Engagement shoot: Steven and Paul

Today I'm pleased to present the photographs from an engagement shoot I did in August, with Steven and Paul.

Steven and Paul met me in March, at the Fabulous Wedding Show, and after chatting to me, decided to hire me as their professional photographer for their civil ceremony this December. We agreed that we'd head to Largs for this engagement shoot.

We were quite lucky when we were in Largs, as it was a gorgeous warm, sunny day, despite having had a week of rain and poor weather. It was a really good opportunity for me to get to know Steven and Paul a bit better, and develop a photographic relationship with them and my camera. 

With this shoot, I really wanted to make sure I captured a strong image of each of them. My couples receive five prints after the engagement shoot, and by focussing on both of them separately, I like to think they can then each have a gorgeous photograph of the other, either for their wallet, or desk at work, or even for their phone. 

I also really wanted to give Steven and Paul a strong contemporary feel to these engagement photographs. Having visited their home, I was aware that they are a very contemporary and stylish couple, and that a strong, dynamic feel to the images would work beautifully on their walls and fit perfectly in their home. 

It's been fantastic working with Steven and Paul, and I'm really looking forward to their civil ceremony later this year.

Engagement Shoot: Derek and Joanna

Today I'm featuring an engagement shoot I recently did with Joanna and Derek, who are getting married in a few weeks time in Edinburgh and have hired me as their wedding photographer.

I always invite my couples to select somewhere special to them. Derek and Joanna both love Edinburgh, and wanted to use this as the backdrop for their engagement shoot.

At the moment, the city is in the full throes of its annual festival, which brings thousands of tourists, performers, artists, writers and journalists into the capital. Rather than head to the popular Princes Street Gardens, we headed to Saint Andrews Square, with its recently renovated and very cosmopolitan garden. It was a lot quieter here, which made our photo shoot a lot easier.

We then headed to the Guildford Arms, where the couple first met which is also one of their favourite pubs in Edinburgh. As a photo location, it was a great venue. It has a restaurant upstairs with a balcony overlooking the pub, which provided some great opportunities for some birds eye view shots.

Congratulations to Joanna and Derek - I'm looking forward to photographing them some more on their wedding day.

Engagement shoots

So today, I thought I'd write about engagement shoots. There's two reasons for this: 1. at the time of writing I'm taking a break from editing some engagement shoot photographs; 2. I recently read this article from Smart Bride Boutique listing of reasons why couples ought to take advantage of engagement shoots. So it's definitely something on my mind that I thought would explore it a little further.

I love doing engagement shoots. Engagement shoots are extremely beneficial to both the photographer and the couple for a lot of reasons, but the reason for writing this is perhaps aimed at people who aren’t really sure whether they want an engagement shoot. I think there’s a potential for misunderstandings as to what an engagement shoot involves. I know some people want to “opt out”, but I like to encourage people to reconsider, and this blog entry is about why engagement shoots are a good idea.

Lots of photographers, including myself, offer engagement shoots as part of their complete wedding photography package. Within my package it’s a complementary part of the complete service, and it’s really useful for me when I’m working with a couple.

I think one of the misconceptions is that because you’re hiring a professional photographer the engagement session will be as formal as traditional wedding photography. It’s not. Engagement photo shoots are a slightly different creature. You don’t have to get dressed up, you can wear exactly what you want and unless you’re really into formal poses, most engagement photo shoots tend to be very relaxed and usually shot on location. Actually, engagement shoots offer a wonderful opportunity for a couple to get a little creative with their photographer, do things you really don’t want to do when you’re wearing smart clothes and surrounded by friends and family and have hundreds of other things to think about. It’s about having photos which are about you looking lovely, but also much more every-day. Think of it as lifestyle rather than ceremony. It’s all about exploring your personality outside the wedding environment.

So what are the benefits then? First of all, I encourage my couples to see it as a rehearsal. It gives them a chance to see exactly what its like being in front of my camera, relax, play, and really build up a photographic relationship. It takes away the “what do we do?” factor. It’s a warm up, so that by the time the wedding day comes, my couples feel relaxed, happy and much more confident in front of the camera.

The second benefit is that it’s an opportunity for me to work with my couple, so that we can build on what we produce from the engagement shoot. With their feedback, we know whether we want to do more of a certain thing; or if there’s a pose that they just don’t feel works for them. It’s an opportunity to identify the stronger and weaker images and that can all feed into how we work on the wedding day.

