Well, it's the day after The Socieities Of Photographers Convention in London.  What a blast! 

Judging, laughing, making friends, presenting workshops, representing Elinchrom Lighting and Evoto Ai, learning, exploring, creating and very little sleeping! The Convention is quite something to be a part of!

In this episode, I try and explain what it feels like to be a small part of it whether judging the print competition, presenting or mixing with the trade - the various stages I pretty much always go through from fear to elation and everything in between.

Enjoy!

Cheers
P.

---

If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portrait Photography, for more articles and videos about this beautiful industry. You can also read a full transcript of this episode.

PLEASE also subscribe and leave us a review - we'd love to hear what you think!

If there are any topics, you would like to hear, have questions we could answer or would like to come and be interviewed on the podcast, please contact me at paul@paulwilkinsonphotography.co.uk. 

 

Transcript

Introduction and Post-Convention Exhaustion

So late last night, we returned from the societies of photographers convention in London, and you can hear him. My voice. I'm exhausted. The convention is such an incredible thing. 3 4, 5 days. Of mixing with the trade running workshops, attending workshops. And one of the most important print competitions in the industry, and that is anywhere. In the world, it's been a blast. You can hear just how tired I am.

But in this episode I thought I'd battled through the fatigue and talk to what it's like to be a judge, a presenter, and a delegate. At this incredible convention firsthand. I'm Paul, and this is a slightly weary. Mastering Portrait Photography Podcast.

Well, hello, one and all. I hope you're all. Well, it's been a busy store to January.

If I'm honest. Uh, we were hectic all the way up to the convention. And even today, the day after it's all over, I've just been photographing a family.

Roles and Responsibilities at the Convention

Uh, this year at the convention, um, I was a print judge, a presenter, and an ambassador for Elinchrom Lighting. Uh, the company that I just adore using their products.

And so to everybody who I've met, everybody, I've talked to everybody who I've laughed with, shared a drink with shared an idea with. Maybe argued over print score with thank you. Thank you for making the Convention such a pleasure. However, as I was sitting on the train coming home, it struck me. That there are definitely stages stages to how you feel. When, at least in the role I have. Uh, your attending. The convention.

The Nine Stages of Convention Experience

Um, sort of like the five stages of grief, I suppose these are the nine stages that I go through each and every time I attend the convention.

It's the thought processes, it's the things that make me tick. Uh, it's how I feel. It's how I feel before is how I feel through it, doing it in this, how I feel afterwards. So let me step through them. Um, as usually when I come to the end of a judging process, I'll talk to all of the things I heard during the judging and give tips on producing. Uh, competition level prints, but I've done that so many times, this year, I just thought I go through the emotions, the various stages. Did I feel every time. Um, I attend the convention.

Stage 1: Excitement

So let's start with the obvious stage one. Excitement.

This kicks in the minute that, uh, the convention confirm. That you're going to be attending. They confirm that you're going to be running some talks. They confirm that you're going to be a judge.

Um, there's a real kick, a real thrill when that comes in. And then you start to think about what you'll do you start to, you've already had to put some ideas in, so those are going to be the titles of the talks, but you start to really plan out what that might look like, and that's six months out. We will start to put in, um, our applications for the 2026 convention in the next few months.

So you have big ideas. You clear the diary. Of course, you make sure that those dates are available. And at that stage, there is nothing more than excitement. Obviously a little bit of pressure to get some social media out and tell the world you're going, but it's all about the excitement. And then you roll up closer and closer and closer to the day.

And you're sitting on the train, heading into London, stage two.

Stage 2: Nerves

Nerves.

I don't know if everybody goes through this. But I do. I start to worry that I've got all of the kit. I need that. I've got enough of a plan of what the workshops and presentations are going to be. I start to worry about that moment you walk into a room full of people that for some reason, in my mind, I assume I'm not going to know.

Of course it's never like that, but that's how it feels. Um, also there's a really important to this year. It was a three o'clock deadline, you have to be in the judges room by three o'clock. Don't turn up. You're not judging and that's an Intuit. You have to be at the judges. Briefing. Meeting. And Terry Jones from the societies, she will talk through all of us as judges as to what she's expecting, how are we going to be. Uh, scheduled, what the runtimes are, what sort of language it's, uh, just an update and refresh on a language we're going to use how it's going to work.

And if we're not in that room, You're not judging. And of course, the bit where I get the most nervous is as I walk in now I'm an extrovert. I love being in a crowd of people, but I've always had this fear of walking into a crowded room and not knowing anyone and having to sit in a corner. Uh, sort of minding my own business, finding people to talk to not being certain of myself.

Now, luckily for me these days, I've been in the industry for so long that I know probably two thirds of the people in the room. Um, so it's not as bad as it used to be, but I used to be terrified and I'm still nervous. I'm still trepidatious. I'm still uncertain of myself. Um, but I walked in this year and of course it was just brilliant.

And that brings me on to, I think, Uh, stage number three.

Stage 3: Sense of Belonging

A sense of belonging,

a sense of being part of the family. There were so many hellos and handshakes and hugs and laughter and faces. I recognize some, I don't. I was introduced to new people. There's just this wonderful sense of coming back home.

I love the convention for that. Of all the things that it brings, I think to all photographers. There's a sense of being part of something bigger. I think there are about 50, maybe 60 judges in the room, plus the print and handlers and all of the teams around us. And it is the most incredible feeling of belonging and for the next sort of 12 hours or so, um, after the briefing, there'll be socializing some food, um, maybe have a drink with a few people.

It's a real sense of family. But then we come on to stage four.

Stage 4: Pressure of Judging

We're walking in to begin the process of judging the next morning. So this is the premier print competition in the world. So stage four is pressure.

And even though I've been doing this a long time, I've been a judge. I can't remember how many years it is now. Probably 15 years. Um, there's still this sense. Of responsibility. Because each and every print, we will see hundreds of prints. But every single print is unique to the author.

Every author has put everything they have into it. And trust me, you do not enter a print unless you think it stands a chance of winning? You might not say that to people you might say, oh, I don't know. I just thought he might try my arm, but you haven't entered a print. You haven't paid for it to be printed mounted and then the entry fees. For you not to think it stands a chance of winning.

And as a judge, you really do feel that sort of pressure. You feel the responsibility as you sit there, the print comes up and you have to go through all of the elements, the 10 elements that were giving us, given us judges. Um, Um, on which to base our assessment and ultimately a score.

And there are five judges on every panel. And these are some of the best. Photographers in the world. So if you put in a score and it comes on the screen, And you're wildly different to the other judges. Of course you feel that moment? Have I got that wrong? And there's a process for this as the challenge process. Um, and each of us know how to do it.

Each of us have our own particular way of doing it. Uh, I had to run a few challenges this year. Um, and you're looking at the scores and there was one in particular where it was quite a long way out of line with the other judges, my school was higher and I'd seen things in that image that at least based on my assessment of it, my experience warranted a higher score. And every judge by the way has had exactly this happened to them.

This is not just me. But I'm sitting there looking at the scores and I'm thinking. How hard have I got to work to try and get the other judges to see what I see, to feel what I feel, to evaluate the image in a similar way to me, or at least come closer to where I am. And these are photographers that some of them I've never met before.

Some of whom I have met before everyone has their own style and their own way, but you then have to talk to the image and talk to the other judges. And see if you can convince them. That possibly there are things in the image that this time round, they may have missed that you, um, have seen. It goes the other way as well, by the way.

So if somebody else puts in a score and minds lower. The same process will happen. But now it's me trying to listen, trying to understand where maybe I've missed some key factors in an image and that's particularly important when images come up, that aren't in your wheelhouse things that you don't specialize in when it comes to portraiture and weddings, or maybe photographing dogs. I of course know what I'm looking at.

I understand that process really well. That doesn't mean I will always have seen everything, but it does mean that probably I'm in the right ballpark, but sometimes you get an image that challenges you tries, you tests you, it forces you to think in a different way. And while I might understand the print process, I'll understand the creation process, I'll understand the presentation, there may be things about that moment or about that imagery or about that style of photography that I might have missed. And so I'm eagerly listening to the other judges to see if it's something where I've just mostly get my score a little bit out and I need to be. Um, come a little bit closer to the overall score that's been, uh, the first round score that's been calculated or maybe just maybe I'll hold my ground and say no. I hear you. I understand what you're saying completely, I just feel for these reasons I've got my score about, right.

So can you imagine the pressure when you raise a challenge or you're involved in a challenge with really well-known photographers from all corners of the world, um, the pressure is immense. It really is at that moment, the most important job in the world. And on top of that, we've got a live audience.

So it's not even just that you're having to do. Um, or having to think on your feet and figure out your scoring, but you also then have to articulate that in a way that is clear. It's polite. It's respectful to the print, new author and the rest of your judges, but it's also educational, interesting entertaining, maybe because to hold an audience in the room, as judges we have, not just the responsibility. Of creating the right scores or appropriate scores for the images and bear in mind. Bear in mind, if you have a different judge on a different day, the chances are you going to get a slightly different score?

So don't think that these are absolute objective. We feel all the time, the pressure of that. But during that process, we are also for the people in the room, entertainment. With air to be interesting, as well as educational we're there to help them understand, but also for them not to be asleep. In the room, the rooms are pretty dark because of course we've got the prince lit at the front. Um, We have a microphone, but our backs are to the audience.

And somehow we have to be not only knowledgeable and skilled and respectful, but also to a degree entertaining. There's a lot of pressure on it. And it's not just the pressure of judging the prints because of course. Um, for me and most of the judges. I was also running two workshops or two masterclasses, and doing presentations on the Ellen Crum lighting stage.

So during the rest of the convention, even once the judging is done. I'm still feeling a huge amount of pressure to be the very best I can be to represent Elinchrom and the brand, to the best of my ability. And again, that's part education, but mostly entertainment. If you're stood on the stage, creating pictures, it's not really about the technicals, that techniques, that care moonlighting modifies.

It's really about being interesting and entertaining and giving people things. To go home and try themselves. And the workshops are almost exactly the same, just on a much longer format. So you really do feel the pressure to make sure everything's working, and when the audience are in there, that you give the very, very best of yourself.

Even yesterday, I had what we euphamistically called the graveyard shift, which is the last set of presentations, not just of the day, but of the whole convention. The trade show by now is closed. There's nowhere else for delegates to go, except home. And nearly everybody you speak to is like, right.

It shows done. I'm going to go catch my train. So you rock up to a room and I had, for the final session, I had the biggest workshop room. There is, um, I don't know how many people it can hold. But I was expecting two or three people to stay behind, maybe. Uh, we've got the last, uh, workshop I ran. This year was on high-key and low-key, uh, studio lighting, um, and going through the process of how you think about these things, how you evaluate. Um, the person in front of you, how you react to them, how you decide what you're going to shoot and how you then go through the stages of shooting it. I'd put together. A pretty good idea. And I assumed I'd be presenting it to two or three people who are going to brave the last trains home and stick around, even though there's a gap after the trade show, closing and the workshop starting.

Well, the room was packed. It was an absolute thrill to be there. And the last few. Minutes or hour the hour and a half of the day, with a full room and incredible model. Uh, Eloise Hare was our model and playing with these beautiful Elinchrom lights and just showing different ideas and not just with a full room, but it's a room full of people who really interactive, really engaged.

And so thankfully all that pressure I'd felt throughout the five days. Uh, dissipated in the last workshop.

Stage 5: Elation

And of course at the end of that, you get to stage five, which is elation.

And that for me, at least a sort of celebration, um, uh, almost a euphoria. Um, I've been meeting people and I'm an extrovert, so being around people really recharges me. I've been talking sharp. I've been talking photography. I've been talking lighting. I've been catching up with people's businesses. And we've been creating images and I've just been feeling like I'm at home. These are my people. Every minute of every day, it's just a sense of recharging.

It's a sense of, um, joy and conversation. It has been absolutely brilliant. And that's that sense of elation and you close everything down. You finished your last presentation, you put everything into its bags and then you get to stage six, which for me.

Stage 6: Regret and Insecurity

Is sort of, I've called it regret. It's a sort of insecurity, a paranoia.

That's always been with me. I've never got rid of it, which is where I panic about all the things I've said that possibly I shouldn't have. The people I wished I'd had a chance to say hello to, but I only waived. Waved over a room. Um, You know, there are always people at the convention. I just would, I went there thinking I'm definitely going to see them.

And the closest I got was to wave at them across a bar maybe. And I regret not having had enough time to see everybody, but that isn't enough time to see everything or everybody. I regret that maybe. I didn't give the best to me. I've given everything I can every single moment, but there's still that slight insecurity that maybe I didn't quite get to everyone. And maybe of course my scores of the images were off.

Now, of course, when you're judging. You have a panel of five people, um, and that's there deliberately. That's there. To stop it, any outliers, really railroading and the show. And that's really, really good. It means that even if I'm one image, I scored it. S off slightly too high, a slightly too low. Maybe there are four other judges to make sure that that doesn't really matter, but you still worry about it.

You worry about whether when, um, the chair of judges is looking at you. Uh, whether the person who created the images, looking at you, or whether the people that run the competition are looking at you, they're thinking. Oh, Wilkinson's a bit off this year. Isn't it? You worry. And that's always part of this. Sort of coming down from the, all of the energy and the adrenaline. Um, and then the fatigue and the grief regret, start to really kick in.

And that leads us on to state seven.

Stage 7: Fatigue

The fatigue, the utter tiredness.

And you can hear that. in my voice. I can hear that in my voice and it kind of speaks for itself. Um, I got home, I think at about 10 o'clock last night, I was in bed by 11 I was asleep by five past. And Sarah myself. Woke up at about 11 o'clock this morning. I don't remember being quite so tired. I was so tired.

I am still so tired. And of course today I've had a family in the studio and I've had to go back to giving a hundred percent and all that meant is now I'm even more tired. The fatigue is part of it.

And yet that's not the whole story because there's also now beginning to, to kick in a sense of stage eight, which is opportunity.

Stage 8: Opportunity

I've made new friends, some incredible friends. Um, Chris and mark in particular. Uh, really made me laugh.

If they're listening, they'll know exactly who they are. Two monumental photographers from Australia, monumental creators, monumental. Um, intellects and I've loved sitting on the panel with them and listening and learning from them. It's refreshed existing friendships. It's refreshed all old friendships. Um, we've had new ideas, new thoughts. Um, new challenges, new things to think about new ideas for creativity.

And of course, being a judge, I get a double pronged chance at that. I get to not only mix with the most knowledgeable and in pressive photographers in the world, but also to see images, competition images up close and personal from some of the greatest. Um, talent's there to the people that have entered in. Not necessarily people I never get to meet by get to see their images. And that in itself gives you new ideas and new things to test you.

Today, in my family shoot, one of the four people, it turned out through chatting with them that they heavily into steam punk. I did not know this what a brilliant idea. And she's quite keen to come and do some photography she's into cosplay, um, and steam punk. And she would like me to create some pictures for her too.

But that really is it a development of some of the images I've seen over the past four days.

And that leads me on to what I think is the final stage.

Stage 9: Energy and Optimism

And that's a sense of energy.

Now for me. I'm an extrovert. So being in this huge crowd energizes me on its own, but being in the judging, seeing these images, seeing these photographers, talking to the other, the other judges, um, just being in that space. Is energizing for me.

And there's enough energy out of the convention. Every January to last me a good six months it'll fade. Of course it'll fade. This is a tough industry, right? We all know that. 2024, I think was brutal. Um, I don't know if anybody feels the same way as me, but that's how it felt. We hit our numbers just about, um, our revenue figures, but of course, Our costs have gone up. And so we really had to battle. To, um, get the numbers in and get our clients in.

Um, 2024 is a year that I think on the whole I'm. I'm not glad it's gone. You should never, ever be glad that at the passing of time, but let's just say that 2025. Is a whole new year brand new, fresh. Um, full of opportunity, full of optimism. And the energy that I get out of the convention, having met all these incredible people will drive me for a good six months.

And that's really important. Uh, Sarah and I are about to spend. Seven weeks working for cruise company. Uh, around south America. So at the end of this month, um, we leave half the team running here. And myself and Sarah will go and, uh, travel abroad. Um, and so I need the energy. I need the optimism.

I'm going to need the drive because even though that is the opportunity of a lifetime to spend seven weeks traveling, including five days, uh, attending and working at the, um, Working on the cruise ship while it's docked at the Rio de Janeiro. Carnival is, um, just the opportunity of our lifetime. Um, but I'm going to need every bit of energy I can find because we've had to clear the diary for those seven weeks or at least reduce the amount of work in it and had to do an awful lot of work in the run up to it.

And I'll have to do an awful lot of work. Um, when we come back from it and particularly on the customer side, but also a Mastering Portrait Photography, still creating the videos and the articles. But that stage nine, is that sense? Of energy. And then before I know it, it'll be back to the sense of excitement when we're trying to, um, get our talks and our workshops booked in for next year, 2026.

Conclusion and Gratitude

So to everybody who I've met, everybody who I've talked with, everybody who I've laughed with, it has been the most incredible five days.

The first two, I was on my own. And then Sarah thankfully joined me, um, for the, the, the end of it. As no fun. Sarah being though, when we're judging, we are literally down in the basement, um, judging for from nine o'clock. I did the one day we'd judged from nine o'clock, till seven o'clock in the evening, nine in the morning to seven in the evening. Um, it was the thrill of a lifetime, not just to be judging the rounds. Um, but this year I was one of the judges I'm looking after the final, final selection, um, which is such an honor.

But it was no fun for Sarah, if she was. L on our own. Um, and so she joined me for the last, uh, few days. Um, thank you to everybody that made it such a joy, made it such a thrill. Thank you to the Societies. And of course, in particular, To Terry Jones and her team on the competition side. But everybody on the trade show, everyone at Elinchrom. Everybody who I met every delegate, every single delegate, those of you that came and were quiet.

And didn't say word those of you who came constantly ask questions. Um, all of it. Just made me laugh too. The two models I worked with. Um, to Marissa and Eloise. Thank you for just being beautiful, not just photogenic, but beautiful as souls. Um, thank you to every single one of you. And on that happy note, it's a Sunday night.

Apparently I've got some cottage pie waiting for me back at home. So I'm going to round this. round this. podcast off, and wish you all well for the coming year. And I hope. I hope. you're as energized as I am for the coming 12 months. Take it easy and whatever else be kind to yourself. Take care.

So after three days of judging images for the British Institute Of Professional Photographers, it's time for me to step down from my role as Chair Of Awards And Qualifications.  I have been in the role for three years and it is time for someone else to pick up the reins and run with it (if that isn't a mixed metaphor.)

I have loved doing this and if it weren't for a million things I have to go on and do, I think I would do it forever!  So as I drive home from my last round of qualifications - possibly the best one I've ever been involved in - here are a few musings of things I have spotted.

This is a 'Tales From The Land Rover' edition so please forgive the audio quality and any mild road rage!

Enjoy!

 

Cheers
P.

---

If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portrait Photography, for more articles and videos about this beautiful industry. You can also read a full transcript of this episode.

PLEASE also subscribe and leave us a review - we'd love to hear what you think!

If there are any topics, you would like to hear, have questions we could answer or would like to come and be interviewed on the podcast, please contact me at paul@paulwilkinsonphotography.co.uk. 

 

Transcript

EP158 Heading Home From The Awards

Introduction and Event Recap

[00:00:00] Paul In The Defender: So for those of you who love the Land Rover episodes, you'll be thrilled to hear that I'm just leaving the BIPP, the British Institute of Professional Photography Awards, uh, event 2024 25. Uh, why do we call it 2024 and 2025 is because if you get an award at the end of a year, it's a real pain from a marketing point of view if you can only say you have an award for 2024. So we call it 2024 slash 25, uh, just to extend the marketing value. So you're, you hold the titles for a year, , so why wouldn't we? Anyway, that's where I've been. I've just spent an absolute fortune on some fuel, uh, because I hadn't got a lot of choice but to fill up at a service station.

[00:00:47] And I am just pulling in to traffic. He says, concentrating on driving.

Driving and Multitasking

[00:00:52] Paul In The Defender: I had a lovely, uh, lovely email from someone this week. , sorry I'm driving so I can't, uh, look up your name. I'm so, I think it was John McCarthy. I'm gonna go with John McCarthy. , who said, amongst many other things, uh, he doesn't know how I drive and record a podcast at the same time.

[00:01:09] Well, the answer to that is I drive. And chat. Uh, there's not a lot of structure to it, , and a few people have said this week they like the podcast like that, uh, because, uh, they find it interesting to hear me ad libbing. I don't know whether that's, I don't know whether there's merit in that, but yeah, I am ad libbing because driving is the priority.

[00:01:30] They also said, uh, John said, I'm sure it's John McCarthy. I hope it is, if not, uh, I'm crediting somebody who's a fictional character. , he also said that uh, he can hear in everything we're talking about just how busy we are here at the studio. And it must be hard to find the time to fit in to do the podcast, and it is, which is why, uh, I am recording while driving.

[00:01:52] , but he did also go on to say, he loves it when we do them. Uh, they are really valuable. They don't just disappear out there into the ether. There are lots of you out there in the photographic community listening to, uh, hopefully enjoying, uh, at least to a, a greater or lesser degree, the podcast.

[00:02:10] So here we are. I'm Paul, and this is the Mastering Portrait Photography Podcast. Well, hello one and all. Uh, I am in relatively. Reasonably slow, fast ish, medium paced traffic, which is not good for me getting home quickly. I've got about an hour and a half of driving, but it is good from a road noise point of view 'cause at this speed, the road noise in my Land Rover isn't quite as, uh, intrusive as it would be. I see. It's not so much the road noise as the wind noise in this thing. I'm just looking at the other side of the motorway and thinking, I'm glad I'm not going that way 'cause it's must have been an accident.

[00:03:01] It's absolutely log jammed.

Reflections on a Photography Career

[00:03:04] Paul In The Defender: Uh, so what have I been up to? Well, it was the awards. It was the British Institute of Professional Photography International Awards yesterday in, uh, Bromsgrove, which is in Birmingham, in the Midlands, in the heart, in the heart of the country. Uh, an absolutely wonderful event.

[00:03:20] Lots of our friends and lots of colleagues, lots of photographers, uh, having a drink, having a laugh, and celebrating some of the very best images. That you can, uh, possibly imagine is absolutely brilliant. Uh, I have to say it's my last formal event as chair, uh, of qualifications and awards of the BIPP and I.

[00:03:41] I guess I have to just say a quick thank you, uh, to Martin Bains and the guys at the British Institute for asking me to take on the role. It has been the honor of a lifetime. You know, when you start out in photography, I, I was just a kid with a camera. Actually, to be fair, I still probably am, uh, just a kid with a camera.

[00:04:02] I've just grown quite a lot older and now earn my living from it. But the enthusiasm and the awe and wonder of what you can do with this gadget hasn't diminished at all in the time since I first picked one up at age, sort of, seven or eight or whatever age I was when my grandfather's, uh, Kodak Brownie.

[00:04:21] So to be. Chair of Quals And Awards for the oldest photographic association in the world has truly been the honor of a lifetime and when Martin asked me if I'd take that on three years ago, I think I might have been a bit reticent because I wasn't quite sure whether I could deliver what he needed, but hopefully we've gone on to answer the question.

[00:04:42] That was an emphatic yes and he, he and the board let me create a program and methods and standards That I think we can be really proud of. , and at the end of the, uh, sorry, at the beginning of the awards yesterday, so it's the end of my tenure. It's my last one as chair. So it is a, it is a sort of a bittersweet moment for me 'cause I've loved it.

[00:05:01] Uh, I'm only stepping down because I desperately need to find time to do a load of other things. And now is the time after three years, all the work we've done, uh, you know, on the, on the judging side for me, but particularly on Sarah. Putting in processes and making sure you can get judges when you need them.

[00:05:18] , so I'm gonna say thank you to Martin, thank you to the B-I-P-P-A huge thank you to Sarah. And thank you to all the judges who've judged with me, , who've been part of the team. , hopefully over the coming years I'll be able to stand back on the other side of the line and judge alongside the judges that for the past few years I've been sitting in front of while chairing.

Honorary Fellowship Award

[00:05:38] Paul In The Defender: , the other thing that happened last night, , so forgive me, this is a very personal. It's one of those things where I don't know quite how to do it, but I'm so chuffed I'm going to tell you anyway. I was awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the BIPP. So, if you're not in the industry, I guess it's hard to articulate just how rare these things are and what an honor they are.

[00:06:04] There's only 26 or 27 Honorary Fellows in the industry. And as of now, I am also one. I already had my Fellowship. I got that in 2011. , Uh, but I now have an Honorary Fellowship, which is, it's been given to me. It's engraved on the thing is for services to the BIPP, which I rather like it. Uh, so it's just a real privilege to be given that, , I never, you know, just being chair of quals was to be honest, gratitude enough but it is still a lovely thing to be presented with. And that will carry with me for the rest of my life, you know. You keep that title, , and I'm so proud. I was so surprised and pleased last night and so proud now.

[00:06:50] But I must also just put out there that, although it is me because I'm the photographer, it's my letters. , actually, this particular one has to be 50 percent Sarah. It's Sarah that coordinated the judges. It's Sarah that managed things and runs me. It's Sarah that manages my time. It's Sarah, and even last night, several of the judges were telling me they were sad to see me step down, but actually, , it's Sarah they're really gonna miss.

[00:07:16] So, uh, this goes to Sarah more than anybody else. Uh, so that's a huge, huge thank you. Right, traffic's all braking. Good job I've left lots of gaps, that's nice. Right, so, what was today's topic?

Key Ingredient for Great Portraits

[00:07:31] Paul In The Defender: Today's topic is, , based on a question that a client asked me the other day. So I was photographing a beautiful family, mother, father, nine month old baby,

[00:07:42] The weather? Horribly unkind. It was cold and raining. Your perfect blend of the two types of weather that you don't really want to photograph a baby in. However, we did some studio work and the little girl possibly got a little warm and a little bit grouchy, and so we stepped outside just to see if we could get anything and it turned out, actually, just going out into the cool air, uh, sort of, she, completely cheered up so i think she might just have been a little bit warm or she just didn't like being in the environment of the studio i don't know which but out in the cool air so her mom's holding a huge umbrella over her she sat on one of my our doormats from the studio and scattered the front edge edge with leaves so it looks like the little girl is sitting in this beautiful sort of array of leaves but she's actually sitting on a dry mat in the middle of our lawn and beautiful light and of course when you have water around and Those sort of gloomy bluish tones from a cloudy sky actually the colors pop, you get these oranges and greens that are really interesting.

[00:08:45] So we got these incredible pictures and, and afterwards we're sitting chatting and it was the, it was my client, it was the dad said, so what is it? He said, what is it that makes, what's the, the one thing you have to have to make a great portrait? Ah, well, you know, you don't ask someone like me to talk about stuff like that, or at least you don't if you want a short answer.

[00:09:05] Uh, so of course the obvious answer, , I'm a lighting specialist. , I love portraiture, but I've always been fascinated by light, its qualities, its colour, the, the shadows that it creates, and I think light obviously is a key ingredient, and I think if you were being Purely pragmatic, you'd have to say the one thing you need to create a great photograph is light.

