfortunately, he had the flu and was struggling to make it. Having an assistant is great but I’ve been doing this for a while now, single handedly, and it wasn’t an issue.

Conditions like the ones on this shoot are a challenge. If you looked carefully at some of those images, you can see the rain pelting down. Thankfully, it subsided and allowed me a little more creative freedom with being able to change lenses. Rain and changing lenses aren’t a good combo.

Muddy Puddles

I shoot only on Olympus cameras. I’ve been using them for over 5 years now. They have a great advantage over a number of other cameras out there. They are designed to be able to shoot in extreme weather conditions. This was hardly the kind of weather to challenge it. So I had no problem using both my camera bodies in the wet.

I did ask the couple if they wanted to go ahead with the shoot and both were adamant. It reminded me a little of a shoot I did at Talacre beach. Click here if you want to see what happened with the weather on that shoot.

That particular shoot was a tough one. So, having experienced that, this shoot was straightforward. The biggest challenge being that of getting the couple to enjoy the time. That was easy. Come to think of it, the biggest challenge was probably to lug my camera bag down to the beach and lug it back again. I missed my assistant :-) Initially, I think Fred was really unsure of what to expect but he soon got into the swing of things. As happens, time and again, once that initial 20-30 minutes is over, couples relax more and the best photos come right at the end.

It was a pity that it was also windy that day. We had to rethink shots, in some cases because of how it was affecting Nitica’s hair. Fred’s was perfectly maintained throughout the shoot. A testament to the brand of gel he uses. Very little we could do at the time. Furthermore, because of the weather, we simply had to forego the park itself.

To me what makes a great photograph is the soul of it. I’ve seen some beautiful pictures in my life. Absolutely gorgeous. I know I’ve seen them but you know I can’t actually remember what they were about or indeed what they actually look like. Beauty takes it so far but without something to say it won’t last the test of time. I care more about the moment and it’s portrayal above most photographic requirements. A well composed, well lit clean and simple photograph is just a million times better when it says something. Tells a story.

I feel I did that on this shoot. I feel I got what Nitica and Fred’s relationship is like. I feel this because I’ve seen it. I saw it before the shoot and I saw it during the shoot. It is that feeling which makes me the kind of photographer I am. It’s not a button on a camera. It’s something you simply have to discover within yourself, believe in it and hope others do too.

If you have been following my blog posts, you know I shoot weddings in my home village of Wrea Green. Two weeks ago, I had the lovely privilege of shooting once more at the fantastic Villa Country House Hotel.

Lesley and Jon may be familiar to you.

The Wonderful Marriage of Lesley and Jon

They were featured on this blog, last month, with their Pre Wedding Photo Shoot. CLICK HERE to see the photographs from that day.

Earlier in the week the weather, here in the UK and especially this region, had been quite temperamental. Mostly leaning towards the rain soaked side of things. So coming into their wedding day, everyone was a little apprehensive as to how the weather would turn out. Luckily it held and indeed the sun was prevalent most of the day.

When I arrived at the Hair and Beauty Salon, in Preston, Lesley was in the midst of having her make up done. She looked gorgeous throughout the day and no wonder Jon was nearly in tears when he saw her walk in for the marriage ceremony.

After that, we all moved to The Villa and for her to finish off getting ready. I met with the other girls and the Jon’s lovely children. I popped across to Jon’s room. He was in good spirits with his best man.

Photographing children and families is a joy. Being a father of two, myself, I feel a sense of affinity with parents and their children. If you want to see the evidence as showcased near the end of the video most ably by Jon himself. He can dance that man!

Enjoy their gorgeous wedding day. I’ll let the video tell the rest of their wedding day story. I hope it puts a smile on your face.

BEHIND THE SCENES

On the day I was ably assisted by a second shooter – Alex Davies. Alex is a full time photographer in her own right. I know a lot of photographers around the North West and few more further afield. We all keep in touch. If for anything just to meet up and have a laugh every so often. This camaraderie goes beyond just meet ups. We also help each other with work. I am a single shooter. I don’t rely on my second shooters for images. They are there to gain experience and are always willing to help. Alex was wonderful help on the day, with taking some shots from alternative angles and also with the lights.

