What is Art? Dorset wedding and portrait photographer
Posted on January 27, 2012
A subject re-visited today (because it’s Friday and nearing the end of the 31 day Blogging Challenge!!) ….
A year or so ago one of my fellow professional photographers tweeted and asked the question “What is art“?
Not surprisingly, a number of my peers around the country responded, and I chipped in with “Art is whatever you want it to be” – so it rather caught me by surprise when people agreed!
The point is – everyone’s tastes are different, be it with regards to photography, painting or whatever. There are those who will say that “art” is classical in style, some will say it’s something that draws an emotion from deep within you, but I think it’s just whatever you like – there are no rights or wrongs. Forget the pretentious opinions about art, and just enjoy it!
There are also those who say that photography isn’t an art, it’s a mechanical (well, electronic now I suppose) capture of a moment in time. But the word “photography” is actually derived from an ancient Greek term meaning “painting with light”, and I have to dig my heels in and say that I truly believe that photography CAN be art – it isn’t always, believe me, but with the right techniques a superbly executed photograph can rival many a painting.
This photo I took of Chloe could be considered to be “artistic” by some, but I love it for what it is:
Think I need to add that quote to my site and Blog – it’s quite good (even if I do say so myself!) 
Cheers,
Ian
Dorset wedding and portrait photographer
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Will you marry me? Dorset wedding photographer
Posted on January 26, 2012
With Valentine’s Day 2012 approaching I couldn’t resist sharing this story with you again!
I came across this charming video on one of the wedding vendors’ blogs, and think it’s a fabulous story ….. a photographer in the US by the name of Sid Ceaser created this Muppet inspired story for his girlfriend -
Image copyright Sid Ceaser / Ceaser Photography
On December 12th 2010, Sid took his girlfriend Sara to a cinema in New Hampshire. After they’d watched a couple of trailers for new films, this wonderful video came up on the big screen – as the Muppet proposed to his girlfriend Sid proposed to Sara. No prizes for guessing the outcome of either proposal – just enjoy the video and the terrific song.
You can read Sid’s story about the background to the proposal on his Blog – it makes the story even better!
Cheers,
Ian.
Dorset and Hampshire wedding and portrait photography
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Have courage, and follow your heart. Dorset photographer
Posted on January 25, 2012
Having spent years in the “Corporate” world, it was a tough decision to leave the (supposed) security of that behind and to pursue the dream – of having my own business and doing something that I enjoyed passionately … wedding and portrait photography. But in retrospect it was definitely the right decision to make – even though we’re now in tough times with talk of a double-dip recession it’s great when you have the freedom to pursue that dream and live life to the full.
I wrote about this last year just after Steve Jobs stood down as the CEO of Apple due to health issues and before his untimely death. This is an extract from a speech he gave to the students of Stanford University in 2005 – in which he reminds us all that no matter how young you are, one day you’ll be old and consigned to history – regardless of whether you were rich and famous, or poor and unknown it’s one of those speeches that brings home the fact that we’re all mortal.
Even though it was quoted many times on Blogs around the world after his death, the message still holds true – so make the most of your time, and have the courage to follow your heart …..
“No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don’t want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life’s change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.
Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”
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Top tips for writing great Blog posts! Dorset photographer
Posted on January 24, 2012
This 31-day challenge I’m taking part in to post to my Blog on a daily basis has, I must admit, become a lot harder as the month’s gone on! Initially you’re fired up with enthusiasm and lot of ideas, but as time goes on it becomes more of a struggle to find subjects that you think will be interesting to our readers and which allow you to be a bit creative. I’ve even taken to looking at news-sites like the BBC News or social media sites for inspiration, but that takes even more time!
Perhaps posting on a daily basis is something that’s best done if you’re doing a personal Blog (like Facebook updates on steriods!), or you’ve got the sort of business that’s driven by news items? Let’s be honest – most businesses don’t have something really interesting to say about themselves every day, do they? As a photographer I get to work with some lovely people, but sometimes they don’t want their images shown, and I’m not shooting every day of the year!
I’ve tried to keep a balance between talking about photography and subjects which might appeal to a wider audience, so how about this one?
Top 10 tips for writing great Blog posts!
Now, I’m obviously professing to be an expert in this matter (that’s a massive under-statement!), so I did some trawling around across a few of the social media sites and picked 10 that I thought might help others – so here we go …
1 – make sure you know how to format your Blog posts – understand your platform.
2 – have an eye-catching title. Seems obvious, but you want potential readers to be interested.
3 – put your posts in Categories, so that readers can look at relevant articles.