[00:09:31] There has to be light because without it, it's dark, and if it's dark, you've not got a picture. So, that's a really pragmatic answer, but it's a bit dull and a bit obvious. And as I'm a portrait photographer, and during that day, I was taking his baby's portrait, and I've taken their portraits before now. It got me on to think, what is it?

[00:09:48] What is that primal? Thing that absolutely makes a portrait. And I think it's a relationship. That is my answer. , it's the relationship you form. Oh man, we're in a rolling roadblock. , that's what's going on. , so there's a slow moving, uh, police car or two.

[00:10:06] At the front of, , this particular traffic jam, so we're now travelling at 10 miles an hour. Uh, if we, if we carry on travelling at 10 miles an hour, I'm assuming we won't, but if we do, uh, I'll still be travelling home tomorrow. It's going to take us a while. I'm going to assume up, up ahead, somewhere, they're having to clear an accident, and so all of the traffic, we're sitting straight behind, , a police vehicle.

[00:10:28] Anywho, uh, let's talk about the relationship. If you're creating portraits, the one ingredient that you cannot get away without to create a great portrait is a connection with your client.

[00:10:43] When you connect with your client, when you create that magic between you, , then something happens and yes, you need beautiful light, of course you do, but in that moment, that split second when they look down the lens and you, uh, fire the shutter, if you have some kind of connection with your client, people who see that picture later will feel it.

[00:11:08] It's a really subtle thing, but it's all about what happens when somebody else sees the picture. Because remember when you're holding a camera and you grab that shot. The ultimate consumer of the image isn't you. Yes, all right, you've got the camera, there's that moment, you can show the client if that's your particular workflow, , all of these things, but what you're doing is , you're going to show that image or the image is going to be shown by your client to somebody else.

[00:11:34] Normally, that's how it works.

[00:11:36] And if you've got that magical connection between you and the person in front of the camera, that connection seems to flow out to someone who views the image later. That's where the magic happens, and you really have to do it fast too. , when people come into our studio, we have an entire workflow that is based around getting our client to relax, getting them to feel comfortable.

[00:12:03] And we are starting to create a very temporary but very powerful relationship. It's not, it's not a love affair, but it is that sort of some kind of rapport. Where. You can have a conversation, you can laugh, you can maybe learn a little bit about someone, which is always lovely. And when you do that, when you pick up the camera, you, that sort of momentum of that relationship carries through.

[00:12:28] So if you tell 'em to look down the lens, it has a, a magic to it if you're tell, even if you're telling them to look slightly to the side or down, that still has a body language to it that feels comfortable. So for me and the kind of portraiture that I love, it's that. relationship that you build, that connection in the moment you hit the button, and that is the most important thing about a portrait, and it's beautiful.

[00:12:53] And I said this to my client, and I really hope he sort of thought, oh, okay, that's a, that's a, you know, useful answer. I don't know whether, , I think he might just be making chit chat, same, because it was, he's the client, and so that's the rapport, right? So instead of me asking the questions of it, he was asking questions, , of me.

[00:13:11] Anyway, there you go. Key ingredient other than light is a relationship, the connection with your sitter.

Masteringportraitphotography.com Launch

[00:13:19] Paul In The Defender: I know this is a short one as I'm pottling along, but I also wanted to take the opportunity in this podcast to formally, as much as, you know, anything is formal with me, to formally launch masteringportraitphotography.

[00:13:33] com. Now of course the website has been there for an eternity. It's been there pretty much ever since we launched the book. Actually on the book there might be some news coming, but I'll keep you posted if and when contracts get signed. , But the website's been there, it's had sort of content, but we've really only used it primarily for the podcast as its spiritual home.

[00:13:58] Yes, there's lots of articles, there've been tons of articles, , but we've never really used it as our first and foremost focus.

[00:14:14] Mastering Portrait Photography is now very much in our viewfinder, if you like, if you like the metaphor, and we are pushing a huge amount of energy and content into it. So every month there will be a long form video. By long form I mean half an hour. Video, uh, talking about something, uh, I think the ones that are up there at the moment, like I said, I'm in the Land Rover, and while I did make some notes, uh, prior to clipping on the microphone, I didn't make all of them, so I think there is how to structure a shoot is on there, uh, I think there is how to work in harsh sunlight in there, , I know the one that's on the editing screens at the moment is five ideas for off camera flash, oh, we're all speeding up again now.

[00:14:57] We're So it's about to get a little bit more background noise. They must have rescued whatever vehicle it was. , and so, uh, you get one long form video a month. There will also be an article a month, or every couple of weeks, with a lighting diagram. On top of that, there are the frame, room, whatever you want to call them, mock ups, where they are photorealistic Photoshop files that you can drop your own image into, and it just looks like that's how the image was put on a wall. Why do we do those? Well, originally it was to help sell, , wall art to our clients. Because obviously as a business, I need ways of getting them to visualize the, uh, the wall art that I'd like them to have. And the closer I can get it to photorealistic, the better it is.

[00:15:50] Because they'll, they can't touch it. Because. That we haven't made it yet. And the old adage in sales, if they can touch it, they'll buy it. , we can't quite get there, but we can certainly visualize it. So that's really good. , and that's why we built them. I built them for my own team and everything about the website, Mastering Portrait Photography.com is of and for us, I built it or we built it to support us as a business.

[00:16:17] The articles, some of it came out of the book, but then much of the rest of it. It's been to help train people, it's been to help train my own team when we've got assistants in, , the room mock ups or the art mock ups are entirely built for us. They were built for us to be able to improve our sales, and that works.

[00:16:38] Make no bones about it, they work. You can see them, there's hundreds of them, we're building more all the time, , Oh, this bit's bumpy. The thing about recording in a Land Rover is if the road, the M40, as it is, has a rubbish road surface, which it does at this particular bit, , then it gets a little bit shaky.

[00:16:56] You can hear everything rattling around. And so we built them to be photorealistic. We built them for us. There's tons of them, but there's actually a by product which I didn't necessarily anticipate. So while I'm building these things, I drop images into them all the time. I go back to my sort of stock of portfolio images, some of my favorite images, my favorite clients over the years.

[00:17:17] And I drop them in, , to create, , thumbnails that when you browse the site you can have a look at. , but actually what I've learned, or I'm learning as I go, is how different styles of image work in different types of frame. So certain images work great big on a wall. You know, I think as photographers We're drawn towards the idea of the Mona Lisa type portrait photograph, or at least I am.

[00:17:43] I love a headshot. I love a clean, big, bold, you know, almost as if it was an LP album cover. Uh, I think, you know, Bruce Springsteen or Peter Gabriel, that's I'm sure my age, I suppose, , on an album cover, something like that, I think would be just brilliant. But would my client really put that huge on their wall?

[00:18:04] Well, they might if it's Bruce Springsteen or Peter Gabriel. They're unlikely to if it's them. Now, they might if they have an only child and they might if it's a picture of a dog. There's some amazing photographers out there doing pet photography and I can, and certainly when we do it too, you know, I can visualize how one of our dog photographs, for instance, might appear in a big frame on a wall.

[00:18:28] I was with a client and an old friend of mine the other day and they had a A picture on the wall. It's one of Randall Ford's pictures. , and I know the family and their dogs and, and, uh, the dad. And I just think I could do exactly that with, uh, his dogs and his family. , something big and bold. A couple of frames lined up across the wall, but on the whole, if you are gonna sell big frames, single big frames, you probably want groups in there.

[00:18:56] Now, if you've got clients with huge walls and. You know, a couple of kids, you might be able to put individual headshots into individual frames on the wall, and I do have clients like that, and they look stunning, my oh my, do I love it. Uh, but they're not the norm, they're not the norm. The norm is a normal sized house, with moderate sized walls, and if you put a big frame up on the wall, it's either got to be something like a fine art piece, where, let's say, The couple are silhouetted against the wall, small, but there's a big sky or something, , or a picture of a dog, or a picture of, you know, the two kids, or the whole family.

[00:19:35] It's highly likely that they're going to want something full of joy and laughter, because that is something that would be appealing at that size on a wall. Similarly, if you're laying up three frames, you can tell a story across them. You can use a different star a different type of image. You can use individual shots in a different way.

[00:19:52] For more information visit www. paulwilkinsonphotography. com , if you put three acrylics on a wall, you can triptych across it, so you have one picture that's spread across the three acrylics, and that could look super creative, uh, really, really interesting way to do it, , and all of this, my understanding of this side of it is increasing all the time, because I'm laying out using these mock ups, so on top of them being brilliant as a sales tool for you and for your clients, they're also a really creative thing to play with, just trying different ideas, And seeing how they look.

[00:20:25] So that's the room mockups on the website. There's also, of course, the podcast, this very thing that you're listening to, that's the spiritual home for it. Even if you're listening to this on iTunes or on Spotify or on YouTube. The spiritual home for it is masteringportraitphotography.com.

Upcoming Workshops and Events

[00:20:43] Paul In The Defender: And then the final section, or the main section is the academy.

[00:20:47] And this is now where all of our workshops, , are going to be. So, uh, while I'm on that topic, I'll just reel off the workshops that we have already got, uh, to book in the diary. Now these have got, uh, people have already started booking on them, , we only put them up a week or two ago. Uh, so on January the 20th, January the 20th, we've got an Off Camera Flash Workshop.

[00:21:14] Uh, funnily enough, one of the toughest topics to teach, uh, but also one of the most rewarding techniques to learn. , so we did, uh, we are in the process of releasing a video on it that will go on, a long form video that will go onto the website, uh, and that is a deep dive into some ideas of what you can do with off camera flash.

[00:21:33] I think people are a bit afraid of it because it's, , a little bit technical, but once you get your head around it and what you can do with it, you can do anything from create really natural, almost available light portraits but with stunning light wherever you are all the way through to theatrical halloween images with smoke machines and all of the paraphernalia and they're all in this video and the workshop on january the 20th is going to cover that ground it's Off Camera Flash we may or may not include some continuous lighting but at the moment the plan is for it to be Off Camera Flash but if the delegates ask to also cover continuous light then we could do Some of that because of course every workshop we run we tune it to the delegates We tell you broadly what the topic is going to be and then through the feedback we get in the Early forms that you submit and we can tune it if you want to

[00:22:27] It's the joy of having a studio. I guess we can do anything we want to as long as everybody's happy with that on March the 31st, we have a Mastering Headshots Workshop, so As it says, it's all about headshot. It's all about, uh, the, uh, for me, I think one of the purest, most beautiful forms of portraiture. I love doing headshot. They're my favorite, uh, thing to do.

[00:22:51] I think it, I dunno why I, maybe it's 'cause I've always been fascinated with faces and a headshot is simply an excuse to photograph a face. So that's headshots on, uh, April the 14th. So the headshots is March the 31st, April the 14th. We have got dogs and owners. We're photographing dogs with their owners for a day.

[00:23:11] , Of course, during that we will take some pictures of the dogs on their own. We will also take some pictures of the owners on their own. But primarily it's targeted at how to photograph dogs in conjunction with their, uh, their owners. Why do we do that? Well, most of our clients would wish to have a shot with the dog.

[00:23:32] That's the best shot you can get. , not all, we have plenty of clients that just want the dog photographed, but we also have plenty of clients, one in particular of the day, brilliant, oh man, one of my favorite sessions, Vivienne, who has given me permission to talk about and show the shoots. Vivienne came with her dog Dodie, tiny little West Highland Terrier, who contrary to my Nan's West Highland Terrier that used to bite my toes, this dog was the best behaved dog in the world.

[00:23:59] PAULWILKINSONPHOTOGRAPHY. COM , followed her everywhere she went, but also would just wander off and get inquisitive and then immediately return. A beautiful dog, beautiful shots, and she booked us specifically for one thing. She said, I can find people who shoot their dog on their own, I can find plenty of portrait photographers, only one photographer came up who quite openly and on the website said, yeah, we can photograph a dog with their owner, and I do it all the time with the hearing dogs, why wouldn't I?

[00:24:25] , I think it's a really lovely thing, and the shots of her. They're off the top of the scale. So that is April the 14th, Dogs and Owners. Uh, and then, this is a completely new thing. On May the 12th and 13th, we we have a two day bootcamp Now what's a bootcamp? Well, basically, it's as much stuff as we can fit in over two days. And we get the chance in the evening to have some food, maybe have a drink, have a chat, be together as a group. , We don't have accommodation at the studio, uh, but we certainly have plenty around us. So that will be, uh, two days, , either at our studio or somewhere local.

[00:25:06] , depending on what we decide exactly where it'll be. But it will certainly be within a mile or two of, of where we are based two days. That's two days back to back a maximum of 10 people. So it's a few more than our normal. Uh, workshops, but it'll be pretty intense. We're gonna cover all sorts of ground, , using available light, using studio light, using off camera flash, maybe a bit of post production thrown into the mix, again, depending on what the delegates, the delegates would like to cover.

[00:25:34] It's gonna be an absolute blast, cannot wait for that one. It's the first time we've run it, , and it's such a smart idea, it's Sarah's idea to do it. , as always, the smart ideas come from Sarah, uh, and, uh, looking forward to that one. That's May 12th and 13th. And then the final one that's available at the moment, right now, is June the 9th.

[00:25:52] We are doing our regular jaunt, uh, we're gonna dance to the weather, see what we get, uh, on location in Oxford. Now this workshop, I think, might be, might be my favourite, because it's just me with a camera, with some people to photograph, on a location. That's it. We don't carry a load of kit, don't carry particularly reflectors and lights, we just go and find locations, find light pools and patches, find stories to tell.

[00:26:24] We just go and photograph our models in Oxford on location. So that's on June 9th. And all of these workshops are now home, housed, ha ha, can't even say it, are now located, let's try that, are now located on masteringportraitphotography. com. We've moved everything over because that was always what we were building with the workshops.

[00:26:50] , originally it was under Paul Wilkinson Photography, uh, but we always knew, , and had, and had a reasonably openly talked about this, Always knew that we'd be moving it across to Mastering Portrait Photography. 'cause that's the place that's all about learning, all about teaching, all about enjoying and exploring portrait photography.

[00:27:10] So if you go to mastering portrait photography.com, there's a, a section called the Academy. So there's all these sections. There's The Visual Vault, that's all of the articles. There's The Podcast, there's, uh, The Resources, which is, , the mockups and , tools, Photoshop downloads and things. And then there is the, uh, Academy.

[00:27:31] And this is where you'll find the workshops. Exactly the same booking process as before. Everything's as it was, it's just now hosed, ha ha ha, it's just now located on masteringportraitphotography. com. Now, for the articles and the videos and the mock ups, at the moment the mock ups are 9. 99 each, uh, which is already a bargain, there's a few free ones, just so you can get an idea, uh, so they're about a tenner each, , there's a few backgrounds, I'm working on building more backgrounds as I need them, but mostly it's the mock ups.

[00:28:02] So they're a tenner, which is a bargain, you can create them, you can put them in magazines, you can use them on your website. It just shows your prospective or your existing clients how their images might look. A tenner. Bargain. However, there's a bigger bargain. I suddenly sound like a salesman. So sorry, it's because I'm driving.

[00:28:21] And I want to give you not one, but two bargains. It sounds like that. Anyway, if you become a subscriber of Mastering Portrait Photography, you get access to the videos. , and you get access to the downloads. And you get access, well, to everything we put on there, except the workshops. We charge separately for those.

[00:28:39] But you get access to all of the resources for 6. 99 a month, which is an even bigger bargain. So even if you only want to download a few of the room mock ups, it's still better to keep a subscription going at 6. 99 a month. It's less than an expensive cup of coffee. And, uh, we will keep the mock ups coming, we will keep the articles coming, we will keep the videos coming, so you'll always have value for money for your 6.99. If you're feeling a bit more, you know, a bit, you have a bit more conviction, then it's 69 quid, or 69. 99 a year, so that's 12 months for the price of 10. Uh, 10 percent saving, or whatever that is, 2 out of 12. Is it a 10? Yeah, it's a 10 percent saving. Is it? No, it's not. It's, I don't know what it is. It's two twelfths.

[00:29:25] There you go. It's one sixth. No! Which is a great saving. My maths isn't good enough, uh, while I'm driving. I can't concentrate. I'm concentrating on the road, as I should be, by the way. Uh, so it's 6. 99 a month, , or 69. 99 per year. So head over to masteringportraitphotography. com, , and we promise, we promise we'll make it worth your while.

[00:29:48] Oh, sorry, all of our members also. Uh, you get access to our Facebook community. Which is hidden and private. You can't get onto it any other way. , only people who are part of our community can be in there. And that way people can ask for critiques. People can ask for advice and tips is where we put discount codes for things.

[00:30:07] , like software where we have, uh, access to discounts from suppliers, those kinds of things. They all go onto the Facebook community. I know a few of you aren't on Facebook, and if I'm honest, it's not my favorite thing. Because I'm just a dopamine idiot when it comes to social media. Once I'm on it, I can't get off it.

[00:30:26] , however, it's the best way to do this to be, so you don't have to log into multiple places to find information. It's on our Facebook community, uh, and most of us have a Facebook account. So you see the, , the alerts come up when things, uh, are uploaded. So that is masteringportraitphotography. com. If you want to find the workshops, Head across there and go to the academy.

[00:30:47] You can Google Mastering Portrait Photography Academy or mastering portrait photography workshops. , they're a little bit lower down the rankings at the moment because obviously I've spent my entire life saying just Google Paul Wilkinson Photography workshops and everyone heads over there. So, uh, you might just have to scroll down, uh, one or two line items and we'll be there.

[00:31:05] Uh, that will change more and more of you. Uh, search for it and click on the link. So search for mastering portrait photography workshops or Mastering Portrait Photography Academy and you will. Find us.

Conclusion and Final Thoughts

[00:31:15] Paul In The Defender: And that's it for me. The traffic is free flowing. There's cars going everywhere. The light is dimming.

[00:31:20] They're salting the roads. They must be expecting some cold weather. It's a beautiful, beautiful afternoon. It's been a wonderful evening of celebrating photography. I am thrilled, thrilled to bits that I've rounded off my three years with setting up the most incredible monthly photo competition and also, of course, the surprise and honor.

[00:31:46] So on that happy note, I hope you're all well, I hope things are treating you nicely, and until next time, whatever else, be kind to yourself. Take care. P. S. Sorry if this sounds a bit shouty, but when you're driving a Land Rover, it's really loud, and I forget that although I'm mic'd up, or I forget rather that because I'm mic'd up, it might sound weirdly, like I'm simply yelling!

[00:32:27] That's because I'm traveling at Sixty mile an hour in a Land Rover Defender, so apologies if I'm shouting. Be kind to yourself. Take care. Bye.

So after three days of judging images for the British Institute Of Professional Photographers, it's time for me to step down from my role as Chair Of Awards And Qualifications.  I have been in the role for three years and it is time for someone else to pick up the reins and run with it (if that isn't a mixed metaphor.)

I have loved doing this and if it weren't for a million things I have to go on and do, I think I would do it forever!  So as I drive home from my last round of qualifications - possibly the best one I've ever been involved in - here are a few musings of things I have spotted.

This is a 'Tales From The Land Rover' edition so please forgive the audio quality and any mild road rage!

Enjoy!

 

Cheers
P.

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If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portrait Photography, for more articles and videos about this beautiful industry. You can also read a full transcript of this episode.

PLEASE also subscribe and leave us a review - we'd love to hear what you think!

If there are any topics, you would like to hear, have questions we could answer or would like to come and be interviewed on the podcast, please contact me at paul@paulwilkinsonphotography.co.uk. 

 

Transcript

EP157 - After The Judging

The Exhausting Journey Home

So I'm driving home from Birmingham, just in a service station, having bought the most expensive cup of coffee in the world, um, but I need one. It's been a long few days, um, and I am beyond exhausted.

Reflecting on Judging and Achievements

I've just been judging for the British Institute of Professional Photographers. I was there as chair of judges and quals for the last time, maybe not for the last time ever, but certainly for the last time, uh, in this current guise.,

it's been three years, I've done it for three years, and I need some time to be able to do some other things, it's nothing more than that, that's all I need, it's just to be able to do some other stuff, because we're building up Mastering Portrait Photography, which, by the way, we actually got another royalty statement through this week, um, for the book, ten years later, and the book is still .selling, I cannot believe it, uh, selling all over the world, and it's such an honor to have something out there that is still ticking over, you know, a few hundred copies, I'd say it might be more than that, but it's hundreds of copies, every year, around the world, it's still in print, after ten years, and while much of the book I would update now, it's still reasonably, uh, current, the pictures certainly stand up for themselves, as do the Uh, all of the notes.

I think the one thing I would change is the opening chapter, which is all about current cameras. And of course that's changed in 10 years. They're not at all like that. And that's kind of what we're doing. We're building this incredible website called Mastering Portrait Photography. That is what I always loved, which is images and explanations and diagrams and ideas.

And I have a bookshelf from floor to ceiling full of those kinds of books. So, it's time to stop judging for a moment, and I've just spent the past few days doing it. I'm on the M40 heading south. I'm Paul, and this, this is the Mastering Portrait Photography Podcast.

Well, wow, what a few days it has been, and what an honour and a privilege it's been to have the role of Chair of Qualifications and Awards for the world's oldest. Photographic society or association, um, just beyond belief that I was asked to step into that role and it saddens me to leave, particularly after these couple of days because it's been just the most exciting thing.

It's been absolutely wonderful, but I have to do it. We have to find a way of getting a little bit more time to do the other things that I need to get to. So.

Stepping Down from Chair of Judges

I've stepped down, I stepped down a few months ago and said I'd run it to the end of the year, so I've just finished the last set of qualifications that I'll be chairing, for now anyway, and the last annual printmasters competition.

I've got one more round of monthly images to, uh, chair the judging for, and then I am done for a little bit. So I'm not done judging, I'll still be judging both for the, sorry, for the BAPP, I'm sure. And for the Societies where I'm going to be in January, we're presenting again in January at the Societies Convention in London.

Um, I'm doing a couple of workshops, a couple of masterclasses, but I'm also going to be judging. I'm also leading the judging for the Click, uh, Click Light event, uh, sort of towards the end of next year. I already know that's in the diary. So it isn't that I'm stepping away from judging, it's just I'm stepping away from the role that I currently have at the moment.

Um, because it's just too time consuming, it's all I can do. Um, so what have the last few days, uh, been?

The Joy and Challenges of Judging

Well, we've judged hundreds of images, and I, it is, it's hundreds and hundreds of images. We've judged eleven panels, there are six judges. I chair a team, there's myself and six incredible photographers across all genres, um, of our art form.

commercialphotography, portraitphotography, weddingphotography, landscape, wildlife, you name it. Uh, this broad skillset in the judges, um, was in the room. Six just wonderful people, um, and it's that I think I'm gonna miss if I stop judging, of course. It's being in a room with these massive talents who make me laugh and inspire me every time we do it.

So we have judged 11 panels. of which five, uh, came out as a fellowship standard. That's the highest grade we can offer is fellowship. Fellowship at the British Institute of Professional Photography. I got my fellowship, uh, 2011, I think. I should know the dates to my own life, but I don't. Um, and I remember then wondering what, where that would take me.

What did it mean? And where it's taken me is to where I am right now. We've written a book. I've chaired all sorts of associations, I've chaired, I've been the Chair of Quals and Awards for the, um, for the British Institute of Professional Photographers. Um, I've travelled the world, I've worked on cruise ships, I, just, so much stuff has happened, and it's all thanks, or at least it was triggered, by me doing my quals.

Uh, so five fellowships, uh, three licentiates, um, three of the panels we saw of the eleven sadly were unsuccessful, um, but of the others, eight were successful, and a couple of those were uplifts, which means they came in at one grade, and they didn't just get the grade they came in for, um, they were deemed to be so good, they were uplifted to the next level, the next qualification, and they both came out at fellowships.

And I've had the chance to see and talk to the most wonderful photographers and their images. One panel in particular really just blew me away. And it's rare that I look at a panel and I wish I'd taken those images. There are panels where I love the images, but they're not really my field or it's just, you know, a different thing to what I do.

But this was a panel of portraits of artists and creatives and artisans, famous artisans, some of them unknown artists, others, and the way the work was presented, the way the author was so down to earth and humble about what he did, the way he'd captured characters in a moment in time, the way he'd styled each image in each studio, everything about these images just made me wish.

I had captured them and that's how it's left me. But what a way to leave, right? What a way to finish my tenure, um, after three years in the role. What a way to decide it's time, um, and although I'd taken the decision a few months ago that it was time for me to step away, I couldn't have foreseen that the last round of judging that I would chair like this would be simply the best couple of days of my time in the seat.

Absolutely. uh, amazing. So as I said, we've just judged the printmasters 2020. I don't know if I did say it or not. Obviously when I'm driving in the car, I'm on the motorway, uh, concentrating on the driving is my priority. Speaking into a microphone is very, very low down the list. Um, so of course I'm making it all up as I go along and trying to remember what I've said.

I have no idea. Did I tell you that, um, we've just been judging the printmasters as well as some qualifications? I've no idea. So that's what we've been doing two days, one day printmasters, another day. Quals, the print masters, hundreds of prints, hundreds and hundreds of prints.

Insights on Photography Competitions

So what have I learned over the two days?

Uh, well, let's sort of think of, uh, some things. Firstly, and this sounds obvious, but I'm in the same way that McDonald's print caution is coffee might be hot on the side of their coffee. It's such an obvious thing, yet people don't. So I'm telling some of the obvious things and yet people don't read the rules.

Start there. Whatever else you do, read them. Don't ignore them, because we will find out. We have had one image confirmed as being generated by AI. I doubt it's the last. We're gonna see more. The judges spotted there was something not quite right about it, so we dug in. Sure enough, AI. That's not to say there isn't AI we've missed.

AI now is so good that if it's presented to us, Unless we forensically check every file, I don't know what else we're supposed to do. Um, we spotted it, we got it checked, that's disqualified. There are others maybe in there, um, that have more than a smattering, um, of artificial intelligence involvement. But, you know, uh, the tools will get better and better and better at spotting it.

Um, and maybe it'll get to the point where in all competitions we have to ask to see The original RAW file, but even that, you know, you can fake a RAW file. So, what do you do? Uh, either way, absolutely brilliant. Um, also if it says it has to be a commissioned image, that does mean you can't use images from workshops.

Um, commissioned means you had a client who paid you to take the picture, that's what a commissioned image is. And of course, when images of models start popping up, this In a room with six of the most experienced photographers in the UK, there's always going to be one of them that's like, I know that model, I've seen those pictures, I know where that was taken, I know who took that.

Um, and so yeah, sure enough, we had to ring around a little bit and find out, um, whether some images were, um, within the rules, um, and the confirmation, uh, came through one way or the other. And of course, just read the rules. Uh, I say this every time I do one of these mop ups. Paper and mounts. Paper and mounts.

Paper and mounts. If you have any white paper showing of the printing paper, it's a good idea that the matte is either significantly different in colour to that paper, or is exactly the same as that paper. Um, one of my favourite, um, ways to mount an image, and there were quite a few we've seen over the past few days, The idea behind this was to have a white paper border around the print that sits then inside the mount.

