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Tales, techniques, tricks and tantrums from one of the UK’s top portrait photographers. Never just about photography but always about things that excite - or annoy - me as a full-time professional photographer, from histograms to history, from apertures to apathy, or motivation to megapixels. Essentially, anything and everything about the art, creativity and business of portrait photography. With some off-the-wall interviews thrown in for good measure!
Episodes
Sunday Sep 18, 2022
EP127 - Things Change
Sunday Sep 18, 2022
Sunday Sep 18, 2022
Had a chance this week to go and enjoy some incredible sketches and watercolours at the Ashmolean in Oxford. The artists? The Pre Raphaelite Brotherhood - one of my favourite groups of artists.
Somewhat uncharacteristically, we also developed some Ilford XP2 film (our daughter wants a film camera) and I've been testing a few old boxes we've had laying around for the past 20 years or more. The results, if I was being charitable, weren't a disaster. But they weren't great either.
And that's in stark contrast to the camera I am using daily: the Nikon Z9.
This camera is so utterly good that it is literally changing everything I have believed in since I first picked up a DSLR. Have a listen and see if you agree with me (or not!)
Would love to hear your thoughts.
Also, a quick reminder, if you're listening to the BEFORE 20th September 2022, Sarah and I will be presenting on the Graphistudio stand at the Photography Show at 1pm - grandstanding as usual - and you can also catch us on the BIPP stand, doing business and portfolio reviews.
See you there!
Cheers
P.
If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portrait Photography, for more articles and videos about this beautiful industry.
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.
Wednesday Dec 22, 2021
EP117 Interview With Grays Of Westminster
Wednesday Dec 22, 2021
Wednesday Dec 22, 2021
Well, this is the last episode of 2021. Unless I find a moment to drag myself away from the turkey, pigs in blankets, roast potatoes, cheese, Quality Street, sherry, wine, stuffing, more turkey, more cheese and maybe just a tad more sherry. Oh go on then, if I must, best make it a small one.
In this episode, I have the pleasure of speaking with Grays Of Westminster - a legendary shop of all things Nikon. I am speaking with Becky and Kon from the shop who not only run rings around me with their knowledge of Nikon gear but are two of the nicest people you can imagine! It is a lovely interview, irrespective of the camera brand you use. Mostly we chat kit, customer service and the imminent Z9!
In the interview, I ask them both for the book recommendations.
Kon recommended Wonderland, by Annie Leibovitz:
‘Looking back at my work, I see that fashion has always been there,’ Annie Leibovitz observes in the preface to Wonderland. ‘Fashion plays a part in the scheme of everything, but photography always comes first for me. The photograph is the most important part. And photography is so big that it can encompass journalism, portraiture, reportage, family photographs, fashion ... My work for Vogue fueled the fire for a kind of photography that I might not otherwise have explored.’
Becky recommended The Real Deal, by Jo McNally
'Joe writes about everything from the crucial ability to know how to use (and make!) window light to the importance of creating long-term relationships built on trust; from lessons learned after a day in the field to the need to follow your imagination wherever it takes you; from the random and lucky moments that propel one s career to the wonders and pitfalls of today s camera technology. For every mention of f-stops and shutter speeds, there is equal discussion about the importance of access, the occasional moment of hubris, and the idea of becoming iconic. Before Joe was a celebrated and award-winning photographer, before he was a well-respected educator and author of multiple bestselling books, he was just Joe, hustling every day, from one assignment to the next, piecing together a portfolio, a skill set, a reputation, a career. He imagined a life and then took pictures of it. Here are a few frames.'
I'll be adding them to the library!
If you'd like to see some of their videos, they can be found on YouTube (or just search for 'Grays Of Westminster')
Have a wonderful Christmas, one and all and here's to a happy New Year!
Enjoy!
Cheers
P.
If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portrait Photography, where there are articles and videos about this beautiful industry.
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.
If you'd like to use one of the other players out there, why not try Vurbl?
Sunday Nov 14, 2021
EP115 On Why Mirrorless Is About To Come Of Age - The Nikon Z9
Sunday Nov 14, 2021
Sunday Nov 14, 2021
So it's Sunday as I both record and write this and I'm having a frankly chilled day. Not that this is in any way your worry, but I thought I'd tell you.
This episode is a rebuttal of my own grumpy podcast (EP113) when I seem to have spent most of it muttering about my Z7ii and how it isn't quite there yet. Well, this one is the other extreme - here are the reasons I think mirrorless and, by extension, the Nikon Z9 is about to come of age. If the spec of the Z9 is correct (I don't have my hands on one yet - it's ordered and paid for but could be a while) then this camera won't just be the pinnacle of mirrorless as we know it, it will be the start of a whole new generation of cameras and capability. Seriously.