As you are aware, my photographic origins are from a pure photojournalistic approach to photography. As years have gone, this style has developed to what I feel is my established style now. At the core of it, I shoot as things unfold but I also recognise the need for formal photographs on a wedding day. One of my friends, quite out of the blue, wrote me a Facebook update recently. He wrote, “You are a funny photographer”. I guess, in a way, that somehow sums up my style and, I guess, me. Just have fun and be myself.

In this department I was matched ably by Jon. Jon does a mean New York accent….especially his pronunciation of “meatballs”. He demonstrated his stateside prowess during the second, informal, shoot I did with the couple. So authentic, it’s scary! :-)

The other thing you will notice, just from these snapshots of the day, is the family fun. I love the informalities of the evening when everyone lets their hair down. Adults and children together as one in their joy of dancing (and singing) till the end of the night.

A lovely day spent with lovely people.

Leaving San Juan - not actually through that particular doorway though!

Ah yes, we finished with San Juan and our journey went on to the islands of Antigua, St. Maarten and St. Kitts.

So the next port of call, after San Juan, was St. Maarten. A beautiful island, half owned by the French and half owned by the Dutch….and where the currency is the Euro! Most of the islands are tax free meaning you can purchase items there for far less than in the UK and still pay no tax on top. Worth the visit alone.

Yes mixing camera and water - all very intentional. Makes me smile this one.

St. Maarten is one of the main residences for the rich and the famous. Roman Abrahamovich (spelling?), the owner of Chelsea FC and countless oil fields (not in Chelsea), has a place there. You’ld think the riff raff, that’s us, would be kept out but nay that is not the case. Very easy going place with wonderful beaches and like most of the islands, their laws mean that you are allowed to wonder on any beach, despite it being owned privately.

We didn’t have time to say hi to Roman but we did do trapsing. My eldest daughter partook (is that a word?) in the noble sport of Boogie boarding….where one clambers on one’s stomach and surfs with the next incoming wave. Fab fun….something she took to like a duck to water….and something I took to like a rock to water. The conclusion from that fun couple of hours was that I am not aerodynamically built. I don’t have pictures of the boogie boarding, because as mentioned in the caption, for the picture above, my camera and that huge amount of water didn’t get on….weren’t best friends. Luckily, I had a bought a new camera earlier (is that some weird sort of fate?) but I left it back on the ship. So this for example:

The island of Antigua. Taken at sunrise as we approached it.

Was taken with my new camera, Just in case you are concerned, the camera /water love in sorted itself out a few days later as the camera dried and came back to life (phew!). I am so used to shooting with waterproof cameras, I forgot that one wasn’t. Note to self and all that.

My favourite destination, by far, was Antigua. Absolutely stunning and soooooo laid back that you could almost call it Australia. In fact, they were selling Australian ice cream on the port….if that wasn’t evidence enough!

So next up was indeed Antigua. Straight away, we got a taxi and headed for the best beach on the island (as we were told). You have kids, you need a beach is all I’m saying!

The palm trees were imported from Torquay! I am of course kidding.

The beach we got to was stunning….we just chilled, had a few drinks, ate, watched the kids play, chilled, walked and chilled….in temperatures in excess of egg boiling point…..phew what a scorcher. Sun tan on our sun tans! As is my urge to photograph anything, I decided to do a “photo walk”. Not sure why I put “photo walk” in quotes as it’s fairly self explanatory what that whole task is about. Just in case…it’s walking….taking photos.

On my photo walk, I came across these 3 beauties.

I hadn't learnt my Camera v. Water lesson. I'm about 5 feet away.

I do love black and white. Something less distracting about it.

My baby brother chilling.

How hot is it to create these shadows. Mad dogs and Englishmen!

Saw this, waited, clicked.

Time to hop on board and leave.

On board the ship. It has a 1 mile running track btw.

My beautiful wife saying bye to Antigua. 15 years marriage this year!

So then we were off to our final destination, St. Kitts. Which (said in hushed tones), I found slightly disapointing. I guess once you’ve experienced St. Maarten and Antigua, it’s tough to live up to that level of loveliness.

St. Kitts is a volcanic island so the beaches were blacker and the place rocky. We took a tour round the island, stopping off on various locations like these ones:

Spot my daughter game!