So there's a gap between the edge of the actual ink on the paper and then the cut of the mount. It creates a really beautiful sense of space as it sits into the opening. But the paper needs to be the same colour as the mount. Otherwise it looks really weird. I suppose you could have a black mount and white paper.

Yeah, that would be fine. But a slightly off white mount and a pure blue white paper probably are not going to sit that comfortably, uh, together. So think about that. Think about how the whole image appears.

So what else?

The Importance of Mentorship

Well, good mentors matter. I might write a title. I might, might, maybe I should write a podcast on that and that alone. Good. Mentors matter. They really do. We can see the work coming through from great mentors. Um, because the panel is considered, the way it's laid out is considered, the image selection is considered, um, having somebody else's eyes on to help you step outside of yourself.

The problem is when you're looking at your own images is you are by definition attached to them. You can't get around it. That's the way it should be. You are attached to your own images, which means you're not looking at them objectively, or at least most of us can't look at them objectively. I'm sure there are photographers out there who profess that they can.

I can't. I need another pair of eyes on. I have a mentor, and having a mentor is utterly, utterly crucial. Um, someone who can not just cast their eye over what you're doing, but help and shape and guide, give you ideas, bounce stuff off of you. Someone, ideally, who you respect, that you think what they've created and maybe what they can drag out of you will just make you a better photographer.

That's your mentor's role. They don't have to necessarily be a better photographer, they have to be someone you respect. Um, so have a good mentor and talk to them. Being meant, I've said this, there's a podcast on this somewhere in my history. That being mentored, being a mentee is a skill in and of itself.

It's not just a case of a mentor telling you how to get better. It's you driving that, you asking for the right help. You listening to what a mentor tells, tells you, you deciding what from what they're advising, what to do with it. You won't do everything a mentor suggests because your mentor is them and you are you.

You know, unless your mentor is your twin or something, they're always going to tell you things that, well, I can see how that might work for you, but it probably isn't what I want to do for me. That's fine. That's completely fine. As long as it's a rational decision that you're going to do something slightly different.

It's not just, nah, can't be bothered because can't be bothered, got no one nowhere. So have a good mentor, listen to them, use them, drive it, uh, and, you know, It just, you can see it in the panels that came through where the mentor, the relationship with the mentor, uh, was incredibly, incredibly good.

Staying Current in Photography

The next thing I'm thinking of is be current.

And what do I mean by be current? Well, the trick, I think, is to love the world in which you work. Look at the art, look at the Tele, films, listen to the radio, be influenced by the world in which you work. Don't just, you know, it's the temptation always, I think, when you do things like fellowships, is to say, well, that's defined me, that's who I am.

And we see it sometimes in the work, and frankly, we see it sometimes in the judging, where, um, just because it's always been, So that's the way it always will be. And that's, that's, that's not a great way to be. I don't think, you know, mix with new photographers, new generations of photographers. If you're like I am just that little bit more experienced in the industry, you know, my influences now have to broaden into the younger market because that's not my natural fit.

So I've got to get out there and explore what's being created. On channels that maybe just maybe I wouldn't normally gravitate towards. You know, I can't say I am a TikTok king, um, but I do go on there. I do keep an eye on what's going on. I try to learn from it. Um, Insta, I have a big account on Insta, um, which right now is still reasonably current, but it won't be in the same way that Facebook probably isn't anymore.

So, be current, be aware of what's on magazine covers or the latest and greatest websites. Have a. I don't know, have a link on your browser that gives you the top ten designed websites in the world at any one time. You can do these searches. In which case, have a look at what they're using as the imagery.

As a photographer, that's our job. You can have a style, of course you can. But, you should all, always be absorbing and assimilating. And, some of what we've seen over the past few days, It felt a little bit like it was looking backwards rather than looking forwards and we should represent the future as photographers, not just what's gone on before.

Again, I'm not saying throw away the classical techniques, of course I'm not, because they're there for a reason. Cliches are cliches for a reason and rules are essentially just cliches. So don't ignore it, but interpret it in new and exciting ways. Style images. Finish images, use post production, try different things that it would never have occurred to you to do.

Just be exciting and be current.

Capturing Genuine Connections

Uh, for you wedding photographers or frankly anybody who photographs people who are in love, uh, or people I suppose because there's an extension to this, um, one of the things that came up a little bit was a disc or various discussions around whether A couple had been photographed and it looked like they were genuinely and authentically in love.

The connection between the couple, um, there needs to be movement in that. It's like choreographing a dance when you have a couple sort of, um, in each other's arms or really close to each other. Don't think like a photographer, what do you want the end, what do you want the shape of them to be? Think like a choreographer and think, what would I like the movement to be?

And then as a, as a photographer, think, okay, now I've got the movement and the shape and the emotion and the rhythm of this, what moment do I want to hit the button? Now of course you can pose it statically, that's not a problem, but it should feel alive. It should feel like they're moving, that they are in harmony with each other.

There needs to be a connection between them. And then ultimately, there needs to be a connection with you, the photographer. Or more importantly. The viewer who sees the image in the end and to do that they must connect with your camera now You're holding the camera So they have to connect with you and then you have to guide them towards the lens if it's eye contact that you want But there has to be they have to like you and you have to genuinely like them It shows in the images when there's a relationship between the subject and the photographer You can feel it.

It's, it's sort of there in the picture. It's there in their eyes and their muscles. It's there in the timing of the shot that you take. It's there in the way their shoulders rise or fall or the way he's not just holding her or she's holding him or she's holding her.

Building Connections Through Photography

It's the way that they bring each other closer together with laughter or emotion of some sort.

So have a connection with your with your subject and get them to have a connection with each other. Um, one of the biggest things I've thought of, I've lost track of where I am, of course, because I'm in the car and it's, the road's busy.

The Importance of Entering Competitions

Um, but one of the things that occurs to me, it's the most important thing you can do with, um, competitions and qualifications is do them.

Actually get off your hands and do them. I know some very good photographers who think that they won't win something or they won't qualify. And they certainly won't if they don't enter, that's certainly true, but if they do enter, who knows? I know some of the categories that came through for the print competition this year were eminently winnable.

There are great images in those categories, but I know photographers producing equally good images Who had they simply entered, stood as good a chances as anybody else? Why not? I obviously can't enter because I'm, uh, judging. But with another association I enter all the time quietly behind the scenes. I don't really make a fuss about it because if I'm not entering, if I'm not pushing my style and my techniques, how can I consider that I'm qualified to either mentor or judge others?

So I do it too, and yes, it's heartbreaking when your images don't. Well, of course it is. It can be expensive and soul destroying. You know, it's a real problem. But, equally, it can be hugely rewarding. So you, you can't win if you don't enter. You can't qualify if you don't try.

Learning from the Process

And the process, particularly with qualifications, the process is so much more important than Than the qualification itself, though that is absolutely not , not how it feels.

It's only afterwards when you can say these things. You never, anyone if, if anyone's ever going for qualification. Um, and I say to them, um, you know, uh, how do you feel? And they're like, ah, it doesn't really matter. It's just a process. It's a journey that I'm like, no way. No, no, no, no way. I know you are not telling the truth.

Why? You wouldn't put yourself through that kind of expense and that kind of pain and discomfort if it was just about the learning. But the learning is the bit of the puzzle. When you look back with hindsight, whether your panel is successful or not is the most valuable thing you'll do. Because that's where the lessons are.

That's where the learning is. That's where the development is. The letters give you confidence. The letters help you shape who you want to be. And they certainly, if you know what you're doing, help you market yourself. But they're not a definition of who you are. The process of getting there, though, is, because it gives you, or it shapes, or it demonstrates, I don't know what the right word is, that you have the dedication to your craft, that you're willing to get down and push and push and push to be the very best that you can be.

You're never going to be a finished article, or at least I don't think you can be.

Using Insecurity as a Driving Force

I think every day, I mean for me for instance, I wake up every day it's a mix of enthusiasm and energy and ambition and insecurity. I just think, oh I'm not very good but today I'm going to be better. That might not sound like the most reassuring thing in the world but it is what it is.

You know, I've learned to use my insecurities as my driving force. I don't like feeling that way. God, I hate feeling that way. Why would I like feeling that way? You know, I look at some of the photographers out there that are Sometimes massively, they overrate themselves, but they're just hugely confident.

And I'm not that guy. That's not my personality. Mine is to feel, I suppose, um, insecure about my work. But I use that insecurity and that sense of, I wish I was better as my driving force. And everyone has their own driving force. You'll have to find yours. I've found mine. I know what it is. I wish it was something slightly different.

I wish it was something slightly more sort of positive, I guess. I saw a counselor would ask me why, why have I empowered other people to make me feel insecure or something. I have no idea. I've never been to a counselor, but I'm guessing that it's my, my, the energy that I use, the fire that I have might not be the most positive, um, and reaffirming way of doing things.

But for me, it, it is who I am. And it pushes me to do things. It pushes me to try things. It gives me the energy to overcome hurdles and, and create videos or create the website or write a book with someone. Um, terrifying though it is, I just want to be better at it and so I'll keep trying it. Uh, so put yourself forward.

The Magic of Light in Photography

Another thing I'm just thinking of is the headlamps. Headlamps and taillights are all around me. Is learn how to craft lights, or just as importantly, learn how to see light. Learn how it lands on someone's face, or their figure, or a scene, or a dog, or a cat, I don't know. Saw some of the most exquisite, exquisite cat photography today.

Saw some And the author of the panel has learned how to use light to bring out texture and form and character and personality in cats. That's her skill set. It's wonderful. And she's learned how to do it. And, you know, that's where photography stems from. It's all about light. If you're a daylight photographer, learn how to see it.

Learn how to observe. Learn how to almost Smell it out. , you know, you see it. You, you, do you ever get excited be, I mean, even now I'm watching a car ahead of me and I can see the pool of light on the road ahead from its headlamps and it's dark in between the Land Rover and him or her, and then there's a pool of light in front of that car.

Well, that pool of light might be quite an interesting thing to light somebody in. I spent my life doing that. I can't help it. It's like light is addictive. It's like a drug. Finding good light, or interesting light, or light that might give an effect, when, you know, the cars coming the other way, their headlamps are giving the car I'm following, kiss lighting, because of course it's bouncing off the sides of the metal, and I can see these kind of pockets of light along the side of the car, you know, that's just, oh, that'd be really interesting to photograph someone in that kind of lighting, you know, let's say a, you know, a car's headlamps are probably a bit low to the ground, But if you had a truck or something with overhead lights and you could get them to point down so they're above someone's head but you've got other trucks in the distance where they've got their normal almost ground level headlamps on and they they're going to create the backlighting yeah that could be really super interesting and it's that enthusiasm for exploring light that I think photographers need if they're going to create the truly stunning interesting images.

I mean I would say that, I love light. You know, as an Elinchrom ambassador, you'd expect me to say I love light, but I do. I just find it, I don't know why, why, I have no idea why that might be a thing, but I love it. I absolutely love it. And so, yeah, you know, after all of that, I'm sure there's a million things, I'm sure there's a million things that I've missed.

And had I spent the time thinking about it and driving home and writing up my notes and recording the podcast properly in the studio, it would sound a little bit better. I'd be jolted around a little less, um, but it probably wouldn't get done because we're so busy just at the moment. So apologies for me doing a Land Rover edition at 70 mile an hour because I can hear it's noisy, but otherwise I was not going to record one at all.

Um, the time pressures are now such that I really do have to dedicate more of it to mastering portrait photography, to our website, to building the, um, room mock ups to drop pictures into for beautiful framing, to creating interesting ideas on images and writing up notes on old images. Have I said the videos?

I must have said the videos. Oh, maybe I haven't said the videos.

Exciting New Projects and Team Members

We're creating these beautiful videos. We've got so many news joined us in the team. Katie's joined our team, who's amazing. She's great. She's a real breath of fresh air. She's young. And so she sees the world totally different to me. Um, so, you know, between us, I think, hopefully, it's a two way street.

I'll help her understand mostly software. I'm pretty good at picking up software. Um, and so Blackmagic's DaVinci is now another one of the tools that I'm reasonably comfortable with and can get my head around. Um, so I'm helping her get up to speed with that, but in return, she's showing us a young view of creating videos, which there's no way I would have done.

Sarah and I wouldn't have done it that way. But I'm really loving having that around. But it takes time. All of this takes time. And, um, running the workshops, you know, we now run regular workshops and they're going to increase.

Workshops and Community Engagement

Um, because we just love doing them but also it's part of our business model going forward.

Um, and to have time I've got to stop doing so many other things that I've been involved in for a while anyway. So, uh, Yep, standing down and it's all for mastering portrait photography. On that note about workshops, we do have a space actually, we've got a mastering studio lighting workshop which is on Monday the 4th of November, so it's a few weeks away, but there's still a space on there.

I love this day, I think this day is one of my favorite workshops, um, that we do, where we just play with lights, play with ideas, try things out, smoke machines maybe. GoBos, BigLights, SmallLights, um, HighKey, LowKey, you name it, we just play. Because that's by far the best way of learning stuff. Um, you can do whatever way you want.

Some people are bookworms, some people like a video or two. For me, I like messing around, um, and coming up with ideas. So that's on Monday the 4th of November, if you fancy it. Why is it right, when you're overtaking someone, why do they accelerate? Bye. Anyway, um, I don't like motorway driving very much. Everyone's very aggy, people are very aggressive, they just, it's a weird, ever since COVID it seems to be a very weird world. Uh, anyway, where was I? Oh yeah, I just love playing in the studio, and that's the workshop. So it's Mastering Portrait, sorry, Mastering Studio Lighting, uh, on the 4th of November, if anyone fancies it, just Google Paul Wilkinson Photography Workshops, or head over to paulwilkinsonphotography.co.Uk, or similarly, you can go to masteringportraitphotography.com, and the workshops are in there, in the Academy. The same workshops, but they're in the Academy, uh, over there. Eventually we're going to fuse all of the workshops into Mastering Portrait Photography. There's one single entity, so at the moment they're sort of co existing on the two sites, um, but it's the same workshop.

Uh, we will be putting more and more of them up on there.

Subscription Benefits and Pricing

If you subscribe, actually, to Mastering Portrait Photography, um, it's not a lot of money. It's 6. 99 at the moment, as at the time of recording, it's 6. 99 a month, which is actually the same price as the cup of coffee I've got sitting here in my Land Rover.

So it's one very large pumpkin spice latte per month. Um, To join the website, but if you do that, you get an advance notice of the, um, workshops, um, and you get to, uh, jump on them earlier than anybody else. You get to be part of our community, the Facebook community, uh, which we're building, um, making that more and more vibrant and interesting.

And, um, you can post pictures in there and people would jump in and give you tips. If you ask for it, if you don't really want it, then, you know, you can just post your pictures for the sheer joy of it. Uh, so that's all part of it. You get to download any of the tools for free, you get to download any of the room mock ups for free, you get to watch all of the videos and see all of the diagrams and there are hundreds of them.

I did a count up the other day and it's still like 400 diagrams I think, it's a lot. Um, but the whole site is there 6. 99 a month. If you want to spend it, if you want to spend a little less on a bit of a discount and do it over a year then you can enter the annual one. Um, and so if you pay annually it's 69.

99 for the year. Uh, which of course is about, what's that, 10 percent cheaper. You know, have I got that right? It's 10, it's 12 months for the price of 10. There you go. I don't know what that is. It's a mathematical term. I'm going to have to look that up if I'm going to publicize this. Um, uh, but that gives you a slightly better rate.

Slightly cheaper, but also gives you discount codes to the workshops. So not only do you hear about them early, but you get a little bit of a discount on them too. There are a couple of other options on there as well. If you fancy. And no, you're going to book onto our workshops or come to us for mentoring.

There's two other options to, uh, for the membership if you want them, um, and you can have a look on our website for that. Just Google or search for Mastering Portrait Photography Pricing, or just head to our website and hit the pricing, uh, link. So that's where we are.

Final Thoughts and Farewell

I'm just heading south on the M40. Um, I've run out of things that I've remembered to say.

That's not that I have run out of things to say. I just have run out what I have remembered to say. to say. So as I thread my, oh that blooming van's just overtaken me again, um, so as I head my way south on thankfully a relatively clear motorway, uh, I'm going to say thank you for listening if you have listened to the end of this podcast.

I know it's a bit noisy when I'm driving in a Land Rover and recording it, um, if you're hearing it I managed to at least convince myself that the wasn't too bad, it didn't sound too rattly. Well, if you're not hearing it, it means I've pulled this podcast.

I'm not releasing it because it's just not good enough, uh, audio, but thank you for listening to this point. Please do subscribe, wherever it is that you receive your podcasts or you consume your podcasts. By doing so, you'll get to hear the episodes as they come out. So if there are any offers and things, or any last spaces, you get to hear about them first.

Uh, you can hear us on Spotify, iTunes, and all over the place, basically. And whatever else you do in the coming weeks, be kind to yourself. Take care.

Ah, so it's the 4th July as I record this so Happy Independence Day to all my US friends and colleagues! 

 

In this episode, I do my regular round-up of things I've heard during judging - I was chairing the Click Expo Print Competition (the standard was incredible!) and I made a few notes from this and a few other things I've been involved in.

 

I mention a couple of products and here are the links:

EVOTO AI - https://go.evoto.ai/PaulWilkinson (if you use this link, you'll get 30 free credits!)

ACDSee https://www.acdsee.com/en/index/ 

DXO - https://www.dxo.com/

 

Enjoy!

 

Cheers
P.

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If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portrait Photography, for more articles and videos about this beautiful industry. You can also read a full transcript of this episode.

PLEASE also subscribe and leave us a review - we'd love to hear what you think!

If there are any topics, you would like to hear, have questions we could answer or would like to come and be interviewed on the podcast, please contact me at paul@paulwilkinsonphotography.co.uk. 

 

Transcript

EP154 - A Bit More Different (And Other Thoughts On Judging)

[00:00:00] Introduction and Warm (Water) Review

[00:00:00] So, let me read this out to you. I'm loving this podcast. It's like sitting in a bath of warm water in that the subject matter is gently flowing over you in a warm, friendly, soothing way. When I get to the end of the series, I'm going to start again. I think Sarah sends it to me, so I'm assuming it's on iTunes. So thank you to Skinny Latte via Apple Podcasts. Yes, it is. It's Apple Podcast. Who left that review. It made me laugh. I've never, ever. I don't think been compared to a bath of warm water, but Hey. It certainly, it certainly made me smile. And I will take a review worded like that. Poetry in its finest, in its finest watery form.

[00:00:43] Podcasting Challenges and Episode 154

[00:00:43] I'm Paul, and this is the Mastering Portrait Photography Podcast.

[00:00:49] Well, I blew that ambition out of the water. Didn't I, the let's do one podcast every week for the rest of the year. Uh, I've barely managed three or four, I think. It has been just one of those. years, this is episode 154. And really it's just been busy.

[00:01:23] As I record this, it's the 4th of July. So, happy 4th of July, to all of our American. Listen is in so many ways. The 4th of July might be something of an independence day for us too certainly with a little luck, a day of change.

[00:01:37] Busy Year and Listener Feedback

[00:01:37] Um, it's just been really busy in a year like this everything's working really well, but we're having to work that little bit harder to get there. Everything's a little bit more expensive. Clients have a little less to spend and somebody wrote in the other day. And said that they were waiting for episode 154. And partly because having the podcast, this podcast out there, from someone who is living and breathing the same industry that you are. It's feeling the same things that you are going through the same processes, the same client experiences that you are is comforting.

[00:02:11] And just knowing that they're not alone. So here is episode 154. In that sense, I think we really are. Um, a market, we're a collective of individuals. We're all going through the same thing, but on our own. It's useful to know. Uh, that there's other people out there going through the same thing. So I don't sleep very much. Uh, we're working flat-out I love every second of it.

[00:02:35] Don't get me wrong. Having having a camera in my hands is just the most natural thing in the world. So, and taking pictures for a living. Well, I couldn't ask for a better way to put food on the table, but that's not to say it isn't really hard work. And in fitting in all of the other things that seem to have crept up into my world. Um, it just takes a little bit of time.

[00:02:58] So apologies that the podcast has been a little bit more sporadic then I would have liked. Uh, before I get any further, I would just like to say thank you to everybody that filled in the questionnaire that Sarah has sent out. Um, It's really, really, really interesting. The data in it is incredibly insightful.

[00:03:18] And what we're trying to understand is what do we do with Mastering Portrait Photography? How do I push it and prod it and coax it forward? Um, we're due to give a really big kick this year? That's what we're trying to do, but at this stage we weren't entirely certain where to focus. So we now have an awful lot of really insightful, useful data. And the biggest thing that's come up is that it's well-worth. I know that sounds really bizarre. You know, I know people read our articles.

[00:03:48] I know people like the diagrams, our stuff is out there in Professional Photo Magazine. And this month also, In Digital Photography Magazine, you want to pick up a copy of that. On the news stand of a Professional Photo. Uh, it has gone all Digital, but Digital Photographer. Is there a paradox there that professional photo magazine is now all digital, but Digital Photography magazine, you can pick that up on it. I can't. I think there must be a paradox in there somewhere or an irony. Maybe it's an irony. I never entirely certain. The difference between an irony and a paradox. Anyway, anyway. Um, thank you to everybody who filled that in. Uh, I was due to record his podcast. This podcast was meant to be. It was meant to be a podcast from the land Rover. Uh, but it's been a very hot day.

[00:04:33] I was working. A two hour drive away. So two hour drive, half hour shoot, two hour drive back, and I was going to record one, maybe two podcasts. Um, weirdly the Landrover was more rattling than usual because, and I don't know why there is a toaster in the foot well. You know, when you get into a car and you, you, you drive away and you can either clanking rattling. There's a little Chrome toaster in my foot.

[00:04:56] Well, I need to pick that up with my son. Uh, anyway.

[00:04:59] Family Pride and Personal Updates

[00:04:59] On the topic of kids. Both my kids. I know. It's got nothing to do with photography, right. But I'm a dad and you can't help, but be proud of your children and this couple of weeks. I am beyond proud. Uh, today. Jake got his degree. Uh, Sport Technology from Loughborough University.

[00:05:18] So you got a two, one. Uh, degree in BEng. In it's literally engineering with balls, there's no other way to describe it. That's what it is. They study balls and things with which to hit balls. Cricket bats, baseball, bats, golf clubs, football boots. And then they also, uh, research things like, uh, helmets.

[00:05:37] So when the ball hits you, it stops you being an unconscious cricket player or backstop or whatever. Uh, so truly, truly a magnificent result for him really, really proud of him.

[00:05:49] And just as proud of our daughter who has for the past few weeks just started her new job, working in London for one of the biggest creative agencies, creative marketing agencies. In the UK. Um, as a creative account manager. Uh, she's just going to tear the world apart. She's super organized, super creative, super lovely to work with.

[00:06:10] She's a grafter and I could not be prouder of both of them. So forgive me for saying that and giving a shout out to my children, but Hey, my podcast. You don't have to listen to it. Uh, so where are we? Right, it has been a very busy. Uh, I think it's about six weeks since I've done an episode.

[00:06:28] Workshops and Masterclasses

[00:06:28] Um, so I cannot I've lost count. I usually I'll give you a quick count up of everything we've done. Numerous hearing dogs shoots a load of workshops and one-on-one master classes them. I just. Do you know what? I never thought. I honestly never thought I'd enjoy running workshops and masterclasses as much as I do. There's something. And I don't know why, but there's something really thrilling about being in a room with a few people who genuinely want to, uh, take ideas and create ideas and push boundaries and try things and discuss things. Um, and that's turning into actually a really, really, for me, a really rewarding part of our business.

[00:07:10] And I never, I don't know if I ever really expected that. It's, I'm certainly not one of those people. That I want, you know what, I really love doing training because it's giving something back. It's none of that. It's not that at all. There's just an incredible buzz. Of a group of people working towards creating an image and explaining. And understanding and learning how things work and why more importantly, why we do things, why it's always, everyone tells you what. You know, when you look at things online, everything's about the what and the how, but why, why do we do things?

[00:07:42] Why do we approach. Light the way we do why'd we approach the camera settings the way we do. Why, why, why, why, why? I just find the Y. So much more interesting than the what and the, how. And I think probably more valuable because if I understand why then I'll do it. If I understand the what I won't necessarily do it, it might be a useful tool or it might be a useful technique. But if I don't really get why I'm doing something, I will bin that off as just not useful.

[00:08:12] But if I understand why there's a rationale to why. And so all of our workshops and masterclasses now are premised on why. Anyway, that's a slight aside we'd last week we had a couple of students work placement students that are. Uh, 15 year old and a 17 year old. Two brilliant. Uh, young students who had approached us to come and spend. A few days with us in the studio.

[00:08:36] Military Photoshoot and Student Experiences

[00:08:36] Uh, they came with us to the hearing dogs for shoot. And then we did, um, a shoot here, uh, with, um, a guy in military uniform. Um, it's one of those, the shots. Uh, this was the perfect sheet for me. Um, a guy said, I want to do something. Really sort of vintage modern cameras, modern lighting, all the rest of it. But he sent me a couple of pictures that must've been taken.

[00:08:57] I'm going to guess in the 1940s at, I don't know the exact date, but I'm guessing around there from the style, my grandfather. Both my grandfathers had pictures like these in their military uniform. There's something about the way it's lit. Something about the way it's styled something about the way it's posed and finished.

[00:09:13] And of course it's on film, black, white film. And he said, I want to, we create these, but you know, he's a, he's a soldier. He's at the very top of what you can be if you're a noncommissioned officer. Um, and he wanted to celebrate that moment. And so we photographed these incredible images and there was a moment in the shoot, where literally the hair stood up on the back of my neck and I realized what I was looking at with the same pictures that I would have seen of my grandfather's the same styling, the same vibe, same feel.

[00:09:47] And it's a sort of, it's an almost indescribable styling that makes all of that hang together. Anyway, it was absolutely wonderful. And I would love to share them. But I can't because he works for one of the top secret, um, units in the military. So I've got these beautiful pictures. It's of a guy that I can never tell you about and never show the pictures. I can tell you I did the shoot because it's of course nobody knows. Uh, but it's a real shame, but I really, really, really enjoyed it.

[00:10:14] So now looking around for anyone with a military uniform of the similar style, That we could do something that we could do something with I can share. So if there's any of you out there who have, uh, retired from the military, but still have your number two uniform. I'd love to. Uh, love to take some pictures just for the sheer joy of doing exactly the same thing, but then I can share them. Uh, I think the students really enjoyed it too.

[00:10:38] And then the day after that, a brilliant magician . I've worked with Sam strange. Probably for 12 years, I think now. Um, incredible magician. Part of the Champions Of Magic him. Uh, Young and Strange, he works as part of a duo with Richard Young. Uh, but this was a shoot just for him. Sam Strange, wonderful guy just playing. I'm so lucky in the studio that the human beings that come in here. Uh, I think some of the nicest people in the world, I mean, I have only met a tiny proportion of the people in the world.

