The Mastering Portrait Photography Podcast

It's so lovely to be in the position to sit and chat with some incredible people - and that they agree to it when I ask!

This episode is with Gary Hill - a fantastic photographer, trainer, judge and all-round lovely bloke.  Admittedly we were chatting in the bar of the SWPP Convention in London which does inject a kind of 'authentic ambience' to the whole affair (which is to say - it's noisy!)

We get to chat about judging, the joy of printing and the story of how Gary became a photographer - it's quite a story!  

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 

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 

I've just returned from the Societies Of Photographers Convention in London which has been an absolute ball!  Though I admit, I am hurting just a little. A week of laughter and learning. And maybe just a little socialising.

Having sat as one of the print competition judges once again, I thought it would be helpful to relay some of the comments I heard during the process of picking this year's winning images to help you create higher scoring photographs in the future.

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 

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 

We are already 2% of the way through 2020.  0.02 of 2020.  Go figure.  

I've used that time so far to grab tools, some wood and to hack away at our studio - goodness knows it (and me) needed it.  It's a long time since I've drawn up engineering drawings and I am, honestly, loving every second.

Oh, and I've been creating pictures too. So you didn't need to worry that I had retired the cameras.  They're just having a breather.

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 

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 

So you know what it's like: you're in the middle of a busy week, the weather is crappy, you're tired and you have a shoot to do...

Not exactly conducive to creativity.  And yet, and yet...  your job is to weave your magic - from the experience to the images, your clients rely on you, nay your business relies on you to kick into gear and perform to the absolute limit of your ability. Even if you'd rather be sitting with a cup of tea (or a glass of wine!)

And that is always the case. No matter what, it is crucial that you turn up and you're present.  100%.  Each. And. Every. Time. Your clients deserve it.

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 

A real pleasure to have interviewed Richard Bradbury FBIPP FMPA.  Richard is one of the world's great photographers and an all round nice guy and the interview is full of little gems about preparing for sales, customer service and authenticity. In fact, our chat in his west London studio is full of useful stuff for anyone interested in running a photography business.

As is our way, I asked Richard to recommend a book or two for our ever-expanding library of interesting books. Richard recommended Perfume: The Story of a Murderer by Patrick Süskind and The Work Of Hipgnosis : Walk Away Renee by Storm Thorgerson.

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 

In this episode, I ponder on WHY on earth I am taking the shot?  There has to be a reason, right?  Surely I am not just lying in the dirt for the fun of it!

In this day and age it is all too easy to simply take the photograph because you can - not because it's a good image or there's a profound reason to take it.  These are my thoughts on some reasons why you should create that image - and some thoughts on not bothering if there's no good reason to.

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 

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