Christmas 2013

Where has the year gone?  It doesn't seem that long ago that we were covered in the snow and I was out with my Daughter Tash where she was in her Prom Dress in the snow and here we are knocking on the last advent calendar door!  It's been a busy year both from my day job perspective and from the photography commitments.  I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a great Festive break and a wonderful New Year.  I wish you all the best for the future.

Studio Portrait Experience Week follow up

Back in the October half term I ran a Studio Portrait Experience Week to allow and encourage people to come along to a Professional Portrait studio and have the total Portrait experience.  I am pleased to say that there were many attendees during the week long event, all of whom loved their time with me and left me some beautiful comments in my guest book to reflect on how they felt during this event and the resulting images that I have presented to them.  Below is a small selection that they felt were appropriate.  Thank you to all of those who attended, I do hope you will cherish the memories.

Personal Project

For those of you that have been following my photographic development path, you will know that I owe a lot of what I learnt to The Photographers Academy and in particular being an Apprentice to Mark Cleghorn for a year.  Well I am pleased to announce that we are back filming with them again, as many of the followers wanted to know what we had been up to in the years following the Apprentice year and how we had developed.  This next cycle of training is designed to push our skills to develop new, well new to us, techniques and try new concepts.  Over that past month or 2, I have been working on a personal project where I explored the use of light in the studio to define muscle tone and shape.  These shoots have been on a Male Model, a Russian Hip Hop and Street Dancer and a female Body Builder. Below are a couple of images from the Dancer.

Studio Portrait Experience Week

As we head into the darkness of Winter, bring some brightness to your day, book in for a session during the Studio Portrait Experience Week I am running 27th Oct to 3rd Nov. 

For one week only come and enjoy a complimentary Portrait Experience with JBM Photography, be that a family portrait, Baby/Child session or something personal.

Book early to avoid disappointment!

Chris and Karen Wedding viewing

I have just had Chris and Karen around the studio to view their Wedding image slideshow. Such a great feeling to be part of a couples special day and be able to re-create all those moments, memories and at times fill in the missing pieces of the day. They have left such wonderful comments in my guest book; I wish them well for the future. Here is an abridged version of what they have to cherish.

Chris and Karen pre Wedding shoot

I met up with this lovely couple for their pre-Wedding discussion and photo shoot last month.  For those not aware the purpose of these sessions are so that as the prospective Bride and Groom get to know me as the Photographer and how I go about my business on the day as well as having a bit of fun whilst showing them how to stand, cuddle, pose and generally allow me to make them look even better, so that it is one less stress to be concerned about on the day.  The other part of the visit is to gain as much info about their plans for the day so that I know where and when to be and in some cases what to expect.

Chris and Karen were great, they have a beautiful location for their reception and I look forward to capturing their special day very soon.

Certified Member status

I am pleased to say that following extensive effort and determination, I put forward a panel of over 90 images for review in the Photographer Academy to achieve the Certified Member status.  Whilst the certification is predominately a personal success for me, it reflects the achievement of my Photographic skills to be recognised in 7 key areas of photographic technique.  Now I start the work towards the next level to keep the continuous personal development motivation.

Try The Photographer Academy for 7 days for free

As those of you that have followed my progression will know, PT4U, now known as "The Photographer Academy", have played a very large part of my progress into the Professional arena.  The link below will give you an opportunity to experience the site for 7 days absolutely free, here's what you will get a peak at-


7 days for Free on The Photographer Academy - It’s too good to be true.

We are giving away 7 day all access passes to our award winning training site for photographers. These trial session are a great way to see whats going on inside the site and to get the full experience for free
With over 1400 films on line as well as monthly webinars, photo critiques, featuring 12 photographers sharing their secrets and life’s in a real and raw way.

To get your 7 day all access pass simply contact the PT4U by clicking HERE and use the email box to request your 7 day free access
7 Days for Free Applications end - Monday 20th May 2013 so apply now!