[00:11:08] I'm sure there are other nice people. But my client base is genuinely. Uh, just a never ending stream of people who I love to spend time with a, Sam Strange. Is right up there. So he spent ages taking pictures of him. And as, as a kind of, we wanted to get some shots where he was genuine, genuinely performing.

[00:11:25] So the two work placement students became instantaneously his audience, uh, some card tricks. He did these card tricks. One of the students looked quite confused. I'm not entirely certain that she understood what had just happened while she was holding the card with her name on it and a knife hole in it. Anyway.

[00:11:43] It was very funny and absolutely. Uh, wonderful. We've done a load of portrait shoots. The weather has been kind for a couple of weeks. Which is a pleasure. Uh, so we've been out in the sunshine, um, And just. It's just, it's. What I came into photography to do was to laugh in the sunshine, taking beautiful pictures. Uh, so that's really, really, really lovely. Um, we've been judging the monthly's the BIPP. The BIPP the British Institute of Professional Photography.

[00:12:11] Monthly's over the past couple of months. I think we've done two. Monthly since I last spoke with you, sorry. That's my bad, just busy. That's all it is. We're just busy. Um, I love doing, I love chairing the judging.

[00:12:23] And then on top of that, Um, I was asked to chair the print judging for the click expo.

[00:12:28] Judging Competitions and Photography Tips

[00:12:28] That was up in the Midlands a couple of weeks ago, some big names there, Lindsay Adler, and a few others. Uh, with some of the photographers presenting, it was. Um, it wasn't the biggest expo in the world, but we had a really good entry into the foot print competition. And the standard is out of this. World.

[00:12:45] And when you see a panel of judges, we had judges on rotation. So five judges at any one time and me chairing it. And when you see the excitement, you see the judge's eyes just light up. When they are appreciating the very best of the craft of photography, I think, you know, there's, I don't know how to explain some of this stuff.

[00:13:05] Why that, you know, that feeling when you take a picture right. And you hit the button and you just know, you just know you can feel it. That's the same sensation that I think we still get when we're assessing images at the highest standard, there's something really exhilarating about it in explicable. Uh, but exhilarating.

[00:13:26] I see on the flip side of that, I was laughing with our two work placement students of the other side of the line, which is when you see somebody else take a beautiful photo and they're in the same session as you. Sometimes when I'm training people, this happens to me. And, you know, with talking through staff were doing ideas and then somebody hit the button and they'll create a picture. That I wish. I'd taken and then I have to suppress. I have to suppress that kind of. I'm really jealous about that.

[00:13:54] Why didn't I take that picture? I cause you call and of course you have to celebrate. The absolute, the excitement. I still get the same excitement from the picture. I just wish I'd taken it. Um, Which is quite a weird sensation. I'm getting used to that sensation because if I'm doing my job well in a workshop, I won't do. My job well in a masterclass, if I'm genuinely. Um, passing on ideas and information, then. Really people in those workshops should be creating beautiful images that I'm jealous of. It is still quite hard though.

[00:14:26] Anyway, we were judging it. Click. Um, and I'm going to come back, uh, to, to that in a moment as the topic of this particular podcast. Uh, but a few bits and pieces. Uh, one of the things that occurred to me this morning, and I'm going to drop this into this podcast because it's a useful thing to remember. Um, is always remember to pack your bag so that at a single glance, you know, what's. In it. And will more importantly, what isn't. I was driving along and I do this thing.

[00:14:56] If you. I don't know if you're the same as me. I'll get halfway down the road and I'll be like, did I pack my passport? And I literally, I don't know how many times I've done it. I've pulled into a lay-by and gone and checked. I still do the same with my camera kit. But this morning I was driving away and I did that thing. Have I, I packed everything I need.

[00:15:14] And then actually I remembered I'd looked over the top of my bag. Um, while it was open and I know everything was there because I pack it in a way that if something is missing, I can see the gap. And it's like, oh, okay. So, um, you could do it with checklists. Of course you can be much more methodical than that, but just as a simple trick, pack your bag in a way where you can visibly see if something is missing. Right.

[00:15:39] So where are we in our warm bath water? I still think that's a great review. Thank you, skinny latte. That's just like the skinny lattes. They use it named by the way. That's not just me being random. Uh, that is like the best review. I'm going to put that on a, if I ever have a poster. You know, Paul Wilkinson appearing somewhere. , it's like sitting in a bath of warm water. I don't know what to do with it, but it's, uh, please feel free everybody. To write us poetic reviews like this, and I promise you they will get read out because it's absolute genius.

[00:16:10] Um, I just love that I'm going to have that printed as a poster. I'm loving this podcast is like sitting in a bath of warm water. Anyway. Um, I thought I do these regularly, um, quick updates on things that I heard or saw during um, the judging. Um, So, let me just go over some incidentally as an aside one of the reasons we use, sorry, there's lots of asides with me. You get used to that or you don't. That was funny. The night I met someone for the first time and she laughed at me and said, you're always after the punchline aren't you. And I was like, yeah, that was really. Is very astute, but it did somewhat stop me in my tracks. Um, I don't mean to be like that. I just am a.

[00:16:54] One of the reasons we use a panel of judges are more than one judge. Is so that we get a more reliable score, but I was judging in the monthly's this month round. I. So I wouldn't say who the judge was, but they were very worried that their score was out of kilter with the other judge. And they had no reason to be.

[00:17:14] I, I can export the judges scores and I can see exactly what's going on. Um, I'm a big data, nut, I love data. I love the data behind scoring. So I've had a look at the data and their scoring is exactly where I would hope it would be, but you don't always agree. And that's really important. If every judge for every image gave the same score, we'd only ever need one judge. That's not how it works. That is so not how it works.

[00:17:43] It's not supposed to work like that. A panel of judges are all supposed to bring different experiences. Different backgrounds, different hotspots that they look for different passions, different prejudices, different biases by using a panel of judges. You will always get a different score or you should always get a different score from every judge or you haven't picked your panel of judges very well.

[00:18:09] And we pick up panels of judges incredibly carefully so that they are different. They bring different ideas to the table. We pick the panel of judges so that they're going to get on, they're going to work as a team. So if there's a challenge, if there's a discussion or they're not going to get into an argument, they're going to develop. Uh, thought process, and come to a considered view.

[00:18:28] That's why we use a panel of judges. It's important that the judges are reliable and they are experienced and they're top of their game. Of course. But they will give different scores. Anyway in the, from a Click. At this time and a little bit from the monthly's I thought I very quickly go through one or two things I heard.

[00:18:45] It's just useful stuff. You know, there's nothing major in that.

[00:18:48] Um, so paper choice. Paper choice comes up in every single printer competition I am involved in. Just does. Um, the big one, this time was be careful, where. Um, If you've got a textured paper and you print something like a baby on it with smooth skin, it can look like the baby's skin is wrinkled, particularly when the baby or the face of the baby is quite small in the frame, newborns.

[00:19:12] This was typically a criticism. What's your paper choice. If you're going to. Print things that would have a smooth texture in the real world, smooth skin, that kind of thing. Use a smooth. Paper. Uh, that said if you're using fine art matte, papers, go and figure out how to get your blacks to map correctly because typically fine art matte papers.

[00:19:33] Don't give you much. Uh, changed between the grades of black. It suddenly goes, it goes. Sort of dark. So you get blocked up areas that aren't quite black and then suddenly when it gets to a slightly lighter. Like a lighter tone. You'll start to see texture again. There are ways of printing for that. Go look them up. Uh, Sanjay Jogia, I'm going to give Sanjay quick shout is a brilliant printer. Brilliant technician. Uh, he does, uh, workshops and seminars on printing. You can do a lot worse and go talk to Sanjay. And he's a super lovely guy, too.

[00:20:06] Uh, stray hairs. We had one assay. This was in a digital file, um, in the competition. Uh, this month there's a stray hair in the print in a file. And that's clearly on the sensor. With print and competition judging. The judges are gonna zoom these things in. They're going to look at them under a light on a light box. If it's a print, they're going to zoom it to a hundred percent on a big Eizo monitor if it's a digital competition. If there's a stray hair or a dust spot, they are going to see it. So go find your files, go, go over them and over them and over them.

[00:20:35] If you want to do one in competitions, get the little details, right. Uh, because that score that dropped, I mean, so many points. It was a great image. Great idea, creatively. Brilliant. But if you're letting things like dust spots and stray hairs go through, that's not going to be regarded as competition standard.

[00:20:53] Mounts. We saw some incredible mounts.

[00:20:55] We saw circular mounts and oval mounts and, uh, one photographer. I don't know if it's the same author, but I've seen this technique a couple of times where they cut out the edges of the mounts of the landscape picture goes all the way across and breaks out the sides of the frame.

[00:21:09] Mounting and Presentation Tips

[00:21:09] Um, they're brilliant. Um, you remember that with a print competition?

[00:21:12] Typically the mount is part of the puzzle. So make sure your mounts are complimentary. Make sure they are adding to the image. They're not distracting from the image. Um, make sure that your everything is super accurate, super, just square. It needs to be lined up. We had one. Uh, image where the horizon wasn't horizontal. Uh, it was a seascape. And it wasn't horizontal and it may have slipped in the mound or maybe that the author just didn't notice.

[00:21:40] I don't know which of those two things is true, but of course it's not going to do that. Well, So mounting is really, really important and we do zoom in to make sure the quality. Um, is there.

[00:21:50] Uh, a few dead come up with banding issues, JPEG issues. In this day and age where computers are pretty powerful and you know, the sensors and cameras are at least 14 bit these days. Um, if not 16, Um, then please do just get your techniques down.

[00:22:06] So if you got a big blue sky, make sure it's a big blue sky without banding in it. Um, it's just one of those things.

[00:22:12] The Debate on Titling Images

[00:22:12] Uh, titling. I don't. This comes up every single time. I don't like titling. I don't think it should be necessarily part of an image competition. Um, but I'm out there as I'm in the minority. I think. Um, but I just don't like it. I think we should judge what we see in front of us. But, uh, if the competition asks for a title, enter one, create one, invent one, stick your image in an AI generator and get a title. I don't care how you do it, but put a title in on average. Now I've only heard this anecdotally and I've no idea what the research was, but anecdotally, a couple of judges told me that titles typically give you one additional mark on average, if it's a sensible title. It certainly can add poetry to it. It can add a meaning to it. So if you put a picture. I have no idea. Uh, of, uh, a sad looking child. I don't know, making this up a sad looking child with no title. Well, it's a sad looking child. Put up a sad looking child and give it the title, Daddy's Gone Again. Suddenly, you've got a very different tone to how the view is and the judges. Our assessing an image.

[00:23:23] Now this is why I don't agree with it because I don't think that's how it should work. I think we should judge the image. But given it's an opportunity to get a mark or two. And given you're entering a competition, which is a game. Then play the game. And put titles in.

[00:23:37] Attention to Detail in Photography

[00:23:37] Uh, where are we? Um, a couple of images came up this time round, which I wrote down all details and reading this and we notebook. I carry a note book almost all of the time.

[00:23:46] It's a throwback to my PhD days. I think always had a notebook. Uh, title, sorry. All details. Some so EEG cushions, this was a, an image that came in where the hole that the room had been styled to perfection. But when you looked at the sofa, It looks like. Somebody had just sat on it. So the cushions were fine. Like the back cushions, the throws and all of those, but the actual seated part of the sofa. Had been left as if somebody just sat on it, perhaps sat on it to plump up the cushions. I don't know, but it just, it drew our eye to X. Everything else in the image was so pristine. What's your details, particularly with architectural and commercial.

[00:24:25] Uh, confusion.

[00:24:26] Understanding Image Composition

[00:24:26] This came up. Where we weren't certain or the judges, weren't certain what to make of an image. I've talked about this a few times. It's not the judges, job to decode your story.

[00:24:40] It's your job as the author to tell your story in a way that the judges can get it. It's got to be approachable. Um, you can be as clever as you, like, you can be as subtle as you like, but in the end, if you're not telling the story in a way that the judges can understand decode it, that's not the judge's fault. Um, so just, you know, make sure, maybe test it on other people and see what they think at image before submitting it.

[00:25:04] Uh, we saw a few of these. Uh, what have I written down? Uh, They've written down. Uh, the only image here. Okay. I wrote down if only if only is one of those things. Have you ever done that with your images where you look at an image in Lightroom and you're just like, oh, if only. If only the background was clean. If only I hadn't blown a highlight, if only the eyes were sharp. You know what I mean?

[00:25:29] You have these if only moments where the image you'd done everything. Right. But then you've missed a bit. Well, don't enter those into a competition for a star. Um, There was one image that came up and. It felt to me like. It felt like a grab shot. It was a beautiful shot, but a grab shot. Now the construction of the image was one we see all the time dog in a basket, nothing particularly clever about that. Um, or, you know, rare in that, I suppose.

[00:25:56] But the particular angle, the way it was framed, felt like they grabbed the shot. Now, if you said to a fine oil artist or pencil artist, or a cartoonist or a commercial air brusher, create me a picture of a dog in a basket. They would have a real angle on it. There'd be something about the way they place the objects relative to each other and relative to the frame. There'll be a way of doing it. That would have a certain aesthetic, a style, a cleanliness for me, my particular thing is I love when the lens is absolutely horizontal. Low down in the frame, preferably on the floor. If it's a subject that is on the floor so that everything for me, I feel like it climbs into that world.

[00:26:42] That's just my particular aesthetic. It doesn't have to be anybody else's. I mean, please. Everybody. I'm a Muppet. I don't know what I might have out, but I liked the idea that I've done something that has a, it has a statement to it. It has a shape to it. I love the work of E.H. Shephard who drew A.A. Milne's books, um, Winnie the Pooh and house at Pooh. The corner and when we were young and all of these beautiful Christopher Robin stuff. The drawings always feel like you're in the small characters world. You're not an adult looking down at it.

[00:27:13] And I think that's the point I'm trying to make is have a view. Think about it. Think as if you're drawing it, don't think of it as a photograph thing. Okay. Take a step back. If you've got time. Sometimes you don't right. If you're a news photographer, you haven't got time, but step back from your image in your head. Say, okay, these are all of the bits of the puzzle. This is, I've got one of those, two of them, three of them. I've got these colors and this shape, this light. If I was drawing this, if I slowed down and somebody said, draw those on a piece of paper. So that made sense. How would I do it? Uh, you know, there's an, there's another picture.

[00:27:49] It was a picture. Um, it was a newborn picture. And there were objects in the foreground. So it was, it made it feel like the baby was amongst objects and then objects behind the baby. But what's happened is they've. Thought that because we mutter a lot, and I'll come on to this one later. don't crop things at the edges of a frame. They pulled the objects.

[00:28:11] That baby is surrounded by, away from the edge of the frame, but that meant, it felt like there was only a few objects. In this instance, using the objects and cutting them at the edge of the frame as if there was millions of them receding into the distance that would have made sense. And visually it would have had an expansive feel to it, rather than I only have four of those objects, so I've placed them where I have. And it's that sense of thinking about your layer? And if you look at the very best of these types of images, The guys really do know their way round it.

[00:28:41] Uh, comping compositing. Combining images. It must be invisible. We actually, as photographers, don't have a problem on the whole, unless the category says you can't use composite images. We don't have a problem with it. Judges don't worry about it.

[00:28:55] We just don't want to see it. So the compositing, the bringing different images and elements together has to be invisible. Uh, there are skills to this. Practice them. Because if you, the minute a judge spots that it's a composite, it's failed in its job. I mean, obviously there are obvious composites, you know, if you're doing a. King Kong thing of a gorilla climbing, a skyscraper. Fair enough. We're going to know straight away. That's not real. But it still has to look real, has to be believable. Uh, okay. What else have we got?

[00:29:26] Um, baby skin. This has come up a few times. Be careful of. Using blue and dark green style filters, filter effects in your monochrome conversions. Uh, blue filter typically turns the lips dark, which is fine. If you have, um, You've got a model and smooth skin like ultra smooth skin and makeup that's flawless because you've got red lipstick and you punch them on a Chrome with a bluish or green filter. It drops the lips to a very dark color and that could look incredible. But with babies would it also does. If there's any red in the cheeks, it makes those go blotchy too. So you have dark lips and bruised looking cheeks, and that's not really, how probably you want to have. A baby photograph, by the way, if you can hear stuff going on in the background, I've got all the windows open because it's a really warm day. Um, and I'm sitting just recording. Uh, where are we?

[00:30:23] On the converse side of that. So we've got blue filters, making skin look kind of grungy and textured and blotchy. Equally, we are still seeing way too much over smoothing. Um, on the skin work. Um, it just. It doesn't look, if it doesn't look quite right, you know, and it's really subtle. I don't know how to describe it, but we know as judges, when we look at I I'm a big one for, when someone applies makeup to a face really well, really beautifully. It smooths out the lumps and bumps, but what it doesn't do is remove the texture.

[00:30:59] There's still pores, there's still skin pores there're still fine hairs. There are still little tiny ripples created by blemishes underneath the makeup. So, if you want to make it look real, when you're doing digital makeup or digital smoothing. You have to remember to leave details in that show reality, even when you're doing really fine art kind of work.

[00:31:21] So just what's that. Um, incidentally, a shout again to EVOTO.AI. Um, I've just had a new release of that this week. Um, incredible bit of software. Uh, in that you can control how much you do. So it's not, it's not all the bells and whistles that make these things good. What make these things good is when you can turn it down, so it's imperceptible. Uh, EVOTO.AI is actually very, very good. Please do go and have a play with that. I will drop a link down in. Uh, further down in the show notes.

[00:31:54] The Importance of Image Sharpening

[00:31:54] Over sharpening. Uh, this came up as a bit of a debate actually, me and Sanjay don't entirely agree on this. I don't think. My view is that you don't need to sharpen images anymore. Um, I've never heard, not once have I heard. Uh, judge say this image needed more sharpening. Not once I've heard images get critiqued, cause they're soft by the which, I mean they're blurred. And the minute you try to rescue a blurred image using, um, Topaz or, you know, any one of the sharpening tools. Unless you're really on top of it and really, really, really careful, it looks like it's sharpened. However, I've heard many times. That an image looks over sharpened over, over you see halos, you see this kind of slightly, really weird edge effect. Um, I took the decision a couple of years ago to stop sharpening my images, because it removes one or two problems when you. Because for us, we don't, uh, we produce the same file to be printed at different sizes.

[00:32:49] I don't worry too much. Um, about, uh, scaling at 300 DPI for A4, 300 DPI for seven by five, three to DPI. I just give the guys one file. Um, and our sensors now is so sharp that they reproduce and they give a, for me, they give a slightly smoother finish. Um, And I've only ever been pulled upon over sharpening when I did it.

[00:33:11] No one's ever pulled me up on under sharpening. So I would say don't sharpen Sanjay. Doesn't say that he says you should do sharpening, but know exactly at which point in the workflow to do it. And that's fine. Um, Sanjay is a master at this stuff. So he does sharpen. Uh, I'm using Sanjay as an example because he's one of my judges, uh, this time round. Uh, so is there an interesting thing. My, if you're not absolutely a hundred percent certain of what sharpening to do, don't do any, you'll be fine.

[00:33:40] Uh, where are we?

[00:33:42] Final Thoughts and Recommendations

[00:33:42] Um, oh yeah, one of the things. It has come up this come up in conversation a little bit is why we as judges get so picky about which images get over the line to be a merit or a bronze. So typically with all of the associations all slightly different. But around about the 80 mark for most associations is the break point for bronze or merit. Now. The thing about a bronze or a merit is that is something that's likely to end up being used on a website or being used in social media for the association. Um, maybe with the societies, it's going to end up on their display boards at the convention.

[00:34:23] And that's why we're picky. That break point between professional standard is a lot, the associations call it and a merit or bronze. That break point defines what will be displayed to the public and to the rest of the photography industry. And as such the message we're sending is that this image is what you should be trying to attain. So when I go round, if I'm, uh, if I've entered a competition, I go round and look at all of the things that have. Uh, they're being displayed in the convention or they're in the magazine or in a book.

[00:34:55] I look at those images from bronze to gold. As the things I should be aiming for. And that's why as judges, we're very careful what goes over that line. And if we find a defect that we think, do you know what the photographer should have spotted that. You're going to dump marks really quickly because the judges don't want to have that out there as something that becomes an exemplar for what a successful image should be.

[00:35:16] That's why. That's why that break point is so tough. Uh, so just what you, it was quite funny, this in the competition this time round. Uh, and the monthly's is, uh, one of the images looked like the horizon. Wasn't quite level, it's a digital file. So it clearly wasn't anything to do the mounting. And by the way, it was a degree or two out, which is. I don't know. I don't know why people do that. Why would you do that? Given you just put into Lightroom or Photoshop and align with the ruler to it anyway, my two judges, I'm watching both of them on, uh, our Squadcast screen. So we record these sessions. Um, One of the judges went to his EITZO monitor took the file, put it into Photoshop and checked the horizontal alignment.

[00:35:57] My other judge went to a cupboard. I watched them do it, went to a cupboard behind them, opened the cupboard door, got a ruler. And started measuring her screen, which is quite weird when you're watching it on the webcam that's on her screen. She's measuring the screen. It was quite old school, but it did make me laugh.

[00:36:13] Anyway, things like horizons, check them.

[00:36:16] Uh, Great. Well, so if we got, oh yeah, when you're, there's a lot of actions around and even I've written a few where you're going to soften or blur the edges. Um, So there was a particular file. Where I think a baby skin had been softened. You could see that it had been, and it was fine.

[00:36:36] It looked very good actually it looked like they got a good technique on it. But what they hadn't done is lift all of the skin onto a new layer, just cut it out and drag it onto a new layer and softened it there, what they done is soften it on the original layer with all of the. Um, blankets and clothing around it. And what that did is, it dragged color from the blankets into the soften skin. So you could see a slight coloration around the edges where the softening had been done. And you expect that if you're using a blur. It blurs across the boundary. So what you have to do is cut out the skin onto a new layer. So it's transparent all the way around except for the skin, soften it there, and then you can drop it back in and you'll get no color contamination. Um, but we spotted it and of course it's a real shame.

[00:37:19] Uh, With babies and with faces, the light, the light source should always be above the nose.

[00:37:25] I heard this said a few times by different, uh, I think I was working with Elli Cassidy who is just like one of the best judges to work with, she's lovely. Super lovely, super nice person. Um, great newborn photographer and she raised the same point as did lots of others. The light source should be above the nose, nine times out of 10. It's very rare. Do you want the light coming up from underneath?

[00:37:44] Um, I love this quote. This is one of my judges. He just, he liked a particular image because it was a bit more different. If ever I have another podcast in this industry, I'm going to call it The Bit More Different Podcast because I know it's a great title.

[00:37:57] It's not English, but it's a great title.

[00:37:59] Um, final bit on this bit. Is cropping at the edges. We can't, I kind of talked about it a minute ago with the baby and the objects. Just look around the edges of the frame. There's an amazing news image, this time round. Loved it. I'm not going to say what it was cause I'm not gonna draw attention for the author. But there was a scene in the middle of his action in the middle.

[00:38:23] And on the right-hand side of the frame, there was nothing contaminating. Everything was kind of contained, but on the left. They were knuckles and elbows poking in onto the edge of the file when just moving the crop edge in by. I dunno, a couple of hundred pixels on a six megapixel file would have removed all of that, and focused, directly on the story in the middle. And it's such a silly thing.

[00:38:47] We see it all the time. Is we get sidetracked by what's going on in the middle of our picture, the bit we want people to look at it and we forget to look. All the way around the edges of the frame. I look around the edges of your frame carefully. And if there's anything there that's distracting and pulling your eye away. Just change your crop or clone them out, whichever is easy for you.

[00:39:08] Um, So that's it. Those are the notes. I mean, there's loads, of course there's loads of things. I carry copious notes, but I thought those are the most interesting. Um, to talk about, uh, particularly as we're, heading towards, uh, at this time of year, when people start to hive images away ready for the competitions, uh, for the BIPP print competition. Um, and eventually, you know, the doors will open for the society's convention as well.

[00:39:30] So I thought there'd be useful. Um, The other thing, a couple of updates. Where are we with things that I've been asked? Uh, to look at. Uh, where are we? DXE DXE. CXO asked me to play with. DXA labs. Uh, the DXA labs for, I think it is an, a DX oh, film pack seven. Now the XO labs. It's not really the photo lab is not really for me because it, Lightroom is at the heart of my workflow. Um, we used the XO pure raw anyway, which is brilliant, pure, or for, by the way. Brilliant.

[00:40:03] Absolutely love it. Uh, so don't, for me, that's not necessarily something I'm going to put into my workflow. I'm sure it's very good. I've used it a little bit, but however, the DSO film pack, film pack seven. It's an absolute blast. Loving it just for the moment.

[00:40:17] I use effects quite a lot, but I like it if I can for it not to look effected. If you see what I mean that of course, the minute you really easily apply a film preset, of course he looks effected, I'm not an idiot. Um, but I love those kinds of tones. They feel very analog to me. Uh, it's really, uh, really, really, really good.

[00:40:34] So, uh, highly recommends if you get a chance to have a play with that. I'm sure they do a trial. I haven't looked. Uh, DXO Filmpack 7. And the other thing I thought I'd give a quick shout about today. Um, his ACDSee, which I've continued to use again, they approached me and asked me to have a look at it and say what I thought it's really, really good.

[00:40:55] Um, it's not good at high volumes of face recognition. I discovered that as it. just crashed my computer basically. Um, but that not withstanding. It's blindingly quick is great to have it there . Lightroom for us is our management tool for all of our raw files. Um, but the RAW files get archived away, and we then have all of the JPEGs that I've generated for print. Hi res. Uh, low compression JPEGs.

[00:41:21] So having ACDSee that looks over all of my Dropbox folders and keeps that as an active catalog. Is great because I can get to any image. I like, in a heartbeat. Absolutely brilliant. So I absolutely, I would highly recommend that. Um, again, I will put a link to, um, I'll put a link to ACDSee in the show notes. And then finally just a more pop-up it's our beer festival on Saturday.

[00:41:45] Now. I know none of you are local, but nonetheless, um, I will be at the beer festival if anyone fancies a beer and a chat we're in, but it had them in Buckingham share. Uh, I'd love to catch up if there is anybody around, because it's, I'm hoping that there's going to be good. Um, it's like the best place to listen to music.

[00:42:02] Have a nice beer. And have a great conversation. And on that happy note, I'm going to go home now and we're going to open. I hope a bottle of champagne to celebrate Jake's success and Harriet's success in her new job. Uh, the sun is shining. And then we're going to try and stay up and see the results. Of this particular, general election.

[00:42:21] Again, to all our American friends have a wonderful . Uh, July 4th.

[00:42:25] And I'm going to go away and be more like sitting in a bath of warm water. I remember whatever else. Be kind to yourself. Take care.

So what does it take to be successful (at least as a portrait photographer?) In this episode I muse on the key building blocks that every successful photographer I've encountered seems to exhibit, at least to varying degrees!

This episode also features a quick catchup with Andy Blake from Kaleidoscope Framing (https://www.kaleidoscope-framing.co.uk/) who have been our supplier for nearly twenty years.  Why?  Because their products and their customer service are second to none!