Thirdly, engagement shoots give you an extra photo session, an extra range of professional images you can use.  It makes it a bit more versatile; you have an extra range of photos to use to show people who you are. You can use them as your online profile picture, in print, as a gift for a relative, or for a wedding website for your guests. It also means you’re not waiting until after your wedding before you have lovely photos to show people.

Fourthly, consider the engagement shoot as your pre-wedding treat. When you’re planning your wedding, you spend a lot of money on things that won’t be used or seen until the wedding day. Your daily budget might also be a bit more constrained as a result; you’ve cut back on the luxuries or at perhaps feel a little guilty when you spend when you’re meant to be saving.  The engagement shoot is a chance to be a little more self-indulgent. If it’s included in your wedding photography package, then you can enjoy it without the guilt factor.

Finally, it gives you the chance to have their photograph almost anywhere. Perhaps there’s a stately home with gorgeous grounds that doesn’t cater for weddings but could be used as a backdrop for your engagement session. Maybe you went somewhere on a first date and want to use it for your engagement shoot. I say almost anywhere – remember to factor in traveling distance, and also seeking prior permission from any property owners. 

While I hope this blog entry has perhaps persuaded any engagement shoot sceptics, I'd love to hear from readers on their thoughts and experiences of engagement shoots. Did you have one? If not, do you wish you had?  Or have you got one lined up and how are you feeling about it? Or have you got anything you think ought to be added to this list of reasons why?

 

In my next blog article, I’ll be talking about the practical issues involved in engagement shoots.

Knickerbocker Glorious!

So today, I thought I'd blog about a shoot I did in Largs with Alison Tinlin from Plans and Presents, hair stylist Gail Rankin, Make up artist Sophie Edwards, with accessories provided by Wedding and Baby.

We went to Largs with the intention of doing a slightly kitschy, vintage seaside photoshoot. I wanted something that was a proper traditional seaside resort without the tackiness. Largs was a great location. From a photographic perspective, its a neat town, with very little litter or graffiti, not too many people, and plenty of wide open space to get the sky in and lots of details from it. We sought permission from Nardinis to use their interior as a backdrop for some of the photos (and they were very lovely about it all).

I've done plenty of location shoots before involving gorgeous dresses (including the bridesmaid shoot I did with Flossy and Dossy a few months ago), but I wanted something slightly different here. This shoot was less about being a fashion parade, and more about the individual - in this case, Alison. It was actually easier than some of the shoots I've done previously, as there weren't lots of outfit changes to incorporate into the timing.

I think the hardest thing I find is defining what I think my "voice" is. I have a particular style to my photographs, but sometimes when I'm up so close to the photos, I can't quite put my finger on what exactly it is. I know I like to have photos that have an element of pop - I want people to come out of the picture, to get an essence of their personality just jumping out of the image.

I wanted to get more of that from Alison. It's easy a lot of the time for people to shrink in the photographs, and a lot of people do. Camera comes out and people become shy and like wallflowers. Or, alternatively, they start throwing very awkward poses that they've seen in magazines and "think" I want from them.

What I really want, is to have fun photographs. I want fun, I want natural, candid, but most of all, playful. I don't want a fixed grin.

I think sometimes it's a bit like having a conversation with someone for the first time. I want to get beyond the small talk, the "what do you do/ where are you from" stuff, and right into the bit where there's a connection, the bit where the conversation just rolls and people start really revealing themselves. Years ago, a friend of mine referred to it almost as being like layers, numbering each layer. So small talk was layer one, then the bit where you start digging out information from the small talk is layer two, and then the really good stuff, the core, that's layer three. He'd smile when we got into a deeper level of conversation, the bit where we started to forget where we were and just got completely lost in our own world, and he'd remark "now we're here, this is the third layer". It's not necessarily about baring your soul and getting the skeletons out of the closet (or wherever else you keep them), it's just about figuring out who the person in front of the camera is, getting rid of your labels (mother, wife, girlfriend, husband, father, brother, son, daughter, work colleague...) and being all the wonderful bits of you.

So yes, that's what I want from these sorts of photoshoots. And I'll pretty much do anything I can to get people to that point. I'm not looking for the secrets, the dark stuff, I'm just looking for the playfulness, the humour, the light hearted, happy, lovely side, the bits that attract people to you as friends or romantic interests, the bits that make people care, and the bits that should make you realise how truly wonderful you are.

So, here for your delectation, the photos from the shoot.

Sophie prepares Alison's make up

Inside Nardinis

Knickerbocker Glorious!