I also give a shameless (and, just to be clear, unpaid) plug for the wonderful institution that is Grays Of Westminster - simply the best Nikon shop in the world. I should add, I don't know if there are other dedicated Nikon shops in the world. I don't care if there are: Grays would still come out on top. It is truly like Ollivander's Wand Shop in Harry Potter. But with lenses not wands. And customer service that is every bit as personal.
If you're curious they can be found at https://www.graysofwestminster.co.uk/ and they also have a fabulous range of 2nd hand kit in their online store.
Enjoy!
Cheers
P.
If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portrait Photography, where there are articles and videos about this beautiful industry.
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.
If you'd like to use one of the other players out there, why not try Vurbl?
Sunday Oct 31, 2021
EP113 On Moving To Mirrorless
Sunday Oct 31, 2021
Sunday Oct 31, 2021
Switching to a mirrorless system was always going to happen - SLRs (and their requisite mirrors) are slowly heading the same way as film, dark rooms, Black Forest gateaux, prawn cocktail and sandals with socks. Though I happen to love Black Forest gateaux. And film. And the darkroom. Prawn cocktails and sandals with socks, well they can stay in the history books!
Anyway, James Keen DM'd me on Instagram and asked for an update on my move to mirrorless and so, while clattering my way home in the Land Rover from a perfect Oxfordshire wedding, here are my thoughts. With a few rattly sound effects in the background just for authenticity.
Enjoy!
Cheers
P.
If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portrait Photography, where there are articles and videos about this beautiful industry.
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.
If you'd like to use one of the other players out there, why not try Vurbl?
Thursday Jul 04, 2019
Ep.53 Interview With Chris Cooze, Hasselblad
Thursday Jul 04, 2019
Thursday Jul 04, 2019
In this episode, I get to to sit and chat with Chris Cooze, Technical Communications & Training Manager at Hasselblad. It has been a real pleasure for me to have both the Hasselblad X1D and H6D for a couple of months here at the studio and it was Chris, along with Hasselblad's European Marketing Manager, Mark Witney, who came to the studio to help me get the most out of the kit. Who knows, maybe we'll add medium format to the capability here for our studio portraits!
In the interview, we chat about life, the universe (well, the moon anyway) and the future of medium format.
Chris is a lovely guy and an accomplished photographer in his own right, as well as being Hasselblad's technical go-to person, and his own work can be found on his personal website.
As we build our little photographer's library, Chris recommends Patrick Demarchelier during the interview. He has a vast back-catalogue of fashion images so this link takes you to Abe Books and lists the titles he has available there. Enjoy!
If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portrait Photography where there are articles and videos about this wonderful industry. You can subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, PodBean and Spotify.
PLEASE also 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 simply like to come and be interviewed on the podcast, please contact me at paul@paulwilkinsonphotography.co.uk
Tuesday May 14, 2019
Ep.48 Mark Seymour, Documentary Photographer
Tuesday May 14, 2019
Tuesday May 14, 2019
In this podcast it is an absolute joy to interview the fantastic documentary photographer, Mark Seymour. Mark has spent many years at the top of the wedding profession but is equally at home (maybe more at home these days) creating iconic street documentary images - so much so that images are featured in the National Geographic magazine.
In the interview we talk about many aspects of life, the job and family and Mark's disaster one fateful day when a concerned wedding venue had to call to ask him why he hadn't yet arrived!
As an avid collector of books, Mark mentions three in particular (though the titles here are not quite as he recalls):
- Contact Sheets, Magnum (one that we have featured previously)
- The Life Of A Photograph by Sam Abell (during the podcast, Mark refers to this as "Two Shots" which may have been an overseas title of the book - at least, I couldn't find any reference to a book of that name but, given Mark's description, this appears to be the correct one.)
- The World from My Front Porch by Larry Towell
These links go to abebooks.co.uk which has a vast range of titles available and is noticeably cheaper than Amazon!
If you're interested in attending one of Mark's incredible Street Photography courses, details can be found here.
If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portrait Photography where there are articles and videos about this wonderful industry. You can subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, PodBean and Spotify.
PLEASE also 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 simply like to come and be interviewed on the podcast, please contact me at paul@paulwilkinsonphotography.co.uk
Sunday May 06, 2018
Ep.13 On What I'd Buy If I Started Again
Sunday May 06, 2018
Sunday May 06, 2018
I am frequently asked to advise on what would I buy if I started from scratch so, as I drink a last coffee (decaf of course!) before heading out to shoot a glorious, sunny wedding, I ponder on those initial purchases: what and why. And it includes good shoes. Who knew?