4 – be contentious! As long as you explain your stance you could generate some interesting conversations!
5 – remember to include a meta-description for the search engines (160 characters or less).
6 – check, double check and triple check it for grammar and spelling before you publish!
7 – remember to use header tags.
8 – use a relevant image or two – not only does it make the “read” easier, it helps with the search engines.
9 – use outbound hyperlinks.
10 – get your facts right before you publish!
Those are just a few tips on how to write great Blog posts, but it’s by no means a complete list – so …
Let me know YOUR tips for writing great Blog posts, and lets share them around!
Cheers,
Ian
Dorset wedding and portrait photographer
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1 Comment so far
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January 25, 2012 at 9:58 am -
Plan & schedule posts.
Brainstorm a months worth of posts then write and schedule them it that way you can go to meetings, work on other projects etc and your blog is still posting and working for you
Do you organise your email? Dorset photographer
Posted on January 24, 2012
I saw an interesting article yesterday about emails, as it’s apparently “Clean Out Your Inbox Week” – 5 whole days dedicated to giving your Inbox a detox! I’d really like to know who comes up with these things!
Anyway, a survey by The Radicati Group worked that, on average, each employee spends about 25% of their day on email, and that by 2013 approximately 507 billion email messages will be sent every day! We spend hours getting rid of junk mail, spam, “forwards”, “cc’s” and conversations that, quite frankly, we don’t have time for!
Do you know someone that manages to achieve that almost Nirvana state of “Zero inbox”? Do you envy them, or hate them (just a little bit)?
IBM Research undertook a study last year that whilst “actively foldering” your mail (to keep your Inbox manageable) reduces the complexity of your Inbox, it’s difficult to determine whether the time spent filing emails if actually worth it! It seems that “frequent filers” (as they referred to them) tend to remember less about their emails than non-frequent filers (out of sight and out of mind I wonder?).
Personally, I have to admit that my Inbox is usually a little untidy, but I do have the occasional purge to get rid of stuff!
What sort of email user are you? Filer? Inbox user? Let me know!
Cheers,
Ian
Dorset wedding and portrait photographer
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6 Comments so far
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January 24, 2012 at 1:54 pm -
I am always ‘emptying’ my inbox but it never ever goes under 15
I should probably start at the bottom and work up rather than new – old! I might actually get rid of those 15!-
January 24, 2012 at 1:58 pm -
I’m impressed Joanne – mine never gets anywhere NEAR 15!
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January 24, 2012 at 2:20 pm -
Someone after my own heart Jo – thank you!
Must admit the admin of the business is never as much fun as the work that you actually do!
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January 24, 2012 at 2:44 pm -
And you’ve ended up creating more work for yourself because of it Shawn!
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What’s happening with digital? Dorset wedding photographer
Posted on January 22, 2012
As a wedding and portrait photographer it’s really important for me to keep up-to-date with all of the changes in technology, but the trouble is that things are moving so quickly these days that the manufacturers are struggling to keep up with the pace and it’s almost the case that cameras are becoming outdated in less than 6 months! Not only that, but it’s all too easy to get drawn into thinking that you HAVE to get the latest, greatest camera, and that buying it will make ALL the difference to your shots …….. well, I’ve got news for you – it probably won’t!
Back in the days of film (and yes, it may surprise you to know that I am old enough to remember it!) an SLR would have a life of anything from 4-6 years before it was replaced. But these days people want more pixels, video, then HD video, stereo microphones, articulated LCDs and the list goes on!
The CES Show has just closed in Las Vegas and there were a host of new camera announcements – including the The Fujifilm X-Pro1. the latest in the line of mirrorless compact system cameras (or CSCs). These non-DSLR interchangeable-lens cameras offer high quality in a compact body, and you can expect these to gain popularity as the year progresses.
Nikon announced its new flagship, the D4 which goes head-to-head with the Canon 1DX and there were rumours about replacements for the Nikon D700 and the Canon 5D mk II this year. Sony brought our their A77 to rave reviews and they’ll probably bring out an even higher-spec’d model later!
Although smartphones have hit the traditional pocket camera market hard in terms of sales, there were lots of new models announced at CES. Samsung brought out a new model that even has built-in WiFi so that you can beam your images directly to the computer or the TV screen without having to remove the SD card!
So, and here’s the BIG question that I hinted at earlier – do all of these changes make us BETTER photographers? My personal view is that most cameras these days are more than capable of producing excellent pictures in the right hands – and I stress, “in the right hands”. A monkey can take a picture if you give it a camera, but creating a picture and understanding how the various elements of light, timing, composition etc. come into play are something that can only be achieved with time and practice – unfortunately I feel that far too many people don’t take the time to understand the basics, and that’s a real shame. As I said, the latest camera won’t actually make you a BETTER photographer – that only comes with practice!!