Flying the flag

at the piano

bouquet courtesy of Wedding and Baby

Our generous host

Kicking it up in Largs

the most wayward balloons!

Alison and Largs

Bouquet

over to Cumbrae

The Wonderful Nardinis

shoes!

The team:
Shoot Organisation/Model - Alison Tinlin - http://www.plansandpresents.co.uk
Photographer - Kristin Mitchell - http://struvephotography.co.uk/
Hair - Gail Rankin - http://www.gailhardie.co.uk/
Make - Up - http://www.sophieedwardsmakeup.com/
Hairpieces/Jewellery - http://www.weddingandbaby.co.uk/
Gown/Shoes - courtesy of - http://angelfins.co.uk
Venue (inside shots) - http://nardinis.co.uk/

Portrait of a lady

18th Century lady, originally uploaded by Kristin Mitchell photography.

So the past few weeks, I've been kept exceptionally busy.  As you might know, I already have a collection of qualifications in photography from college, but I recently signed up to a night class for a one-off course. 

When I left college last year, there was a photograph I'd created which to be honest, was what I'd call a bit of a slow burner. It took me a while to fall in love with it, but lots of other people seemed to like it a lot.  

It's this photograph, of a kite. 

The kite photograph was originally for an advertising concept, for wind energy. The outdoor image was shot first, then projected onto muslin cloth in a studio, and a kite was placed in front of the muslin.

After leaving college, I wished I'd experimented more with projections. So, when the chance came to do another class, and a self-initiated project, I decided to use projections again.

The inspiration for my project was old paintings and portraits, how aristocrats were portrayed in front of gorgeous vistas. So I started doing some digging around and more research. I decided to create modern portraits using projections to create the idea of someone sitting in front of a gorgeous vista.

It was a surprisingly big project. Although I created three portraits, the starting point was the background. I decided to take lots of pictures of backgrounds, so that I could bring out the richness in the shadow and detail in the lighter areas, much like traditional portrait painters would have done. If you look at almost any traditional painting, even in the darkest corner, it's not actually black paint; there's tiny details, in deep, dark rich colours, so subtle but still there. I wanted to make sure this wasn't lost with a camera, and took several photos, layering them in such a way to bring out the details and make it a rich palette of colour.

Next, was the portrait. The background was projected, but there had to be separate exposures - one for the background and another for the sitter; the background needed a longer exposure time than the sitter under the studio lights.

For two of the portraits, I hired dresses from Scottish Opera.

The portrait above, drew on inspiration from the 18th Century. I also created a portrait of a one of my regular models, Vivien Taylor, using a gorgeous early 19th Century Jane Austen period costume. The inspiration behind this picture can be found on Pinterest.

Finally, I took a leap into the 20th Century. I was very much curious about this image of Elizabeth II on her coronation by Cecil Beaton. What was curious to me, initially, was the angles of the background in relation to the chair and seating position of the Queen. In closer cropped images, the background is looking up, at an angle, into the roof, while the Queen sits straight on, towards the camera. This wider angle version hints that perhaps what we see behind the Queen isn't all it seems, but maybe a backdrop.

With this in mind, the lovely Wendy from Flossy and Dossy agreed to pose for me as my regal model. Here she's wearing a dress she made, with the tiara kindly borrowed from Gioia Mia. The interior of this shot was taken inside St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh, and actually I think the flags and banners add an authenticity to the final image. Oh, and if you're wondering, yes, the clothes pegs were entirely intentional in the image - I wanted to show it wasn't simply a photoshop job, as people's awareness of image creation tends to become more cynical of how an image has been created.


The whole project kept me busy for the best part of seven weeks, including writing the proposal, sourcing background locations, photographing and editing the backgrounds, undertaking the research and constructing a research workbook, finding suitable dresses and props, as well as photographing and editing the images, printing them, and finally writing a evaluation. Both the proposal and evaluation had to be the length of an essay each.

So what do I get at the end of it? Well, enough credits, in conjunction with my previous college qualifications to undertake a single year's honours degree course, if I wish to do so. The alternative would have been to have spent a year full-time doing a degree course.

At this point in time, I have no intention on going back to college. While I enjoyed my time there, I don't feel that it's the right choice for me at this time. However, I always like to leave doors wide open when it comes to opportunities for the future, especially as this was very much a one-off night class. What I really got from it was the chance to explore projected backgrounds again in a large studio, and almost exclusive use of the studio for several weeks. It was also nice to do a more academic project again, and throw myself back into writing proposals and evaluations, and knowing that my work will be heavily critiqued and thoroughly evaluated by tutors.

