Happy Days.......



In July 2012 i was asked to cover the 'Happy Days' Festival in south west London for the Splashlight magazine, this was the third job of the day, first job was second shooter at a Wedding in Stokenchurch to help out a friend of mine, followed by a Jubilee Party near Gerrards Cross, then onto the festival itself.

The saving grace of the day was the fact that Level 42 were playing that night, along with Billy Ocean on the line up.

Iv'e been a big Level 42 fan since they first started and their music has been a soundtrack to my life so i was really pleased to get to see them and photograph them before they went on stage and during the show.

Technically it was the usual thing, many different coloured lights, on and off all the time-a photograph nightmare!

I started by underexposing my shots as the camera was trying to read all the dark tones and overexposing everything, Mark King (top image) had a great blue backlight on him sometimes and was lit by warm tones from the front, Billy Oceans's lighting was all over the shop and he was moving around quite a bit, in and out of the lights so i just crossed my fingers and kept shooting.

There are so many things to think of when shooting live music, Firstly-composition, with someone moving around the stage you have to choose the moment to shoot so you can get the subject against a good background and without a microphone stand in front of their face.

Secondly, expression- getting the shot at the right moment is crucial-capturing the look on the performers face is in my view paramount, as their expression really conveys the emotion they are feeling while performing.

Thirdly, timeing- pressing the shutter at the right time sounds easy but when you have a performer who really moves about it can get very tricky so you have to almost pre-visualise the next move by listening to the music which sounds a bit obvious but when your shooting a concert you tend not to notice the music too much as you are concentrating on all of the above!

Last, but definately not least.....EARPLUGS!

Usually the Photographer is right at the front, between stage and audience and the speakers can be only a few feet away so earplugs are a must otherwise you will have ringing in your ears the rest of of the night!

JodyRule shoot 2

Regular followers of this Blog may remember Jody (above) from a previous post.
Jody had requested some more images of himself as he had a magazine interested in doing an article on him and needed some newer images.

He is a regular at Jagz music venue in Ascot so we decided to do the latest shoot there. We started of on the stage as he needed the Jagz logo in the image which was on the back wall, then we went downstairs to the nightclub which had some fantastic orange walls and old leather sofas (a Photographers delight of a location)

For the bottom image i set up a couple of flashes, one to either side of the camera with an umbrella on the right and flash and a grid on the left hand flash that concentrated the light on his head and shoulders, some shots had a light behind the glass bricks in the wall with a blue gel on for effect.

Most of the images i have taken of Jody before have had his guitar in the picture but for these it was just him.

The top image was in the same area of the nightclub, but at the bar area, just one flash in an umbrella at a low angle, the padding on the bar looks great and the lead in lines take your eyes straight to Jody.

The deep reds and bright oranges are at a contrast against the cool blue of his T Shirt, hat and jeans

So many things to think of when planning an image-location, colours, lighting, composition etc.

On another note, i seem to take a lot of images in bars/clubs etc, mainly due to the decor lending itself to my style i suppose?

Corporate Headshot

As well as photographing Actors, i am also called upon to produce Corporate Headshots.
Above is Sir Ian McGeechin OBE, who at the time was ex Director of Rugby for the London Wasps and a very well known figure in the Rugby world.

He was making an inspiring speech to businessmen on behalf of Archer Mathieson at a very early breakfast event at Twickenham Rugby Club, i got there at 7am to set up lighting for his speech and to take some general images of the day.
I wanted to get a picture of Sir Ian with the company logo to tie them together visually so straight after the speech i moved one of the banners away from the stage, put a seat near it, moved the two flashes in position, took some test images, and.........................waited.

Everybody wanted to speak to Sir Ian after his rousing speech so i couldn't get near him for 5 minutes, but i knew they would want this image so i managed to get through the scrum (rugby joke!) and asked him if i could have 5 minutes of his time?
He was very happy to have his photograph taken so i spent a couple of minutes composing images until i had a few variations.

Lighting details are-one bare flash back camera left, one flash in a shoot through umbrella camera right front.

He was a very charming and friendly chap who knew the power of a good photograph!
Later we went into the corridors with employees of Archer Maithieson for some more images with some of the staues of rugby player to keep the theme of rugby in the images.

light set up in the dark and final image

Above is Scott, you can read about him on the previous post.
This top image is a quick illustration of the lighting setup for the final result of the image bellow.
As you can see, one flash on the gates and one flash in a grid onto Scotts' face with a very slow shutter speed to get the fading evening light. The flash on the gates also gives a rim light on Scott's face camera left which is handy as i didn't have a lot of time to break out a third flash as the sun had allready gone down and it was getting very dark, in fact we took the last shot in total darkness!.
These gates are one of my favourite locations, they are at the bottom of the 'Old Mile straight' at Ascot Racecourse-right next to the road with plenty of parking in a side road nearby.
As with many locations it's best not to use them too frequently as it's not too good to see them in every shoot, iv'e started taking images on my IPhone of locations that can be used in the future so i have a small library to choose from.
As for the images from this day, i supplied him with colour and a few black and white ones for choice

Studio shoot

Above are Rappers Scott (top) and Lee.