To me, this pretty much sums up St. Kitts.

Ruins of an old British held fort.

Bell tower to warn the fort when invaded. I'm like a history lesson.

A beach in St. Kitts. Eldest reluctant to go into FREEZING water.

And back to the ship. I have no idea who these people are!

On the ship, and on our way back to Newark, they had formal nights for dining. We dressed up, had incredible meals, in the middle of an ocean, watched the waiters entertain us and got ready, mentally, for Newark and our gateway to home.

Aboard the ship for a a formal dining evening out with family.

Three straws in TeePee Shape. Move only 1 to pick them all up!

Finally after a couple of days journeying we arrived back to Newark and our port.

Ahoy Newark!

We then headed for the airport and waited for our plane. Here’s the final three. The last one being very, very important. It’s the photograph that will link my next personal blog post, in a few weeks time.

Some of us were living it up in the Airport lounge

Some of us were counting sheep.

Some just enjoying each others company. Photographs are more than just clicks.

So there you have it. Our holiday story told in pictures. I love photographing. I love telling stories. Hope you enjoyed this one. Till next week when we will have a lovely wedding featured. In scouse (because I am one), TaRah.

I provided the photographs and Angela and Richard provided the words.

One thing I loved was how romantic that Richard is.

It’s my 15th wedding anniversary this year…..so he’s got me thinking.

Romantic ideas always welcome. :-)

Click on the image to see a larger version and zoom in to read the text.

Lancashire Evening Post Article

BEHIND THE SCENES

Nowadays, I try and get all my locally married couples featured in the LEP, after asking their permission of course.

I think it’s a lovely way of sharing the day with friends and family.

I also recently received a lovely hand written thank you card from them.

“Anurag,

Thanks you so very much for the wonderful photographs you have taken of our wedding day.

We will cherish them forever as a reminder of the Story of our Day

Love

Mr & Mrs. Sharpe”

It put a great big old smile on my face. Stories is what I do and I am delighted they will remember their day so well through these photographs.

A few weeks back I was asked by Michelle, who runs the Minola Beauty Salon in Lytham, to take some shots to help promote her business.

Meet the beautiful Michelle - Owner of Minola Beauty Salon

I would be photographing her staff who themselves would use Minola’s own beauty regime to get ready for the shoot.

The popular Salon has recently expanded and is located right in the heart of Lytham allowing easy parking and convenience to it’s clientelle. It is also very busy. Luckily, an hour had been arranged where no clients were booked to come in.

Photographically, this is a very short period of time to shoot so many people. So we were up against it. Most of the staff were already prepared having had each other to help with their make up and hair.

Just love the eyes in this shot.

So the idea was simple. In the alloted time, I would concentrate on what essentially was at the heart of Minola business. Beauty. So we spent just more than an hour photographing the staff, trying to highlight their makeup, eyes etc. doing the shoot in the Salon itself.

All the featured photographs are my favourites from that shoot. I hope you’ll agree with me that the girls look beautiful.

Till next week.

Outside one of Minola's two treatment rooms

Great make up.

The nails, the eyes, the lipstick and great skin.

BEHIND THE SCENES

I think the main thing I found with this shoot was how nervous most of the girls were about having their photographs taken. I fully sympathised with them. It’s not easy being photographed. It takes time, initially, to work yourself into the mood to be photographed. I’ve said this before. It’s always tricky at the start and the best photographs come at the end. The exception to this is when you are dealing with teenagers and children. They don’t need as much time, from my experience, to be mentally prepared to be photographed.

For pretty much all the shots, I took that day, I used natural light. The salon, itself, has large windows which are perfect for natural light shooting. All the shots above were using natural light.

One was on stilts, another doing magic tricks and another demonstrating trickery with fire.

I went up and introduced myself. I asked if they would consider doing a shoot ShutterLeaf style. I was already forming ideas of a commercial video to showcase their many talents. It really was a very early seed in our heads and none of us thought it would eventually lead me blogging about the completed shoot.

So, last month, on a bright, sunny, breezy week day, I finally met up with the Sam, Jim and Andrew. They came fully prepared, as did I.