For now though, its life back to normal and back to 21st century portraits!

Seeing Past the Photograph

Today I thought I’d write about looking at photography.

Whenever we log on to the internet and look at people’s websites and galleries, its easy to be blown away by a slick photography website, and overlook what we’re actually considering. If you went into a car showroom, and saw a lovely, shiny new car, complete with the new car smell, lovely wet look black tyres, the reflection of lights dazzling on the bonnet, its easy to get the wow factor just looking at it. It might be a car you actually don’t like very much, that doesn’t meet your needs, you might not even like the colour – but the showroom surroundings make it look great.

Looking at an online gallery is a bit like a showroom. The hardest bit is actually looking properly at the images and deciding whether it meets our needs, whether we think it’s a good photograph. Is that a photograph you’d want in your home, or are you being dazzled by the showroom effect?

Photography is an individual taste thing. I can’t tell you what to look for. I don’t even advise looking at whether it “fulfils the rules of composition”, because some photos don’t adhere to the so-called rules and look great; and anyway, rules are made to be broken.

What you need to look for is whether you can you see yourself in that photo; do you want to be that person in the photo; is that a photograph you would want to have on your wall or in your wedding album for the rest of your life?

To help though, I’ve written a few things I tend to consider when I’m looking through other people’s work.

1. What's going on in the portfolio?
Most photographers have their work broken down into different categories, different galleries. I look at each category gallery as a portfolio. Look through each portfolio carefully, and see what they’re including in it. Also consider what they’ve not included though – have they included images of details, the flowers, table decorations, cake, rings? They may have chosen not to include it in their portfolio, but by considering what’s included – and what’s not included – can help inform you, and you can always ask about this if you choose to contact them.

2. Size and variety of portfolio?
I've learned to try and edit my portfolio down to the very best images I have, the ones I feel proudest of. I might have four or five similar photographs but editing is important, so I'll find the strongest image of those four or five and will only use that image in my portfolio. A portfolio with lots of similar images for example, a bride from a slightly different angle, but in the same location, same pose... to me, its a bit like watching the same advert three times in a commercial break. It can work as a diptych or triptych as a sequence to tell a little story (where two or three images are placed together on one page). One thing that's always been ingrained to me is that its better to have a small portfolio of 10 fantastic images, than 20 images where 10 aren't so great. I've always been reminded I'm only as strong as my weakest photograph. In terms of variety, that's a personal choice. I actually have different portfolios for each category of work I like doing. So my wedding portfolio consists purely of wedding work; there's no portraits or non-wedding related photographs in the selection. I like seeing portfolios that stick to one category of photography. I'm less keen on portfolios with two garden flower photos; three bridal images; a slick city building; two of cars; four of children in a studio... I like photographs to stay relevant to the subject of the portfolio. It doesn't matter if the portfolio is small, as long as it’s the best work the photographer has to offer. I think of it like a chef showcasing their food - they don’t serve a starter, main course and dessert all on the same plate at the same time.

3. What do these people look like?
Nobody is perfect, everyone has their flaws. A good photographer though should make the viewer completely overlook the flaws. It shouldn't be the first, second or third thing you see. The mood of the photograph should be the thing that catches your eye first – are these people wearing fixed grins, or are they genuinely having fun? We've all seen photos of ourselves that we hate, ones that show off a double chin, look right up the nostrils, make our bodies look larger than we need reminded of. A good photographer should be able to avoid this. Sometimes photographers will ask someone to drape their body over something – a car, a tree, a bench. Think about how these people look – whether their pose looks stiff and uncomfortable, or whether it looks relaxed and natural.

4. What am I looking at here?
This is a bit like no. 3 – look at what the photographer has seen; or maybe look at what the photographer hasn’t seen. Taking a good photograph involves more than pressing a button – the photographer should be looking around before they take the photograph. It’s about the attention to detail in the image. So look around the picture. When we pose for photos with our friends, we might find the tidiest location to take the photo, or we select a nice view in the background. Has the photographer thought about this?

Some details can be edited out, but it should be noted that Photoshop and other photo editing software isn’t a failsafe, fix-all. There are things I will edit out of the image, which are easy to take out, and might be unavoidable, for example a bright green exit sign in the far background of a photograph; dead leaves lying on a lawn, even fence poles between my subject and a great view.

Ideally a photographer should get everything right in camera, rather than rely on Photoshop to fix it. Some things simply can’t be fixed in Photoshop, and a good photographer should manoeuvre to try and get it as right as possible.  Look around the image and see if the photographer has achieved that.