They came along to Fine and Dandee studios in Wokingham, Berkshire at the weekend for some promo shots for CD artwork and general PR images.

After setting up backgrounds and lights we talked about how they want to be perceived, i always ask that question as i usually have a preconceived idea of what subjects should look like.

If you said to me what does a Rapper look like then i would imagine someone with a angry face snarling into the camera making lots of 'Gang' signs with their hands-a stereotypical look!

But Lee and Scott were very different-with an almost laid back style which suited their music

I thought i'd keep the lighting dramatic by side lighting them, especially as Lee had a baseball cap on which meant the light had to reach up under the brim of his hat. We used a grey background with a light shining across it for some images and also with a gridded flash with a green gel on to make Lee's red baseball cap really pop out, most of the images had a rear/side light to bring the dark side of the body away from the background

The very top image of Scott was shot against a pure white background, with just one flash facing him-very simple and clean. I placed him on the right side of the image so it could be cropped square for a CD cover with some added text-something you have to keep in mind when shooting for covers.

So after 4 hours of shooting  in the studio, moving lights around, and about 400 shots later we packed up and headed home to make a selection of images to hand over to their Manager.

Kieron Garrett



Kieron Garrett is an accomplished Jazz and Classical Pianist who wanted some images that would help him convey his character.

We met up at a pub that had some fantastic furniture and wallpaper that i could use in the images, and set to work with two flashes, both flashes had grids on them that put a pool of light onto Kieron's face and a pool of light on Kieron and the wallpaper- a very moody look.

The flash on the wall had a blue gel on it to give it that 'Jazz Club' look, and the one on his face had a opposite amber gel on it to get the 'correct' colour on Kierons skin-very simple to do and very effective.

The whole image was done very quickly thanks to having an initial idea for the shoot, a suitable location and some cool furniture.

You can find out more about Kieron here

Legend in a Pub

Pictured above is Robin Bibi, rock legend who has performed with all the big names in Rock over the years.
This image is one of many taken in the Grey Horse Pub, Kingston Upon Thames.
The pub was very atmospheric and had seen many Rock bands play over the years.
We started in the front area of the pub with a large flash straight on to Robin and another flash from rear left.
Later we moved in to the back of the Pub where the bands perform where i put a flash to camera left and another behind Robin on a ledge that he is standing in front of.
I liked the contrast of his orange shirt against the blue wall, he gave me a Rock 'n' Roll stance and i took the picture!
He used some of my images for his website and aother promotional material.
You can find out more about him here

Colour and Light

Adam is a DJ and all round cool dude.

He wanted some images he could use for general PR purposes, ie, business card, poster etc.

A few miles from me is a skate park that has the most amazing graffiti on the walls that surround it.

After we worked out some poses and ideas, i lit Adam from the front right and rear left, bringing the front light down lower than the rear to get light up under his hat and also to spill onto the colourfull background,

you can see in the image, the rear light puts some needed light onto Adam's back, otherwise it would be in shadow.

Without the flash the image would be quite boring and dull, flash really helps to lift an image, even in broad daylight.

Duncan

Duncan is a Saxofonist of great talent, i met him thru a fellow band member of his who plays keyboards.
He lives in Kingston upon Thames in some trendy flats right next to the Thames so that was our location.
Once on the roof we found a couple of places to shoot

The top image was by some air conditioning units that serves the flats, i thought they were a good element in the image to 'anchor' Duncan to- i suppose they reminded me of speakers in some way.
The bottom image was with Duncan against the railings that go round the edge of the flats, i liked the lead-in lines of the rail forcing your eye on to Duncan and his fantastic saxaphone which was truly a work of art!.

The lighting was very simple, one flash with an umbrella, held firmly by my trusty sidekick John, with the flash balanced with the existing ambient light. The top images has the ambient light dropped  for effect.
I gave Duncan a series of images in colour and black and white that he could use for print and web.

Nick Saxton

Last Summer on what was probably the hottest day of the year, i photographed Nick at a disused paper mill at a very desolate location in Berkshire.

Nick wanted some images of himself with guitar (and without) that he could use in his promotion for posters/Cd cover etc.

As it was very hot i placed Nick in the shade and re-lit him with flash using the sun as a rim light, we also did some natural light images.

We spent a good few hours exploring the site for photogenic locations that would be suitable backgrounds for the shoot. As you can image, we were spoilt for choice as there were many interesting backgrounds to use as long as the sun was coming from behind Nick. After a couple of hours we succumbed to the heat and packed up, drove home and had a long cool drink.......

More about Nick here

Saint Avian

Recently photographed Sarah and Tony who make up the duo of 'Saint Avian'

In their words-'Saint Avian are an acoustic act who work songs by stripping them back to the bones to draw out their natural rhythms and melodies.'

