After a fashion... Blue Mountains Photographer goes 20's

I'm woefully behind on blogging. There's a lot happening in my life right now and it's just crazy!

Anyway, Katoomba held the Roaring 20's festival a few months back and I enjoyed shooting many of the events.
One of my favourite shots is this one, with models from the Charlotte Smith 'Dreaming of Chanel' /Darnell Collection. These guys aren't professional models, but girls who just 'suit' the clothing and era.


Check it out next year for awesome 20's events, dress up, pop your tux or flapper dress on and come join us.

Via Flickr:
Part of the shoot for the Roaring 20's Festival in the Blue Mountains.

Tall trees

These trees on the southern coast of Australia reminded me of Mel Jones' work.  I was trying to take them at the angle that she paints them.  If there'd been a setting moon behind them, it would have been perfect.  Alas, it was the wrong direction for that. 
You can see her at Journeymoon Art... Mel's currently the Artist in Residence at Mt Tomah Botanical Gardens.
Check out her beautiful work around the Blue Mountains.

Bad Weather

... Bad weather can work to your advantage.

The white light that mist and rain brings with it means no direct sun... perfect for photographing flowers, nature, portraits...
Waterproof your camera with a plastic bag and go be creative.

Free Wedding Photography

I'm giving away four free weddings in NSW over the coming months.

Why? Partially because I really need to boost my wedding portfolio after years of concentrating on lots and lots of commercial work but also because someone shot my wedding for free and so I'm paying it forward.

So if you're interested in having your special day photographed for free, please let me know.

Contact me at Solitaryphotographic@gmail.com

Or call me on 0406 933 315.

This is a genuine offer for a limited time only.

Backdrops - how to make your own

Photography is an expensive hobby, so do yourself a big favour and make your own equipment.  I usually get questions about backdrops and where I get them from.  So, I'll let you in on that one...

I buy my backdrops everywhere... and I mean EVERYWHERE!   How?  Charity stores.... hundreds of the things just waiting to be picked up... and for just a few cents.  Who knew that charity stores sold photography accessories eh?  What are they?  Sheets.  Double, king size, queen size... for a few dollars only.  You can also get large pieces of material too sometimes and muslin curtains.  Easy to hang curtains because they've already got loops or whatever.

You don't have to spend hundreds of dollars on pro backdrops, though I have do have a couple of those which I've bought online.  You can also make one out of muslin, which I also use... yards and yards of the stuff.  It's dirt cheap.  There's a tut here on how to do that, though you're going to want to hang it.  You can hang it from a wooden dowel and fix it to your ceiling and roll it up and down, or you can fix curtain eyelets into your sheet edge and hang from hooks in a beam or ceiling in your room, or make a frame for it, which is a great idea for portability.   Ideally you need something 10 foot across if you're going to photograph a whole person, but much less if you're just doing head shots. 

You can dye them any colour you like and it doesn't matter if they get wrecked because they cost so little.  Buy white ones, chuck them in bleach to brighten them up and give them a good wash and you're good to go.
Dye one set black or dark grey.  Tie dye is also good for a mottled effect and here's a different way of dying which isn't as fiddly as tie dye but I recommend you don't use a dryer to set the dye.. just hang it over your clothesline until it's dry.  Another tut here with pics.  I like those the best. ;)

Remember, the backdrop isn't going to be really in focus after you're done, it's just a backdrop.  If you want block colours, then use a liquid dye rather than powder ones as the powder can sometimes leave little spots.  One that you throw in the machine is the best, though follow instructions about rinsing the machine afterwards because you don't want any unpleasant surprises.

If you're planning on shooting down, you need lots of texture, so make sure there's enough material on the ground for this.  The more material you can bunch up around your subject area, the better imo.  Also, if you're lying your subject on the floor, put something comfortable underneath your backdrop.. camping mats or gym mats are a good idea.  Be nice to your models!

I have several home made backdrops.. grey mottled, rust mottled, black and white.

