A good edition to your kit for this exercise would be a wide angled lens or fisheye but if you do not have these then any lens/compact camera can be used it just means that you have to adapt a little.

Take a look and read below how these photographs use space well.

Huddersfield Castle Skyline

So the above photograph really is just someone walking towards a bush at dusk. Now close up I can guarantee that this photograph would look average at best. That is because the sky is the feature of this photograph and not the person and the bush. They are simply a tool to emphasise the size and enormity of the sky. By taking the photograph so far away we are giving the sky more overall room in the photograph which in turn makes it more powerful.

Quick Tip Pose is very important! The hole between the subjects legs help you to distinguish between a human and a lamppost.

The Great Orme Wind Farm

Now I’m sorry to use this photograph again but I’m in love with myself… This is an example of the role reversal from the last photograph. The character is more powerful and background is weaker. This works because the character fills the frame from top to bottom and the wind farm in the distance gives a good comparison of size/power.

So to summarise, to make things look weaker or more insignificant then make them smaller in your frame and fill the frame with a background that doesn’t take your eyes away from the  focus. To make things bigger fill them to the edges sensibly in your frame and maybe even use another object in the background to show a comparison of size.

As shown in both photographs, pose is very important! This leads us on to my next tutorial about silhouettes. Check back soon.

Thanks for reading.

Adam.

The post Tutorial: The Space Between All Things appeared first on Adam Lowndes photography.

I see a lot of photographs and always think that if people just followed simple guidelines then they could vastly improve their photographs. The framing and positioning of a photograph is always the first thing that catches my eye.

The Rule of Thirds Grid

“Follow the rule of thirds to add to a photographs value immensely.”

The “rule of thirds” helps us to position the contents of a photograph. The grid shown below is split by two horizontal and vertical lines that are at an equal distance apart.  Long horizontal or vertical features should be aligned with any of the four lines. Any key features should sit on the cross sections where the lines meet.

The more features in a photograph that follow the rule of thirds contribute to the final outcome.

Quick Tip You can turn this grid on in your camera settings so that when looking through the viewfinder you can align your photograph correctly.

Please contact me for any help you may need or if you want any criticism of your photographs using this technique.

Adam.

The Great Orme Wind Farm

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1. Manfrotto 190CXPRO4 Tripod - Incredibly sturdy and lightweight, the two best features you could want out of a tripod. I probably use this in the service and for group shots the most. Normally ditched in a corner when not using. 1.3kg

2. Manfrotto 680B 4 Section Monopod – So easy to just whip out that it makes it a joy to use, rather than an inconvenience. Easily hung or fastened into bag. 830g

3. Manfrotto 233B Camera Flash Bracket – Great to free up the flash from the restrictions of the camera hot shoe. Normally use in the evening when the party get’s started. 440g

4. Manfrotto 327RC2 Light Duty Grip Ball Head – Easy to use friction control with enough grip to hold the 80-200mm sturdy. 431g

5. Nikon SB-600 Speedlight – Hardly ever get’s a decent outing but always there for quick access back up. 227g

6. Nikon SB-900 Speedlight  - Secondary flash, always loaded and ready to switch if I some how manage to over heat the 910. 413g

7. Nikon SB-910 Speedlight – Primary flash, incredibly reliable. 454g

8. Nikon SC-29 TTL Multi-Flash Sync Cord – Used with the bracket, monopod or freely with my long arms. 249g

9. Nikon D90 – Decent back up camera that served me well when I was first entering the world of wedding photography. 621g

10. Nikon Fisheye 16mm f/2.8 – Fun, quirky and always a lens that people ask for. 318g

11. Nikon 80-200mm f/2.8 – Not too long and not too short, just right! 1.3kg

12. Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8 – Primary lens, would never give it up. 898g

13. Tokina 12-24mm f/4 – Used with D90 for Fisheye effect without the extremism. 572g

14. iMac 27″ – For all my editing needs and no I don’t carry it in my bag…

What did I take this photo with?

Nikon D800 – Incredible detail in the massive megapixel count. Shines through in those dark churches where flash can’t be used. 898g

Nikon 50mm f1.8 – One of the least expensive bits of kit in my bag but still a big favourite. 227g

What do I carry it all in?