Andrew

Sam

Jim

I had already pitched my idea for the shoot. A sort of “versus” idea with a filmic type battle between The Magician (Sam) and the Stilt Walkers (Andrew & Jim). They were up for it but because of all our work commitments, we didn’t get round to doing it until last month….and boy was it worth the wait.

I already had St. Anne’s Pier (the old one) in mind for this shoot. I wanted a location that spoke Lancashire, had character and was somewhere we could stage fights (open space). I shot there the week before but it was plain co-incidence I was there again so soon. I didn’t have an assistant this time round. It was just me and the guys.

After dragging what seemed like a tonne of equipment over to the old pier, taking shoots as we went, we finally staged the epic battle I had in mind.

The video, below, is something I feel encompasses them as an entertainment team, tells a story and showcases my work. As with all my shoots, I do not take direct input from my clients when choosing photographs or producing the final output. It is something I have come to an understanding with, with many of my clients. To produce this type of work, I need to be given that freedom to create. All my clients, nowadays, understand this and it is because of them that I must credit what I do and produce for them.

I’ve already talked to the guys about another shoot along the “versus” theme. In fact, I have two more lined up (in my head) and I’m sure we’ll make this happen in the near future.

I hope you enjoy the video and love what they do. If you would like more information on Xtreme Entertainment, you can contact them via email:

info@xtentertainment.com

Sam is also a magician in his own right and can be contacted via:

email@samfitton.com

Click the video, below, to view it.

BEHIND THE SCENES

The idea of Magician vs. Stilt Walkers was almost immediate, in my head, when I first met the guys. I am a photographer, of course, but you will have noticed the video clips. Their introduction is simply to move the story forward. I am by no means a videographer (I can hear videographers round the country saying, “You’re not kidding”…:-) but I do understand story, arcs, script writing, a number of filming techniques and ideas around film lighting. I know more than your average Joe, I guess, because, for a while, I studied it. I’ve attended Syd Field’s workshops. I’ve followed the ideas behind Story with Robert McKee. I watch a lot of films, ranging from unknown films (British, Korean, French, Autralian) to mainstream affairs. I do all this because I enjoy it and it enriches me as an artist. At the end of the day films & video are a hobby. Photography is my trade.

We had a number of challenges on the day of the shoot. The sat nav sent the guys the wrong way so we started late. We still had a good 4 hours. The other challenge was the amount of equipment we had to lug over to the old pier. So I decided, early on to just shoot at one of the dunes next to the new pier and have the old pier in the back.

Getting Sam to "fly" - We had fun with this one

I like getting the first 20 minutes of a shoot done. From experience, this is the “finding our feet” time. The subjects get used to what I’m doing and in due course become relaxed. Even if I tell clients that this is going to happen, the results are always the same. As time goes on, everyone starts getting into the groove. I, also, invariably find that the end of the shoot tends to produce the best shots. I don’t know why. Perhaps time pressure heighten the senses. Perhaps, we all give that one last push. I honestly don’t know but pretty much every shoot is the same (weddings, portraits or commercial).

So, to me, the shots I was most impressed with were the one of them “fighting” and especially the black and white silhouettes – reminding me of a classic 1970s western or some homage of it.

On our route to the old pier (what seemed like half a mile through sand and a fairly hefty gust of wind), we met up with a number of sideline observers. I mean, we were shooting in high sun, with stilt walkers, knives, fire etc….of course there would be observers out on the beaches. It was Andrew and Jim on stilts that caught the attention of this young lady.

Day out in St. Annes for this lady

She was visiting for the day (she’s not from round ‘ere). So I obliged her with a quick portrait, which she received recently. I hope it added to her day. Then we met with the following beautiful ladies as we got to the end of the new pier, now with properly dressed stilt walkers as background entertainers.

You can't help but smile at this one. So manly.

So a quick pose and another fond memory for some more lovely people. It was the first time to the beach for the young un, as I subsequently found out. So quite what she made of these “giants”, I’m not sure.

I knew there would a “fight” scene and so from that point on I started shooting to lead up to it. For the close up portraits of the guys, I used artificial lights. For the fight scenes it was purely natural light.