After the 7 days use the code 7DAYS to join for 12 months for only £99 saving you £30
No catches, no T’s & C’s just a promise to change your training.
www.PT4U.tv


So whats inside? 
3 Membership options - £49, £99 & £129 
New Branding 
Cheaper Film Download only £1 
More Webinars 
Extended Discounts for Members 
Access to over 1400 films 
Photo Critiques 
New Studio Watch 
Academy Year eBook 
Qualifications We plan to keep extending The Photographer Academy brand during 2013 in many ways, even our header bar logo has now grown up and will carry The Photographer Academy branding.

There have been some amazing improvements to PhotoTraining4U over the past couple of years but I think you will find these three new subscription options are the most dramatic and beneficial to all our members, old and new.

The importance of choosing the right kind of Photographer

Every week there seems to be new tales of couples booking a Photographer to capture their special day and taking a gamble on price versus quality and being found wanting.  Here is the latest I have seen, although it's source can be questionable as is the detail in the report, it highlights what appears to be a growing trend: 

Couple-sue-snapper-for-big-day-woe

What it does show that people are willing to take a gamble on what is likely to be their lasting physical memory of the day, arguably your conscious mind will retain the events of the day and last you a life time, but you can't pass on a memory items as a family heirloom, where as you can pass down the physical Wedding Album or DVD slideshow.  When looking at the selection of your Photographer for the day, do your research well and do not book on price alone.  Planning your Wedding should be fun and exciting, although there will be times of stress and anxiety thrown into the mix.  Here are some points to consider as you work your way through the mine-field of the Wedding Photographer selection.

What experience do they have?

Ask the question, do they have examples of real Weddings for you to view or are they all examples from Model Bridal shoots.  Whilst Model Bridal shoots are fine, we all started somewhere, it would imply they have limited experience in real Weddings and therefore should be telling you such information, it does't mean you shouldn't book them, just be cautious of the price they ask versus the experience they offer.

What is included in the Price?

This is a very challenging question as most Photographers sell their services in different ways, I personally charge for my time and my Albums/products separately so it becomes an A La Carte approach.  What you must make sure is that you understand what you are getting for your money.

 Details of how the Photographer will work for you?

After all the Photographer you are ultimately paying for, is there for the day at your expense, how does he/she go about the day, what advice can they offer for the day to run more smoothly from a Photography perspective.  What involvement will they have with you in planning this auspicious day, will they deliver what you think you want, how can they enhance your expectations? 

What happens if the Camera breaks on the day?

The answer to this is that they will bring out the spare one!  People who are serious about capturing your special day will try their utmost to ensure that nothing causes you concern.  As a minimum they should have 2 camera bodies and lenses to cover this eventuality and they should also have insurance to cover the really unfortunate event that multiple equipment failures occur.

What about insurance?

All professionals should have in place Professional Indemnity insurance and Public Liability insurance to award you some piece of mind that if things do go wrong, then there is somewhere to turn.

The things that get overlooked!

Unfortunately like many other trades, people only ever look at the cost and say wow thats going to be expensive, what they don't consider is the true cost of running a Photography business and the time and effort to attend the Wedding day.  When I turn up to a Wedding I bring many thousands of £ worth of equipment to capture the event, the images are then processed and stored on many more thousands £ equipment.  There are the insurances, equipment replacement costs, transport costs, the extensive training undertaken to be skilful in capturing your event.  The actual time it takes to capture the Wedding, whilst the Wedding Day is just one day, depending on your cover options it last for anything up to 12/14 hours, add this to the pre wedding activities, pre Wedding shoot, the post Wedding processing, album design, image delivery and the Post Wedding presentation, it clearly covers more than just one day.  Also remember the Photographer is probably the only supplier from your Wedding Day that will supply you with something to hold, beyond the Wedding Day. i.e the church will no longer be available to you as your event, the flowers are likely to have died, the reception drinks consumed, the food eaten, the cake demolished and the DJ moved on to their next event. 