We all met up at a The Assembly Rooms in Marlow, Bucks where they are a regular attraction.

I photographed them on the stairs leading up to the venue and inside the venue as well, although all these images here are from the 'stairs' session!

As you can see the final result of taking an image can be changed, from colour to black and white or even manipulating the colour image to give a slightly different look. None of the above are the original image i made, obviously the mono image has been changed but the other two colour images have some type of manipulation done to them-the top to the extreme with type added and the bottom image less so.

The images from inside the venue were of Sarah and Tony by the large bright windows but lit by flash to balance the light  and the stairs images were lit by one flash alone.

To see/hear more of Saint Avian, click here



Jody Rule

I spotted Jody sitting outside a coffee shop with a large guitar case next to him.

I'm always on the lookout for musicians to photograph, so i spoke to him about supplying him with some professional images of himself. As luck would have it he mentioned he was on the lookout for a Photographer to do some PR images that he could use on posters/CD artwork and such like, it was good timing as he was picking up plenty of gigs and needed some images to go on advertising.

We met at a location and did a number of different shots with and without his guitar and with a few changes of clothes and hats.

Lighting info: top image was lit with two side lights and a softbox from the front-high up with the light falling off  behind Jody onto a grey background.

Bottom image was lit with a softbox from the side at a sharp angle and a light from behind at a very low power.

I supplied Jody with a CD of images for his website and for print purposes.

You can hear Jody's songs here

Bret Freeman

Bret Freeman is one of MMA's premier Ring Announcers.

Originating  from sunny California, he has made his home in Buckinghamshire.

Also known as 'Hollywood' for his American style and glamour that he brings to the many shows that he comperes in England and abroad, he is also a regular face on Sky Sports and other channels.

You can read more about him on his site at http://www.bretfreeman.com/

I recently photographed him in a small area using 3 lights in the first set up then just 2 for the rest of the images, sometimes using coloured gels for some 'Hollywood' effect.

I did a mixture of headshots with many posed shots of Bret holding his trademark microphone and showing off his trademark skull and crossbones jewellery.

We utilised the punchbag that Bret has in the shots to get a visual link to the fighting that he announces for.

From set up to breakdown was at least a couple of hours and Bret kept up his showmanship throughout, happy to change some of his attire as we went along to get some different images from the shoot.

Miss Sophie Plummer

I recently shot some images of the very talented Sophie Plummer

at a location in Surrey.

Sophie has got a fantastic voice and also plays the piano-a winning combination, it's amazing how someone so young can be so talented!

You can find all about her here

The shoot was an exterior and interior job due to the fantastic location, luckily some decorations had been put up for an event at the location which we utilised, then we arranged some shots at the piano with some more edgier images later in the day against a Union Jack flag taped to the wall as a background.

The shoot lasted for about 4 hours with a few tea breaks thrown in and lots of clothes changes and lighting set ups.

The above image is one of my favourites, a very simple image that say's it all-a talented young lady and a piano.

On the technical side of things, most of the images were made with two lights, one main light onto Sophie on the front with a light at the back to throw some light onto her hair. We shot against the sun outdoors and also balanced the light indoors with the light outside in some images.

STOP PRESS!....images from the shoot feature in Sophie's new video on Youtube.



Mr Derry Pope



Above is Derry Pope, Performer, Arranger and Vocal Coach.

I first saw Derry performing at an event in Windsor that i covered for Splashlight Magazine.

We recently got together to produce some images for his new site and for general PR use

along with some headshots thrown in for good measure.....

The top image was taken in a very old (and cold) local theatre in Sunninghill, Berks, luckily we found a old piano that we incorporated into the shots to mark that fact that Derry is an accomplished music arranger.

The image below was taken in my local pub that has some great backgrounds and furniture (and an understanding Landlord!) that lend themselves to this type of photography- i'm always on the lookout for free 'temporary' studio possibilities!

The lighting set up for the piano image was one light straight on to Derry with the second from rear left as a hair/back light with a third light onto the red curtain with a red gel on it to really make the colour pop.

Lighting for the bottom image was one gridded light from left and a softbox for fill from the right which gave the image a painterly feeling to it.

I took many more images that day so he had a wide selection to use for his new site.

His current site is here

Cat on a parquet floor



This is 'Cat', a fantastic singer/songwriter/musician that i photographed a few years ago in a rehearsal room at an arts centre.

She wanted some PR images of herself with a piano,my first thought was what a great parquet floor, so that is where i placed cat with the piano in the background to show the link between her and the instrument.

The lighting was very simple, just one light through an umbrella on to Cat, balanced with the ambient light from outside the window-very simple but effective, if this image waqs cropped square it would be ideal for a cd cover

Tom-Model and Actor

This is Tom, aspiring Actor and Model.

He wanted some headshots and general images of himself for his portfolio so we found a sunny corner outside and put up a flash.

There was some lovelly sunny light coming from behind Tom so i filled in with light from the front flash to bring him up to the right exposure. We did many different shots that afternoon in different locations for a total 'look'.