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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 Aug 16, 2020
Sunday Aug 16, 2020
Along with thousands of other students, Jake, our son, has just had his 'A' level results. An interesting time to put it mildly. However, it did get me thinking about how incredibly hard he worked for his mock exams (it's lucky he worked as hard as he did as it has meant he HAS been given a place on the university course that he desperately wanted!) and the parallels with our industry.
It is always easy to look around and think other people have it easy but the truth is that no-one gets to be successful without a huge amount of dedication and effort. I'm not tub-thumping in this podcast, just musing on the fact that no matter what level you're at - or in what field - to make those next steps, you have to be prepared to put in a huge amount of work. But it is always well worth the effort.
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
Wednesday Aug 12, 2020
Wednesday Aug 12, 2020
Life as a photographer can feel like you're working on your own - all those hours with the camera, lights, with Photoshop and the complexities of your own business. But, of course, the truth is a little more nuanced than that: we may be here in our studio on our own, but we have a wealth of talent around us - our suppliers. Every day, I sell their products, their talents, their ideas to our clients, whether it's a frame, an album or a portfolio, I am wholly reliant on numerous other people to carry my brand.
In this interview, I get the chance to talk with Andy Blake, the General Manager at Kaleidoscope Framing - a company whose wonderful products we have relied on for well over a decade now. It's a lovely interview (you may get the impression we get on well - and you'd be right!) and we talk about various aspects of the photographic industry and how things are changing - something particularly pertinent in these complicated times.
The fact that we get on well isn't a coincidence - building a relationship with your suppliers is as important as building them with your clients as it's your suppliers who, ultimately, provide the platform on which your products will shine. It's not about the products, of course, it's about your photography, but displaying your craft in the very best light is what this business is all about. And your suppliers make that possible.
As always with our interviews, I asked Andy to recommend a book to add to our every-expanding library. He recommended "One Day For Life", a book of photos all taken on a single day in 1987 in aid of Cancer Research. I couldn't find any new copies but this link https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0593014642/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_OV6mFbGKHVT2G takes you to second-hand copies on Amazon (I bought mine for £2.95!)
Enjoy the interview!
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
Saturday Jul 18, 2020
Saturday Jul 18, 2020
This episode was recorded from the cab of my Land Rover Defender as I head to (and come back from) the wedding that held on in the diary despite of the risk of cancellation due to Covid-19 restrictions. You have to admire their bravery and it was, in the end, a perfect day for them and for the team working with them!
After everything that has happened, it wasn't obvious just how easy the day would be but, as it turned out, the day was stunning - and it looks like we'll be able to create beautiful imagery and still stay safe. The same is true of everything we're doing at the studio to make both lifestyle and studio portraits not only safe and compliant with the 'new normal' but just as creative and exciting as they've always been.
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
Tuesday Jun 23, 2020
Tuesday Jun 23, 2020
With everything going on at the moment it's all too easy to lose sight of the joy that this job brings to so many. This podcast is about that and a bag of cooking apples.
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
Thursday May 28, 2020
Thursday May 28, 2020
In this episode, I get to chat with the guy behind the software behind the business - Light Blue Software. We've used this software for over a decade and it is the one application that each of us here is guaranteed to log into every single day.
Tom asked if I would help spread the word about an offer that Light Blue extending to all of their customers (new and old) to help through these difficult times and so I thought it would be a good opportunity to invite Tom onto the podcast and ask him about the software, why it's important to track your data and what the future holds. An interesting interview with a really genuinely lovely guy - who, like me is a techy!
For details of the generous support Tom and the team at Light Blue are offering, head to lightbluesoftware.com.
As is our way, I also asked Tom to nominate a book for our ever-burgeoning library of the curious and the inspirational and his nomination is Landscape Within by David Ward
You can get second-hand copies (and I think there are one or two very expensive new copies around - it's no longer in print) on both Amazon and Abe Books. I've just ordered a copy for the studio for just £11.99 so it's an absolute steal!
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
Friday May 15, 2020
Friday May 15, 2020
So, how are things with you? Still in lockdown? Well we are here - just trying to make the best of things.
Anyway, good news (for me at least!): we've been listed as the top Portrait Photography Podcast on Feedspot (https://blog.feedspot.com/portrait_photography_podcasts/) which is lovely! I only started this podcast for fun (and because I simply love audio nearly as much as I love photography - though I freely admit I'm better with the camera than the recorder!)
We're also a regular in the top 20 iTunes podcast charts for both the UK and the US. OK, well we are for Visual Arts podcasts anyway. haha. I don't know how many Visual Arts podcasts there are around the world - maybe not so many - but it still feels good that we listeners and subscribers out there. Thank you!
In this podcast, I mention a few things - firstly two incredible magazines: Nphoto and Professional Photo magazines. We've featured regularly in both of them and I'd love to direct you all to both of them:
I also mention two of the best of the Associations in the UK - the BIPP and the SWPP
If you're a professional photographer (or about to become a professional photoghers) then these are definitely worth looking into as they provide incredible support for photographers like you and me.
Anyway, in the midst of everything going on around us, this podcast is really about optimism and planning for the future - at a 2-metre distance of course!
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
Tuesday Apr 21, 2020
Tuesday Apr 21, 2020
Still here, still in lockdown, still working like crazy to make sure we're ready for when things eventually open up again, as they must, inevitably do.
Right now, things are busy: we're re-designing our website and rebuilding a platform for our portfolio - a wonderful opportunity to go through images old and new and to decide which images we'll use for the next year or two in all of our literature and articles. It's great fun but hard work!
This podcast is all about that task.
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
Monday Mar 23, 2020
Monday Mar 23, 2020
Well, in just one week things have changed incredibly rapidly! But we're stocked up, we have each other and we are staying positive. Together we can get through this thing.
So, for a while at least, the podcast will be shorter and (hopefully) more frequent. That way I might just be able to keep up with the latest news!
Stay safe and be kind to yourself. Oh, and be kind to others too.
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
Sunday Mar 15, 2020
Sunday Mar 15, 2020
During a conversation the other day, a visiting photographer to the studio passed a comment about the frames he displayed in the entrance to his own studio. This one, short, passing comment, led me to the obvious observation that first impressions count. And, importantly, you cannot have a second go at it.
But everyone knows that right? Of course. So I thought I'd take a walk through our studio here to see if we live up to that very same ideal that I so often advise others.
Listen to the podcast to see if our clients' initial impact when arriving at the studio is everything I think it should be!
During the podcast I mention the one-on-one workshops we run here at our studio, right in the heart of our little village. More details can be found at https://www.paulwilkinsonphotography.co.uk/photography-workshops/
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
Wednesday Jan 22, 2020
Wednesday Jan 22, 2020
Relating to your client is a key skill in social photography - and there is no escaping it. Whatever it takes, you need to find ways of having a meaningful conversation even if you're client is (literally) a rocket scientist!
Right now I am sitting at the 2020 Societies Of Photographers Convention, typing this in the hotel bar, watching photographers laughing and joking as we begin the annual print judging. Always fun. Hopefully I'll get a chance to record daily updates while I'm here but we'll see how it goes!
In the meantime 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