Photography may not be the highest priority for you, that's fine.  Stick to your guns and book something that you would be happy with for the budget you have allocated to that service.  If you take the gamble with this service, be prepared for it to go wrong and remember the potential outcome and the loss you may incur.

Indoor Karting

Last Friday saw the showdown at a team event where the theme was indoor Kart Racing.  There were 30+ drivers up for the challenge divided into 8 teams.  The title was up for grabs, team tactics were the order of the day, some of them out for the fun of the event, many out for glory and very competitive with it.   With the warm ups out of the way, it was 2 and a half hours of continuous racing with the eventual winners being team 7.   Below are a couple of slideshows depicting the race as it unfolded, the first being a shorter version for those that want a sneak peak, the second provides more coverage of the event from start to finish building on the first slideshow.

Focus on Imaging 2013

Well I know it's a little late, but iv'e been busy since returning from the show!  Earlier this month I was helping on the PT4U stand at the Focus on Imaging show at the NEC near Birmingham.  Focus on Imaging is Europe's biggest annual imaging show where manufacturers, distributors and suppliers come together to reveal and show off their products, putting temptation in the way if your are not too careful. As well as a great range of products around the various halls there were frequent demonstrations to be seen.  Over on the PT4U stand Mark Cleghorn along with a couple of his Photography Masters, namely Kenny Martin and Sean McCormack put on a great series of demonstrations that had the crowds building all around and were well received.  The show ran for 4 days which in reality is very exhausting when you consider you are on your feet for the duration of the show being open for 8 hours a day, as well as the 2 days to build and strike down when the show was finished, but I have to admit I really enjoyed it.

Boudoir Photography

Boudoir Photography has been around for many years, in recent times as peoples attitude to life change and the uprising of confident women, the popularity has risen dramatically.

Boudoir is a unique opportunity for any woman to feel confident, comfortable and passionately feminine. Sensitive photography creates an atmosphere of intimacy and tenderness, a gentle sensuality that is as emotional as it is physical.  It can be as revealing or as discrete as you wish.

From start to finish, a Boudoir experience provides a beautiful private opportunity to create a lasting memory for any reason, be that a private moment to share with just yourself or the one you love.

To demonstrate the beautiful images that may be captured, I had a Boudoir shoot with a lovely young Model in the studio who allowed her images/Boudoir experience to be shared.

Thank you Sammie

  

Monochrome Mystique

Here is a video of today's Monochrome Mystique Shoot.  This style of photography provides an Emotive, Classical and Eternal feel to the images.  Black and White photography has been around for decades and has never lost appeal to many people.  Come along and have a styled shoot of this nature for yourself and allow me to capture that moment.

Prom Dress shoot in the Snow

Tash always said that if a decent amount of snow fell she wanted to have a photo shoot in her Prom dress, well when the snow came, she kept her word!  As the Snow fell here in Poole briefly, Tash and I headed out into the cold, needless to say she was colder than me.  Whilst other people looked on somewhat in shock, we got the pictures taken.  Its fair to say my fingers were numb at the end of it, so much so we sat in the car to warm up and get feeling back before I attempted to drive!

A New Year begins

So here we are then 2013, last year seemed to fly by.  With a new year comes an updated Web Site, the main changes are the inclusion of a Boudoir section due to the rise in this Genre of photography for me and by customer request, I have now added an on-line Voucher purchase facility.

Many Brides and Grooms these days, have lived together and have a place of their own, long before their Marriage and as such the old traditional thoughts of kitting their home out as part of their Wedding presents has been largely superseded.  With this in mind a number of people have said they wanted to contribute towards the Couples special day by giving a Voucher that can be redeemed by the newlyweds towards the creation of something special to remember their day by, be that a piece of wall art or a Photographic Album of the event.  These vouchers are not solely designed for Wedding Couples, they are equally as valued for someone to have a Portrait Experience.  If this is of interest to you then pop over to my website today and purchase a gift that will keep on giving for years to come.

http://www.jbmphotography.co.uk/vouchers.html