Once you've set up your backdrops, place your models in (hire your kids), light it well and take some shots.  Amazing how much more pro it looks even if you're not.
Have fun!

So You Want to Be A Photographer? Part II

So, you've decided you're going to set yourself up as a photographer.
Great!
So now you're a photographer... you say you're a photographer and you have a website that makes you look like a photographer.  So now you need to market yourself.
So how are you going to do that exactly?

At this point, you should be referring to your business plan because you'd be crazy to go into business without a business plan, right?
 I've got mine sitting in this basket besides my desk (It's not the rubbish basket, it's my 'on hand' filing system)  Where do you keep yours?

What, you didn't write one?  Are you serious?
 Doh!
Go directly to jail.  Do not pass Go.  Do not collect $200.

See that question I asked up there... the 'How are you going to do that exactly' question?

That's the question you need to have answered in your business plan.
Not only the how but the why and where and when of your business.  If you haven't written one, you're 'winging' it.  Chancing your arm, (I don't know why we say that in England but I'm sure someone will enlighten me) and hoping for the best.
Basically you don't have any direction, you have no idea how you're going to grow and market your business and you have nothing to show a bank manager should you want a loan but not only that, you have nothing to refer to which will keep you on track.

You may be a creative artist, but if you don't have a clue what you're doing and how you're going to do it, then you deserve to fail.
Truly.  And I'm sorry if that's harsh, but it's for your own good. 


Find a business plan template on the web NOW and download it.  Banks have them for free, and there are plenty out there.  Now fill it in and then we'll talk further about building a portfolio.

Have fun!

Think Local - Act Global

In the coming weeks, I'm going to be blogging about businesses that I'm connected with both here in the Blue Mountains and some further down towards the plains.  These businesses are ones that I know personally and recommend because they're the best at what they do. 

Amongst the businesses are celebrants, those in the beauty industry, web design, and graphic design so keep watching.
I'll also be focussing on some new businesses in Katoomba too, as well as taking some photographs along the way.

Enjoy the ride!

School photography

I absolutely love school portraits.  I've recently done some for a local school in the Blue Mountains and I'll share some more of those with you over the coming weeks. 

School shoots, well, any shoot is a very physical experience for a photographer.   What's possibly strenuous about photography I hear you ask....
There's a lot of bending and stretching.. and sometimes climbing equipment such as ladders or play equipment.  You're on your feet for hours, you may not get a break or a drink and possibly, you're working outside.  Not only that, but for every shot, you want to get that person doing something... and in the case of school photography, that's to get kids to relax and be themselves.
Doing this job you come to realise that you are part comedian, part actor, part children's entertainer.

Some kids don't want to smile.  They're there to test you out, like all kids do, as we know!  They see you as a person with a camera whom they're going to have a bit of fun with, but they rarely think that the photographer is actually going to have a bit of fun with them.  HA!

I love my job, I love kids.  I have three of my own so of course, it goes with the territory.  You have got to be slightly masochistic, I suspect, to work with children, because darn it, some of them are hard work!
But for me, there's a unique pleasure in getting that child to sit there, straighten up a bit, look down the lens at me and then grin.
If you think about it, we're often telling our kids to take care of themselves, to not talk to people they don't know, to trust their instincts on people, so to ask a child you've just met to relax and give it their best shot is hard for the child too!
Not only that, but as the photographer I have to very quickly assess that child's personality and match my approach to getting the best from them.  This can swing wildly to having a total giggle with one child through to trying to coax the most reserved of children out of their shell long enough in time to capture something special... all doing that whilst holding a camera whilst hanging from a ladder, thinking about light, shutter speed and depth of field, whilst the sweat drips into my eyes and I can feel my calf muscle going into a spasm!
Most school photographers usually take one shot and that's what you get.  I shoot rapidly, taking 4-10 shots of each child and this way, I can get the best from each one.  Some are determined not to smile ever, others aren't sure until we have a laugh and a joke, and then others just look you in the lens and just grin.
I love it all but by gosh, it's hard physical and mental labour.