The PMI Smoke Ninja Photographic Competition is now in full swing - deadline is 5th May so what's stopping you?  Head over to 
https://pmigear.com/pages/smokeninja-portrait-contest to read all about it.  The Smoke Ninja is genius! Actually, it should be called the Smoke Genius...

I also mention Datacolor's excellent products in the podcast, in particular the Spyder Cube, the Spyder Checkr Photo and the Spyder Checkr Video - they can be found at  https://www.datacolor.com/spyder/products/ We have used these products for years and years and I would never go on location without them!

 

If you're interested in any of our workshops or masterclasses, you can find them at https://www.paulwilkinsonphotography.co.uk/photography-workshops-and-training/ 

 

Enjoy!

 

Cheers
P.

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If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portrait Photography, for more articles and videos about this beautiful industry. You can also read a full transcript of this episode.

PLEASE also subscribe and leave us a review - we'd love to hear what you think!

If there are any topics, you would like to hear, have questions we could answer or would like to come and be interviewed on the podcast, please contact me at paul@paulwilkinsonphotography.co.uk. 

 

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Transcript

EP151 What does it take?

[00:00:00] Meet Andy: The Heart of Kaleidoscope Framing

[00:00:00] Hi, I'm Andy I'm the general manager at Kaleidoscope.

[00:00:02] Tell me a little bit about Kaleidoscope. Kaleidoscope. Okay, so we're coming up to our 26th year in business. We are a bespoke picture framer, mainly for the photographic industry, so we basically can make anything you want. So, as long as we can actually build it, we'll do it, it's as simple as that.

[00:00:18] Why Kaleidoscope Attends the Photography Show

[00:00:18] Tell me why you come to the photography show. So we come to Photography Show, uh, mainly to obviously try and drum up more business, new customers, but also see our existing customers and show off our products, ideas, what we can achieve, what we can do, and try and inspire photographers into what they can tell and display their work like.

[00:00:36] Andy's Passion for Photography and Its Impact

[00:00:36] Why do you love the photography industry so much? I've always had a passion for photography. I know we've spoke before on your podcast, uh, from a young, young age. Um, don't do as much of it myself anymore. Uh, unfortunately, uh, more involved in this side. But I love photography in terms of what that moment can capture.

[00:00:54] What you can hold that freeze frame, that image for time. Um, and look back at it. And just, you know, it's memories, isn't it? You're capturing memories, you're capturing happy moments, sad moments, uh, important moments, lots of different memories from people's lives at different times, so.

[00:01:09] Uh, if you could change one small thing, or one big thing for that matter about this glorious industry, what would it be?

[00:01:17] That's a tough one. I don't know. I don't know what I'd change. Um, obviously for us, for us as a company, I'd change in terms of trying to encourage people to sell more products. That was what, that's what we would change, uh, in terms of helping us as a business.

[00:01:31] But it's, in terms of the industry? Sorry, on that note, I'll stop you and we'll just drill into that a little bit.

[00:01:38] The Value of Physical Art in a Digital Age

[00:01:38] Do you think that photographers understand the importance and the role that finished artworks, whether it's in albums, which you don't do, or whether it's in a frame, as opposed to the fleeting pixel base like phones, iPads, TV screens, do you think they understand the difference and the importance of it?

[00:01:57] Not everyone, no. I think there's an element where in a day Very digital driven world. Social media and images being on screens, and I think a lot of people don't realize how different an image can look when you put it up on the wall, when you print it big, when you put a mount around it, put a frame around it, put it onto a canvas, laminate it.

[00:02:15] There's so many different options or ways to display that image. I think when you see an image framed up, we. Customers where we print their images and display them here, uh, as you've seen yours, and I'm amazed actually how often people, the first thing they say is, I didn't think it would look that good.

[00:02:30] I never thought it could look that good. And, and it goes to show that actually displaying it large, printing it and putting it onto some paper can make such a difference to seeing it on screen, seeing it on the back of the camera, whatever it may be. So, and by extension, I've got a few clients that say they put their, these frames like in a.

[00:02:44] Position of prominence, not necessarily visibility, but somewhere they'll see it every day, like the top of the stairs, or somewhere they, you know, walk through a hallway or something, and they enjoy that moment, they relive those memories every single time they look at a frame, and that's something I think digital products don't do, they're much more fleeting.

[00:03:02] No, I'd completely agree with that. We moved into our new house in December, and I'm still trying to get frames on the wall, and it's the one thing I'm missing. In our old house, we had lots of frames. Of lots of small frames with lots of captured memories and, and I used to love it walking past the stairs and you'd see 25 frames on the wall, lots of different things.

[00:03:17] And now it, we don't at the moment. So that's, I'm driving for that because it does, it, it, it brings back that, that memory, that spark, that emotion from that moment.

[00:03:25] Thank you very much, Andy. I'll talk to you soon. Thank you.

[00:03:28] Honestly, it's one of the greatest things about being a part of this industry is the people I've met along the way. And Andy. He's definitely one of them.

[00:03:35] The Busy Life of a Portrait Photographer

[00:03:35] I'm Paul, and this is the mastering portrait photography podcast.

[00:03:40] So I've been in London this afternoon, we've had such a chaotic few weeks. It's nine o'clock at night. Actually it's half past nine at night. And I'm sitting on my own in the studio with just the whirring of the heating. And a couple of disc drives, chattering weight in the background. And if I'm honest, I've just found myself asleep at my desk because finally I've managed to get myself back into the habit of doing some exercise.

[00:04:19] And so when we got back from London tonight, I hopped onto the Peleton and did an hour, but all it's actually happened is I'm just exhausted because it really has been a few weeks and it must have been because I haven't recorded any podcasts and that's in spite of me, not just promising. I suppose all of my listeners, but promising myself. I would do more and I do them shorter, but actually the reality is finding the space, not just the time I suppose, but the headspace to sit and do a podcast. Well, it's just alluded me a little bit.

[00:04:55] So it's me. I'm on my own. A little bit of peace and quiet and I think at the moment, Things are a little bit like playing Mario carts. I love Mario karts. Cause once you get to know the course, you get to know where you're headed, what's coming up, what you've got to do. But in spite of that, well, usually my family, uh, throwing stuff at me, banana skins Inc.

[00:05:18] Shrink me. You name it?

[00:05:20] The Art and Business of Photography: A Personal Journey

[00:05:20] Um, but then there's also those boosts where you get that little bit of extra energy and off you go, and I think running a photography studio. Is a little bit light that. It's kind of crazy. It's full on. You're running at a hundred miles an hour. Things are thrown at you that in spite of the fact you think, you know where you're going and what's coming up next. Well, life doesn't work that way.

[00:05:41] So what's happened over the past. What's it been? Three and a half weeks, I think since I released a podcast. Uh, in that time we've done nine client reveals, which has been a really nice, hugely successful, which is lovely. Uh, we've done 15 portrait sessions, which means there's a whole load of reveals coming up. Um, we've judged the monthly for the BIPP, which is something I absolutely adore doing. Um, I'm chair of the judges. Uh, chair of awards and qualifications for the BIPP.

[00:06:10] So I'm not strictly speaking. Judging. So I get to be a part of the process and I really enjoy that. Uh, cause it takes a little bit the pressure off Sarah and I coordinate it. And bring it all together and make sure everything's running smoothly and keep an eye on the scores. But in the end, the pressure's not on me to analyze all of these images.

[00:06:28] Having said that though. Uh, over the past couple of days, I've been judging for the Photographic Society of America. Uh, which is a blast as he seeing some work from around the world. Uh, the BIPP though it is an international organization is predominantly a UK photographers, but the photographic society of America is exactly the opposite of that.

[00:06:47] In fact, I'm not sure how many UK guys. are in it. And so to see work from all over the world. And he's just a real pleasure. Um, Don two shoots for the Hearing Dogs, including photographing, uh, Chris Packham. TV presenter and natural history sort of buff. I suppose it was a wonderful thing, actually.

[00:07:09] I didn't know quite how I'd find him, cause it's never, you're never certain when you meet people, who've been on TV. Uh, quite what they're going to be like. And he's quite outspoken about various things, but he could not have been a nicer guy. And at the end of all of the shooting, we sat in a park and had a quick, it was a Coke. I say it was, it was a pub, but we had a diet Coke at a hot chocolate.

[00:07:31] And do you know what. There was a window. There was a window in exactly the way I describe how to set up light in the studio is it was, it could not have been more like a one meter square softbox and so I persuaded him to sit and we had a chat about photography and production and all sorts of things. Uh, and I took a couple of portraits of him using window light in a pub.

[00:07:55] Exactly as I describe how I learned today. So that was lovely.

[00:07:59] Uh, we've done five wedding pitches so far I've lost one, but one, all of the others, which I think is pretty good going. What's that 80% I'll live with 80%. The one that I lost was one that. You know, when you get a pitch. And your instinct is always to want to win.

[00:08:16] That's just inbuilt. But it was a job I couldn't figure out. Whether it was going to be tricky. And I'm not going to say more about it than that because I don't, I, you know, I don't want those prospective clients, if they happen to listen, to the podcast. You know, obviously they've decided to use somebody else or to go somewhere cheaper.

[00:08:36] Actually, I was too expensive. The price we put in was too much. Um, and they were lovely people. Absolutely brilliant. And I would have loved working with them. But the job was such that it would have meant cancelling, some other bits to do it. A couple of, um, Extended stays and a few of the bits and pieces.

[00:08:53] And I think in the end, I though I lost it. And of course you never, ever, ever. I want to lose work, my suspicion is the time that it would have taken. We'll drop a couple of portraits shoots in there. We'll stand, you know, we'll, we'll learn about the same kind of revenue for probably a lot less work in the end.

[00:09:11] So hello, 80%. So I've lost one, one for. Uh, I'm going to live with that. That's pretty good.

[00:09:17] Embracing Change and Challenges in Photography

[00:09:17] Ah, I've almost, almost completely finished, ripping out. I say a ripping out. It makes it sound like a gutted, the place. Uh, reorganizing the studio. Uh, for the Elinchrom kit that we now have, because of course, I've got to take out all of the existing adapters. Change out all of the, um, any of the sort of third party kits.

[00:09:38] So we've sold all of the Profoto equipment back to, uh, the Pro Center in London. Got a good price rate. So that's makes me very happy. Sarah drove that into London and deliver that safely to those guys. So thank you to them. Ashley for having a brilliant service. They took it in on a Friday morning, checked it all over. Uh, and paid us on Friday afternoon. Um, which was really useful.

[00:09:57] I sold it as a job lot in the end. Because it was easier rather than trying to split it up. A few people had shown interest in bits and pieces. But, you know, it's just, sometimes it's just easy. I took a slightly lower price. And offset that against the fact it was an awful lot less. Uh, an awful lot less worry and effort on our part.

[00:10:18] So Sarah drove that in, but of course I've got a ton of adapters. Softboxes kit that is sort of, I dunno, got ox or aperture, different manufacturers that were all based around Profoto in of course now I've got to change all of that over, put new adapters on. So that, um, I can use the as the light source.

[00:10:38] And on top of that, all of the charges are very different. All USB C, and they're great. I wasn't certain how I was going to react to having. USB C charges everywhere. Uh, but I bought a couple of very long cables. for them and, they're 60watt. I mean, they're pretty meaty these things. I'm going to have to remember not to leave them plugged in.

[00:10:56] Cause I don't know quite, I got to get a measurement on them because I don't know if they're left, plugged in whether they're still generating or absorbing that kind of power because they're digital transformers. So they must be absorbing some power. But they're great. And you can run the lights off them continuously, or you can unplug them.

[00:11:13] And of course their batteries. Uh, but more on the, on the telecom side in a bit. Uh, another thing that happened is that a friend of ours, who's a wine collector. Everyone should have a wine collector as a friend. I delivered on, uh, where was it? Beginning of the week. Must have been Saturday. He delivered six more. Of the wine crates, the wooden wine boxes that he gets his really valuable, very beautiful wine delivered in, and they are amazing for storage, but also great as props. So, um, that was really, really nice. To see him and also to get these crates.

[00:11:47] So it's helped me organize. Uh, stuff in the studio. Uh, also, I, I saw some video there's some behind the scenes footage of one of our workshops. And there's a pan around and it's brilliant. It's vibrant and it's fun. But I looked at just the ount of stuff we've got in the studio. And made the decision there and then that we needed to get some of it out of there.

[00:12:08] So I've been redistributing things that don't get used quite so often as other things that then are scattered around the studio, probably never to be found again, I'll be scratching my head one day thinking now where's that particular softbox well, that particular modifier where's the beauty dish con the things that I don't use very much. Where are they? Uh, and I've got to go on a hunt in the attic. Uh, to find them. Uh, what else?

[00:12:31] We've written three or I've written three magazine articles, one for NPhoto magazine. One for Digital Photographer, magazine, Digital Photography. Uh, magazine and one for Professional Photo magazine says three in one week. I had to turn. That was quite lively. A lot of writing, a lot of scratching my head about the different things. Eh, love writing.

[00:12:52] I'm loving, writing more and more and more. I've surprised myself. I think I've certainly, I would surprise, surprise my English teacher. If only he knew the effect that ultimately many, many years. Uh, down the line, he had had a lot of fun that, so please do look those guys up that's NPhoto, which is the unofficial Nick on magazine. Uh, that's also assay, technically I've written four. I'm just thinking I've also written a piece on print and its place in this ever. Digital and file based industry and why actually a lot of us still use it. Uh, that article. Is part of a whole debate in the BIPP magazine, in The Photographer. Uh, magazine, but look up Professional Photo it's online look, up NPHoto, and also an article isn't out yet, which is about the bit I've looked after is about switching digital backgrounds. Uh, in Digital Photography magazine.

[00:13:46] We've had two one-on-one coaching sessions or master classes, which is always a blast because you get to spend the entire day just figuring out stuff with one person, a couple of models on each different things, whether it's off-camera flash or whether it's dedicated to daylight or both.

[00:14:03] Of course, when it's only one person. You can do whatever you want.

[00:14:06] Uh, we ran one of our workshops in Oxford, which is the, uh, walking around the streets, looking for interesting places to photograph workshop. I said a name for it. Uh, streets. It's not really, I don't like calling it street photography because street photography is a thing.

[00:14:21] And it's not that it's finding places, finding light, figuring out how to create imagery and how to invent shots when all you've got is the space you're in the face in front of you and the camera in your hands. And I love working like that. In fact, today I sit to sound away in, so on the way in for the shoot I'm doing that, I was doing some headshots for a Harley Street, um, clinician.

[00:14:43] She's a psychologist in London. And I was doing some headshots in Harley street. And so Sarah and I packed up. Uh, the two, two of the Elinchrom lights into the rucksacks, couple of, uh, small, soft boxes. Camera gear. A couple of stands in case he wanted a white background and plowed our way into London.

[00:15:02] And I was laughing with Sarah as we hold this stuff. Through the station and into a cab. Is I lay you a bet. We don't use any of it. I'm just going to use one camera and a big grin. And that is it. And sure enough that's exactly what happened. So in spite of me taking all of this kit in all we did was just have an absolute blast with one person laughing our way through it. Taking pictures I'm using daylight is in the light for the windows in her Harley street, uh, consulting room. Out in the street itself. Uh, on the steps and things like that.

[00:15:36] And it was just brilliant. And that's exactly what the, the workshop in Oxford was about. It's about where, when you find yourself and who you find yourself there with, what do you do?

[00:15:45] The Importance of Storytelling and Community in Photography

[00:15:45] Uh, another thing I've done this past couple of weeks is had a presentation to the Village. Uh, Society.

[00:15:51] Yes, Hunnam has a Village Society. You couldn't make this stuff up. It's like Midsummer murders is brilliant. A room full of, uh, retirees, mostly one or two of my clients as well. That's quite a few of my clients were in there. Uh, all sorts of people came. A busy room in our local library. And on top of that, my mum came now, my mum is a legend. Uh, she's an absolute power of nature is my mother. Uh, but it's the first time I've done one of these presentations or with my mum in the room.

[00:16:21] I'm not going to tell you the whole story, but there is one bit of it where I show a photograph of my mom and dad actually. And it's a photograph that Dorling Kindersley wanted to use and they wanted to use it on a book called Sex And The Older Couple. Uh, of course I never, ever, ever. Let them. That, that image was never going anywhere near, uh, the cover of a book.

[00:16:43] Uh, but it's the first time I think my mum has ever seen me do that routine. And it's, it's really, uh, it's just me laughing about photography and imagery in telling stories. And it's just one of those stories. And of course, it's my mum and dad who I think the world of, and they're the people that gave me. Well, they gave me everything. And so much of the confidence, I guess. And the drive to do something. Whatever it is in life to do it and do it well. Comes to my mum and dad's having a moment.

[00:17:09] The audience was a real privilege. Uh, because she now lives here in the village with us, but it is a little bit weird. I'm doing a presentation that I've done over and over and over it though, at least that particular story over and over and over. Uh, my mom's in the audience. She didn't look too surprised. Uh, I don't know.

[00:17:26] I don't know how she felt about that. Particularly. It's a shot of course of my dad who died 10 years ago. Um, this year. Uh, we've also, uh, we're working with a couple of people. We filmed a new video.

[00:17:37] So we're working hard on creating new content for mastering portrait photography, not just the podcast. But the training materials and the videos. And so we've spiked that we've gotten, we're getting some more people involved. We filmed one new video. We had to took two filming days to do it. Absolutely exhausted. I was so tired at the end of it.

[00:17:57] Maybe that's why I've just found myself asleep at the desk. Um, and we started to work on our social media and all sorts of other bits and pieces. Just trying to get on to get things out there. Uh, it's hard when your primary objective, you know, if you've ever seen Little Shop Of Horrors and there's the, there's the, what's the, I dunno what it's called, but it's the, it's the monster plant. And he says, feed me, Seymour, feed me now. And they were running a photography business is exactly like that.

[00:18:29] We have one client. And that's the bank account because you have to keep running. It doesn't matter how many other things you have in the pipeline. Or things you want to do or ideas you'd like to explore or portfolio images you'd like to retouch in the end is a huge, great plant. Just going feed me Seymour, feed me now. I was laughing with Sarah today. Everything we do in, you know, all we have to have is one phone call that says, can I get five days of paid work from you?

[00:18:56] And you drop everything and go do it because you have to. And that's the reality of this kind of business. You don't turn down work or at least, I mean, maybe that maybe some of you who are listening are in a privileged position. Where you can and you do. I'm not in that position. When work comes in, we take it.

[00:19:13] We do a good job of it. And we get it back out to the client and then we sit and go, right? Where was I? Here I am recording that podcast. Uh, what's the Dune Part II actually with our daughter. I don't know if anyone's seen it is brilliant. I've no idea what was going on. It was excellent. He was. An absolute mystery to me.

[00:19:33] Um, over the past week, couple of weeks I'd spent watching. Uh, Dune part one. Uh, trying to understand, because of course I never watch a film properly. I sit with a film on my second or third monitor on my iPad while I'm retouching or writing for a magazine or something. It's in the background. It burbles in a background.

[00:19:52] So usually I can't watch anything with too much of a plot. Uh, but Dune part one, well, I kind of passed by, it was really pretty. I think I understood some of it. There appear to be some telekinesis kind of stuff and some mind reading, he kind of stuff. Lots of sand. Uh, and then I went to the cinema to watch Dune part two.

[00:20:12] Now, what I will say is it's worth the watch. Brilliant. Big screen. Theater 7.1, Lucas, whatever THX, whatever it is, sound. Huge bucket of popcorn. A large thing of diet Pepsi and on top of everything else. Uh, class a beer. And then I realize after about two hours, That I've got another three quarters of an hour to go because it's a long film and I've got the bladder. Of a 55 year old bloke because that's how old I am. This, all of this came to a bit of a head. Now I stayed put in my seat, but honestly, by the time we got to the end of the movie, I was sweating. I was sweating beyond sweating as the first pixel of the first credit. Appeared at the bottom of the screen. I made a run for it.

[00:20:59] Well, I'll tell you what I was still peeing. When pretty much the cinema was closing. People came and went. I think people got married, had children celebrated anniversaries in the time. I was like that scene. I've Austin Powers. I've never been so pleased to get inside the gents. So I'm sorry if that's a bit lewd, but you know what I mean? Uh, when you're in that sort of, oh my God, I've got to go now. Uh, but it was brilliant. The film, at least the first three quarters of it. I paid a lot of attention to, I think I was getting a little bit distracted by the end. There's a lesson, a beautiful people. If, if you're going to watch a really long film, Don't drink too much. Anyway, it was great. Uh, now what I need to do is watch Dune part one again. In the context of having seen what happens now, I'm that guy anyway, a very often, if a film is or a series or. Uh, you know, a box set or something is stressful. Drama. You know, tension, those kinds of things. I will hop onto, uh, something like, uh, I MDB or Wiki and do a plot spoiler because I don't need to stress.

[00:22:01] I do the same with books. If I'm watching, if I'm reading a book that I think is a bit stressy. Then I'll go to the back couple of pages and read them, just went out what happens and then I can enjoy the plot knowing what's coming. Don't ask. I just don't like the stress. I don't need it in my life.

[00:22:14] I have enough stress in my life. I'm a photographer. Life is stressful enough. Without me adding extra stress by watching something that, uh, I don't know what the ending is going to be.

[00:22:26] All right.

[00:22:26] Exploring New Horizons: Reviews and Competitions

[00:22:26] Uh, in the middle of all of this, this is a message from our sponsors. Well, not really sponsors. I'm not paid, by anybody, but I have had a few things sent my way to review and have some fun with, uh, and the first of those is the Smoke Ninja.

[00:22:41] So this has come from PMI company called PMI. I will put the links to all of this in the show notes, but PMI very kindly sent me a piece of kit I'd already bought from them on the CA. On the Kickstarter. Campaign it's the Smoke Ninja, which is a tiny EDBD. You can't believe how much stuff comes out of it. Fogger.

[00:23:00] It's absolutely incredible. So this thing we've had this for a while, talked about it before, but I've, uh, I now have two of them. Excellent. Great fun. But it's all to do with a competition they're running and I'll give you the URL now. So it's, if you go to PMI smokeninja dash portrait dash contest.

[00:23:22] So. HTTPS colon slash slash usual stuff. P M I gear all one word.com/pages/smoke. Ninja will one word. Hyphen portrait hyphen contest. Now they have a contest and I'm just bringing it up now on my screens. And there's $10,000. They say total prize pool. There's a prize for the best solar portrait. There's a prize for the best wedding portrait.

[00:23:47] There's a prize for the best family portrait. There's a most creative award and there's the most viral award. Everything has to be done. Uh, or rather everything, everything you do for the competition has to use either the Smoke Ninja or its bigger brother. The Smoke Genie. Uh, you have to do some behind the scenes footage of it.

[00:24:06] Send up your final picture and the behind the scenes footage to prove you were actually using their equipment to do it. I think as well as it giving some social media content, you have to put, you have to upload it to there. Their portal, as well as putting it on your own social media feeds. So it's a great competition and the prize is absolutely stunning.

[00:24:26] Unveiling the Prize: The Smoke Ninja and More

[00:24:26] Uh, each prize has $500, $500 us dollars. Um, The cash, uh, but also has, uh, some stuff from, I don't know how to pronounce this is Yoon. Um, some stuff from Small rig and you also get the smoke genie pro kit. If you're a prize winner.

[00:24:45] Exploring the Wonders of Smoke Ninja

[00:24:45] And the smoke genie. Uh, is like, oh, I miss the Smoke Ninja, but on steroids. Now we've been having a blast with the Smoke Ninja recently.

[00:24:54] It's a really good bit of kit. The only thing we've had to learn how to do here is to disable all of the smoke sensors. So that's actually been a little bit of a head scratch. Is figuring out how to turn off the smoke detectors in the studio before we use it. Because the last thing I need is the fire brigade turning up to find me sort of with a family or a teenager, flinging smoke around and laughing my head off.

[00:25:15] Uh, I'm not sure that we'll go down that well. Uh, but that's the, the competition and I in return for them sending me, uh, the Smoke Ninja. I've also got to enter the competition as well, but if you fancy it, so it's PMI gear.com/pages/smoke, ninja portrait contest. And I'll put that. Uh, in the show notes that, so it's worth a worth a look.

[00:25:37] And I can honestly hand on heart say that the PMI. Uh, Smoke Ninja is well, it's just, I would call it the smoke Genius, not the smoke Genie or the Smoke Ninja

[00:25:47] . I think the thing is absolutely fab. And even the other day, when we were filming the video we've created is actually I ran the fogger as a hazer.

[00:25:56] So just so I had a little bit of haze in the air so that when we put the lighting across the studio for all of the pieces to camera, it just adds atmosphere. Uh, it picks out little bits of light and it just softens those backgrounds. It's. It's it's only when you start watching how a film. Directors and directors of photography and lighting engineers use this stuff.

[00:26:16] You kind of think, oh, okay. That's something that's entirely applicable. In our world to photographic stills, photographic world too. So. Head over to them. Have a look at that competition. If you're interested. Uh, you might just, you might just find some inspiration for some angles on photography. Maybe you haven't thought about.

[00:26:32] Diving Into the World of Color Calibration with Datacolor

[00:26:32] Uh, the next one is Datacolor also is it's been a couple of weeks of stuff arriving.

[00:26:38] I think I mentioned this in the previous podcast, but Datacolor sent us the Spyder Checkr, the spider, sorry, the Spyder Checkr Photo, the Spyder Checkr Video and also. Uh, thing of genius, the Spyder Cube. Now this is one of those gadgets. So. The color check is I've used a Datacolor. Spyder Checkr Photo or the older version of that. For probably, I don't know, six years, seven years, maybe even longer at the beginning of every one of the shoots off site, because obviously once you've set it up for your studio, I don't need to recalibrate this.

[00:27:10] I've changed the lens or a camera on my lighting, which of course I'm doing right now. I don't need to recalibrate, but every time I go out into location, We take a safe shot with the Spyder Checkr Photo as it is now called. And I'd be doing that for a very long time, so that I've always got a reference point for my white balance and for my color. So the color spectrum under the lighting that we're using. well the Spyder cube is sort of the next level genius.

[00:27:36] It gives you not just your white point and black point. There's a hole in it. What. Uh, brilliant idea. There's a hole in it with no lights you get. So that should be exactly the same darkness is the nostrils. It's just dark. Uh, but it's also got white and gray and a mirroball on the top or a little Chrome. Uh, marble, it looks like a little Chrome sphere. And that, of course, if you were lighting, it gives you your white point because it shows you your specular highlight.

[00:28:00] The thing is great. It's absolutely brilliant. And of course, as we've just done right now, we are, re-engineering all of our lighting. So I now have from Elinchrom, four Fives and two Threes, and I am loving it, but not just because the light that these, these bad boys are giving is stunning. But on top of that, we've used the Datacolor Spyder Checkr Photo to calibrate all of the new gear in our studio.

[00:28:27] So have profiles in Light Room for the new Allyn crumbs. And although it gives you a very flat finish, which is not my look. It gives you a very, very accurate starting point. So I just thought I'd put that in there. So thanks to Datacolor for sending me that kit. Um, if you have the opportunity head over to that Datacolor with no 'u', by the way, it's a American English, or I suppose these days international English. Uh, as opposed to the British or English, English, C O L O U R.

