Win a FREE Business Portrait at Leicester Business Event 2013

Come to the Leicester Business Event 2013 (LBE13) on Thursday 3rd October at the Leicester Tigers GNC stand from 9.30am until 4.30pm and you could win a 

FREE BUSINESS PORTRAIT taken by me.  Drop in to see me at stand MP11 on the ground floor (in "The Final Whistle"), where I will not only have an exhibition stand, I will also have my mobile studio set up.

I will be taking studio-lit portraits against a bright white background for FREE.  If you have your portrait taken, the proofs will be sent to you by e-mail and one lucky winner (drawn at random at the end of the day) will receive a fully-optimised high-resolution digital file of their portrait for FREE.  

If you are not lucky enough to win, you can buy fully-optimised high-resolution digital files for just £25 + VAT each (or £50 + VAT for 3 photos of the same person), although there is no obligation to buy.  

This offer is limited until 2 weeks after the show, when all photos will be £40 + VAT each.  You will be licenced to publish the photos anywhere (including on-line and in print), forever.  My standard minimum rate for photography work is £130 + VAT, so this show offer represents exceptional value for money, even if you are not the lucky winner of a free portrait.

A bit more about the show...

Exhibition spaces are now fully booked for the Leicester Business Event 2013 (LBE13) however visitors can attend the event for free with the opportunity to explore over 110 exhibition stands which are spread across two floors. 

Visitors are encouraged to pre-register to attend the event for their pre-registration pack which includes a full list of exhibitors, floor plan, event schedule and name badge. This will save queuing on the day and give visitors the opportunity to prepare their own strategy for making the most of the event for their business or organisation.

Not only does the event have a variety of exhibitors but also, for the first time, the exhibition is featuring a section called the Market Street which will be located on the ground floor known as the Final Whistle and will have high street retailers with products to sell on the day - as well as a top UK photographer!  ;-)

Other activities will be held throughout the day including seminars with eight speakers, two speed networking sessions with the opportunity to meet 18 different businesses in under an hour. There’s also a ‘Meet the Buyer’ session where you can have a one-to-one consultation with a variety of Public Sector suppliers and larger organisations.

Free to attend, the exhibition is going to be the biggest it has ever been with an expected 1,000 visitors.

To register and receive your free pre-registration pack and badge, please visit www.hi2events.co.uk/pages/events/eventitem/LeicestershireBusinessEvent2013LBE/86/.

For a full list of exhibitors please visit http://www.leicesterbusinessevents.co.uk/Exhibitors.aspx

Blog Article Interview

I have just been featured in a blog article about my business: http://www.greenapplecommunications.co.uk/case-studies/adapt-and-prosper/#more-739

The interview was based on how I have had to adapt my business over the years, especially with regards to social media marketing.

Natural Photography of Care Homes in The Midlands

I have recently been commissioned to do some stills photography for a group of care homes in the Midlands.

My brief was to take natural shots of the staff and residents in order to bring out the their characters and to show the caring and friendly faces of the staff to illustrate what great jobs they do in quite often, very demanding situations.  I also had to take some staff photos and some general views.  The photos were to be used on the care home group's new website and also in brochures.  Here are a few of my favourite shots...

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. 

Corporate Portrait Photography

While "high-key" white-background corporate portraits are still very popular, I am regularly commissioned to photograph portraits of staff and management of companies in The Midlands in a natural and relaxed style known as environmental portraiture.  This style makes use of whatever surroundings can be found within the workplace, but I use them in such a way to compliment the subjects, rather than over-powering them.

Here are some examples of some staff portraits I took for a housing association in Leicestershire:

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. 

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.