This site provides aspiring and professional social photographers with an inspirational blend of creative, technical and business articles so that they can take better pictures and earn more money.
The comments within ProPhotoNut pull together the thoughts and ideas of many photographers, from fledglings to some of the finest professionals in the world.
When I was researching Radio Poppers it was not easy for me to understand exactly how they worked and what it’s like to use them. So now I’ve put together this Radio Popper guide detailing the ins and outs of the Radio Popper PX system.
The first stock of European specification Radio Poppers arrived for testing last month. We now have plenty of sales stock available including accessories and spares. How do they work and why are we selling them? Read on.
1 Radio Poppers are contactless. That means the camera and Speedlight have no idea that the Radio Poppers are there. The camera and flash act in just the same way as they do when using the inbuilt infra red system. Every function available using infra red is also available using Radio Poppers including Full ETTL or manual firing and 1/8000th second flash synchronisation. (more…)
Here is the 2006 showreel that Julie and I commissioned to help us convert prospects into becoming clients. It is all made up from still photographs. The animation was created painstakenly by hand. This is meant to be mute – see below for the reason.
Here is the showreel that I commissioned using Macromedia Director way back in 2006. It shows pictures that Julie, my wife and I shot at weddings from 2001 – 2005. We included it in our brochure at the time to help convert prospects into clients. The original version was delivered on CD and contained paid for licensed production music. I’ve kept this web version mute to avoid copyright infringement. All the pictures and content belong to Lovegrove Weddings. Please enjoy this HD video. I hope you get plenty of ideas and inspiration from it.
The original production was published on CD as a (more…)
01. Our session started with a contre jour set of images. I lit Iskra with the Lupo 1200 to simulate sunlight.
This was my first time photographing Iskra Lawrence. We met at 08.30 and soon struck up a good relationship whilst overcoming a minor wardrobe issue. With that sorted, Iskra went into her make up session with Vicky Waghorn. I decided to shoot in just three bedrooms, a bathroom and the upstairs landing of the house. Those rooms were to become our studio for the next two days. The 60 or so pictures you see here were shot (more…)
01. The big picture. "Shoot creative pictures with impact that reflect your personal image style. Inspire, educate and share your skills with our delegates" Said Damien. those were my words of direction for my friend and collegue Martin Hill. Judging by the feedback I've been getting he didn't disapoint. As one of the UK's emerging eminent talents Martin is set for great things in our industry. In this shot Martin photographed Sarah Beaufoy at f/22, 1/250th second on his Canon 1Ds Mk3. Lighting was from a pair of Broncolor Mobil heads on this grey, overcast day.
The delegates arrived early for this “Into The Light” workshop. The call time was 09.30 but by 08.45 the first eager photographers were getting the scale of our fabulous venue. You can’t fail to be amazed at the graceful setting of Kingscotte house near Tetbury. (more…)
1. 1. A simple enough shot to set up once you know what to look for. Overcast conditions forced me to find a covered location with decent lighting control. A shift of white balance and a creative exposure compliments Jojo's warm expression.
I thought I’d share the thoughts and process behind the classic Lovegrove workshop that is Urban Portraits™(more…)
Cute doesn't even begin to describe this instrument of image making. The small, retro camera is one of the best portrait cameras I've ever used. The X100 is very intuitive, I don’t fiddle with the settings, I just take pictures. I’ve set it up to suit me so I can just pick it up and shoot.
Every now and then a bit of photographic kit comes along that changes the way I see and capture my world. (more…)
I’ve been ever so lucky to be a photographer this past week. I’ve shot in some amazing locations with a fabulous team. The vast majority of my pictures are either embargoed pending a forthcoming competition or still unprocessed but I’m just itching to show you a taster. Something for the weekend.
My first frame on the Fuji X100 taken in colour. OMG this little camera loves colour too.
I used secret locations scouted out using Google Earth and a bit of local hear say. (more…)
Here are thirty pictures that I shot whilst giving one of my shooting couples workshops last month. Way back in 1999 Julie and I started to shoot every one of our wedding couples before their wedding. The general term used at that time for this kind of shoot was an engagement shoot but we preferred to use the phrase pre-wedding shoot. Somehow linking the shoot to the wedding gave it more gravitas and implied it was not a try before you buy type shoot. Our biggest obstacle to overcome in the early days was to get clients to buy pictures from the shoot in sufficient quantity to make the whole process worthwhile. We have that bit sorted now through the use of inteligent communication and having the right products delivered with a fabulous customer experience. (more…)
Two weeks in and I’m totally smitten with my Fuji X100 camera. I took it on a holiday to Cornwall and then I pulled it from my camera bag at today’s portrait shoot just for 1 minite. This is a follow up to my original post about the Fujifilm X100 here.