[00:28:54] It's not that it's da as you, but I'm sure you know, it C O L O R a Datacolor. It's worth going to have a look. The thing's not that expensive. It's less than a hundred pounds. It's only about 40 quid for the spider cube. Uh, and then the spider checker photo inspire the checker video. We're all in that sort of 90 quit. Mark, I think anyway, it's very kind to them to send it over and, uh, I will put out some, uh, befores and afters on some of our feeds as to just how good it is.

[00:29:20] And of course, having had. All of the new Elinchrom lighting and the Elinchrom theme is going to run for weeks. So we'll leave that. I won't talk any more about that on this particular episode, but rest assured the four Fives and two Threes. I am having a blast. It's so nice. To have stunning light back in the studio.

[00:29:40] Absolutely loving it

[00:29:42]

[00:29:42] The Building Blocks of a Successful Photography Business

[00:29:42] anyway, onto today's little, sort of the actual bit, the rest of it. I'll tell you what the diary of a working pro is getting bigger. Uh, um, I need to fix that. I need to do something about that, but at the moment, it's just because the episodes are so far apart, a lot has happened since the last one. So this, the theme of this particular episode, and I was puzzling over this. Uh, or rather what triggered it was a series of conversations and the reviews from our Oxford. Workshop and I kinda been chewing on what is it that makes a successful. Photography business.

[00:30:23] What is it? What really is it I'm still working on? I don't have an answer. I doubt there is an answer. But what I have observed is there are building blocks. You need. And sort of you stack them up. I think. And on the top of it is you as a S as a successful photographer or a successful. Photography business, but you build it on certain pillars. And the four I've kind of identified, and this is based on S on feedback and it's based on observations. That I've made as well. You need, I think the following four things. At the very least you need the following four things.

[00:31:04] The Essential Attitudes for Success

[00:31:04] Anyway, you need energy. Optimism enthusiasm. And confidence. Now you'll notice in there. I haven't said camera craft or. And I for an image or I dunno, technical knowledge, or I, I've not said any of those things, you do need those things. By the way, it's not that you don't. But underneath that. To learn to be able to absorb ideas, to be able to push through. The fear and doubt that is inevitably part of this world.

[00:31:35] You need energy, optimism, enthusiasm, and confidence. And these are things. That I'm very blessed. To have I'm lucky in that my parents gave me those things and on the whole I've normally got, I'm going to say I've normally got three of the four. It's any one moment. There are days when I have no energy, but I'll be optimistic that I'm going to get it, get it there the other day.

[00:31:56] There'll be other days whenever turn of energy, but it's being in channeled entirely in pessimism. Um, there are days when I'm not enthusiastic, but it doesn't stop me thinking tomorrow will be better. And there are days when I'm, I have no confidence at all. But I'm still energetic and optimistic and enthusiastic about I, what about what I do now?

[00:32:16] I could probably do a podcast on each of those things. And maybe in the future, I will maybe I'll interview. Some photographers and talk about these various aspects, but why, why have I brought those out when I could have said. You need to understand cropping. You need to understand your color wheel.

[00:32:34] You need to understand how to process digital images. You need to understand how to use your camera when all of these things are undoubtedly. True. But if you don't have the energy and if you don't have the opt or more importantly than enthusiasm, I think you'll never get around to learning those skills.

[00:32:52] They just will never arrive.

[00:32:54] Before you even start. You have to have energy, optimism, enthusiasm, and confidence. They are the building blocks. They're the attitudes. Maybe that's what I should have called to maybe attitudes there, what you need. I think. And I've never met. Uh, top flight photographer, successful photographer. Now by top flight, I don't necessarily mean award-winning images.

[00:33:16] I mean, people who've been successful in the industry. Some photographers are successful because their business just. Fly. Some people are successful because they are amazing on stage. Some people are successful because they images. Or well, simply glorious. There are lots of reasons why a photographer may or may not. Be successful.

[00:33:37] So when I say a top flight photographer, I mean, someone who's known for some aspects, some skill, some quality. In industry and every single one of them that I've ever met. Shows energy, optimism, enthusiasm, and confidence.

[00:33:53] So let's have a think about what each of these. Uh, attitudes sort of are. So energy and having energy doesn't mean you're bolshy or pushy, or like a bull in a China shop. It doesn't mean that it just means. That, when it comes down to it, when you pick up the camera, there's something about what you're doing. That drives you, that keeps you going because there are going to be days when you really aren't feeling it. And it's your energy. That you need to draw on.

[00:34:22] Now for me, I'm kind of lucky. In the, when the client walks into the room, they give me the energy that I need. Somehow, no matter how flat I am, how tired I am, how fed up. I am sometimes. When the client appears, they give me energy. That energy drives everything. Sometimes I'll be honest.

[00:34:43] My own insecurity gives me. Energy when I'm having one of those days and I'm not feeling it. I don't often get to the point where I'm like, you know what, I'm done it, it does happen. People have to talk me out of it.

[00:34:56] But sometimes my own insecurity is all of the energy I need. But always when a client walks in, that triggers something in me and off I go.

[00:35:06] Optimism. Optimism is I suppose an odd one. I'm not sure I've ever seen anyone else write down optimism. Um, certainly in the reviews, no one's ever said optimism is not a word.

[00:35:16] I think the associate. With any of these conversations normally, but here's why. Here's why I use the word and I don't mean in optimism. I don't mean unrealistic. So I don't mean that you late. I don't know. You think you're going to always make a silk purse out of a sow's ear? To use the expression. I just mean. It's that thing of, well, let's give it a go.

[00:35:42] What's the worst that can happen. You know, I'm a photographer, not a brain surgeon. So the worst damage I can do is to take a crappy picture. That's essentially it. Now, if you're doing a wedding, okay. That's a little bit more pressure, but if I go, if I get it wrong, I'm going to make someone look fatter or older. Or thinner or. I don't know, less attractive than they think they should be. Those basically are the limits of the damage I can do with a camera.

[00:36:10] Let's say drop it on someone. I suppose I could drop the camera from a great height and it would cause damage. Um, so having optimism is almost baked in why wouldn't I have optimism? Let's take a picture and see what it looks like. But I have met a lot of photographers who don't exhibit that they're nervous of trying things that. They think might fail and I think it will make. They think it will diminish. They're standing in front of their client, whereas I'm, I think the other way round. Is that I think the client loves it when we try things.

[00:36:42] And I'm very open about stuff I will say to the client, look, I don't know if this is going to work, but you know, let's give it a go. And if it does work, I'm going to show you, I'm going to. Claim credit for it, and I'm going to enter it into awards. If it doesn't work, you're never ever going to see the image.

[00:36:58] And that's basically it. Um, optimism is about the idea that you can. And that today, what do you know what I will. Uh, enthusiasm, enthusiasm runs through me most of the time. And it's a, it's a derivative of energy. Rarely, I suppose I could have fused. Those two words, but I think you can be enthusiastic without being energetic and vice versa. He can be energetic in your pessimism if you want to be.

[00:37:24] So enthusiasm has a real place for me and enthusiasm. I found when I'm in, in the company of a photographer who is enthusiastic about what they do, who is full of positivity about what they do. It's it's captivating and you kind of get drawn along on that ride. Now I don't mean naivety. I don't mean. That. You're enthusiastic to the degree that we can know what could happen.

[00:37:51] I'm not saying that. Similarly with optimism, you know? I'm just saying that if you're enthusiastic about what you're, what you do it carries now, does that mean all of your pictures have to be happy, bubbly pictures, new, not at all. But it's much easier to take enigmatic, gentle, moody pictures. When you're being enthusiastic about it than when you're not trust me on that. Uh, so enthusiasm is what it is.

[00:38:16] And I think I've every successful photographer I've ever met is enthusiastic about what they do now. Occasionally you time it and you talk to them and they're like, they're not being very enthusiastic or optimistic for that matter. But on the whole, you feel that they would be the rest of the time.

[00:38:32] Confidence, Feedback, and the Art of Adaptation

[00:38:32] And then there's confidence. And now confidence does not mean. Arrogance.

[00:38:37] And it certainly doesn't mean. That I don't have, or the photographers I've met don't have insecurities or imposter syndrome or all of those words they do. They really do. But something in them. Says that it's going to be all right again. Allied to optimism, having the confidence to say, I know what I'm doing. To ground yourself with the camera in front of your client and say, it's fine.

[00:39:04] I know what I'm doing. And I know I can do this. Or having the confidence to take. Feedback critical or otherwise to take. feedback from your peer group or from your client. It takes confidence and it takes. To an extent, a thick skin. I think I might've missed an attribute. I think sensitivity might be an attribute that I should add to this.

[00:39:26] Let me think about that. I'll come back to you on that. one, but having the confidence. To say, yeah, I can learn that. Or having the confidence to take. Feedback in a way. That you turn it into a forward facing energy. Oh on the Peleton tonight. Honestly, I have done an hours exercise. That's like nearly a thousand calories burned, which is why. He likes snoring.

[00:39:48] I've lit. Honestly, I'm not kidding. I woke up at my desk. Uh, with the microphone over my head. Uh, waiting to record. Um, and that's because I've done an hour and it's been a long week. I submitted an article last night, or this morning at three o'clock in the morning. I submitted one of the articles much as I love writing.

[00:40:04] Uh, sometimes the inspiration doesn't come until the wee small hours. As my Scott's friends. Uh, I would say, um, anyway, during the exercise class. That was on tonight.

[00:40:16] One of the instructors said, there's this thing called? Yes. And now I've never heard of this as a thing before. Yes. And not. Yes, but, or no, but, or no. Yes. And. And that's having a confidence to take feedback in a positive way and move forwards with it. There's a scale in and of itself giving everyone knows that giving feedback in a positive way. Is a skill, but I don't know how many people think that. Taking feedback is a skill.

[00:40:49] It's a practiced. Skill to know how to take feedback and. Extract or distill what's useful. Actually is a lot of confidence. And I come back to the same thing. Don't get me wrong. Of course there are days when I'm absolutely terrified. There are days. When I can't feel it, there are days when my confidence is not for whatever reason, you know, it, I'm not at all saying you disassociate. From your normal character.

[00:41:20] And my normal character is I'm very, very confident in what I do. And I'm confident in my ability to learn stuff. I'm a quick learn. I can certainly do that. And I'm very good at the yes. And. But it doesn't change the insecurity. When you show an image and somebody doesn't like it, there's still that burning sensation. That you get when somebody points out something

[00:41:44] , if you go to any art gallery, any and have a look at people, enjoying the pictures. Isn't it curious how some people will head towards one artist and others will head towards another artist. But they don't always like the same artists. And that's similar to photographers and feedback. So having the confidence to give feedback and take feedback is a thing.

[00:42:06] Having the confidence to stand in front of a client and say, Genoa, I can take this picture. Don't worry. You're fine. Giving confidence to your client through those actions. Well, that's the thing I think. So these are your building blocks.

[00:42:20] You've got energy. Optimism, enthusiasm and confidence. And I also think. You have sensitivity in there. You're going to have to leave that one with me. I thought of that while I was talking. Why does that happen? Why is it just as I think I've got my podcast nailed. I've got my things I want to talk about. During the actual recording.

[00:42:38] I think of one item thought about. I think sensitivity might well be in there. If it is, I'll bring that up in another. Another podcast because having empathy and sympathy, when you're a portrait photographer, I don't know if that matters when you're out there doing landscaping, but this is the mastering portrait photography podcast.

[00:42:56] And so I guess that's, pertinent.

[00:43:00] So you need those things

[00:43:02] . Of course, you also need practice. You need perseverance and hard work. You need creativity and your craft. They don't go away. But in my experience, Those things are built. . On your energy, your optimism, your enthusiasm, and your confidence without those. You'll do no work. You won't have what it takes to pick up your camera and develop and push forwards and change and evolve. And that's another thing, , having those four things.

[00:43:31] I'm going to go back to the four. I think. Having those four things gives you what you need to be adaptable and pliable. It gives you what you need to develop and change. And trust me in this world. Particularly now AI has arrived on the scene. You're going to have to adapt and evolve to be competitive in this market.

[00:43:51] Not just as a business. But visually too, because what's out there in terms of the visual arts is changing at a pace. We have never experienced. It's changing at a pace. When I did my PhD in AI 25 years ago, nearly 30 years ago. That could not have envisaged where we were going to end up. We talked about this stuff back then as a fantasy and here it is. You know, type a few key words into half a dozen of the different image generators. And just see what comes back,

[00:44:22] Wrapping Up: A Look Ahead and Gratitude

[00:44:22] but on that happy note, On that happiness.

[00:44:24] I hope that's. I. I'm quite curious about this episode. I hope that's useful. I might write this one up as a, an actual article kind of thing. Uh, thank you for listening. To the end. Um, please do go across to PMI Gear. To Datacolor and to Elinchrom, all excellence suppliers of the stuff we use here at our studio. Uh, we stuff I use with enthusiasm, energy, optimism, and confidence. Now, it just sounds really corny.

[00:44:50] I'm so sorry. Uh, but please do go ahead and look up the competition. Uh, it's a really cool one. I will be entering mostly because it gives me a chance. We've got someone coming in on Sunday. Uh, to, uh, create some, uh, very fogged work. Can't wait for that, but thank you for listening to the end of this podcast.

[00:45:09] If you've enjoyed it, please do subscribe wherever it is. That, uh, you consume your podcasts. Thank you to the people that left us reviews last week. That's been quite a few. It's been really rather lovely. Um, if you do feel like leaving us a review, please, do we read them all wherever we can find them?

[00:45:24] The most obvious place of course is iTunes. I represents about 60% of the world listening to podcasts at the moment. I believe anyway. Uh, so please leave us a review and a rating up there. If it's a review where you think I should change things, uh, then please do email me. Don't write that in a review.

[00:45:42] Nobody wants to read that. No matter how confident I am, it stops me being optimistic. Uh, so please do email me. It's Paul at paulwilkinsonphotography.co.uk dot co.uk. That's Paul. Uh, Paul Wilkinson photography.co.uk. Uh, also head across to the spiritual home of this podcast and mastering portrait photography podcast.

[00:46:02] And of course that home is mastering portrait photography.com, where there's a whole heap of articles and ideas, all dedicated to the business, the craft, the art, the creativity, and well. Frankly, the enjoyment of portrait photography. We're about to hit that with some reorg. I talk about that in the coming weeks.

[00:46:22] Um, and some new content, uh, we changed in the way that's all working while I'm in the process of putting together thoughts on how we're going to change that. Uh, hence the fact we're now filming videos, uh, on a more regular basis. It's all quite exciting. There's a ton of stuff going on. Hopefully I won't be asleep at my desk with too much of it because frankly that's a big waste of time. But until next time stay awake and whatever else. Be kind to yourself.

[00:46:48] Take care.

Ever wondered why you should sign your work?  Well, in this, our 150th episode, we have chat about it.

But before that, a quick catchup with Charlie Kaufman of Click Group at The Photography Show - head to https://www.clickliveexpo.co.uk/ to see details of one of the most exciting events in years!

There is also news of the PMI Smoke Genie / Smoke Ninja competition - a fantastic opportunity to get creative and win some hefty prizes.  The details for this brilliant competition can be found here:
https://pmigear.com/pages/smokeninja-portrait-contest 

Good luck!

If you're interested in any of our workshops or masterclasses, you can find them at https://www.paulwilkinsonphotography.co.uk/photography-workshops-and-training/ 

 

Enjoy (and sign your work!)

 

Cheers
P.

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If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portrait Photography, for more articles and videos about this beautiful industry. You can also read a full transcript of this episode.

PLEASE also subscribe and leave us a review - we'd love to hear what you think!

If there are any topics, you would like to hear, have questions we could answer or would like to come and be interviewed on the podcast, please contact me at paul@paulwilkinsonphotography.co.uk. 

 

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Transcript

[00:00:00] OK there are one or two fruity words in this episode. If you're offended by swearing then I do apologise!

[00:00:05] So I'm here at the photography show up in the NEC in Birmingham, have just bumped in to one of the big characters in the industry. So tell me a little bit about who you are. So, Charlie Kaufman, Honorary Fellow of the Societies, uh, been in the business for 35 years, professional, and I've run the Click Group for 30 years.

[00:00:27] Started in 1994. And you've got several other letters after your name. I thought it was KFA, but you said it was No, it wasn't KFA. FKA, as my mum always says, fucking know all, uh, excuse my language, but no, a fellow of the societies, I was the youngest, uh, BIPP licensorship and MPA, uh, licentiate when I was just 17 years old, so two years into the industry, I'm also the CEO of Click Backdrops and Click Live, a new expo launching at Stoney Park, Coventry, this June. Tell me why you've come to the photography show. So it's all about brand awareness. Clip Backdrops, uh, exhibits at all of the major trade shows in the, in the world.

[00:01:04] We do about 100, 000 miles with my partner in crime, Gary Hill. He's got more letters after his name than the alphabet, and Gary and I love doing the trade shows because it gets our British made, award winning product in the hands of creative photographers, so they can see the difference of why they're investing in a quality product.

[00:01:23] Why do you love this photography industry of ours so much? I love it because it's changing. I love being in an industry where we make money from giving people creative memories for people, creating art. I love the fact that being the owner of a company, I'm in control and I can pivot in a heartbeat in which direction I want to take my company.

[00:01:44] And that's one of the problems that a lot of British photographers don't do is pivot enough and change quickly enough. But being a small company, we're very quick at changing. We can actually have an idea to marketplace sometimes within a week.

[00:01:57] And if there's one thing you could change about the photography industry that we know so well, what would it be?

[00:02:03] Well, I'm going to hone in on the British photography industry, and what we need to change is we need to get British photographers getting more educated. Uh, as Big Dog Damien once said, the better, the easiest way to make more money as a photographer is to be a better photographer. I completely agree with that. Visiting ten U. S. expos a year, these expos sometimes start at 7am and these photographers are in classes and learning till midnight every single day. And that's one of the reasons that my team and I have launched Click Live, a brand new, uh, educational expo launching Stony Park, Coventry this June, where we've brought in the biggest educators from around the world. I mean, we've got Lindsay Adler, we've got Chris Knight, but we've also got other educators that have never even taught before in Europe, like Kimberly Smith, one of the world's best digital artists. So we want to give British photographers and European photographers, the opportunity to learn, hone in their craft and get better. Because the better you are, the more money you should make out of photography. It's as simple as that.

[00:03:04] Brilliant. And I have to say, it's an honour and a privilege to be a very small part of that operation. I'm very...

[00:03:09] ...an important part of that. Not a small part, an important Don't sell yourself short, Paul. You're an important part as we launch Clickmasters, a digital and print competition. And the nice thing about our print competition? Our educators at the show are not allowed to enter. So they're there to mentor and help and, and train, but they can't enter this year's competition.

[00:03:33] Excellent. Well, I'll tell you what, I'm beyond excited about it.

[00:03:36] Thanks for talking to me, Charlie. See you I'm Paul. And this is the mastering portrait photography podcast.

[00:03:43] Can you believe it? 150. Episodes honestly. I never really thought about it when I set this thing going about six years ago and here we are. 150 episodes later. I thought, I think I thought it would just be somewhere where I could get things off my chest -a sort of passive therapist, I suppose, and let's face it, we all need one of those mine, well, mine, just happens to be a microphone.

[00:04:29] Since then I've muttered about, oh, so many things, have interviewed all sorts of people and received well, many and varied emails. I've also been told I do have a face for radio, and that even happened again, today.

[00:04:46] But I'll take those little wins when people tell me they find the podcast either interesting or at the very least, something that passes time on a journey. Anyway, that interview was with the wonderful Charlie Koufman, who not only is the owner of Click Backdrops, which are brilliant and British. I will put the link in the show notes, but it's also the inspiration behind the upcoming Click Live convention, Which you will all be hearing about. In the coming months and I cannot wait to see you there.

[00:05:16] So here we are, it's April. And how are you? Did you have a good weekend? I hope you did. Sarah and I went down to Plymouth in Devon, Southern England. As well more almost as far south as you can get. In the UK with Harriet, our daughter and had a wonderful weekend with my in-laws.

[00:05:36] We drank a little beer. We ate a little chocolate, actually, we ate a lot of chocolates. We bought some Devon fudge and we painted some pottery. Yep. You heard that right. We went pottery painting. It was Sarah's idea. She wanted to do something that was a little different, maybe a little creative pass a couple of hours.

[00:05:55] The weather wasn't predictable. It wasn't bad. It wasn't good. It was just well crazy. And so we headed inside to do a little pottery painting. And apart from a very slight mismatch in how things were explained to us,- it turns out, I guess I've got a face that looks like a primary school child, as the explanations were to put it mildly a little basic, but I guess in the end, the heart and soul were very much where they should be.

[00:06:26] And we had a blast.

[00:06:29] Well, at least we did, as long as we dab-dab-dabbed, and we didn't wipe-wipe-wipe because if we were caught wipe-wipe-wiping There would be ter-ouble. We would be shown the error of our ways and instructed to get back to that dab-dab-dabbing. Anyway, it turns out I'm pretty good at dab-dab-dabbidy-dab-dabbing.

[00:06:48] And I spent nearly two hours, literally dubbing black glaze onto a pot, on which I could then paint a wintery woods, kinda scene.

[00:06:58] Harriet and Sarah. Well, they're a little more subtle with their craft with gentle blues and teals, little tiny flowers and spots of detail. Subtle understated, gloriously sophisticated. While mine was anything but that, but Hey, I need a new pen pot. As I have knocked my tin mug off the desk, yet again, today. And I really do need something that is seriously heavy, preferably black and well, it'd be nice if it was something that was a little unique. I'll get no points for subtlety, but I'll get plenty for the drama.

[00:07:32] And since it's been a long, long bank holiday weekend, there isn't too much to report on the diary of a working pro front, at least not in terms of shoots because we took the weekend away, took the time off. And so we haven't been shooting that much.

[00:07:48] We have had a couple of portrait sessions Hearing Dogs, just Hearing Dogs, brilliant, fun as always. And a one-to-one workshop here at our studio. And I love. Workshops. And I love this one in particular. A guy called Dave came down. And we spent the day creating, I think, well, I think. I think some magic, two of my clients now for models, we always use our clients. We don't usually use professional models because at the end of the day training photographers with models sets the sets an expectation that it's always going to be that easy.

[00:08:24] And of course it's never that easy. So Charlene and Katie came in as our models for the day. And while they may not be professional models , they are both just splendidly, photogenic, and more importantly, incredible people to spend time, laughing with working with and playing with light around.

[00:08:42] And I love, I do genuinely love these one to ones. Because they are entirely bespoke, they're entirely creative. We have the time to sit and answer any questions. We can explore ideas and let, well, let the client just guide us, which is exactly what we did. And the images that we finished up with well, everything I ever set out to do. Had such a blast. Dave was brilliant and I hope he went away with the same amount of energy that I've come away with. Just that idea that tomorrow, well tomorrow, we're going to create some magic. And as low, we haven't shot that much in the studio this week, well, next week is a whole different story. And there is going to be well busy, but while we haven't shot much this week, there is still a ton going on.

[00:09:32] Today in particular had my kitlist through from Elinchrom, which is really exciting. I'm still sort of working out what we really need, but it looks like we have it almost nailed down. The big decision is around the Elinchrom Threes. Now I've sorted out the Fives, we're going to get four of those and they will be almost permanently in studio I think. But the Threes are really quite exciting though. There, there are about 250 Watt seconds, so about half that just a little over half that of the fives. But I think they'll be massively useful when I'm out on location. They are big enough to do some serious work and small enough that I can pop them in a bag and have them with me.

[00:10:15] So.

[00:10:15] I'll let you know, as soon as that kicks in, I'm sure there will be videos, a little bits and pieces going on and I can't wait to do it.

[00:10:21] Another email that came in this morning. And it's one. I reacted to really quickly. Practical Magic and Innovations emailed in. Now you'll probably know them is P M I. And they're the guys who make the incredible Smoke Ninja and Smoke Genie smoke machines. The fog machines they've been in touch. And wanted us to help them get the word out about a competition they're running and I'll put the links to the competition in the show notes again. But basically it's an international competition, a photographic competition, but it must feature the use of either the Smoke Ninja. Oh, the Smoke Genie.

[00:10:59] Now I'm already a fan, of course of the Smoke Ninja is the one that I bought as part of the Kickstarter agreement, so I'm already a big fan and I've spoken about this on the podcast before. I love the thing, I think it's genius. It should be called the Smoke Genius, but it's great. And I know one or two of you have already bought one of these based on my recommendation. It's great fun to play with.

[00:11:21] It's not that expensive. The fog that it gives out is hugely controllable and incredibly photogenic. So given there's a few of you with these things, of course, I have agreed, to put the word out about the competition. Once again, show notes will be the place to go, but I'm going to even, I'm going to enter it this time.

[00:11:38] You have to create some images and also show some behind the scenes. I'm guessing it's a great opportunity, for them to get both the finished pictures and pictures of their Smoke Genie or Smoked Ninja in use price is pretty big. There's about $10,000 of them and some big names involved. So why not head to them?

[00:11:57] I'll put the link up why not head to them and have a look?

[00:12:00] Not only that, but I got an email this morning. From data color, who've shipped some kit for me to review. That'll come up in some future episodes, our to use the Datacolor photo Checkr, which is brilliant.

[00:12:12] It's part of our workflow anyway, but they're going to send me the updated version as well as the cube, which looks like to me, I haven't used this thing yet. I'll let you know once I actually use it properly, but it looks to me like it allows for backlight to be measured to white balance of backlight to be measured as well. Which looks like good, fun. Because we use a lot of mixed lighting. But not only that they are going to send me the video checker as well. Which allows us to color calibrate as part of our video workflow.

[00:12:39] Now I'm not big in video yet, but we are having to learn how to do it, and one of the things that constantly frustrates me is I can't seem to get the colors, as I want them a lot of homework to do. I need to understand video color spaces air slog, and the like, but I'll have the video color checker from Datacolor in the toolkit, and that hopefully will be a small part of the puzzle. I've not only understanding but controlling it. The color. These, I think these products will appear properly in a future podcast once I've had a chance to play with them and understand, I understand quite what I'm talking about. Cause I'm not a video guy. I need to go and ask some video guys about the best way of using it. A quick update on ACDSee, just again, a reminder. I am not paid by any of these people ACDSee sent me a license to have a play with and I've kept my word.

[00:13:32] I've used it. I still use it. I love it. I absolutely love it. I guess I'm not paid, but they have given me a license for. I think the license for the Apple. For the Mac, that is about 60, 70, quid. The speed of ACDSee is absolutely blistering and I love working with it. Haven't quite worked out how to get the very best out of it.

[00:13:50] As it turns out 300,000 images with the facial recognition turned on, maybe pushing the upper limits of our network and my machine. But I still love having it there alongside everything else I do in Lightroom. It's so quick. It's so handy. I love the way it just works or interacts in with the file system, which means I can always have, I've always got access to files, to drag and drop, throw them up onto Facebook, throw them up onto Instagram, put them into designs.