5. What effects have they used?
There are so many effects now, but you still need to look beyond the effect to see the actual image. The effects a photographer might employ include: sepia or cyanotype toning; spot-saturation (one item is colour, the rest is black and white), soft, hazy effects, turning the camera at a 45 degree angle.

Personally, of all those listed above I dislike the black and white with spot saturation effect most of all, as I find it distracting and overused. I also think its an effect that is already starting to go out of fashion, and it’s going to date the image quickly, although its something I think most people will experiment with at some point.

Sepia and cyanotype (blue toning) can be quite nice, as an alternative to black and white, but it depends on the situation. Certainly, their roots are in traditional darkroom techniques.  The 45 degree angle will give an effect of being candid, suggesting that it’s been “shot from the hip” and unposed – but you’ll have to look carefully to decide whether its actually posed or not. 

The most important thing to decide is whether these effects are appropriate for the actual content of the image. A vintage wedding car might look good with a sepia tone; a modern wedding car however might not.  Equally a black and white image of a bride with spot saturated blue eyes or red lips may end up looking a bit too supernatural or ghoulish.

I remember years ago at a portfolio review in London, a photographer asked me why I’d put an image into black and white when the rest of the set were in colour. I replied, “I thought it looked good when I tried it out”. The photographer advised me that I ought to think about what I was going to do with the image before I took the photograph rather than as an afterthought. Ever since then, effects have been a pre-thought rather than slapping it on an image afterwards to see what happens.  I’ll take the image with an idea in mind about how I want to present it. If an effect looks a bit odd, then I tend to assume the photographer hasn’t planned or considered the image first. I love photograph where the effect complements the subject matter perfectly.

These aren’t hard and fast rules for analysing photography, but its important to remember this is something you need to love once it’s come out of the showroom. There’s nothing worse than a photograph depreciating in its value to you when you take it home.  

A story behind every photo...

This is a photograph from a recent photo shoot I did for a make up artist. I liked this photograph most of all so thought I'd post it to my blog. 

The story behind this shoot, was that the make up artist (Joanna) runs an online retro-vintage clothes store. All of the pieces she sells are unique one-off items, and she had a few which needed photographing for her site. This particular item was a pussy-cat bow blouse. 

We decided to theme the shoot. I like to make little stories about photo shoots, I've always been interested in stories since I was a kid. Before I got into photography, I used to spend a lot of my spare time writing, so I'm driven by plots, narrative, and characters and that's something I try to bring into my photographs. 


The theme of this shoot was to create four different personas for each of the outfits. We decided that we'd go with different card suits for this. The pussycat bow was teamed with a pair of killer heels and a black leather pencil skirt. This was the Queen of Spades look. Our Diamond queen wore leopard print leggings, a shiny quilted clutch bag, and a black bodysuit. Our Jack (or Jill) of Clubs went for a clubber look (of course!), with a MC Hammer pink t-shirt, black leggings, and a wild sequins boyfriend blazer. Finally, the Queen of Hearts was dolled up to look like a 50's pin-up girl.

The thing I enjoy about these sorts of shoots, is that I have this chance to get quite experimental. It's hard work - but half the hard work really comes through the non-camera based work. 


Before I started really getting into photography, studying it, when I was taking photos for pleasure and starting out, I didn't really consider the volume of work involved behind the picture. However, when I started to take photography more seriously, I noticed how things changed. If I'm honest, I probably took less photos the more seriously I took photography. 


A shoot like this involves a lot of ground work before the button is pressed. Researching the idea, buying a background (B&Q, if you're interested), looking at what had been done before, and deciding to model the cards on 1970s style novelty playing cards, agreeing on how the photographs ought to look, what we'd do, what we wanted and didn't want. I even made a mock-up to see what I'd need to consider before I took a photograph. And that's not even the whole story as it only covers my involvement. 


After the shoot, I got to work on editing the photos. 


Although I don't take a machine-gun approach to my photography, I do make sure I take as many as I can. My approach is about getting the set up right first - so there are always test shots for exposure, particularly when the model changes clothes as different fabrics might need different lighting adjustments to make the photo work. Then we get into the actual shoot itself. 


We worked on different poses - what suited the model (Romy) best, what angles showed the clothes off to their best advantage, and what portrayed the character we were trying to create. Romy was great in this shoot - she really embraced the different characters and what we were trying to do, offering poses and suggestions and being pro-active in front of the camera, which was really important for me. 


