Do's and don'ts of photography. You HAVE to watch this!
Photographers bluntly insisting that someone who is asking for advice HAS to do something a certain way has been really irritating me recently. It's happening more and more; mainly on photography groups on Facebook. Sometimes it's directed at people who aren't even asking for advice or constructive criticism. Well, this is my advice. #photography #advice #photographytips
Sheffield University Dental School graduation ball 2017.
I was asked to photograph the students' graduation ball for the University of Sheffield School of Clinical Dentistry. It promised to be a big bash as the students let loose one last time! The setting was the grand Shrigley Hall Hotel, near Macclesfield. As is my usual style I quietly mingled through the night shooting plenty of candid shots of everyone enjoying the party, but formal portraits were also required so I set up a white backdrop in one of the quieter room where par
Ode to the Nikon D70
I recently made a YouTube video celebrating my ancient Nikon D70 - the first camera I bought and what got me into photography. The D70 was Nikon's first entry level DSLR - it was their first DSLR that wasn't aimed at professional photographers, and was released in early 2004. I bought mine around 2010 and never looked back. It cost me about £250 back then but you can pick them up for around £50 on eBay nowadays, although my specific camera is worth less as the top LCD screen
Product photography - ties
Anee at www.aneekarimi.com asked me to do some product photography for her - namely a collection of handmade ties. Product photography was another great reason to try out my new home studio and I relished the opportunity. When the box of ties arrived on my doorstep I took a few test shots with different compositions to see what would work best before sending them over to the client for feedback. Anee was thrilled with the 5 shots I sent her so I decided to use all five angles
Rant: Should I add a watermark to my photos?
Guys, it's time we had a talk. Please stop ruining your shots by putting a watermark on them. 99% of the time no one wants to "steal" your photos. No one cares. Literally. It's so frustrating to see beautiful shots defaced with a big ugly fake signature scrawl or logo. And it's just as frustrating seeing watermarks on snapshots. There really is no point. If for some reason someone does want to "steal" your photo, they can easily erase any watermark.It takes minimal time and e
Kids portraits
Me and my wife, Jade, set up a quick portrait session for the kids the other day at home and got some pretty nice results. While Jade was busy sorting hair and clothes out I was checking my settings and shot a quick frame of Erica, our eldest. It came out great! So with the lighting and positioning all set we had some fun. We'd moved Alys's drum kit from it's usual spot in their room, as well as some boxes of toys, so that we could set up close to the window and make use of t
5 important questions to ask your wedding photographer
Whether you're booking me for your wedding photography or another wedding photographer, I've put together a list of 5 important questions you should ask. When contacting any wedding photographer, you probably already know at least a little about them, their shooting style, and what may be included in their prices as you'll have seen their website and/or social media. But it's worth going over the details a little more by email or, as I prefer, over the phone or in person. 1.
Fake Britain appearance
As you might have seen previously on my blog, I had an unfortunate experience with a "fake" Nikon DSLR a while ago. I wrote a piece that was published on the photography news website Petapixel which subsequently led to the BBC's Fake Britain getting in touch with me for an interview. The episode (Fake Britain series 7, episode 5) can be seen here. My appearance is at around the 30 minute mark. Despite how much it made me cringe seeing (and hearing - which was the worst part!)
Photo restoration
Photo restoration is something I'd been wanting to try my hand at for some time, so after asking around I received a couple of old photographs from a relative. There was quite a bit of damage to them, and one had been cut down to an awkward size, so I was excited to get to work and see if I could restore them. As you can see, they needed some work doing! Pieces missing, edges damaged, folds and creases - through the eyes on both photos! Time and patience were required, but Ph
Lessons learned: Concert photography
So, I shot my first concert/show/gig last week. Shooting bands for promo stuff and gigs is something I've been wanting to get into for a while. Local band Audience For A King asked me to cover their album launch show at Corporation, Sheffield and I jumped at the chance. I had some ideas in my head of the kind of shots I wanted. I arrived early to assess the venue (it had been years since I'd been in Corporation - playing guitar in a previous life) armed with my nifty fifty an
