Photogenic Ladybird

Ladybirds always make such good photographic subjects, and this little chap in the image below was no exception. I spotted him/her while walking along the beach road at Wells-Next-The-Sea, admiring the beautiful Viper's Bugloss which is in full flower at this time of the year, lining great stretches of the mile long seaside path. It's one of my favourite wild flowers, the purple-blue petals glowing like little neon signs against the stark, bleached sandy soil of the coastal landscape.

Hand holding my Nikkor 105mm F2.8 macro lens coupled with a Nikon D90, vibration reduction (V.R.) on, I was able to select a wide enough aperture to throw any distracting background foliage into a dreamy blur while holding the subject in sharp focus. The red of the Ladybird contrasts nicely against the blue of the flower, something I really love. I wasn't expecting to get a shot like this on the day, but it just goes to show, you should always keep a camera by your side, you never know what you might stumble across.

Ladybird on Viper's Bugloss

Ghoulish cupcakes

Halloween has recently passed and with it the crazy array of displays in people's windows and shop front's, not to mention the weird and wonderful fancy dress worn by the kids trick or treating at the door. Spookily lit pumpkins hang from the porch and there's plenty of ghoulish shaped food on offer, from sickly sweets to fancy cupcakes. A local cake decorator has been hard at work producing these beautiful little treats that seem almost too good to eat. The detail is simply fantastic, from wicked witches heads to groaning skeletons. They're so mysterious and spooky though, they seem to be slowly disappearing one by one, especially when there are cups of tea around.

Nikon D90

Nikon D90

Nikon D90

Nikon D90

Nikon D90

  

'Small Fry'

Over the last few weeks, as well as photographing weddings, editing the images and helping produce the bride and groom's finished book, I have also created some of my own fine art pieces. The most recent of these has been my portfolio of six images depicting insect and flower interaction. They are now for sale, mounted and framed from £90 each and limited to 100 pieces only. They can be found in the gallery section.

I am now photographing in and around Wells-Next-the-Sea on the North Norfolk Coast where there is an abundance of beautiful landscapes and nautical detail shots to be had and it's very inspiring. I have started a fine art photography and craft shop on Folksy with two other artists who are both based in Norfolk. The name of this venture is 'Saltmarsh and Samphire' and in due course I will provide links to their personal websites and to our Folksy shop. For now though, I have uploaded one of my first images in what I hope will become a successful partnership, captured over the weekend whilst taking a stroll along the quayside.

'Small Fry'  Nikon D90 with Nikkor 50mm F1.8, ISO 200,  F2.8 @ 1/1600, + 1 E.V. 

Building a portfolio

I started my business with Julian Clune in the summer of 2011 and we had the same problem many people face when starting a new Wedding and Portrait website. We needed images. I had already photographed at my girlfriend's mum's wedding and some of the finished images made our portfolio, but we needed more. We needed images from different venues featuring different people. This was proving tricky as no one knew us, and our website was somewhat lacking because of this, the proverbial vicious circle. We decided to enrol on a 2 day wedding photography course in Norfolk, where we were taught how to pose the bride and groom and understand the mechanics of the day, from bridal preparation, detail shots and formal portraits of the loving couple. We both learnt a great deal from the two day course, became more confident at directing the models, and really started to understand when and how to use flash, not to mention how amazing and powerful reflectors can be. I believe that in the majority of cases, it is the bride who will pick the photographer that she wants to capture her big day, so images of brides on the website are of vital importance. We concentrated a great deal of our time in capturing beautiful images of the model in a gorgeous wedding dress, utilising the beautiful architecture and gardens of Norwich Cathedral. These were amongst the first images that graced our homepage of C&G Photography's website and undoubtedly drove traffic to our site which in turn has allowed the business to flourish and grow.

Nikon D90 with Sigma 50mm F1.4. ISO 200,  F1.4 @ 1/400, -0.7 E.V

The image above was underexposed by 0.7 E.v to control the highlights on the dress, which was very reflective and tried to blow out at every given opportunity.

Nikon D300 with Sigma 24-70mm F2.8. ISO 1000,  F2.8 @ 1/40, -0.3 E.V 

This classic image by Julian Clune was quite a tricky exposure to nail. Exposing for the model's skin tones blew the background and resulted in a dreamy, ethereal capture.

Stock

For a number of years now, I have been submitting a wide variety of photographs to various stock agencies. For people who aren't familiar with these companies, they basically allow you to upload your images to their database, where clients can search for, and buy pictures which are needed for their book publications, magazines or websites, (subject to quality control). I have sold numerous images to these sites and most have been fairly run of the mill and not particularly inspiring. I have come to realise that the more ordinary the image, the more likely it is to sell. This goes against everything I have learned to look for as a photographer, and whenever I venture out to take stock photos, I have to bear this in mind. That doesn't mean to say that the image can be poorly exposed or out of focus, just that anything and everything sells. Alamy is my preferred stock agency and they are fantastic. Images sell for good money and they really know how to push your work. They also have an international presence and a news section, where you can upload any breaking news stories.

This rather simple crossword image has so far sold twenty times through various stock agencies, and was shot with my Nikon D200 and Nikkor 105mm F2.8 macro lens on a manfrotto tripod.

I have to confess that this isn't my image, it's my girlfriend Emma's. (Although I did edit it). This has sold three times through Alamy so far, and has netted over $900. Nikon D90 with Nikkor 18-70mm lens. You can follow Emma over on her blog,   www.organdie.wordpress.com