Quick Tip Monday- Textures

Although I started this series of Quick Tips with every intention of posting a brand new tip every monday, time just hasn’t allowed– no matter how much I tried!!

The plan is now at least one Monday a month I will post a brand new set of tips of how to best capture photographs of your own children with minimal requirement for expensive equipment, specialist lighting or a studio type set up.

This time I have looked at the use of texture- I literally shot these in my back garden 5 minutes before writing this blog to show that with the right kind of sunlight (the magic hour) you can achieve a beautiful look. For these four images I have used four different background textures within the confines of my back garden; Brick work, slat fencing, decking and mud!

Using a slightly different angle on something like brickwork and shooting with a low depth of field i.e f2.8, f.4 you can achieve a very creative yet simple look. Whereas, shooting onto slat fencing directly and choosing a slightly different crop gives the image a different kind of look and imposes a feeling size from the background.

The shot against the mud, being a very dark background, naturally pops the face of Oliver as he is in a great spot to catch the best of the light with the background in shadow. Combining two types of texture or background can sometimes be difficult to pull of, but with the image of the spaced fencing and decking it works well as a blend to articulate the dfferent levels and the seating space Oliver was using.

All in all a very simple set of images shot in a very simple way- it just goes to show that you don’t need the most jaw dropping back drops to achieve beautiful images…Now to mix it up a little more…..

If we use exactly the same backdrops/textures but change the angle slightly, or the distance at which the child is away from the background we can create a totally different look yet again. This is why I tell my clients that no matter where we are, within 100 yards I can find “100 different backdrops” and it is through using different angles and techniques that I can…

NOTE: NO CHILDREN WERE HURT OR TOLD OFF IN THE MAKING OF THIS BLOG…..IT’S ALL ABOUT THE FUN!

Quick Tip Monday Week 2- Capture the details

As kids we all had our favorite toy, favorite item of clothing, favorite memory- a perfect way to preserve these memories for our children to look back on is through photography.

One thing I always try to do on portrait shoots with children is capture their personality, their style- and kids these days have style. For example- this is my son in the images below and he was four at the time we shot this. He picked his own sunglasses from H&M (we expected him to pick the Spiderman ones!) and he insisted on wearing these clothes for this walk to the park  (He did know he was having some photographs taken too) Now, I’m not saying that I am a stylish Dad, although I do like to think he takes a bit of his style influence from me!

So here we are on a beautiful March afternoon at a local park where the sun was literally cracking the pavements so we had some fun on the park, climbing the monkey bars and sliding down the slide before going off to explore around the park…..His idea to look for hidden paths apparently!

Oliver still looks back at the images we have of this shoot scattered around the house and talks about his sunglasses (Which his Mum has now claimed!!) and how much fun we had at the “Ship Park”

Quick Tip Monday Week 1- Get down to their level!

Now as well as running quarterly workshops for parents on how to capture more natural- more fun and more professional images of their children; I will also be posting weekly quick tips to get out there and try with your own children or grandchildren..

Todays’ tip is all about getting down to the eye level of your child, and I guess metaphorically (I know, big word for a Monday afternoon) it also means have some fun at their level as you will see a difference in the images. I talk to my attendees about getting to a good location to take images of your children; whether it be the garden, a park or a beach, or just somewhere the kids enjoy going to. It makes for a fantastic treat for having a few images taken as well as giving you a varied backdrop of colour, nature and buildings too.

No matter what type of camera you own, even if it is on your phone, get down to your child’s eye level and tell them a joke, ask them a question or just have a chat- try to forget your holding the camera until you get their attention and then capture the image- just don’t ask them to smile to avoid that big old cheesy grin with a million teeth!!

Here are a couple of examples of putting this to practice…

Wedding Photography Workshop

At the back end of February I travelled down to Birmingham to spend a day learning from the UK’s best wedding photographer (certainly in my view anyway)- Steve Gerrard Photography.

This was an absolutely phenomenal day to spend with photographers from around the country looking to hone our photographic and business skills within the industry. I was lucky enough to meet some lovely people and in a very privileged position to learn from a photographer whose success I absolutely aspire to replicate in the non too distant future.

As part of this workshop we had the opportunity to capture some images of a “model” couple in some grimy old car parks and back streets….here are the results..

Photography Workshop- For parents

As a parent myself, I realise that..well..sometimes people just want to take photographs themselves. There can’t always be a photographer present for all of those little moments that make life so special, especially with your children. So that is why I have developed a series of fun and exciting workshops aimed at helping you capture more natural photographs of your children with out the need to shout “Sausages” or “Cheeseeeeeee”.

No matter what your skill level, or whether it be a Smart Phone, Compact Camera or DSLR, I will show you how to capture natural moments while having fun both in front and behind the lens.

There are three courses available over the coming months to help you develop your skills and become your families own Ansel Adams! The first course will be;

No More Sausages

6 hours

South Shields- 12 Places per course

****New Date- Saturday May 11th ****

£49.50 (includes tea & coffee and biscuits and a high five!)

The clue is in the name with this one, I want to help you capture those magical moments that make our children so special without those cheesy and forced grins! This workshop will look at fundamental elements of photography, have a studio based shoot and an on location shoot….where we can practice together….yes with real kids! Although there will be some technical elements to the day, this will be a very relaxed session, with lots of fun, lots of tea and coffee’s and even biscuits! The course will include the following sections;

• Introduction and Icebreakers
• Camera Principle Basics- A brief introduction and explanation of your camera settings
• Environmental Vs Studio Portraiture- Pro’s and Con’s of both
• Composition Techniques- The best angles to shoot from, what to avoid (no more big nostrils!)
• A real shoot out on location to practice what we have learnt
• How to set up a home studio for very little cost
• Reviewing of images
• Session Recap and Feedback

So if you think you, your partner or someone you know might be interesting in popping along to this course, please visit the link below to book and as always if you have any questions or queries don’t hesitate to get in touch!

Book Workshop

(Please specify the date you would like in the “special instructions” box of the payment page)

Feedback from the May workshop:

Chris, workshop was great today! I’ve certainly come away knowing more about aperture, ISO, DoF, textures etc. I just now need to put it all in to practise. And thanks for the fun ‘models’ also! Extra treats for those are in order I’d say. I’m about to upload some of the shots from today. When and if you have a mo, have a look and let me know what you think. Again, many thanks….. it was an enjoyable, relaxed, informative day……Alex

Loved the course and the chance to chat to other enthusiasts. So much so, I’ve already purchased one of those great over the shoulder straps and I’m currently researching which prime lens I’m going to buy!!! Help! this is going to cost!! The nicest part of the day was tearing round the park with the boys, they did a great job. I am feeling better now and am looking forward to more time with my camera….Sue

Had a fab day learning all sorts of interesting things about photography! Came so close to booking wedding things… All I need is for the boy to propose….Laura