Cheers,
Ian
Dorset wedding and portrait photographer
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Is this the swansong for film? Dorset wedding photographer
Posted on January 21, 2012
Photographers across the world this week were taking in the impact of the once mighty giant of photography, Kodak, seeking protection from bankruptcy. To a generation brought up in the digital age it might not seem to be much of a “newsworthy story” – after all, Kodak’s not been influential in the market recently, but they were the first company to produce a professional digital camera (a shame that they didn’t follow through and capitalise on this innovation!).
However, for those of us who cut our teeth on imagery in the analog era, Kodak is still a symbol that shouts out “photography”. As a brand it’s up there with the iconic brands whose name, when you hear it, doesn’t need an explanation of what they do – just think of Coca-Cola, Macdonalds, Apple, Google etc. Kodak was THE film brand of the 20th century and was the most recognised film producer for over 70 years.
The potential demise of Kodak could be viewed by some as a final death-knell for film. It’s true that I haven’t shot a roll of film in years since converting to digital, but I was a late adopter of digital and it was only the change in the way that wedding photography has evolved in terms of coverage that convinced me to change. My landscape and fine art work shot on medium format film still outshines digital images, and photographers using large format film cameras continue to produce imagery of breathtaking quality.
Film (be it negative or transparency) has a certain, intangible, feel to it and I’ve yet to find a digital “plug-in” for my image processing software that can make a digital image look like something created on film. Film (and it’s processing) is expensive, and digital has made it so easy for many more people to enjoy photography, and that has to be good. But there’s something special about not knowing whether you’ve nailed the shot until the images have been developed – it makes you concentrate on getting the image right first time … the exposure, the composition. Don’t get me wrong, digital’s great for my commercial work, being able to check an image right away and I can’t imagine being without it now. But digital’s very precise, very clinical – film, on the other hand has something that’s more …. well, organic … it’s hard to describe! I’ve still got my faithful Nikon F4 – hard as nails and it’ll probably outlast me (something that today’s cameras are unlikely to do!) and although it’s worth hardly anything, I’m reluctant to let it go ….. call me sentimental!
There’s been a small resurgence in the use of film over the past couple of years, as people rediscover its charm, but I honestly feel that it’ll remain a niche market – I’d be really sad to see it disappear completely, so what am I going to do about it?
Buy some film next week and shoot with it – that’s what!
Cheers,
Ian
Dorset wedding and portrait photographer
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2 Comments so far
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January 21, 2012 at 4:28 pm -
Oh yay you have inspired me to do the same!!
I remember the charm behind film is that you just don’t know what your going to get!! Ripping open the envelope to reveal a ton of images you thought would be great but actually you have your finger in the corner, one of friends had their eyes closed or my favourite the person in the background being a wally!!!
Love it
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January 21, 2012 at 4:33 pm -
Great! But you don’t exactly create a compelling argument for it Joanne!
Know what you mean though!
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Top tips for starting your own business
Posted on January 20, 2012
There was an interesting article by Peter Day on the BBC Business page yesterday with some top tips for starting your own business:
- Hard times are good times to start a business – in other words, when you’re starting a new business (even in a recession) the only way is up! And if you make a success of it, you’re well placed for when the economy picks up again
- Focus on the ideas staring you in the face – if there’s something you need that other businesses aren’t supplying, then fill the gap!
- You already have the tools you need – a laptop and a mobile phone’s all that most businesses need to get off the ground.
- Cash is King – you need funding, either from savings or a loan. No-one’s going to pay you a salary, so work out how you’re going to survive.
- Tell your story – it doesn’t matter whether you’re talking to a potential customer, a mentor or a potential sponsor … it helps to tell the story of your business and the needs it fulfills
Oh, there’s another one as well – don’t take too much notice of these 5, just get on and do it!
I’d agree with all of those and add another one – if you’re going to start a business, make sure that it’s doing something that you absolutely love! What’s the point of doing something that you don’t enjoy? That might have been one of the reasons why you left your previous job, so don’t get trapped again.
Anyway – what are your top tips for people thinking of starting their own business? Why not share them below?
Cheers,
Ian
Dorset wedding and portrait photographer
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2 Comments so far
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January 20, 2012 at 6:30 pm -
excellent tips
I meet lots of women wanting to start a business and sometimes over complicate things. Best always to go back to basic start small aim big.
