1 Baby, 44 Photographers

Although I wasn't one of the photographers who have been hanging around outside a certain London hospital for the last three weeks, I was really interested to see the variety of photos produced of William and Kate with their new baby Prince of Cambridge.  Time magazine have put together one photo from each photographer present yesterday.  From what was essentially a five-minute photo shoot, it's amazing the variety of images.  It really takes me back to my days as a press photographer.

Many congratulations to William and Kate, as you really can't beat the feeling of being parents for the first time.  It's a magical (if exhausting!) time.

Architectural Photos of Modern Houses

I have quite a lot of experience of architectural photography, having completed a year-long contract for Warwick Castle a few years ago to capture the castle in all the seasons, and in different light, weather and times of day.  These days, I mostly I photograph modern new-build  commercial properties when I am asked to photograph architecture, but here are a few shots of some modern houses I commissioned to take for a housing association in the Midlands.

N.B. This blog covers just the PR, commercial, corporate editorial, architectural and aerial photography and videography side of my business.  Please see my Reportage Wedding Photography Blog for up-to-date news about the wedding and portrait side of my business. 

Owning a Camera doesn't make you a Photographer.

I've just been booked for a PR job by a man who runs a public relations company and like me, he used to work for newspapers. He said that he spends his days dissuading his clients from taking their own photos as most of them own digital cameras and think that's all there is to it.  The photos they take may be technically correct (ie.e in focus and correctly exposed), but the lighting and composition are usually terrible the photos are usually shot with very little imagination.  He tells them that they could hang a stethoscope around their neck, but they wouldn't call them-self a doctor! I couldn't agree more.

How to Make Polythene Bags Look Interesting!

I have recently been commissioned to photograph some polythene bags, straws and their packaging.  My brief?  To make them look interesting.  No pressure then!

The job was actually a re-shoot as my client had already had their products photographed by a "photographer" who until recently had been an IT consultant.  Apparently, he had a big lottery win which enabled him to give up his job and turn his hobby into a new photography business.  He had the money to buy lots of very expensive camera equipment.  Unfortunately, he had all the gear, but no idea.  The resulting photos were among the worst I have ever seen on a website.  While they were in focus and correctly(ish) exposed (both of which would be taken care of by the camera, the background was terrible (with a line that cut through the photos where two bits of background were joined together, the composition was non-existent and the lighting was very uneven.  The empty bags and straws were just photographed lying flat on a red background and they looked dull and lifeless.  Also, it was obvious that the "photographer" had supplied uncorrected digital files as none of the photos had been optimised.  Consequently, the photos were so bad that the client had to commission another photo shoot.  It just proves to dispel the urban myth that all you need to be a good photographer is an expensive camera.

Here are some of my shots...

I was also asked to take some shots of the staff in their working environment...

Please CLICK HERE if you would like to see more examples of my commercial photography.


N.B. This blog covers just the PR, commercial, corporate editorial, architectural and aerial photography and videography side of my business.  Please see my Reportage Wedding Photography Blog for up-to-date news about the wedding and portrait side of my business. 

Business Video of Trade Show at the NEC, Birmingham

I have just produced a short business video of The UK Concrete Show 2013 at the NEC (National Exhibition Centre) in Birmingham.

Being a very specific technical trade show, it was quite a challenge to get a lively and interesting film, but I feel I have achieved just that.  See what you think...

N.B. This blog covers just the PR, commercial, corporate editorial, architectural and aerial photography and videography side of my business.  Please see my Reportage Wedding Photography Blog for up-to-date news about the wedding and portrait side of my business. 

Commercial Photography of a Foundry in Birmingham

I was recently commissioned by an iron and aluminium foundry to do some commercial photography in Birmingham in order to update the photos in their brochures and on their website.

While casting molten metal is a very old (not to mention dangerous!) trade, I was amazed at how precise and intricate the castings were.  My client also had a CNC machining facility which allowed them to add other components and drill holes and threads to create finished products.  It was fascinating to see what could be done with a load of scrap iron - given the right handling. 

This assignment was quite tricky as not only was I was working in a very hot, noisy and potentially dangerous environment, the lighting was challenging as it was very dark inside the foundry.  I had to set up portable lighting equipment, but I had to be very careful not to cause a trip hazard, so all lights had to be battery-powered.  This also enabled me to work at a faster pace as each shot was quicker to set up than it would have been using my studio flash units.

In addition to photographing the staff at work, I set up my mobile studio in a separate room with a white background and studio lighting in order to take some product photos.  I also took some staff portraits while I was there, so many different photographic techniques were needed for this job.

 Finally, I had to photograph a 1/5th scale bronze cast model of a Spitfire.  It was an incredibly detailed model, which included the pilot and all the instruments on his instrument panel in the cockpit.  

My client wanted a photograph of the Spitfire against a plain white background, but they also wanted to show the scale of the model.  The model was situated in a busy office, surrounded by desks and it was too big and heavy to move into a separate room, so I had to set up my lights around people working at their desks.  We still had to move the Spitfire slightly to get it in the right position to photograph it and it was so heavy that it took six men to move it!  I put up a white background behind it and extended it right up to the ceiling, but as the Spitfire's right wing reached right up to the ceiling and being a couple of feet in front the background, the background paper was still too low even though it was physically impossible to raise it any higher.  The only option was to extend the background in Photoshop after the shoot.  Also, as the model was so heavy and awkward to lift, we couldn't lift it high enough to get my background paper underneath without tearing it, creasing it, or making it dirty, so the only option was to cut the paper around the base of its stand.  Again, the cut edges had to be retouched after the shoot.  Here is one of the shots before the retouching:

The photo below is the retouched shot of the Spitfire.  I have also added the shadow of a man next to the model, to give it a sense of scale.  All in a day's (or several days') work!

N.B. This blog covers just the PR, commercial, corporate editorial, architectural and aerial photography and videography side of my business.  Please see my Reportage Wedding Photography Blog for up-to-date news about the wedding and portrait side of my business. 

Multi-national Chairmen come to Coventry

I have just been photographing Ratan Tata and Cyrus Mistry.  Ratan has just retired from being the Chairman of the Board of Indian multi-national company Tata Sons Ltd (which owns Jaguar Land Rover among many other huge companies) and Cyrus has just been appointed as its new  chairman at just 44 years of age.  I was commissioned to photograph them on a visit to Warwick Manufacturing Group at the University of Warwick.

 Ratan Tata

 Cyrus Mistry

N.B. This blog covers just the PR, commercial, corporate editorial, architectural and aerial photography and videography side of my business.  Please see my Reportage Wedding Photography Blog for up-to-date news about the wedding and portrait side of my business.