The Mastering Portrait Photography Podcast

In this interview, I get a chance to talk with the incredible photographer, Sanjay Jogia.   To quote from Canon's website (he is a Canon Ambassador):

Sanjay Jogia is one of the world's most decorated wedding photographers, with a clutch of awards from both the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers (SWPP) and Wedding & Portrait Photographers International (WPPI). The Briton is known for capturing a mix of posed and unposed images, all bursting with emotion and charm. He also shares his expertise, travelling the world to deliver lectures and workshops.

Serving the luxury wedding market, Sanjay's company, Eye Jogia Photography, specialises in wedding photography of the most demanding kind: destination weddings all over the world, and Indian weddings, which pose distinct challenges compared to other types of ceremony. "Indian weddings are more intense and much longer: a typical day can be 12 to 16 hours," says Sanjay. "There are many separate rituals on the day of the main ceremony, and all the days tend to be an onslaught of colour, energy, emotion, socialising and fun."

Well, that may be the official line but I know him as someone who I thoroughly enjoy judging with - his sharp attention to detail, the emotion and his humanity (he is always respectful of each and every image we assess) make him a pleasure to work alongside.

In this interview we talk about a wide range of topics though I had originally intended to talk about what we have learned through judging - it is still in there somewhere but there is much more besides! 

I talk about one particular image in the podcast - this is that image:

I just love the subtlety of it! More of Sanjay's beautiful work can be found at https://www.eyejogia.com/

As always, I asked him for a book submission for ou library and he recommended  "Rich Dad, Poor Dad" by Robert Kiyosaki. This is a book I've read a couple of times and is well worth the investment!  

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?  

In a podcast last year, I lamented that I had lost a little mojo - the penalty for having a massively busy season prior to that.  This triggered a couple of threads of conversation, one of which is this interview with Trevor Long PhD.

To quote from his bio: "Trevor brings an extensive experience in education and consultancy to this work, from many different countries and cultures, with a primary interest in individual development as a means of building long-term growth and well-being.  Working with several business schools, including Cambridge, Duke, Henley and Warwick, he has designed and delivered programmes on strategy, leadership, change, personal development and cultural awareness. He focuses on the educational content of the charity.

In this fascinating interview, Trevor talks about ways in which we can be more creative, stay motivated and generally be happier in everything that we do.  And right now?  Well, I'll take every bit of information on joy and contentment that I can find!

Trevor, and his wife Nikki, run a charity in The Gambia, called Be Reel, that helps the community form viable, sustainable micro-businesses to feed themselves and their families.  Details of the charity can be found here.  

As always, I asked Trevor to nominate a book for our every-growing Photography Library here at the studio.  In typical enthusiastic fashion, he nominated two!

The first is called "Mindfulness And The Natural World", by Claire Thompson:

The second, by Micah Mortali, is called Rewilding.

Enjoy the interview and please share with anyone you think might find it useful.

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. 

I think I recorded the previous episode on a cold, crisp day.  Well, the cold has remained, but instead of 'crisp' it is now grey, gloomy and damp (though quite how it is still damp when the temperature is hovering around freezing, I have no idea!)

We're closing 2020 and opening a whole new chapter, bright and clean, as yet unsullied by Covid, Brexit, politicians or social media.  I doubt it'll stay that way but let's enjoy the moment, just like stepping out into fresh white snow: it is clean and white, with only your footsteps to be seen, though you know it'll soon be brown and yellow, slushy and melting away. 

But right now?  Clean, white, untouched and exciting.

You never know, maybe it will stay that way!

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. 

Where have all our teaspoons gone?  Seriously.  They just seem to evaporate from the studio!  Soon we'll be using the handle of a knife to stir the coffee around here!

But that's not really the topic of the podcast - in this podcast, a budding photographer from Glasgow emailed some questions and so I thought it would be a good way to both answer her curiosity AND have a topic for a podcast.  Ah, a little efficiency around here is definitely a good thing.

Enjoy!

If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portrait Photography where there are articles and videos about this wonderful 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 simply like to come and be interviewed on the podcast, please contact me at paul@paulwilkinsonphotography.co.uk 

Ah, and so here we are: 2020.  We've careered through the holidays like a kid on a brand new scooter, bouncing down the road until we've crashed headlong into the New Year, and here we are, bruised and smiling, all ready to pick ourselves up, dust ourselves down and get back on for the ride ahead.