My career started off as a natural, available light shooter, in fact, as a reportage photographer. Someone, who observes and documents without being drawn into the photograph he/she is taking. I have that skill but as time has gone by, and experience gained, it has led me to my style, as you see it today. A style that encompasses opposite disciplines of photography to produce a hybrid. The ability to document, the ability to use artificial light with natural light, the ability to communicate with the subject (where a true reportage photographer would not do) and now a ability to pre-visualise a scene. Pre visualisation is one of the most important part, to me at least, of any photographer’s arsenal. The ability to see the final photograph before it is taken. Life, of course, is a lot easier when you can see results in the back of your camera but my photographs are taken as the raw material to produce my final photographs. There is an art to taking photographs but also an art to making photographs.

With regards the video, I already had the panning shot and reveal shot in mind. Jim doing ninja like (not the same as last week’s version I hasten to add) stunts with fire was impromptu. I also didn’t plan the one where Andrew “punches” Sam….the voice track for that contained a lot of laughing….I’m really not sure if Sam meant to release all those cards but they worked to great effect.

There were at least double the number of images available, to me, than actually used in the video. Some of these outtakes, are above. I didn’t included them simply because, for my style of story telling, they didn’t add anything. Some great shots didn’t make it into the video presentation because they were not working with the pacing I was trying to achieve. There is a lot to telling stories, with photographs, than one might imagine.

As great as this shot is, it didn't make the video. Another one,like this, did.

The boys were great to work with and I hope they are happy with the results. The video is licensed to the boys for their commercial use to promote what they do, brilliantly, to more people.

Hope you like it. Till next week for another great blog post.

So engagement shoots eh? Why do they exist?

A photo shoot is to get couples used to being photographed. Yep.

A means by which to get familiar with my clients. Double Yep.

An opportunity to rip your trousers so wide that it actually causes a nervous lady to laugh so much that it makes the shoot fun for her. Triple Yep.

Ripping trousers….[sighs]….yeah…more on that way at the end of this blog post.

So, March 2012. Gorgeous Sunday morning and plans for a fun photo shoot near St. Annes Pier in Lancashire. I was met in advance by my assistant Aaron, who I have feeling I will be working with a lot more in the future. Aaron, if you have not been introduced to his model like looks and ability to have very shiney eyes indeed, was involved in a tester session, I did, a few months back. You can see that fab photo shoot, which also involved Emily, by CLICKING HERE.

So we assembled and soon enough Lesley and Jon arrived.

Meet Lesley and Jon

I was referring to Jon's sunglasses as Wayfarers (homage to Top Gun)!

We had, in advance, scouted the various locations where we would shoot, with Aaron on lighting duties, and off we went. As always, it takes a good 15-20 minutes or so to warm up AND these kinds of photo shoots, I personally feel, also help break the ice between myself and my clients. A great way for the couple to spend a a little time together away from their daily routine. It’s fun. After all, they’ve just shared an hour and a half with a renowned coffee drinker and ex-ninja yogic….ah….but enough about Aaron :-)

On the steps, by the cafe, near St. Annes Pier

I just love sun rays.

What could be more entertaining? – Yes ripping trousers can be…hold yours horses!

So here we are, all of us, me, you, the internet. Ready to look at the video of their engagement shoot. I hope they love it (this will be their first time viewing the photographs) and I hope you all love it too. It was a really great day reminding everyone that love is a wonderful thing and having a change of clothes is something to consider in the future (I’m talking about the photographer not the couple). Click on the video to watch.

BEHIND THE SCENES

So, ripping trousers. Well, jeans to be accurate. So, this is how it happened. I can’t believe I’m actually blogging this! I arrived in time and scouted out the locations I needed to shoot at. As I crouched down, I heard that dreadful sound…yes…the sound of a rip. I nearly had a heart attack…when I looked down, next to my front pocket was a small tear….pretty cool….if you’re 16 years old….but, I thought, still…..that’s a good look and carried on scouting….only that as time went on….minutes in fact….the rip started getting bigger and bigger. By the time Aaron had arrived it had torn around 4-5 inches…..by the time Lesley and Jon arrived…it was a 10 inch rip…..by the end of the shoot and Lesley having had to dry her eyes from the laughter, countless times, the rip was from the top of my belt look all the down to just above my boots. Basically, the whole of my leg was exposed for all to see and if that wasn’t bad enough (a euphemism for cringingly embarrassing), that day at that specific time they had a bike race with hundreds of people milling round where we were shooting.