[00:14:18] It's just really useful. It's the kind of software you feel almost. Should be built into the operating system, but isn't, it's just so natural to use. Absolutely love it again. As I get my head around that I'll give you more, more updates.

[00:14:31] Right. So where are we? Let's have a think about my thought for today. Now this one. Is about signing your work or singeing your work. As it was the first three times I wrote it down, signing, not singeing.

[00:14:47] Don't singe your work. That is no good to anybody signing your work. I heard someone say a while ago this couple of years ago. That signing your work is pretentious.

[00:15:00] And all I can say is what utter, utter, bullshit.

[00:15:06] Sorry. I'm sorry. I know, I know. I shouldn't be emphatic in such a way. Everyone's got their own way of doing things and each to their own. But just occasionally something pops up that is purely, and simply, bullshit. This is one of them.

[00:15:24] Sign your work.

[00:15:26] If I could write a song called cite your work. It sounded a bit like Sunscreen. Maybe I should figure that out. Sign your work.

[00:15:34] My dad taught me many years ago. That you should sign everything. Now my Dad was a wise guy is so many ways an idiot. It's so many others, but a wonderful human being. And this was one where I think he was absolutely right. He said, sign it. And when I said, why well he said, firstly, well, why not? But he also said you do it because you never quite know who might see it, in the future. Isn't that the truth.

[00:16:03] So I was working at British Steel, in my early twenties as a work placement, my dad was working there. As well, he ran all of the competing and I got a work placement in their design office. And as part of that, they asked me to create some huge 3d visuals of the galvanizing plants that shot and steelworks British steel.

[00:16:24] And there's this, they have these coatings lines where they take a coil of steel and they'd run it through the line and coat it with either a plastic coat or some paint coat, but the line I was really interested in coated it. With zinc. It was the hot dip galvanizing line. And this line was around about three quarters of a mile long.

[00:16:43] It was huge.

[00:16:45] And they wanted me to create some 3d drawings of it. Now this is going back before we would simply have done all of it in 3d CAD and rendered it. They wanted 3d drawings. But they were then going to go off to an airbrusher to go into British Steel's brochures. So my job was to create the line work, the art, the sort of the technical drawing work.

[00:17:08] But the best way of doing that was is it happened to create a 3d model of it. But back then, we're talking about really early versions of AutoCAD and the output of AutoCAD. Wasn't very controllable and it certainly didn't create appealing visuals. What it did do though, is give me these huge, A0 printouts that I could then place a piece of tracing paper over the top and much the same way as a comic artist inks in over the pencil. From the original illustrator I then inked it. And that created these really beautiful.

[00:17:40] I thought they were beautiful anyway - these really beautiful. Inked drawings of these vast lines that could be annotated and airbrushed by a graphic design team. And I signed them. And I signed him just in case somebody else saw them. Somebody did, and I got more work from it. I've got a lot of plaudits for my work as well, all because they saw my signature and asked who Paul was.

[00:18:07] Now it doesn't work for everybody, I guess. But here at the studio we sign every frame and every album that goes out, it's got our brand on it. That signature. Is our brand just like Apple or Jaguar or Pepsi, Tiffany, Nikon or even the guys I worked with a little bit more regularly, like Elinchrom, or even PMI who've emailed today. It's their logo and that represents their brand.

[00:18:38] Now, if you're putting work out there without your logo or your signature on it, not only are you missing an important opportunity, an important opportunity that might just lead to more work might just lead to a brand recognition, like we've built . But I also think you're quietly saying you're not really proud of what you do. The signature we put on our work says I am proud of it. Really proud of it. Every time. Every time we create something here. We ask ourselves the question. Are we happy to put the Paul Wilkinson photography signature -my signature. On it. And if the answer to that is not clear.

[00:19:21] Cut. Yes, of course. Then that piece of work never goes near a client. Ever. The brand custodian side of our business is all about that signature and being proud. To put it on our work, being proud to say, yep, I've seen that. But at work. I think that warrants a signature and I'm very happy for other people to see it too.

[00:19:42] Now is that pretentious? Well, I suppose you could argue it is, but I don't think it is. I think what it's saying is I'm really proud of what we've done. I'm really proud of the effort we've put into it. And I don't think that's pretentious. Pretentions come from almost the opposite from trying to be something you're not, that's not what your signature is, your signature or your logo represent you and they represent your values and they represent your brand. They're everything you stand by and you stand for. Now, if you think your logo screams pretentions, then, well, maybe you need to adjust quite what you believe in and what your brand stands for, but from where I'm sat. I think you should sign every single bit of your work.

[00:20:32] Anyway, I'll get down off my soap box. Sorry about that just sometimes, you know, just sometimes there are things I think we have to just get off our chest. And when it comes to your signature sign, your work, people sign your work.

[00:20:45] Don't listen to what anybody else says. Get that signature on there. You never know who might be watching. Anyway. 150 episodes. One or two of you have listened to all of them. One or two of you have listened to all of them in the past 60 days. I did have an email from someone this week. And it said they've been working their way through them at a rate of a little over two episodes a day. And they are 50 something days in and heading towards catching up.

[00:21:15] I think that's absolutely, hilarious. Flattering and lovely, but well, slightly hilarious. Thank you for listening. Thank you for listening to the end of this particular episode. I hope as always there's something of use or if nothing else. It's got you to work in your car and you can now switch the radio off and go face the day knowing there are other people out there feeling and thinking the same things as you. Uh, if you'd like to hear more of these episodes, please do subscribe wherever it is that you get your podcasts.

[00:21:49] Please hit that subscribe button. And then every time I hit publish, you get to hear it, which I think is a marvelous thing. Please do also. If you would like to leave us a review. And a five-star rating somewhere, wherever it is. You consume your podcasts, please. Do we love it when you do? And of course it helps get the word out there.

[00:22:07] It helps get the podcast out there. It helps make some of this stuff possible. Also if you have any questions, please do email paul@paulwilkinsonphotography.co.uk, that's paul@paulwilkinsonphotography.co.uk If you're interested in our workshops or indeed one of our, one to one masterclasses, then please do head over to Paul Wilkinson Photography and look for the coaching section of the website.

[00:22:33] Alternatively, just stick paulwilkinsonphotography.co.uk workshops into your Google-y Browsery thing and you will find us.

[00:22:41] And if you fancy more content, that's all about the joy, the brands, the business, the creativity, of portrait photography, then why not head over to masteringportraitphotography.com, which is not only a vast resource of portrait photography stuff, but is also the spiritual home of this 'ere podcast.

[00:23:01] But whatever else. whatever else. Until next time. Be kind to yourself. and stick yer signature on things. Take care.

[00:23:14]

Yay! Other than a crappy cold, a very good week.  Won a Gold Bar with the Guild Of Photographers a couple of days ago which got me to thinking about competitions: why we do them, how to do them and the fear of failure (when in fact, the only failure is to not enter at all!)

There are one or two other things to bear in mind and I step through them in the podcast.

Enjoy!

Cheers
P.

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If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portrait Photography, for more articles and videos about this beautiful industry. You can also read a full transcript of this episode.

PLEASE also subscribe and leave us a review - we'd love to hear what you think!

If there are any topics, you would like to hear, have questions we could answer or would like to come and be interviewed on the podcast, please contact me at paul@paulwilkinsonphotography.co.uk. 

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Full Transcript:

[00:00:00] I'm really sorry, it's just been one of those weeks. I have spent three days, three whole days at home feeling ill and mostly grumpy. Sorry, I don't take to being poorly particularly well. Whatever Michelle and Sarah had last week. Of course, I inherited it this week. It turns out that the word viral is not a joke.

[00:00:25] It's just a cold, really, but it's been quite a horrible one. It hit my chest straight away, and I just felt awful, and if I'm honest, after three days off work this evening is the first time I've really felt sort of compos mentis. I've spent three days sitting in the lounge with the fire on. It's been cozy enough, but I've, I hate being unproductive.

[00:00:46] I hate not getting through the lists that I've got to do. I hate the idea that I've wasted three days, but in the end, that had to be done. So as I sit here next to the fire watching back to back episodes of Law Order, I'm Paul, and this is the Mastering Portrait Photography Podcast.

[00:01:07]

[00:01:20] So I hope you're all feeling a little bit better than me, and in terms of the catch up of the week, well, I can't really say that I've done that much out of the seven days or so. Three of them have been spent laid up doing very little. Obviously, I'm still doing some coding, writing emails, and an awful lot of judging has been flowing through my world. Not this time, not just as a judge or as a chair of judges but also as a contestant. It's been an interesting time.

[00:01:47] So, I judged for the FEP this week, the first of the final rounds of their annual image competition. I'm one of the judges on the portrait category.

[00:01:58] 647 images, I think, were there to judge. And if you think about that as a volume of judging and all of our, all of the judges. Whether it's for the BIP that I chair for, whether it's for the SWPP, the Societies, whether it's for the Guild, whether it's for the FEP, the World Cup, it doesn't really matter what the judging is.

[00:02:19] It takes time and we do it for nothing. Well, I say nothing. We don't do it for nothing, but we do it for free. And so, if you think about all of that, 647 images. If I went at it hell for leather and judged one image per minute with no breaks, that's still basically 11 hours of judging, which is an awful lot when you think about it.

[00:02:45] And yet, we put ourselves through it. And I do it because I really enjoy it. I really love the process, I love seeing the images, though there is some disappointment when we're judging and the images haven't come up to standard. But, nonetheless, it's cathartic, it's inspiring, it's very therapeutic, it's quite a rhythmical sort of thing to do.

[00:03:04] And I really love it.

[00:03:06] On top of that, if that wasn't enough, the results to the BIPP monthlies came out the first BIPP monthly round. So this is a new competition for us. We've set it up to run parallel to the print competition, which opens up in sort of June time and it's judged in September. And they run side by side and they are different beasts.

[00:03:27] So the print competition, exactly what it says on the tin. Submit your prints in the category. Best print wins each category. That's it. Very simple to do. The monthlies are not that. The monthlies have been designed.

[00:03:41] to reward consistency as much as really high quality inspirational work. With a print competition, you only need to shoot one image, and depending on what everybody else shoots, you could end up with the title of the print image of the year, the portrait print of the year, the wedding print of the year, whatever it is.

[00:04:00] With the monthlies, it's been designed not to be quite like that. The monthlies It's about consistency more than it is about that one high scoring image. That's not to say that a high scoring image isn't a thing to be treasured and will get its accolades, but what we've done is design a competition at the BIPP, which is Sorry, the BIPP is the B I P P, the British Institute of Professional Photographers.

[00:04:27] So we've designed a competition that runs for 10 months of the year. And we take, for every photographer, the top scoring image of theirs in each category. So it doesn't matter how many images you, you enter, that's irrelevant. Each month, we're going to take, for that photographer and each category they've entered, their top scoring image.

[00:04:47] And over seven of the ten months, we're going to accumulate those scores. So you have the opportunity, if you wish, to take three months off. So you have ten months, take three months off if you wish, seven months. So your top seven scores for each category will be accumulated. So your top seven scores in portraits per month.

[00:05:09] So in January Portrait. You enter five, we take the top one. February. You enter five in Portraits again, we still take the top one. And that's, that's two of your scores sorted. And the reason we're doing it that way is that each photographer in the BIPP gets one free entry every month.

[00:05:28] So you have for free the ability to enter and win the monthly's competition for the year without laying out a single cent. All you have to do is find the time at the end of every month to pop in a high quality competition level image, upload it, put your name in, Bob's your uncle, Fanny's your aunt, off you go, you're done.

[00:05:47] And you could win it.

[00:05:48] So what amazes me, and there's a point to this story, not only is this how it works, but the point is, why don't more people enter? We had lots of entries, but it's not everybody, and I can never quite get my head around why, if it's free, and you have the opportunity to create some great PR, I'm looking at the PR on Facebook this week, and on various websites and Instagram, and people are really celebrating their success in all of the monthlies, not just the BIPs, and it's brilliant, and that's what it's designed for. It's designed to give photographers the opportunity to have something to celebrate and to share with their clients. This is, in the end, about clients. I think too often in the industry we think about it as being about, it's about photographers, and it's not really.

[00:06:31] It's about our clients. And the monthlies create every 30 days or so, the opportunity to share success with your clients and you can do it for free. So why, with the thousands of members do we have, do we not have every photographer entering?

[00:06:48] Still can't get my head around that and if you think I don't put my money where my mouth is.

[00:06:54] This month, I did enter as I have done for the past year, I entered the Guild Monthlies competition. Obviously, I can't enter the BIPP competition, because I'm chairing the judging. So I entered the Guild, and this month, for the first time since I've been entering it, I got a gold bar, which is nearly the top standard.

[00:07:12] It's not the top standard. The top standard is Platinum. But nobody's won a Platinum yet, so I'm happy with that. I got a gold and won an image of the month. Now, that's not the point of this story. It's not really to brag. Though I am really pleased with myself because it's an image I took of I think it's the bass player from the band The Sweet.

[00:07:31] He was very cool. He was in our studio. It was just a normal session shot I took for him. all for the band. And I decided to try it, enter it as a competition, and see how we go. I think the point is that I entered. I gave it a go. Now, people get really nervous about entering competitions, and I don't really understand why.

[00:07:51] Now, you know my views on this. Competitions are not the best way to hone your skills, because you get no feedback, and even if you produce the best image of your life If your competitor has produced the best image of their life, they may just win. and give you nothing really, no, certainly no winning image to celebrate.

[00:08:13] Also, you know, with the judging process, you don't know how you're going to do. Every photographer enters an image thinking they stand a chance. But judging is what it is. We've got to rank all of the images and who knows? Maybe it doesn't do as well as you'd expect. And people take that really personally.

[00:08:30] I take it really personally. But the difference is I still do it. I just don't tell anybody I'm doing it. I do it quietly. And the images that succeed, well, I celebrate those and we publish them. And Sarah in particular loves it because it gives her an opportunity to talk to our clients and put out some PR.

[00:08:47] And she's been doing that all day since the result came out yesterday, which is fantastic. So, I give it a go, I do it. I don't always do that well, if I'm honest, and judges typically, they, there is a correlation between the judges and success in competitions, but it's nowhere near as marked as you'd think it is.

[00:09:08] And you can see this while we're judging. So if I'm chairing a panel of judges, you'll see marks from each judge fluctuate quite widely. So a challenge is triggered when one judge's mark is 10 away from the average decision. So whatever the judges came up with, we take the average, and if one or more of those judges is 10 marks different, we have a challenge.

[00:09:29] And we have plenty of challenges, which tells you quite a lot about the fact that every judge has things that they are looking for, and if the image that is in front of them doesn't have it, they won't score it as highly. Equally, if it does have those things, they will score it highly. There is volatility in scoring.

[00:09:46] You cannot use print or image competitions. as a measure of you as a person, or you as a business, you as a creative, but when you do win, celebrate it. When you don't win, well, you have to figure out what to do with that. The great thing about a monthly competition is that there is the opportunity for at least a little bit of learning.

[00:10:10] because you don't have to wait for a year to try again, you can just wait four weeks. Re enter some more images, keep an eye on what comes back, what gets into the bronze, silver or gold. If you haven't quite made it across the line, what makes it into the the commended, which is what we have at the BIP. I don't know what the other societies do for those things, but everybody has a sort of way of doing it.

[00:10:31] So the trick is, celebrate your wins, keep your losses to yourself, and then there's a whole load of pressure removed for you. So It is slightly different in in the monthlies. So, back on, I'm gonna bang on this drum. If you haven't entered into one of the monthlies, into any association you're part of, why not?

[00:10:52] What's stopping you? Think about it. What is actually stopping you? It's almost certain, almost certainly rather, a fear of not doing well. Well, I enter them every month, I tell you when I've done well, and I keep it very quiet when I haven't. And I'm still amazed at how few people do it. And with the BIPP, every entry is £5, but you get one entry for free.

[00:11:15] And with the BIP, every image is £5 a go. But you get one for free. So that's a value of £5. So if you had entered 10 months of the year, that's £50 worth of free entries.

[00:11:27] Who's going to turn down 50 quid over the year? And the value of the opportunity to talk to your clients is priceless. Now you can argue you might not win, and that's true. I don't. But when I do do well, I will share it. When I don't do well, quiet. I just keep it nice and quiet.

[00:11:45] So the results came out for the Guild yesterday, so they're on the 21st, and the closing date for the Guild is at the end of the month, so it's a leap year, so it's the 29th of Feb. So I've got about somewhere between 8, 9, 10 days every month between the results to the previous month coming out and the new round to choose what I'm going to put in.

[00:12:06] I know I'll keep entering and I know I'll keep learning and I will keep being surprised at what does well and what doesn't even though as a judge and as a chair of judges very often I'm in the position of determining that and even having just judged the portrait group for the FEP, the Federation of European Photographers, I can tell you now when the second round comes back to me in a couple of weeks I lay a bet. The images that come back will not be in the same order as I pick them out. That's life. I'm working with judges from all over Europe, I'm working with people of different tastes, different influences, different things they value in an image. So you can never be certain, but what you can be certain of is if you don't enter it, you ain't gonna win anything.

[00:12:48] That's a dead cert. So why would I choose absolute certain failure over anything else? Sorry, you never use the word failure. It's not a failure. Nobody fails. Except when you don't enter. Yes, you do. You fail. You've failed to enter, you've failed to compete, in which case, failure is the only word I have for it.

[00:13:07] If you enter and your image isn't successful this time around, there's a million factors to that. You can learn from some, you might not learn as much as you'd like, you can take those images because you have them. And you can show your mentor, or show a friend, or show another photographer, or show someone get a critique.

[00:13:21]

[00:13:21] So there's just a few things I have spotted over the past week to ten days. with competition images. This is accumulated from what I've seen on the judging side with the BIPP, or the BIPP Monthlies, and what I've seen from the competitor side, so as a judge rather than as a chair, on the FEP.

[00:13:41] One, don't over sharpen, particularly when it's an online entry. The screens tend to be quite sharp. They tend to make things look a little bit sharper than perhaps they could be, in my opinion, anyway, maybe it's the screens I've got. So don't over sharpen. No one on any competition I have ever been involved in the judging has ever said they've under sharpened this image.

[00:14:06] But every round I will hear someone say, that image is over sharpened. Don't overdo it. Alongside that There's a huge temptation, particularly with the users of Lightroom to use clarity and or detail enhancement. These are still, so there's no such thing as sharpening, it's just localized contrast.

[00:14:24] Equally, clarity and detail are variations of the same thing. If you're quite keen on the clarity slider You can see it in the image. It starts to look like it's been heavily processed. For some categories, that's great. For some categories, that will get hugely rewarded. For others, it won't. So have a look at what's done well previously and tune your effects and your clarity and detail to suit that.

[00:14:51] Don't blow out your highlights or block up your shadows. What do I mean by that? I don't want ever to see pure white, and that's tricky if you've got, let's say, a grey flat sky, and you've lit someone against what light there is. So get it under control, make sure there's detail in the highlights, and there is detail in the blacks.

[00:15:09] And don't think you can cheat by raising up the blacks to be grey. Thinking, well that's right, nothing in the image is now black. If there's no detail in it, we're still going to see that the blacks were blocked up, they've now just become very dark grey, and still blocked up. If there's no detail in there, I would suggest you find an alternative image.

[00:15:32] Colour grading. A lot of colour grading knocking around, and there are a thousand colour panels out there at the moment. Be careful, that the colour you're using is part of the story you're trying to tell. Don't just make it desaturated because it's desaturated, or make the shadows a bluey green because you've seen it on a Netflix film.

[00:15:50] Tell the story with your colour. If you're going to use colour, tell the story through it. Be careful that you don't just process for processing's sake. It must be part of the storytelling.

[00:16:00] If this podcast makes you feel uncomfortable because I'm sounding ill, trust me it's worse for me. I'm sounding ill. Where are we? Next one, number five, look for emotion, and then number six, impact. These two are intertwined. When you look at an image as a judge, we have to react to it.

[00:16:20] Judging as a process gets criticised a lot as to why don't we prioritise creativity, emotion, impact, these words. Sort of soft, the soft skills, I suppose, of photography. The truth is, we do. That is the top scoring band. Impact. Bam! Get it in front of us. Work out what it is about the image.

[00:16:43] Whether it's the way you've cropped and formed the story, where you've laid out the parts of the puzzle, where you've used colour, the way an expression just connects with you as a viewer, whatever it is. Make it about impact, because as judges, we want to feel something. We want to know that you felt it, too.

[00:17:02] Number seven, do not enter the same images everywhere. I kid you not, there's an image I've judged I won't say exactly where, but I've judged it this week that I've seen now four times. Four different competitions, I've seen the same image. I wasn't always the judge. I was a fellow contestant in one.

[00:17:22] I was Chair of Judges for two, and Judge for the fourth. I've seen it four times. Well, imagine the lack of impact by seeing it that many times. Now I know, as a contestant, you may not think the same judge is gonna see it every time. But, the truth is, there aren't actually that many judges. Not really.

[00:17:45] So there's a lot of cross talk. So you get to see the same images quite a bit, if you're entering them into different competitions. As an extension of that, and this is So the first one's not that easy to avoid if you enter lots of competitions. It would be great if you could, prep a different image from the shoot for each competition, but I know it takes time and it's expensive if you're doing print, but I would still recommend it.

[00:18:11] This next one, though, is slightly different. If you shoot images in series, what do I mean by that? If you shoot dogs running and jumping, one dog running and jumping, or you shoot a certain style of child portraiture, or a certain style of I'm talking portraiture in particular, a certain style of female portraiture, I don't know.

[00:18:31] Don't put more than one of that style into any round of a competition at one time. Don't put them all in January. The idea that we're going to pick out the highest scoring image, the image we think is best out of your series of five, simply not true, because we judge them in a randomised order, but sequentially.

[00:18:51] We get an image, we judge it, we move on to the next image, we move on to the next image. So you have no control over what order we see them in. We have no control over what order we see them in. And the idea that we're going to go to the last image of a set of five, and could you know I've seen all of these?

[00:19:05] I think image one was the strongest, I should have given that more, more higher score. That's not how this works. We evaluate each image based on its own merits at that point in time. But if we then see four more of the same image, trust me, the impact on the last image isn't going to be as great, even though they are technically different images.

[00:19:26] So what you're doing is you're sacrificing four incredible images to get one through. You have to make a decision over which one to put in. And then, guess what? February? Put another one in. March? Another one. There's no way, it's not a, it's not a thing where we can pick images out, because we have to judge them one after the other, so that every single image stands the same chance of getting the same score. That's why we do it.

[00:19:51] And number nine, so another point on the judging, is don't forget to finish your images, each and every one of them, fully. So there's an image during the recent judging I did, stunning. I looked at it on the screen, small, beautiful. Hit the 100 percent button, zoomed into the pixels, moved around the image, because when you're doing online judging, this is how it works, and you could see that the photographer, it looked like, I don't know, their nan had called round midway through them doing the retouch.

[00:20:23] And they just never went back to that image. They submitted it with holes in the background and gaps where They'd dropped a background in over the top of the subject, and you could see the overlaps so clearly. They were just hard, like they'd hit it with the pencil tool, not the brush tool. And it clearly, all they'd done is not gone back over the image with a fine tooth comb.

[00:20:43] It really, it felt like, they're sitting there doing this beautiful retouch. It's a beautiful lady, she's got flowing hair, the background's nailed. She's resting on a bench, or whatever it was. And then bing bong. Mom's here. Mom. It's your mom, Paul. It's your mom. Come down. Alright, I'll be down. I'll be down in a minute.

[00:21:00] No, now. All right, I'll come down now. And that was the end of it. It's as if I went back to the image and just never picked it up again. I must have hit send or something. This is not my image, by the way. I really felt for the creator of it, because it was a stunning image. And I even put, it's one of the rare times I've put in the comments field when I'm judging.

[00:21:18] If the judge is surprised at why I've classed this as not competition standard, when clearly it's stunning. Clearly the photographer knows their craft. Please get them to look at it like I did and see the holes they've left in the retouch. So finish them properly.

[00:21:37] So don't do that. So those are the things I've noticed this time round.

[00:21:42] And the great thing about entering a competition is it gives you an opportunity to experiment. Experiment in January. If it doesn't work, change the experiment. Or, no, you never change the experiment.

[00:21:51] You experiment. That's not how it works. Experiment in January. Change what you try. in February. It's the same experiment. And then March. And then, who knows, by June, you might have got the swing of it. Who knows? What I will say, though, is that this ability every month to have a go, see how you do, celebrate your successes, learn from those that aren't quite so successful, is hugely, hugely powerful.

[00:22:16] I still, still don't think competitions are mentoring. They are different beasts. You know my views on that. But there is still something to be learned from. Entering a competition monthly.

[00:22:30] And the best way of entering monthlies, or any competition really, is if you are organized.

[00:22:35] Then spend time with your images. Print them, hang them up, look at them over time, keep an eye on them. Because if you do that You'll get to see those little niggles, you'll get to appreciate where things could be fine tuned.

[00:22:49] On the other hand, if you're like me, and it's all a little bit last second, then just make sure when you do the prep for your client, you're always producing images at sort of competition level.

[00:23:01] There is a difference between competition imagery, what we would choose, how we'd finish them, and there is with what we produce for our clients. But for me, that gap isn't that great. I think if you're a fashion photographer, there's almost no gap. If you're, one of the Fearless Wedding Photographers, there's almost no gap.

[00:23:19] I think there is for many sectors in the industry though. So just make sure you're prepping your images essentially to competition standard. If that image that I talked about earlier had gone out to a client, the client would have sent it back to me laughing. I'd have had to sort it out. And it did happen to me once.

[00:23:33] It wasn't my retouch, but I did see it. It was my image someone on at the time, an assistant had retouched it, and I knew the minute I saw it go out, it's like, that's coming back to me. And I knew because she'd over whitened the floor, and it looked like the object was floating. I don't do that kind of photography very much, but when I do, it has to be right, and it wasn't right, and it's really frustrating.

[00:23:57] Do it to the best that you can. Get it to competition standard, or as close as you can, with only just a little additional finishing where required, because that way, I don't need to worry about having tons of time to get it into a competition. The image I entered and got my gold bar was not the one I thought would do well.

[00:24:13] I just didn't think necessarily of the set that I entered, it was the strongest image. Turned out the judges felt differently. But it was certainly finished to that level because the band could have been using it on a poster.

[00:24:23] So, the same criteria is still applied.

[00:24:26] There's no jeopardy in entering. The worst that can happen is that you don't do as well as you'd hope. And that happens to all of us. The gold bar this month? It's the first one I've attained with the guild, and it's just a regular image. It's now out, of course, on social media.

[00:24:43] Sarah's celebrating it everywhere. I'm a little slower to get it onto social media. But it gives me an interesting topic to talk about on here. And so the question I suppose you're asking is, how many other images did I enter? I don't know how the other images did, I've only won one gold bar and got it one image of the month. But I can't argue that you can do this anonymously and then, for me, not be anonymous. So I'm not going to tell you how many other images I entered, but it's definitely more than one. And so why not make this, this year, the year you'll give it a shot. If you're part of the BIPP, you've only missed one month, you still have plenty of months ahead of you, there's nine more to go, deadline always at the end of the month, images, image results come out on the 15th, to give you time to reassess and figure out what you're going to enter for the next month.