So you see, it's not glam being a photographer.  It's hard work, but the rewards... seeing that grin, that look which means I've just connected with the child sitting there in front of me and the photograph is going to be amazing...  well the rewards keep me doing what I love and being able to share that with you.

Style

Style has no formula, but it has a secret key.
It is the extension of your personality.
Ernst Haas

My eleven year old daughter has told me that she can always recognize one of my photographs, even when they're with a load of others, like on the Korowal school website for example.  This is because they have a certain style.
Someone who's just started in photography recently asked me how long it took to 'define' my 'style'.
The honest answer to that is that I don't really know though at a guess, probably two to three years if we're talking about what I present to you when I take a photograph right now.
But style is not just about 'seeing'... it's about showing who you are through your artwork.  It's an extension of your personality.

But how can you develop a style?  And why should you?  Is it really that important?

If I gave you a load of photographs from Ansel Adams, Yousuf Karsh and Jerry N. Uelsman, (three of my photographic gods) you'd have no problems sorting them out because of their difference in style.

Creating a style is about a unique way of 'seeing'.  The way you see things is the way no-one else sees... and the way you see is coloured by who you are.

 People don't watch enough. They think. It's not the same thing.
Henri Cartier-Bresson

Henri, above, has it totally on the nail when he says people don't watch enough.  As a photographer, you need to see whatever it is you see and the only way to do that is watch.
It always amazes me how many photographers copy other famous photographers styles.  I see it time and time again in the exhibitions I visit.  There's nothing really wrong with this legally.  It's a good exercise to produce something 'in the style of', and you'd probably get asked to do this if you were at art school or doing a photography course... but for your photography it's not your vision you're using, it's theirs.
Developing your own style isn't about copying someone else's style, it's about knowing who you are, the way you see and letting your work become an extension of who you are inside.  If you make a living from copying someone else's work, you're not including your own personality in that.


Everyone seems to use Photoshop these days.  PS is full of filters, actions, and techniques.  These are not new and throwing the latest PS technique over your shots won't give you style.  PS is merely the software version of what has been available in the darkroom for many, many years.  Often, working in PS or other software manipulation can lead to new discoveries... new ways of processing, but PS is not a style in itself.  It's a medium... Something that can help you achieve your personal style.

I know of some photographers who PS the hell out of their shots, when the shot that came out of the camera first was absolutely fine and good.    Did it need to be re-coloured, softened, sharpened, actioned, etc?  Nope.  Leave it alone.  Let it speak for itself.
There's a pressure here... 'What do you mean, you don't use PS?'  'Really?'
Yes, really.  I have PS.  It sits here monolith like on my computer and wow, it's a great tool, but I rarely open it for any of my photographs.  It's not what defines my style.  If you'd be lost without digital manipulation tools, then why is that?

And as regards my style, I'm not sure that I have entirely finished developing it.  To say that I've finished would be an acknowledgement that I've stopped growing as a person, and that's just simply not true.  Whilst I guess my personality has pretty much set, my growth as who I am has not.  If I look at my very early photographs, they're very different to what I do now, technically and in style.
I'm still journeying.
My only advice to those who are developing their style... keep taking photographs, keep making mistakes, don't be afraid of making errors, keep learning, keep experimenting but most of all, enjoy it.

Style isn't a destination, it's a journey.

Weekend shooting...

I was shooting at Korowal School's fair last weekend.  Such beautiful children everywhere!  Now mine are growing up, well, older than toddlers anyway, I get to enjoy everyone else's chubby angels.
I couldn't get over this little girl's beautiful eyes.  Incredible!
Hope you enjoy these candid shots from the day.

Weddings - by Solitary Photographic

There's something quite lovely about a wedding ... especially when the shoot is in the beautiful Blue Mountains of NSW, Australia.

Welcome to Solitary Photographic's blog. I hope you enjoy your stay.