I know what you're thinking. Was it the weather for welly boots?

I must say everyone was very sporting about the whole thing and I’m pretty sure the couple had a great time out. So, moral (eighties cartoon style monologue), ripping trousers don’t detract from a great photo shoot but just in case, in future, pack a spare pair of jeans…and oh…..less Ninja Yoga in future. Till next week.

At the start of this month, around 4 weeks ago, I had the priviledge to shoot the wedding of Angela and Richard. I sneak peeked a few shots earlier. CLICK HERE to see some of the photographs.

The Very Wonderful - Angela and Richard

It’s pretty much standard, nowadays, for me to do a PreShoot with my couples. The preshoot is a means of allowing us to get familiar with each other. Couples are not used to being photographed and the whole thing is designed to help the couple with having a photographer around. What it does do, I have noticed, subconciously or not, is that it helps get the formal portraiture side of a wedding day out of the way with ease. CLICK HERE if you want to see Angela and Richard’s Preshoot with me.

Now, if you are conversant with the world of wedding photography, you may have heard such words are “Reportage” or “Photojournalism”. These are styles which lend themselves to story telling and story telling is what I’m all about. My style of photography is different from true photojournalistic wedding photography in the strictest sense. By strict, I mean, the idea behind photojournalism is not to get involved. Not to interfere. Not be the source of distraction when photographs are being taken. Now, you see, I am someone who gets involved. I do move things if I need to and sometimes a bloke with two cameras and a flash gun can become a distraction….but I still tell stories.

I trully was delighted when Angela and Richard chose me to photograph their wedding day. I mean seriously over the moon. I don’t want to gush….but they are two absolutely lovely individuals and their love for each other is beauty in itself. I may write quirkly, off on tangents and so on….but I am a professional photographer and what I deliver my clients is beautiful moments from their wedding day. I report their day. I tell stories. I chat. I laugh. I make others smile. I take photographs and I make photographs that not only say something about the couple and their wonderful wedding but keep speaking for years to come. I truly love my craft. I heart Angela and Richard :-)

Enjoy the video and I’ll be seeing the couple soon for their album preview.

P.S. I’ve also changed my blog layout (this is Phase 1) – hope you like it.

Karen, herself, is a wonderfully bubbly person whose gift is to put people at ease and to make them feel better about who they are and what they want in life. Karen is a business and lifestyle coach. She approached me to ask if I would take a few photographs to get profile images for her marketing material and online web presence.

We had to move a dining table to get this shot.

The thing with portrait photography (or in this case corporate photography?) is that you need to be a people person. Ready to engage with the person being photographed. That particular skillset can be easily undervalued. It is one of the greatest assets of a portrait photographer. The ability to help their subjects feel at ease and bring a part of their personality out in the photographs being taken. Sure, this is a business but it is a business based on something I love…shooting people (using a camera just in case this gets to court!).

Everyone can feel a little anxious and nervous before a shoot and rightly so. For most people, it’s a totally new experience. I try and do all my shoots on location. “On location” pretty much means anywhere other than a studio. Why do I prefer on location shoots to studio shoots? Is it because I don’t have a studio? Well, partly, but it’s really not that expensive to hire a studio and there are plenty about. I have plans, in time, to get a studio (with a difference) but that is somepoint in the future. At the moment, both I and my clients, prefer on location shooting. Frankly, having had a bit of experience of doing these things, I have yet to find a locaiton without a spot to shoot a great photograph. On location photography also helps a client. It gives them a familiar surrounding and lends itself it a level of comfort which in turn affords more natural looking poses.

So, for Karen, we decided to shoot it at her home. Karen wanted to emphasize the more “human” side of her personality rather than corporate which tends to occur if you do have an average everyday studio shoot done. There’s nothing wrong with plain backgrounds but it’s not all about backgrounds. It is about the person being photographed. Are they relaxed?

Relaxed and informal - We talked about this shot in advance.

So on arrival, we had lovely cup of tea and chat about what she wanted and then I went around looking for places to shoot. The three places that stood out for me were her dining room (because of the large window and flooring), outside (because of the moody skies) and infront of a chicken coop (yep you read right – more on this in a moment).