This year, this year, is all about development and learning.  I LOVE this job - more than you can imagine - but by the end of 2019 I was utterly shattered.  Now, don't get me wrong here, 2019 was the best year we've ever had in terms of clients, shoots and, ultimately, revenue, but it was a brutal 12 months and by the time we bounced into the festive season, I was feeling anything other than festive.  Unless by 'festive' you mean sat useless in an armchair craving, of all things, sherry, a little junk TV and a sausage roll or two. Or four.

It had not been a year for taking time for personal development. 

So we kick off this year while the paint is still wet and it's going to be a year of learning.  I need to spend 2020 focussing (forgive the pun) on driving my creativity forward.  I don't quite know where that will lead - or how I'll do it - but I am utterly determined to get out there and adding some new arrows to the quiver, tools to the toolbox, colours to the palette: basically, I need to get out there and learn some new stuff.

And I cannot wait to get started!

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 

It's always a pleasure when I get to sit and chat with someone with such a wide and interesting view of photography as Su Kaye, MPA's Chair Of Judges.  I've known Su for a few years and, as ever, she is intriguing, knowledgeable and engagingly honest about her life, career and what the future holds for her and the photography industry.

As always, I asked my interviewee to choose a book or two for our ever-expanding library and she chose the following brilliant editions:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1846149649/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_bx1TDbYEFFBMM Obama: An Intimate Portrait: The Historic Presidency in Photographs

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cyclops-Collection-Photographs-Albert-Watson/dp/0821223887  Cyclops: A Collection of Photographs by Albert Watson

I've used the Amazon links for these (as these offered the best value I could find) but they're available in various online booksellers.

Enjoy!

If you do 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 

Well, I'm back on the microphone!  Had a bit of a break as the summer peak workload kicked in but once more, I am sitting in the cab of the Land Rover Defender, muttering musings into the microphone on the move. Haha, a little alliteration for you.

Anyway, this episode's topic is the choice between constancy or invention: should we, as photographers, creatives, artists, strive for constancy - recognisable, familiar images - or push the boundaries of invention, looking for new images, new ideas, originality.

Of course, there is no easy answer to this; it is more of a discussion about personal preference and effective business choice, but it's an interesting topic nonetheless and one that was actually driven by conversations with my clients so I thought it might be of use.

Let me know your thoughts!

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 

In this interview, I get to spend a very happy hour in the company of Melanie East, an extraordinary Newborn Photographer and Trainer: Melanie is known around the world for her passion and creativity for newborn photography and is the author of the book The Art Of Newborn Photography.  She is equally passionate about running a business which is key to the success of any social photographer!

We get to talk about how (and why) she became a newborn photographer; her views on safety; running a business; the love of the sales process and her taste in soft furnishings (which, it has to be said, is flawless.)

Her chosen book - which I initially struggle to spot under a huge pile of publications that permanently resides on her coffee table - is the Icons Of Photography by Peter Stepan which is a wonderfully worthy addition to our ever-expanding library.  And you can get 2nd-hand copies for less than a fiver!  Bargain.

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 

"You soon start to learn a lot more about business"

In this interview, I get to talk to Karen Massey, wedding and portrait photographer.  Karen is a successful photographer and business owner, having started out owning a beauticians and then transferring her business skills to setting up a photography studio. She talks about how she has always worked, how she had to 'soften her accent' (not something you could be asked by an employer to do in this day and age!) and her plans for her new venture: RISE PFP, a group for professional female photographers.

Plenty for everyone in this podcast from business insights to how she runs her weddings.  Oh, and she's really lovely too!

Not only did Karen bring ideas for books for our little library, but she brought the actual books too!

• The first is A Coastal Reflection by Mary Shayler.  This can be found here on Blurb books
• The second is the Aston Martin Centenary Collection Programme 1913-2013. One for all you petrol heads out there! As I suspected in the podcast, this isn't one that you can buy (though a few copies do appear to be on eBay.) A real one off for our library!

Both worthy additions to our library!

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 

"To keep them coming, to keep them inspired, you have to give them an experience."

So true.  In this episode I talk to Steve Gregory, founder and owner of the inspirational Fitlife Gym about his career as professional footballer (soccer player for my U.S. friends), his motiviation for fitness and how he deals with the highs and lows of running a business. A wonderfully frank interview that deals with the low points of suddenly running a successful business (yes, that is often how it can feel), having good mentors and finding ways to keep the business exciting and fast moving.  This is one of those interviews where the parallels to the photography industry are all too apparent.  Except for the fitness bit...

This episode's addition to our every-expanding library is Start With Why by Simon Sinek - a great book if you're building a new business!

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