Thursday 21 April 2011

April 21st 2011

I normally do my blog on a Friday but today is Maundy Thursday and it set me thinking about Maundy Thursday last year which was April 1st.  It's not surprising I recall it with some clarity as it was the biggest day of my photography career: shooting the Queen distributing the Royal Maundy at Derby Cathedral. The shoot was difficult in that It was a bright, sunny, blue sky day which was fine for the Royal party and the crowds but tricky, exposure-wise, for the photographer, shooting in harsh midday light.  Inside the Cathedral, no flash was allowed, and we could only photograph Her Majesty handing out the Maundy purses on the central aisle.  I noticed that today's Maundy ceremony was live on television.  For some reason (possibly space restraints), there were no TV cameras inside Derby Cathedral; only stills cameras belonging to five photographers, so our pictures were very important, especially for the Maundy recipients.  The souvenir booklet, with photos by myself and my colleague Ian Daisley (who shot from the gallery and inside the Cathedral Quarter Hotel) is still available.  Only a fiver, too.
My favourite image is the one I got of the Queen being driven away after her walkabout, especially as no other photographer got it.  I had to quickly focus, frame and pan at the same time and fired off several shots in the hope I would get at least one decent image.  The best one I got (opposite) was better than I dared hope - a reasonably sharp portrait of her Majesty, smiling and clearly enjoying herself, with the crowds waving at her along with the resonant imagery of two Union Jacks.     


That shoot was a classic case of one job opportunity leading to another: I was recommended to the Cathedral by Ian Ferguson of Derby Cathedral Quarter to whom I had become official photographer and, what's more, it led to me photographing Princess Anne's visit to Derby College and Prince Charles' visit to Royal Crown Derby.  Funnily enough, I have got Prince Edward to shoot when he visits Heage Windmill on May 6th so I could have done with a call from William and Kate about a certain shoot, just so I could complete the set. Who is this guy Hugo Bernand anyway?  Actually, he's an experienced celebrity snapper and he was chosen as the Royal Wedding photographer for his 'discretion, spontaneity and charm'.  Interestingly, two of those attributes are more about his personality than his picture-taking skills.  I hold a lot of stock by this.  I always say that 50% of wedding photography is about the photos and the other 50% is about the people.  Someone once said that to be a wedding photographer, you have to be a 'referee' ringmaster, behavioural psychologist and grand diplomat'.  Very true.
That said, the imagery produced is hugely important.  That was made very clear this last week through a news item about a couple whose wedding was ruined by a snapper who patently should not have been trading as a wedding photographer.  Frankly, though, I had scant sympathy for the couple because they paid him only £300 and clearly hadn't checked him out beforehand.  It's frustrating to hear of these stories and I do wonder if couples place enough value on the person who is going to capture all the essential moments of their special day.  
A photographer friend of mine advised me that if you get to the tricky subject of payment and the couple are hoping you will bring your price down, ask the bride how much she will be paying for her dress.  Usually it's a lot of money so you then have the opportunity to point out that you are the guy who is going to give her the lasting memory of how fabulous she is going to look in that dress , so shouldn't she consider spending as much on the photographer as she does the dress?
I only like to take on about half a dozen weddings in a year as I like to do lots of other types of work but also because they are very pressurised and extremely hard work.  I lavish an enormous amount of time on processing the photos (sometimes as many as 1,000) and creating the special albums, invariably made up of many montages.  If I get quibbles about pricing, I have to point out that a wedding photographer's job isn't just about the wedding day itself.  I invariably use up an entire working week on post-production, sometimes more.  Would you give your professional services to someone for a whole week for 300 quid?
I am increasingly concerned about this issue because I have struggled with wedding bookings this year.  I know I'm a quality wedding photographer - I have a fine set of testimonials on my website to prove it - and I'm not expensive.  I realise that I should be marketing myself more vigorously, though the last wedding fayre I tried to get into had already got its full complement of photographers.  That didn't surprise me: a wedding photographer at a convention told me that there are 200,000 weddings a year in the UK - which amazed me - but 20,000 photographers vying for their business.  That's 10 weddings per photographer.  How many wedding couples, though, ask Uncle Harry because he's a keen photographer with an all-singing, all-dancing digital SLR?  

I've pasted here just two of the 28 double pages I put together for a wedding couple last year.  
The first double page is made up of shots taken first thing in the morning - 9am - when the bride was having her hair done - while the last but one double page shows the last photos I took when the band played at the evening party - about 10pm.  That's 13 hours of photography.  That's why we need to be paid a proper rate.
I have just received an email from a bride who enquired about my services and has now told me that 'your prices were out of my budget'.  As I stated earlier, I am not expensive - £950 is my price and that comes with an assistant - so it's disappointing to be turned down on one's price when it's so reasonable.  I'll leave you here with another statistic: it's reckoned the average cost of a wedding in 2011 is £18,500.  What's £950 when I'm the one guy who will provide you with probably the most cherished memory of your special day? 