I'll be honest, I'm a bit of a liar when it comes to a shoot. I usually say "just one or two more", and will fire off more than just the one or two I request. I can't help it: if something's working well, I take full advantage while I can.


Editing always takes time. I'll compare images carefully, and narrow down my selection. I divide my photographs into groups. I've got a pretty good idea of exactly what I'm looking for in a photograph, but I like to give my clients options, selecting the top cuts from each group. I also try to be aware if the client made any special requests as to shots they specifically wanted. In this case, Joanna wanted  a close up photograph of Romy's face to showcase her make up artistry - the photograph shown at the start of this entry. 

I suppose editing might seem like the easy bit, or that things can be automatically fixed by Photoshop. Photoshop has many wonderful features, but it can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. 

The idea through research and planning, is to help make sure that as much goes right before taking the photograph. There's no substitute for getting the photograph right in camera. Editing afterwards should be about enhancing what is there and removing what couldn't be avoided, for example pylons surrounding a location where there's otherwise a beautiful vista.

Sitting in front of a computer for hours, painstakingly editing photographs is hard work. Its a bit like sitting writing a business report, or analysing statistics in a spreadsheet for hours on end. You end up poring over details, cross-checking to see whether you've kept things consistent. I'm doing the same thing as I would in a darkroom. Admittedly, I'm not getting a sore back from standing over an enlarger in a darkroom, my eyesight trying to focus on something that's dimly lit and negative, my clothes stinking of chemicals from fixer and developer agents. However, much like staring at numbers on a spreadsheet, after a while, I do get cramps in my hand and need to get out my chair and stretch (it's usually around then that someone might call and ask "have you finished yet?"). I have to admit however that I enjoy editing photographs - if the hard work involved was demotivating and soul-destroying, I don't think I could continue in this line of work.


When I'm booked by a client, it's not just my ability to hold a camera that they're paying for. There's a lot of work that goes into each of those photographs before I've pressed a button, and after I've put my camera away. You've probably heard of the Pareto principle, and I suppose in this case the physical act of photographing only accounts for 20% of the work involved - the remaining 80% is image research and editing. 

Every photograph has a story to tell, including its own story of how that photograph was created from start to finish.

Strike a pose....

So today I thought I'd write a post offering six tips about being in front of the camera.

Everyone reacts differently when there's a camera in front of them, regardless of whether its a friend or a professional they have hired. A lot of people don't like having their photo taken, and will wince at the sight of themselves not looking quite as Angelina Jolie as they would like.

However, there are things you can do, to make what you have look great. I suggest you actually try doing them as you're reading them.

Make the most of who you are, play up to the camera with your own special virtues, and you'll end up with a photo that Angelina Jolie might wish for.


1. Hold your head
A lot of the time, when someone takes a photo, the person in the photo will often pull their head back. It's an instant reflex, where we somehow manage to think the room is only 1 metre wide, and we need to pull our face back as far as possible so we fit in through the lens. To paraphrase Jamelia: Stop!

If the photographer is too close, then either step back, or get them to step back. But don't push your head back. I call this the turtle look, where we look like turtles retreating into our shells, and our chin remarkably evolves into folds of neck. The other danger is tilting your head up, so everyone gets a lovely shot of nostrils. Great, if that's the look you're going for, but normally people aren't aiming for that appearance.

So here's the tip: stand tall - you know all those tips about posture and invisible lines pulling you up? This will lengthen the neckline. Now, you don't want to do the whole ladies finishing school thing of pretending to balance books on your head, because usually that means your chin is tilted upward.  Gently tilt your head forward, and downward at the chin. Keep your neck lengthened, and your chin tilted down slightly, as if you're resting it on the edge of a table. Voila - goodbye multi-chins and volcanic looking nostrils, hello graceful, defined jawline!


2. Stand at an angle
A camera effectively flattens a three dimensional scene into two dimensions when it takes a photograph. It makes everything into height and width, and it can miss the more subtle nuances of a person. I rarely stand straight on in a photo, because I end up looking like a podgy cut out. This is because the camera creates the image from what is in front of it, which if I'm straight on, is from left to right, my widest part across my hips and tum. 

 The two dimensions however can be used to your advantage. By standing at an angle to the camera, anyone can look instantly slimmer in a photograph. You will need to practice this in the mirror first of all though, but it's fairly easy to do when you've worked it out. Protractor is optional.