Karen was brilliant. Her effervescent personality and demeanour were great to work with. The whole shoot took around an hour and a half. We discussed the setups to help us bring her personality out. Timing is also crucial, especially in the discipline where you are taking up someone else’s time where their time is precious to them.

So the the dining room floor shoot was something that we thought was perfect. Karen does yoga and that in itself lends to words like peace and harmony. The dining room shoot was done with just natural light flooding in through a large window. I positioned her to give me that look of calm collectedness. THAT is exactly her. Calm, collected and assured.

Karen Mason of Karen Mason Associates

The Outdoor shoot was to bring out the bubbly side of her personality. A good breeze was blowing and that in conjunction with the moody day (and occassional sun) made for a lovely backdrop.

Outdoors in the garden.

Finally, the chicken coop. No, Karen does not live on a farm nor does she own chickens (at least none I know of). The chicken coop belonged to her neighbour. A wonderful shed with beautifully textured wood. Yeah, I know what you’re thinking….chicken coop….but some of us photographers don’t see the purpose of the building, we see it as a backdrop. The coat that Karen wore is her son’s favourite. Her son, as I’ve been told, is a keen, budding photographer and apparently was very excited about this shoot when he heard. Unfortunately, being a school day, he wasn’t around to watch. I think the combination of colours from the coat and wood bring out Karen wonderful smile very well.

Chicken Coops make wonderful backdrop - top tip :-)

So, that’s it. A corporate shoot with a twist. They don’t all have to be boring, do they?

That combination, for all you camera techies out there, is what I take with me for my wedding and portrait shoots. It’s not the only things I take with me for my wedding and portrait shoots but definitely the only things I take with me on my travels…..well not the ONLY thing….of course there is the obligatory toothbrush involved!

I use this kit because it’s small and light and allows me to take shots that are a little more difficult to handle with a large DSLR camera and a big lens especially when you are on holiday….and…..as you recall (because you are a keen, discerning reader with good taste…and a lovely smile may I add) I was out and about in the Caribbean earlier this year, with my family….so the camera was just the right thing to use to photograph our jaunt.

Along with my wife and two children, tagged along both sets of parents and my baby brother.

Our trip started from Newark, New Jersey in the States and took 3 days of ocean travel before arriving at our first destination – Labadee, Haiti. The privately owned island of Labadee was great fun for all of us. The kids, especially, had a hoot. The temperature in Newark was around 8 degrees centigrade….I think it was averaging around 35 when we got to the islands. Phew it was a scorcher. Luckily, I had packed two seasons worth of clothing….along with that toothbrush I mentioned earlier.

The ship we were on, The Explorer of the Seas, is enormous. So big, it’s got it’s own basketball court, ice rink, theatre, casino, numerous bars, childrens play centre and a big thing that blows smoke.

Explorer of the Seas

Basketball midflight

Big thing that blows smoke

Following Haiti, with it’s interesting vegetation (I am not a fauna/flora man by nature but seriously I had never seen some of these before)….

Tree roots I would say

…we ended up in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Quite a vibrant place. I would have loved to have gone out at night there but we only docked there for that day so no time. Pity. In any case, I did what every self respecting Dad with two young kids and elderly parents should do. Made them climb a hill and go round an ancient fort. My parents couldn’t go (knees unfortunately) so it was kids, wife, small bro and parent in laws.

My Small bro...looking mightily superheroic.

I ended up getting all photographic. Such a beautiful place with great hard light, deep shadows and locations (I am such a geek – pushes glasses up his nose).

A view of San Juan from the fort before we left

So below, I’ve included some of the hightlights of our trip to these two islands. More to come in due course. I hope you like these occassional sideways look at my life. Take care and hope to see you here soon (St. Martin and Antigua next).

Here be land - Labadee - Haiti

The ratio of fear to bucket of water explained. My brother and his neice.

Fire swallowing guy in Haiti

Great showmanship

The Singing and Dance troupe that accompanied the fire swallowing guy.

Ola San Juan.

My Brother and Father in Law - modelling duties

A view of our cruise ship from an open doorway at the fort

Me and my eldest daughter. All street with that pink hat. Picture taken by my youngest daughter

All that I survey

This, did I say, is my brother. He says, "adios".