Friday 15 April 2011

April 15th 2011

I have just done another 'suit shoot' for my pal Rupert Bowling and, in the process, learned a lot about online retailing.  Harrods' historic boast that it sells 'everything from a pin to an elephant' can be more than matched by the world wide web these days.  E-commerce is now big business.  Last year, online retailing shot up 25 per cent with more than 50 per cent of us shopping on the internet. But... shopping for clothes online?  Actually, I did that recently myself:  I couldn't find a local store selling Nehru suits, so I bought one online.

Rupert says that selling something as personal as clothes on the internet is not at all difficult.  Actually, online clothes sales are on the up.  It’s certainly worked for Rupert, who runs the website www.suitsmen.co.uk from his home in Shirley Common, selling a wide range of men’s suits, jackets, coats and trousers along with a growing collection of suits and jackets for women.  Over ten years ago, Rupert became the first retailer in the UK to sell men's suits online but it’s since launching suitsmen.co.uk in 2008 that sales have soared.  I've been helping him boost business further by highlighting his clothes through photos and, in the process, we had wonderful help from Ashbourne-based businesses.
‘Key to selling online is constantly improving your website,’ Rupert rightly points out.  After playing squash and talking business in the bar afterwards, I pointed out to Rupert that as his photo gallery largely showed only mannequins, he could improve his website by having real people show off his range.
I suggested we shoot in Ashbourne, our local market town.  it proved to be a perfect choice, in more ways than one.  I knew Ashbourne would give us the stylish backdrops we wanted for the images but what made the shoot go so smoothly was the generosity of its retail community.  Writing about and photographing Ashbourne for Derbyshire Life proved very useful for renewing some good contacts. Firstly, Mick Hulme, the fish, poultry and game merchant, offered his living quarters for our two models Mark and Tamzin to change.  His shop was closed, too, so we were spared any fishy smells! Better still, we got a wide and excellent range of photos through Alan Matkin of Avanti allowing us to use his jewellery store, Rob Watkin and Glen Armstrong opening their St John Street Gallery even though it was their Monday closing day, and Vivyann Manion giving us free use of her antique shop and courtyard.  What was so heartening was that none of these people had anything to gain, other than a link on both Rupert and myself's website. They were just happy to help out two guys trying to make a living.  Their beneficence speaks volumes about the spirit of commerce in Ashbourne.
We experienced yet more kindness when Helen Meynell allowed us to use Meynell Langley Hall for our second photo shoot.  I had donated my photos from two weddings I shot at the Hall for Meynell Langley’s new website, so Helen reciprocated by allowing us in for the day. Meynell Langley is a beautiful country estate and it was wonderful to showcase one of Rupert's classy dinner suits in the Hall’s elegant library, complete with antique books and roaring fire.  As you can see below, it was a perfect location.  You can see my wedding pics at Meynell Langley on www.meynell-langley.co.uk  
We've got further local shoots planned and Rupert feels even more confident about sales.  You might argue that clothes are better sold in a shop - after all, selling clothes online lacks that 'touch and try' element which High Street stores provide.  However, as Rupert told me, 'clicking through a web page is much easier than rifling through endless racks – and you haven’t had to get the car out.  I can also offer as much choice as you can get visiting half a dozen shops.  As for wanting to feel the material, we send swatches through the post, and hardly any customers return their order.’  And you can't argue with Rupert's sales.
Rupert knows what he is talking about because he has intensively studied the intricacies of e-commerce for over 12 years.  ‘I spent the first two years of my business working 60 hours a week with no holidays just studying how the internet can work for online sellers,’ says Rupert, ‘so I’ve kept ahead of the market.  This is even more important in an age where you can’t just rely on Google or other search engines but have to consider mobile apps, Facebook, Amazon, eBay and other routes to retailing.
Now he has this new imagery, Rupert's customers will realise just how smart his clothing is and that his fabrics are some of the very best – at competitive prices, too.  An increase in sales will also show the great value of using Ashbourne and Meynell Langley Hall as photo locations which, as a Derbyshire lad, will please me a lot.

While Mark was putting on that dinner suit above, I got a few shots of Tamzin in her lovely evening gown.  I took the opportunity to get a few shots for the Trevillion Fine Art image library which I subscribe to.  Meynell Langley was the perfect place for creating the kind of imagery that you find on book covers, publishers being Trevillion's chief clientele.  Tamzin took off her shoes, sat by one of the Hall's large windows and gave me just the right look I asked for - slightly sad and pensive.  She was perfect.  I changed the colouring in Photoshop and added a texture overlay to give the image the look of a painting.  I think it's just about the finest portrait I have ever produced.  I so love this kind of photography.  Tamzin and I are now going to spend a whole day at Meynell Langley creating more of this kind of imagery - I can't wait.  She is great to work with, and she has a face to launch a thousand book covers! Watch this space for more...