First of all, imagine the camera is right in front of you. From where you're standing now, turn your body 45 degrees from the camera. Don't go the full 90 - you will end up looking like a police mug shot.
 
Rest your body weight more towards the leg farthest from the camera. Point your closest leg (and foot) towards the camera, about 10 degrees.

Now twist your head and shoulders back round towards the camera, without moving your hips or feet. Don't turn your head straight on to the camera though - keep it at a slight angle (10 degrees or so). It's the left-right thing again - keep it at a slight angle if you want to slim the shape of your face a bit or show off your cheekbones.

This is the lovely Alison from Plans and Presents, posing for me.  She gets the pose spot on. Flick through any magazine or newspaper and look at the stars on the red carpet. 80% of them will be striking exactly the same pose (the other 20% tend to turn round and show off their backs, but that's another story).

3. Smile!
Sounds daft, but it's something people seem to forget to do! Don't go for the full-on cheesy grin though, but a relaxed, and content smile. I've seen people pouting quite a lot in photos. Pouting can be hit or miss really - you only really know when you finally see the photo and either feel content with it, or it makes you cringe. Safest bet is to smile. And smile with your eyes too! Take a deep breath, and exhale slowly and calmly, and let a smile creep gently on your face. I find this usually makes people's eyes smile a little bit more.

4. What to do with the hands?
If you're following my advice so far, then you might be wondering what to do with your hands. Well, in the photo above, Alison has elongated her figure by placing her hand on her thigh. As I said before, the camera turns everything into two dimensions, seeing everything as left to right. If you've achieved the 45 degree turn, then you're showing your figure at its slimmest angle. Let your arm relax (without slouching the shoulder), and it'll accentuate length of the body.

Place your hand over your hip, or thigh, and your hand will automatically look bigger than your body (without being a giant, out of proportion hand).

Try to avoid folding your arms - unless you're doing a slightly comical angry pose. Folding the arms tends to cut the body in two and can be a little less flattering.

5. Turn to the light.
Maybe, like me, you're a bit of a fan of America's Next Top Model, in which case you'll have heard Tyra instructing models to "find the light", shortly before they get ousted. Unless you're going for a particularly artistic photograph and your photographer is going for slightly dramatic, then my suggestion is to face the light source. The reason for this, is that you'll reduce any harsh shadows across your face. I don't mind my nose, but if the light is at the wrong angle, it does turn my face into a sundial. Light can catch anything - including wrinkles, and cast shadows. Turn your face towards the light and you reduce those shadows, and keep your skin looking much smoother.



6. Avoid the light!
Yeah, I'm going to contradict myself here. But this isn't about any light. This is the sun! If you've ever had someone take a photo of you outside only to look at it and hate it because your face is scrunched up, then here's my top tip - turn away from the sun. Ask your photographer to turn on their flash, and take the photo. You'll be able to relax your face a little more, and your photographer will get a much better photo.


Hopefully these tips will help you get the most out of being in front of the camera, and you'll end up with more beautiful photographs than before.

If you've got any questions or want any advice and you'd like me to write about in my blog regarding photography, feel free to email me!

Plans and Presents - the photoshoot

So I thought I'd write a blog post today about my photoshoot last week with Alison from Plans and Presents.

I really like working in the West End of Glasgow because it does offer such a wide variety of locations in a small area. I like places where locations are within short walking distances. Partly because I don't really want my clients to feel tired from being marched around, but also because I usually have a considerable amount of equipment to haul. While the weight isn't always an issue, it's usually the awkwardness of bag shapes that can be the problem. If you've ever tried dragging large cumbersome suitcases around, you probably have a fair idea how you always end up a magnet for people to walk directly towards. Same thing happens when I've got a long tripod bag over my shoulder.

Following my reccie I knew I wanted to use the cloisters at Glasgow university for this shoot. I also had a pretty good idea of something I wanted to do with the lighting. I prefer keeping my lighting as simple as possible, something I've gradually learned over time that too many lights can spoil a photo.

Alison started her business over a year ago, and in that short space of time she's become an influential figure in Scotland for weddings and event organisation, clear proof of her hard work,  determination and passion for providing a good service to her clients. She's also incredibly friendly, something I daresay has helped her to succeed with working with people towards their weddings.

Alison was keen to have some professional photographs taken which were more current. I was more than happy to do this, and I felt that she would suit a classic contemporary image.

To me, portraiture is a bit like clothes shopping. One size doesn't fit all, one style doesn't always suit all people either. You need to get a feel, an idea for what would and can work. Poses, lighting, and post production are all important factors to consider with the end result.