1. We were moving between locations and this little girl wanted to have a go with my Fuji X100. I had my Canon kit in my Think Tank bag over my shoulder and I took this grab shot on the move. Click on the picture to see the full resolution image. I've only processed these pictures in Lightroom using the auto black and white function and the pictures have not been near Photoshop. The EXIF is intact on the full res image.
I would love to have shot for longer with the X100 but (more…)
This short photo shoot session in one bedroom at The Rectory Hotel near Malmsbury was organised by Andrew Jackson, one of my Evolve 3 delegates for the benefit of all the Evolve group. It wasn’t a workshop or tutorial session as such but I did suggest using just controlled ambient light in the room to create a high key set of images and then a low key set of images and here is a small selection of my shots for your perusal. I must just add that my Fujifilm X100 hadn’t arrived by this time so these of Jojo (Johanna Ormsby) were taken on my Canon 5Dmk2 with either the 100mm or 50mm L lenses. (more…)
1. I shot this confrontational portrait with a Fuji X100 compact camera with it's fixed 35mm equivelent lens. I thought this camera would make a good street and cafe portrait camera. It's my tool of choice for Blaises wedding and my new companion just about everywhere. Here are my very first test shots all taken at f/2 - enjoy.
Click on the picture above to download a full high res jpeg of the image complete with exif for evaluation purposes.
I’m feeling inspired by a fabulous after dinner talk by my good friend and fellow photographer Martin Hogeboom in Germany earlier this week. In his talk entitled ‘What’s not in your camera bag’ Martin discussed the essential toolkit needed to become a successful photographer. The talk was from the perspective of a commercial photographer but many of the attributes Martin identified relate to all aspects of freelancing and self employment. Martin inspired me to write this 10 point personal toolkit of a successful photographer. (more…)
For many months now I’ve been researching a new genre that combines my work with ‘Feminine Beauty’ and ‘Shooting Couples’. A product for the brave and beautiful. My customer base will most likely include celebrities plus footballers and their partners. The format is a two to three hour shoot in my studio or their home or a combination of the two. The commission includes a fabulous Jorgensen album containing 30 to 40 pictures printed by me on Hahnemuhle on fine art paper.
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I invited local couple to test for me. We had a fun time on this journey into the unknown. I had created mood boards from the many hundreds of inspiration images I’ve collected online. I acquired ideas from many sources underwear advertising campaigns, movie stills and celebrity portraits. Here are 30 of the many pictures we created together. Every frame was shot on a Canon 5D mk2 with a 100mm L lens apart from the Pool table shot that I took using my 21mm Zeiss lens on the same camera. (more…)
1. Martin Oliver makes great use of an out of focus foreground for this delicate shot.
Photographing children and families has always been a good income generator for me, but I recognise there are photographers out there who just do it a whole lot better. Effortless enthusiasm, combined with the patience of angels are just some of the characteristics required to get top results. Martin Oliver is a master of the art and I invited him to give a workshop at our recent Portrait Euphoria event at Dillington House in Somerset. Here is a small selection of his pictures. (more…)
Every now and then I get the chance to give shooting workshops abroad. This time I was hosted by Keepsakes, both the European supplier of Couture Books and the German distributor of Jorgensen albums. I shared the teaching with the uber talented Martin Hogeboom. A super cool guy and a great photographer. Martin specialises in shooting commercial portraits and fashion. One day when I grow up I want to be like him.
1. Taken using direct sunlight through an open window. 100mm lens.
Here are 50 of my pictures of Jessica Kahne. Make up was by Gwen Vermolen Enjoy (more…)
Following on from this post here are the 40 images by my co tutor Chris Hanley. Chris and I did battle at the beginning of the week teaching on the final Cherish The Dress workshop to be held in Manchester. The stage was the fabulous Hilton building on Deansgate. Here is a selection of 40 of Chris Hanley’s shots from the day.
Words and pictures – Chris Hanley
A favourite Chris Hanley shoot location at the Manchester Hilton.
Chris Hanley and I did battle at the beginning of the week teaching on the final Cherish The Dress workshop to be held in Manchester. The stage was the fabulous Hilton building on Deansgate. Here is a selection of 40 of my shots from the day. Chris will have a bit of time to respond and to re-edit his submission accordingly. I will blog his 40 shots when they eventually arrive with me
1. Apart from a few signature shots, Chris and I agreed to shoot new images in this familiar landscape. I used a pair of barefaced Speedlights to light this shot of Natasha. The principal exercise for this picture was to select a balance of flash to ambient using just the aperture as the adjustment tool.
Shooting couples is like portraiture with an extra dynamic – relationship. Having been trained in television I’ve seen many a director at work cajoling the very essence of a plot out of the actors. Passion to pain all come easily into shot with the right cast and a great director. (more…)
1. Luke has given these pictures an effect in Lightroom. As Prophotonut readers are aware I do like my images to be straight colour or black and white but from time to time I'll let my work deviate.
Here are 19 of my shots from this weeks 1:1 shoot session. Enjoy… (more…)
2 day shooting
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