[00:25:31] And you never know what might happen. And if you can do it for free, and this is particularly to the BIPP, if you can do it for free, Then we really, and I mean this, this isn't a figurative thing, you have nothing to lose. It's free. The clue is in the title. And on that happy note, I'm going to dose up on some Lemsip, some Benelin, some Nurofen, and I'm going to call it a night.

[00:25:56] Thank you for listening as I sit here in my cosy little lounge to this podcast. As always, head over to masteringportraitphotography.com for lots of articles and stuff, and also it's the spiritual home of this podcast. On top of that Please do leave us a review, tell another photographer or someone you might think would be interested in it about the podcast, leave us some comments wherever you can, and hit subscribe on whatever podcast player you use.

[00:26:21] That way, as soon as I get round to releasing an episode, there it is right in your ears before you even know it. Whatever else, as I sip my Lemsip, keep warm and be kind to yourself. Take care.

Mastering Portrait Photography Podcast: Land Rover Edition

This is one of our "Land Rover Editions" which is to say, slightly noisy.  I'm on my way to and from the Hearing Dogs for a shoot, which is always lovely.  Various topics, but mostly "Yvonne's Law: Shoot For Dough Before Shooting For Show".  In other words, it's all about your client before it's about us and our lust for awards! haha.  Sadly, it does mean you can't always create award-winning or qualification-worthy images on every client job, no matter how much you want to!

00:00 Introduction and Land Rover Editions
01:06 The Journey and the Mastering Portrait Photography Podcast
03:04 The Importance of Being Part of the Photography Industry
04:35 The Challenges of Recording Podcasts and Listener Engagement
06:00 The Timelessness of Radio Programs
07:05 The Arrival at Hearing Dogs and the Importance of Initials
07:45 The Challenges of Building a Website and Judging Image Competitions
16:08 The Arrival at the Wedding and Yvonne's Law
20:14 The Wedding Shoot and the Difference Between Shooting for Show and Dough
27:17 Conclusion and Farewell

 

Enjoy!

Cheers
P.

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If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portrait Photography, for more articles and videos about this beautiful industry. You can also read a full transcript of this episode.

PLEASE also subscribe and leave us a review - we'd love to hear what you think!

If there are any topics, you would like to hear, have questions we could answer or would like to come and be interviewed on the podcast, please contact me at paul@paulwilkinsonphotography.co.uk. 

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Full Transcript:

EP145 Yvonne's Law

Introduction and Land Rover Editions

[00:00:00] As I'm absolutely certain you can hear, I'm back in the Land Rover. I think maybe, maybe I should call these the Land Rover Editions and actually separate them out from our normal podcasts. Mostly because when I was at the photography show at the beginning of the year, quite a few people came up to me and said how much they enjoyed them.

[00:00:24] Though looking in the mirror right now, I do look like I think a pilot, with my microphone, it's either that or Madonna, and I don't know which is better. I'm gonna go with pilot with the microphone on. However, quite a few people came up to me and said how much they enjoyed the podcast, when it's from the Land Rover, the podcast episodes.

[00:00:43] Except for Fiona. Fiona told me in no uncertain terms that not so keen, doesn't like them, wish I'd stopped doing them. Sadly however, look at the weather out here, it's just ridiculous. There's a huge flood. Water everywhere. Good job I'm driving this thing, I think. It's going to be an exciting trip.

[00:01:03] Note to self drive careful.

The Journey and the Mastering Portrait Photography Podcast

[00:01:06] Anyway, this is one of the Land Rover editions of the Mastering Portrait, no, hang on, yes, no, that's right. I'm Paul. This is a Land Rover edition of the Mastering Portrait Photography Podcast.

[00:01:33] The challenge with doing these particular versions of the podcast is, of course, the priority is to arrive safely at wherever it is I'm heading.

[00:01:44] Today it's the Hearing Dogs: I've got to photograph of some newborn puppies. Well, eight weeks old, so cute, yeah, cute. And also some Christmas stock imagery. The date today is the something of February. What is it? 7th, 8th, 9th something of February. Haven't looked the date up. And we're doing the Christmas, or some of the Christmas stock imagery ready for the end of the year.

[00:02:06] Now in some ways it feels absolutely ridiculous that we're doing that, but on the other hand, it's perfectly planned. So I'm actually quite happy about it because normally, every year I've photographed Christmas stock imagery in sort of August, which makes life very tricky when you're trying to hide flowers, make it, the light look slightly bluer.

[00:02:25] And ignoring the fact that the dog is panting in the heat. Today, that's not going to be a problem. It's 4 degrees according to the thermometer on the car. It is absolutely tipping it down with rain and has been by the look of it for the past 12 hours because there are floods everywhere. It's going to be a slightly lively journey through the lanes of Buckinghamshire to the Hearing Dogs site.

[00:02:49] So anyway, Fiona, I'm sorry I've, I set out at the beginning of the year that I was going to run at least once a week, the podcast would come out once a week, but finding the time for that has been nigh on impossible. On Tuesday.

The Importance of Being Part of the Photography Industry

[00:03:04] We spent the entire morning judging the images for the British Institute of Professional Photographers, the BIPP image competition, which is such a joyous, I mean, you know, some of the greatest pleasures of getting involved in the industry are that I'm involved in the industry.

[00:03:21] I know that may be alien to some people. I get asked quite a bit, what do you get out of it? And I'm going to guess that everybody who sticks their head over the parapet and does judging, mentoring, gets involved with various associations. You get a fairly, a fairly repeated question of what on earth is in it, for me, for other, you know, people asking why they would join, for instance.

[00:03:44] What do I get for my 15 quid a month or whatever it is, I don't even know how much it is. And the answer I'd always say is I get to be part of something. I get to be part of something bigger than just myself, Sarah, Michelle, and we're actually a pretty big business when it comes to the photography industry in terms of brand, but also in terms of turnover.

[00:04:02] We have a You know, a reasonably big business, the three of us run but it's still, in terms of the industry itself, if it wasn't for the associations, we'd be running it on our own, and yeah, alright, I'm with clients all the time, which is amazing, but it's the, things like the society's convention. Being part of the BIPP.

[00:04:19] com, being a judge for the FEP, that's just started this week, so I'm judging for the Federation of European Photographers as well, and it looks like I'm about to do some judging across the pond. with our American friends.

The Challenges of Recording Podcasts and Listener Engagement

[00:04:35] So, all in all, a lot's going on and, and , finding time to record the podcast just isn't that easy.

[00:04:42] On top of that, the thing I've suddenly had to become increasingly cognizant of is I've started to get emails of people who are discovering the podcast for the first time and are now listening to back episodes, and this particular message, I suppose, was triggered, or this thought was triggered, by an email that came from another Paul, I mean, great name, of course, another Paul, who had started listening to the podcast, and when he emailed in the other day, he was on episode 31.

[00:05:09] Now, I didn't look up the date of episode 31, but given we've been doing this for about Eight years now. Seven or eight years. Episode 31 is quite a long way back. Goodness only knows what's changed since then. And it may be another six years at that run rate before he gets to this episode of 145. So, who knows?

[00:05:33] So now I've got to be very careful. I don't get too specific on dates because by the time some people listen to these episodes it could be well out of date. Equally, there are people who've probably started episodes What, 144, and are now working their way backwards, but still won't get to 100, this episode, 145, for quite a long time.

[00:05:53] So forgive me if some of the stuff I talk about is very particular to the moment. Can't do a lot about that.

The Timelessness of Radio Programs and the Future of the Podcast

[00:06:00] One of my favourite radio programmes to listen to is Letter from America. Have I talked about this before? I've no idea. Letter from America, by a guy called Alastair Cook. He's, he's dead now.

[00:06:12] This was on Radio 4, BBC Radio 4, and I think you can still Listen to it. Oh, I listened to it on the BBC Sounds app and many of the back episodes are there. And I really like the fact that it's of its time. I was listening to an episode the other day that was actually about the Middle East, and it's incredible.

[00:06:31] I mean, These episodes must be, I think, 40 years old? You're looking at the mid 80s. And the politic of the region and things that were going on sounded like they could have been today, right here, right now. And I find stuff like that really interesting. So I suppose in a sense you can have a recording that is of its moment and yet still be pertinent later on.

The Arrival at the Hearing Dogs Site and the Struggles of PodcastingThe Arrival at the Hearing Dogs Site and the Struggles of Podcasting

[00:06:57] If I'm still doing this in 40 years, I don't know if I'm going to be driving around the country photographing hearing dogs, but that's what we're doing today. So thank you to Paul for emailing in. It's lovely to get these emails. We get them from people dotted all over the world.

[00:07:12] Describing what they're up to. I try to get back to everybody within a certain time frame not always possible, but I do try to, to do it. And those that sort of make me smile, I, I talk about on the podcast itself. Uh, An awful lot going on just at the moment, which is also a reason why I haven't managed To do a sit down at my desk recording really, the only time I've got.

[00:07:34] Sorry, I'm so sorry Fiona, I know, alright, I know. But I'll try and make the broadcast as clear as I can.

[00:07:41] Even in this clattering vehicle.

The Development of the Mastering Portrait Photography Website

[00:07:45] Still building the masteringportraitphotography. com website, causing me no end of head scratch. The hardest bit is a combination of technology and trying to figure out where Articles should sit. It's not, it turns out, as straightforward as I would like. Mostly because the platform we're using, or trying to use, or switching to, is more basic than the one I have at the moment.

[00:08:12] So the one I have at the moment, I can do anything I like. WordPress, with all of its plugins and all of its technology, of course you can do anything you like. But the problem is, with that kind of power comes an immense amount of work. Keeping on top of it, making sure it's patched correctly, making sure that all my licenses are up to date.

[00:08:32] And on top of that, a huge amount of expenditure. Because of its sophistication, well, you pay for it. So, what we're trying to do is simplify everything, because I don't really need that power to do the things I need to do. It's overkill, really, although I enjoy having that sort of level of control.

[00:08:54] But the kicker, of course, is now we're simplifying things down, is I'm discovering that certain core things that I relied on, for instance, the structure of how one article can be the child of another article, so you can have a parent which is a really simple idea.

The Challenges of Creating a User-Friendly Website

[00:09:12] But very powerful. I can't do that on the new platform, so I'm having to figure out ways of still making the content visible, make it logical make it easy to upload and easy to access.

[00:09:24] And have a structure that really makes sense, but haven't necessarily been able to find the way of doing that.

The Experience of Judging for the BIPP Image Competition

[00:09:32] Of course, things like judging the other day they take up time too, but it warranted pleasure. It was just It's the new BIPP monthly competition. So this was month one. So if you're listening to this podcast five years later, you will know whether the BIPP.

[00:09:47] com monthly competition has been a success because this was the very first round. A couple of hundred entries, which is really nice. Hopefully that will climb but the, the fun of it is sitting we've recorded the call, so I have it as an audit trial, but sitting on this video conference with two judges looking at images and enjoying the process of assessing images.

[00:10:10] Now, the only thing is, it didn't really occur to me, I thought we'll film this, we'll do it properly, so we're using a bit of software called Squadcast which is brilliant, it's one of the, it's, there are various things, a bit, Riverside FM is another one. Where you do it as if it was Zoom, but the video and audio for each participant is recorded locally on their machine, which means it's really high quality.

[00:10:29] I can run that then into our podcast software and do an automated transcription, transcribe it, because the new AI tools are Word Perfect. It's brilliant. However, what I hadn't allowed for in the four hour recording is, of course, we judge in silence. Why? Well, it's not because we're really dull.

[00:10:53] Well, maybe it is. It's because, actually, we want each judge to determine the score for the image independently. And if there's chatter, if people are sighing, if people are going, Oh, if only they'd done this better, it influences the, the, the judges. They influence each other. And of course, we want there to be an independent scoring because that helps to take out any sort of personal or subjective, I mean the whole thing is subjective, but sort of variability and, and outside influence. So it's great, they judge in silence, they punch in their scores, I announce the score and record it. It doesn't make for a very interesting video. So I'm now not certain that we'll ever release these things because the idea was, and still is, to find ways of providing insight into why an image does well, why an image maybe hasn't done so well, what the judge's thoughts are, but we never really do that during judging.

[00:11:50] So, having to have a think about how we might do it. We certainly can't critique a couple of hundred images in the time we have available. And we're going to do this every month. And the thing about the judges is that they are not retired. They are not Part time photographers. These are the best of the best.

[00:12:10] They have to be. They have to be current. They have to have their eye in. They have to be working pros for the judging to have validity. If I just used people who are no longer in the industry, they're no longer up to date. They're no longer current. So it's not that I can use judges that have, or we can use judges that have a ton of time at their fingertips.

[00:12:33] The most important thing about the judges is they are current and as such they need to be working and if they're working I cannot get a hole in their diary for more than a few hours at a time so we can't critique every image. It's not physically possible but somehow I've got to find a way of getting some of this information out to everyone who entered, entered the monthly competition.

[00:13:00] Anyway, it's a lot of fun doing it and those results, the first set of results, will come out. Next week. So if you're a BIPP. com member, look out for those results if you're listening to the podcast. And of course, I would encourage all of you to enter. You get one free image every month. You don't need to pay any money.

[00:13:18] But just make sure, just because it's free, doesn't mean that it can be any old image. It's a real competition. We're judging it to the international print competition standard. So it's tough. I make no apology for that. It's really tough, and as such, it's not your everyday work that is going to do really well.

[00:13:41] And I'm gonna come back to that as a topic of conversation on the return leg of this journey. However, before I do that, as I'm getting fairly close to the hearing dogs now, the weather's improving. It's still pretty horrible, but at least it's not literally lashing it down as it was when I got into the car.

[00:13:58] Quick tip!

The Importance of Presets in Photography

[00:13:59] This is a quick tip for nothing. It's not the subject of the podcast, but I thought about it while I was a moment ago prepping some files for a upload, and I was in Lightroom, and then in one of the Nik ColorFX, uh, plugins. Is, there are so many presets, lots, presets for plugins, presets for Lightroom.

[00:14:23] Presets for Photoshop. There's so much stuff around actions that it gets really hard to track the ones that you created for yourself. And I have this very simple rule of thumb. is for any, any preset, any action, any workflow item, any LUT, any, sorry, a LUT, L U T, lookup table, any color LUT anything at all really, I put my initials at the front of it.

[00:14:51] I always put P W because it identifies the things that I created for myself. As opposed to the things that I may have bought the things that I may have downloaded, the things that somebody else was helping me with, the things that I've done for myself, they have the initials PW at the front. And it's not an ego thing.

[00:15:11] A couple of times people have cocked an eye because everything I've got has got PW, PW, PW, PW. It's got nothing to do with that. It's got everything to do with the fact that I get really easily confused with the different things that are in the business, the different presets, folders, you name it. So I stick PW at the front to make it clear I did that one and then in two years time Because some of the things I've written they are like five six years old There's some scripts I wrote for Photoshop that we're still using and I think I wrote them ten years ago I know they're mine because they have PW at the front as opposed to some of the scripts I found and downloaded Which are by third parties, and of course, you know, I can use them.

[00:15:51] But I certainly couldn't distribute them. And I want to know that if I'm modifying them, I'm modifying somebody else's work. Which is only fair. So, stick your initials. At the beginning of any presets and things that you create for yourself. There you go, that's a top tip for nothing.

The Arrival at the Hearing Dogs Site and the Weather Conditions

[00:16:08] I'm just about to pull in to the hearing dogs.

[00:16:11] Wow, it's a grey day. Look how blue the light is, it's horrible. Ha, ha, ha. Usually, usually at this side of the hill, we come over a slight hill. Um, so it's only, how long I've been driving? What, 10, 15 minutes? It's not that there's a huge difference in location between us and the hearing dogs. The geography does change slightly.

[00:16:33] We come over a slight rise onto the other side of a hill, and then onto a plateau, a little bit of a plateau at the foot of the Chilterns. And the weather here is quite often different, very different. Sometimes, particularly, it's most pronounced when it's snowing. We will have snow and they won't, and vice versa, and it really is only 10 minutes separate.

[00:16:51] Today, sadly, the weather is exactly the same, which is to say, shitty. There's no, I'm sorry if you're offended by the word, but it's the right word. It is shitty. Dead flat light, cloudy, wet. It's gone down by 0. 2 of a degree since I've been driving. Over this side of the hill, it's 3. 8 degrees. Usually the temperature rises.

[00:17:17] Today, it's slightly colder. And I normally would say that I am looking forward to photographing the Hearing Dogs, particularly the puppies. Today, I'm looking forward to the photography. I am not looking forward to lying in a wet field. God, that car park needs a little bit of TLC you can hear the car rattling around on all of the divots and holes and puddles.

[00:17:42] And then my, my car cam pinging as it thinks I've hit something. I do think at the moment we live in a country where the roads are in such bad condition. My dash cam. Constantly thinks I've had an accident and records that little bit of footage automatically because it thinks I've hit something, and I haven't hit anything, I'm just driving along the A40.

[00:18:05] Right, I'm here. I shall return with the actual subject of this podcast. Maybe that's what Fiona doesn't like, is the randomness of it. Sarah says I repeat myself a lot when I'm recording from the car, so apologies if I am about to do that. However I will see you at the end of this particular shoot.

[00:18:23] Right, I'm back. So at the end of that, I've just spent, what is it now quarter past two, uh, four and a bit hours photographing puppies which is beautiful, photographing dogs which are equally beautiful, running dogs, jumping dogs, wet dogs, god the weather's been horrible, and some Christmas images. Of course it's this time of year when we shoot Christmas stuff, but actually created some really, well I mean I think they're beautiful, my client seems to think they're beautiful at this stage, I've only seen them on the back of the camera, but a lot of fun.

[00:18:59] We're using more and more and more LED lighting. Which is great when you're balancing up against Christmas lights and fairy lights and daylight. It's so much easier using LED than strobes for that. For the studio stuff, we are still using strobes because we can freeze movement really well, which is really, really important.

[00:19:20] So for the white background stuff, those standard shots we create for the charity, very much still strobe, and I don't see that changing. In the near future, uh, because that ability to have, you know, F 16 and that instantaneous pulse of light that freezes motion is a very particular look and just the moment, I don't see that becoming that being replaced.

[00:19:44] However, the LED side of it we had four different LED lights two with modifiers, two focusable spots with modifiers and two LED bars. Which just added beautiful touches of light where I wanted them. Made life really easy. I'll share a few of those hopefully on Insta over the next couple of days.

[00:20:04] Actually, I won't show them on Insta because they're our Christmas pictures. So no, no, I won't be showing them on Instagram. They're the Christmas pictures, but maybe I'll get to show them. In December next year, or this year.

The Concept of Yvonne's Law in Wedding Photography

[00:20:14] Over the weekend, and this is, I guess, we're heading towards the point of this particular podcast.

[00:20:19] I was photographing a wedding, beautiful wedding, only 13 people, pretty hectic, lots going on, Friday night, Saturday all day, Sunday morning and some of the afternoon. A really beautiful venue, and on the Friday night I got sitting chatting to the mothers of the groom, or the mother, sorry, mother and father of the groom, mother and father of the bride.

[00:20:38] And one of them said to me, she said Yvonne told me this. Now at that stage I didn't even know who Yvonne was, so Yvonne, Yvonne, said that she was complaining that all of the shots of her son were the back of his head. And it turns out Yvonne, at a different wedding, was the mother of the groom. And every shot of the groom, it was just the back of his head.

[00:21:00] And I said, I don't understand. She said, well, there's lots of shots of them as a couple. You can see the bride's face, very moody, just the back of the groom's head. And do you know what? Instantly, instantly, I knew the kind of shot she was talking about. It's the kind of shot that we see quite a lot when we're judging competitions, or maybe doing Quals.

[00:21:21] There's some, it's very moody, but essentially it's a bridal portrait using the groom as context. It's fine, there's definitely a place for it. But if you're shooting a wedding, you might just find yourself getting the reaction that, clearly, Yvonne gave. So, Yvonne is not happy that the photographer has not done what she would regard as the photograph that she would like.

[00:21:43] Which, I'm gonna guess, is a photograph of the bride, the groom, three quarter length, front on, snuggled up. Smiling at camera. That's the, that's the, still one of the best selling shots you can create. Certainly if you're pitching to sell to the parents of the couple. Yvonne's Law, I'm going to call it from now on, and I think we're going to talk about this, and I'm going to add it to my list of things that people should think about.

[00:22:09] Yvonne's Law is this. When you're photographing a wedding, make sure you cover everything that the people who are attending and the people who might be buying the pictures would wish for. Going for awards is fine. We all do it. We all need to do it. We need to push ourselves and be creative. That is For most of us, why we came into these industries in the first place, we want to do something exciting and different.

[00:22:32] We want to do something engaging and moody, and on the whole, those are not the shots that you can sell to the couple. Not always, it's not an entire, there is a Venn diagram with an overlap. You can, of course, sell really dark, moody pictures of the bride to the couple, and that may well happen. But there's a law of averages here and you're being paid by the client to satisfy numerous different angles.

[00:22:57] Now, the other thing I don't know about the wedding that was being described is whether the bride and groom had asked specifically for a certain type of image. I have shot a wedding, this is going back a little bit in my career. Where the bride and groom wanted me to, and I kid you not, ignore the mother of the bride.

[00:23:16] That was my brief. Do not pay any attention to her. She's gonna ask you to do all of these different shots with different people, but she is not paying. The bride and groom were really very clear about that. The problem is, from a diplomatic point of view, I've got a nightmare because, of course, the mother of the bride is asking me to do things.

[00:23:36] And I've been briefed not to, because it'll draw time and they're not shots that the bride and groom, who are my client, are going to buy. So yes, you can end up in that situation. But here's the rub for that particular wedding, is I ended up going back and doing a portrait shoot with the whole family, because the mother of the bride felt she hadn't got the pictures of them as a family that she would wish for.

[00:23:56] We ended up dancing through, or jumping through a few hoops, jumping through a few, I can't even say the word, hoop, jumping through a few hoops, hoops to get to the end goal. So Yvonne's Law simply states, remember that you're shooting for a client, you're not just shooting for you. Eventually I'll word it slightly differently as I probably think of 25 iterations of it.

[00:24:17] Let's just let these people out here. There you go. You go through there. That's good. Perfectly good. And so it was a really beautiful wedding and throughout the day though I laughed with the two mums about Yvonne's law and made it perfectly clear that I was getting everything they had asked for.

The Differences Between Shooting for Awards and Clients

[00:24:35] Now there's a slight addendum to this thought process which is well how come what you shoot for a client doesn't necessarily do so well in awards or so well in qualifications.

[00:24:49] And the truth of that is that we have to, to a degree, separate out context from the picture. So when we're judging we don't have the context which makes it sometimes a little bit tricky. As wedding photographers we know that shooting on a commissioned wedding is that little bit more complicated which is why in the categories for wedding photography most of them state really clearly Must be linked to the wedding day, must be commissioned.

[00:25:16] You can't use models, it can't be you just shooting for fun, because once you eliminate that sense of pressure, the time pressure mostly, but the performance pressure and having to work for a client, everything's much easier. Which is why fashion magazines have these beautiful pictures of models in bridal gowns and actually on a real wedding day.

[00:25:37] It's a lot trickier, it's not impossible but it's a lot trickier to get those images. So there's this thing, and I, we all know it the best I've ever heard it was shoot for show, shoot for dough. The difference between shooting for your portfolio, shooting for awards, shooting for qualifications, and shooting for the money, shooting for your client.

[00:25:58] They are slightly different things, and one photographer, a really nice photographer called Hoss Madavi, photographer, Put it like this. He said, think about designing for a catwalk. Think about what you would design out there for a catwalk and then think about what you actually end up selling through a high street chain like John Lewis or Marks and Spencer or whatever in the UK or maybe Macy's or someone like that in the States.

[00:26:27] Think about the difference between those two. Your haute couture arranges that you're going to produce on the catwalk. By the time they end up being sold to the mass public, not quite the same thing. Nor should they be. They're for different purposes. One is to show the world what you're capable of. One is to show, or it's actually sell to the world.

[00:26:46] Not quite the same thing because most people are not going to buy a really funky haute couture dress or outfit off the catwalk in the same way that a lot of our clients won't wish. to buy a moody dark shot that's of the back of the groom's head. There you go. Yvonne's Law is now what we're calling it.

[00:27:05] I might have to change it. I feel, I don't, I've never met Yvonne. I'm going to credit her with it because that was the story that was told to me. On that happy note, I am just pulling into a garage because I am absolutely starving.

Conclusion and Farewell

[00:27:17] I need to get some food and I need to get some food quick before I start getting grumpy.

[00:27:22] So I'm going to park up and I'm going to wish you all well for the week. So for this week's podcast, thank you for listening. Of course you can email me. At paul@paulwilkinsonphotography.co.uk. You can head over to masteringportraitphotography.com. Please do subscribe to the podcast wherever it is that you consume your podcast.

[00:27:43] And if you feel like it, please leave us a review. If you feel sorry, if you feel like leaving us a nice review, please leave us a review. If you feel like leaving us some nastiness, then please email me so I know what we could improve on. But on that happy note, I hope you're having a good week. I hope the weather is better where you are than where we are.

[00:27:58] And of course, in the spirit of this morning, a very happy Christmas to you all on this February day. And whatever else, be festive, but be kind to yourself. Take care.

The judging for the BIPP 2023/2024 International Print Awards is done and dusted and there some simply stunning images have been on the lightbox.

The results come out later in the year, but I thought I'd muse on some of the things I learned along the way by listening to the judges as well as some observations of my own.  Some of these you've heard me mention before, but one or two may be new to you (and to me for that matter - who knew that all judges have the same problem when it comes to picking out their own competition images?!) but all of them are useful.

Enjoy!

Cheers
P.

---

If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portrait Photography, for more articles and videos about this beautiful industry. You can also read a full transcript of this episode.

PLEASE also subscribe and leave us a review - we'd love to hear what you think!

If there are any topics, you would like to hear, have questions we could answer or would like to come and be interviewed on the podcast, please contact me at paul@paulwilkinsonphotography.co.uk. 

Well, this weekend has two big events: Mother's Day and the Societies Of Photographers Annual Convention In London.  

Sadly I wasn't able to make the Convention this year - though I was there in spirit!  That didn't stop me entering the print competition though.  I didn't come away with any gongs this year and that always stings just a little.  Somehow, I have to convert the feeling of missing out on a fantastic convention with photographers who I love to spend time with (FOMO anyone?) and also not getting the scores I would have loved for my entries.

It's all part of the puzzle when it comes to entering photographic competitions.

Enjoy!

Cheers
P.

---

If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portrait Photography, for more articles and videos about this beautiful industry. You can also read a full transcript of this episode.

PLEASE also subscribe and leave us a review - we'd love to hear what you think!

If there are any topics, you would like to hear, have questions we could answer or would like to come and be interviewed on the podcast, please contact me at paul@paulwilkinsonphotography.co.uk.