Alison came wearing a lovely cerise top with smart black trousers and shoes, looking very professional and smart. Combined with her raven black hair and dark eyes, I knew I wanted this to be very much about colour and keeping everything about the photographs striking and bold.

We started the shoot at the Cloisters, and moved round the campus to a large wooden door which had gorgeous warm tones and texture and I felt this would work in a photograph.

After leaving the university, we walked over to Cranworth Lane - which I consider perhaps the equally attractive but lesser visited cousin of Ashton Lane. I felt this gave a lovely cosmopolitan setting for the next set of photographs, and the black and white exteriors really worked well as a simple monochromatic backdrop to Alison's bright top.

Finally, we headed to the Botanics. I decided to give Alison a more relaxing pose to assume, and asked her to lie down for me. While the weather is good, I wanted to take the chance to do something a little more summery.

Those fluffy white clouds, blue sky and green grass won't be around much longer, so here was a chance to take full advantage of them as a backdrop.

While studios are great places to work with portraits (especially if its raining or you want a change of clothes, or space to be more experimental), I do enjoy shooting on location much more. I think this is because I find it so much more versatile. Also, working outside means I get to use one of the most powerful lights I can - the sun. No batteries or wires and so powerful to use and easy to manipulate to work with a portrait.

Working with Alison was an absolute pleasure for this shoot. A good shoot to me is as much about chemistry and people enjoying it, as it is about the photographs at the end. The best photographs usually show a good rapport between the subject and the photographer, something you get when both parties enjoy the shoot. Alison is naturally friendly and easy to talk to and I think she bonded well with the camera. Relaxing and enjoying yourself are integral to a successful shoot, feeling tense or frustrated tend to come out in facial expressions or body language very quickly and any subconscious behaviour can be impossible to control, so it all gets picked up by the camera.

That's why I think it's so important to meet with wedding photographers before you hire them. If you don't click off camera, the images might not click on your big day.

Previewing locations

So this week, I had a portrait photoshoot with the wonderful wedding and event planner, Alison from Plans and Presents.


Alison was one of the first wedding suppliers to make contact with me and that's something I hold in high regard - friendliness is what you practice.

The downside with any shoot in Scotland is our weather climate. Arranging a photoshoot in advance by more than a few days is a bit like a photographic roulette. A week prior to the shoot, I was constantly checking the BBC online weather, which predicted heavy showers throughout the day. This meant that I needed a plan B, with potential indoor locations sourced.

I managed to find a couple of fall-back locations, who were willing to help out.

Normally when I'm organising a shoot, I have an idea of where I want to go, and start sourcing potential venues and locations almost immediately. Reccie's are an important part of my photography - making sure that a location is usable. I usually try to go a few days before, but no more than a week in advance. In the space of a week, anything can happen, including building works, scaffolding, repairs, which can transform a gorgeous location into a less photogenic building site.

Indoor locations are occasionally harder than outdoor ones - simply for seeking permission to use premises, and trying to fit around any busy periods. Some locations might request something in exchange, money, photos, services. Others might allow a photographer to work there, but forbid flash photography, or the use of tripods. Depending on the location, I might forgo flash, but in those circumstances it's near impossible to work without a tripod. 

In the end, I didn't use them, as it turned out the BBC weather forecast, even on the day of the shoot, had been hopelessly wrong about the weather. No rain, those high winds were little less than a gentle breeze, and a blue sky just glowing with sunshine and small fluffy candyfloss clouds.

The above photograph is taken from the reccie in the cloisters at Glasgow University. This location is very popular with wedding photographers, the combination of those lovely arches and pillars and vaulted ceiling with a bride in a white dress and floaty veil usually works beautifully, creating a gorgeous classic combination, worthy of canvases on lounge walls.

This was one of the locations we used during Alison's portrait shoot - it works well in any weather and any season. The sunshine poured between the arches, creating large pools of light across the floor, adding to the drama of the location.

Within a small area, the west end of Glasgow is a rich oasis of photographic locations, which is mostly why I chose it for this particular shoot. Want a wild countryside look? Head to the river Kelvin and walk along the banks under trees. Want something a little more tame? Botanic Gardens is a perfect location with its manicured lawns. For an urban setting, wandering around Byres Road and Great Western Road offers a wealth of options; for cobbled streets and artisan craft shops, Cranworth Lane is an outstanding location.

I'll post some of the photos from Alison's shoot later in the week when she's had a chance to view them (and hopefully she'll like them).