Roseblade Photography Blog

Businesses from all industries benefit from good reviews and recommendations. One of the most useful things for an uncertain consumer is a trusted referral and it’s invaluable for business, not least in the photography world where personal connection is so important. This BBC Click episode looks at what can happen when online reviews are faked or the system sabotaged. It looks at a specific case of review abuse in the photography industry.

In our increasingly digital-centric world it’s important to be aware of the flaws. The boss of Trip Advisor suggests ignoring the very best and the very worst reviews and focussing on the majority. The trouble is, it can only take one bad review to ruin a business.

I’m all for technological improvement but you just cannot underestimate the value of good old fashioned word of mouth and a relational customer base. I love what I do because I get to work with people, why let the internet rob me of that.

I couldn’t help but get this shot. This sweet old lady was wandering around the back of the church during a wedding ceremony with a bright yellow high vis jacket, very subtle. I’m pretty sure she wasn’t collecting for the couple but if you’re charitably inclined, it’s not a bad idea for your wedding list!?

To all potential 2011 wedding couples. Please note that following the budget announcement of an increase to 20% VAT we have now set our prices for all 2011 bookings. You’ll be pleased to know that we’re not charing any extra for TIME only for PRODUCTS. The prices of our albums and other products have to increase as our suppliers will be increasing their prices also. Click here to download a full wedding price guide for your information. We’ve actually even REDUCED some of our prices a little to make up for it. The disk of files for example, and adding extra pages to your album.

This is so often the case at weddings. You get one shot at the day, and one shot at the key moments. You can’t exactly ask the bride to walk down the aisle again because you missed it. At Bryony and Adam’s wedding recently, I had a moment I just had to get right. They had a plan to do a hay bail roll, that means four massive bails weighing a couple of tons each, rolled across the field by the most alpha of males, competing for glory.

They were set to do it, then they weren’t going to as things were running late and light was fading. I managed to persuade them to sneak it in before there first dance but had no time to plan lighting or anything. Within a matter of seconds it was over. I was just running between bails trying not to get crushed, snapping away.

The best you can do this situation is know your camera, know your exposure, make sure you have space on your card, close your eyes and run. Well, keeping your eyes open might help.

It was a great moment to remember from the day, lots of fun, competition, heroics and victory. I was glad to be able to capture it. The fleeting moments are often the most precious.

Wedding photography is ALL about the people. Photographers should aim to make images that people will look at and say “That is so them”. Rather than, “how beautiful”, “what a lovely dress” or even “You look so happy”. All of that is important but being real tops them all in my book.

I had one of those rare occasions recently where I get to just be a guest but I was naturally observing the photographer now and then. It’s always so easy to criticise, and of course no one is perfect. This guy was really good, one of the best I’ve witnessed for a while. He was unobtrusive, polite, prefessional. All seemed good.

When I checked out the photos afterwards I was a little disappointed. Not in the sharpness, colour, attention to detail or composition, these were all pretty good, as I said he WAS good. It was just the lack of character. I know the couple and the images didn’t talk to me. Underneath all the vignetting and shallow depth of field all I could see was a likeness of my friend, not a representation of his personality.

It just served to remind me how important it is to capture ‘people’ at a wedding. So if you’re in the business and finding the same; reflect. Stop trying to copy other peoples poses, lighting or editing tricks just for now and make sure you connect with the PEOPLE.

Granted this isn’t a particularly unusual or creative shot but it was made in a different sort of way. I don’t have a macro lens, I’d hardly ever use it for what I do but every now and then I need a close up shot. This technique uses a 50mm 1.8 lens reversed. If your not familiar with this, take your lens off, turn it round and hold it against your camera body. You need to shoot manually and focussing is a bit tricky but it works to a certain extent.