Wedding insurance – do you need it? Dorset weddings
Posted on January 19, 2012
As we’re in a new season of wedding shows, I thought it would be appropriate to re-post this article for couples planning their special day …
Is wedding insurance worth it?
It’s a fact of life – weddings these days are expensive …….. really expensive! The average cost is between £ 15 – 40,000 and it makes sense to cover as many of the risks as possible, so most couples sensibly opt for some form of wedding insurance. Typically, these policies cover most of the following criteria:
- Having to cancel your wedding
- Rearranging the wedding
- Financial support if you get made redundant
- Compensation if suppliers fail to deliver
However, just as with any other form of insurance, not all policies are created equal so it makes sense to check the fine print!
The BBC recently reported that the Financial Ombudsman Service has warned engaged couples to make sure that they give enough time and thought to their wedding insurance.
Cover for £ 25,000 typically costs around £130, but the financial research company Defaqto says that only 23% of policies will reimburse the full costs if you have to cancel a wedding, and that just 18% will pay out if any of the suppliers fail to deliver!
On a personal note, I’d recommend that couples ensure that their photographer is fully insured, and ask to see copies of their certificates. The ones you need to look for are:
- Professional Indemnity Insurance – this protects you in the event that in the unfortunate event that you find yourself in dispute with a photographer. The indemnity cover will pay the cost of his defending any allegations or claims made (such as negligence or breach of duty of care – for example, loss of digital mages from the wedding)
- Public Liability Insurance – also known as third party liability and personal liability. This cover protects the photographer against third party claims for injury or damage to people or property - for example, in the event that someone trips over his camera case and injures themselves
I make sure that I have copies of these whenever I see prospective couples, and I always keep a copy of the Public Liability policy with me when attending a wedding, as some venues will ask for a copy on the day!!
Hoping that your wedding day is fun and goes to plan!
Cheers,
Ian
Dorset wedding and portrait photographer
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How safe is your digital media? Dorset wedding photographer
Posted on January 18, 2012
I was struggling for a subject to discuss on today’s Blog post (this 31 day challenge is proving to be just that – a real challenge!), but then one of my fellow professional photographers put a comment onto Facebook regarding a problem he’d encountered whilst trying to download files from his memory card to the PC, so today’s question is ….
How safe is your digital media?
We’re now locked into the digital age, and memory cards in one form or another are an integral part of everyday life – they’re used to store and transfer photos, mp3 files, contact details and more. They’re in digital cameras, mobile phones, mp3 players, notebooks and laptops …. the list goes on!
All memory cards (and sticks) use Flash technology, as do other devices like USB flash drives and MP3 players. Memory cards obviously have a finite lifespan, and the “Compact Flash” cards that are used by top line digital cameras usually have a manufacturer’s warranty of 5 or 7 years, so you can imagine that during that time they’ll have stored tens of thousands of images!
It has to be said that failures are rare, and some manufacturers provide software on their cards that will hopefully rescue images/data in the event of a problem – but it’s best to minimise the risk if you can ……
- Use quality, branded cards;
- If you’re shooting images, don’t be tempted to buy the biggest card you can find – remember the old adage “putting all your eggs in one basket”? If that card fails on your once-in-a-lifetime holiday you’ve lost everything – better to shoot on smaller cards and then you’re guaranteed to have the majority of your files;
- Reformat the cards after you’ve used them and downloaded the images – to clear any residual data from them.
Now when you’ve downloaded the images to your computer, if you can, make a backup copy on a separate drive – they’re so cheap nowadays and you can plug one into your USB port.
Save a copy to CD or DVD, and keep it safely tucked away – but a word of warning …… the CDs and DVDs that you burn at home are created by putting the data into an organic layer on the disc, whereas the commercial ones you buy with your films and music on them use a different process. That organic layer will deteriorate over time, so your “home-grown” CDs/DVDs will not last as long ….. better to burn new copies every few years just to be sure.
Now we have no way of knowing where technology will lead us over the next few years, and we’re already starting to see compact cameras that wirelessly transmit images to computers, so be sure to keep your systems up-to-date ….. if you need that image from your honeymoon in 10 years time the computer’s operating system might not be able to read it (hands up anyone who bought a Betamax video years ago – no, I didn’t!).
Whatever you do, just be careful with your digital data – especially your photographs … they’re precious memories and once they’ve gone they can’t be replaced!
Cheers,
Ian
Dorset wedding and portrait photographer
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So true Ian. Steve proved personally that following your heart is the path to a meaningful life. Thanks for the reminder, and congratulations on taking that step yourself!
Thanks for the comment Robert, and yes, his words still hold true!