Lowerpro Stealth Reporter 400AW – I spent ages looking for the best bag and in the end got this one on a whim. It fits all the equipment in very snug to stop it all jiggling around. After the day I do end up with a sore shoulder but show me what bag wouldn’t do that. Truly a great wedding photography bag! 1.9kg

Total Weight

11,078g/11kg or 24lbs/1.7st

This is just the weight of all the equipment and doesn’t include the weight of all the little bits and pieces that I carry. Including numerous back up battery packs, memory cards (not that they weigh much), etc.

Thanks for reading, Adam.

The post What’s in my wedding photography bag? appeared first on Adam Lowndes photography.

January has been quiet for photography action, more bookings than action at the moment. So whilst taking more bookings than actually photographing weddings I have a lot of spare time on my hands. So tonight I attended a local charity gig for the Joe Gilligan Trust, a great local cause, armed with my brand new camera body. There I photographed a local band who I’m friends with, GreaterGhost. Unlike many gig photographers, I used flash, this was to isolate the subject and also avoid those horrible multi colour lighting set ups that venues use. Using flash you get a clean face that’s not horribly discoloured. Instead of discolouring the photo these lights then add some nice rim and edge lighting to corners of the subjects body/face. Every time I see a black and white gig photograph I am suspect to it being b&w because of the lights making it unenviable in colour. A nice little collection that I enjoyed photographing.

Here’s to 2013!

Adam.

The post More Bookings than Weddings appeared first on Adam Lowndes photography.

The earliest recollection I have of watching film is that of being round my Grandma’s house and repeatedly watching Indiana Jones, The Goonies, and Escape to Witch Mountain to name a few. Now although I will always have a special place in my heart for these films they are not ones that influence and inspire me in my work. This is not a list but a collection of inspiration.  I will try not to dabble into annoying technical phrases as I want to keep this as readable as possible

 INTO THE WILD (2007) SEAN PENN

This was one of the films that got me “aggressively” involved in the medium. Much to my dismay it was a recommendation from my mother, this is not a “diss” but drawing true to the facts that she’s more of a Blockbuster lover. This film opens with a stunning establishing ariel shot of the Alaska wilderness with one track in view that our protagonist Chris McCandless appears from. The story centres on Chris who gives all of his savings to charity and sets off in search of a “real” experience.

It’s based off of a true story and from what I’m led to believe it follows it quite closely. The believability of this film is something that really shines through. There is no sugar coating of the story, each emotion is raw and probably exactly how it was. The cinematography in this film is quite simply excellent. This film is so visually appealing that if it was a photograph then it would be in National Geographic. It bends away from conventional shots in a lot of scenes to give a great angle. I’m always looking to create something different in my photographs. I love a good story this is almost too complex at times with it’s appearance but it is full of visual and factual information to get you invested within the characters. Within photographs you can’t exactly give factual information but I always think that if you can convey some visual information to someone that wasn’t actually there then you have achieved a lot.

MELANCHOLIA (2011) LARS VON TRIER

As soon as I heard about this film I got excited. The idea of Lars Von Trier’s cinematography style mixed with special effects for the Sci-Fi is something that get’s my blood boiling. The film centres around a group of characters who are awaiting the end of the world.

The film mixes a lot of delirium with reality, it’s almost like an alternative shoot for wedding dresses at times, doubt any of my wedding shoots will ever look this dark so I wouldn’t worry. Once again the cinematography doesn’t follow a lot of usual conventions. There are a lot of wide shots where the characters are almost 5% of the screen, the rest of the frame is filled with roaming landscapes that are breathtaking  A technique that I always take elements of when trying to capture a subject and something that’s larger than life.

It’s hyper realism is something that is sometimes disturbing but it’s almost like watching Charity adverts and feeling sorry for the cause rather than being disgusted.

DRIVE (2011) NICOLAS WINDING REFN

Another film that had me excited from the word go. Although this one was for different reasons, those being that it had Ryan Gosling in who I respect very much as an actor and that the teaser art all looked AWESOME. The film centres around Ryan’s character who is not named in the film, he stunt drives for films during the day and moonlights as a getaway driver.

I imagine that if I were ever going to make a film that this is what it would look and feel like. Little talking leaves the viewer to engulf themselves in the high contrast and gritty scenes. Almost a movie like representation of what I want my photographs to be. Interesting characters that stories are told from what they appear like. Personality’s help make my job the best. I don’t want to capture the next best pose I want to capture the characters in all of their wonderfulness.

If you ever thought a driving film couldn’t be slow and good you were dead wrong.

Thanks for reading and I know I’m not the best writer,

Adam.

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10 days later I navigated flooded Staffordshire countrysides to get to the wedding. Upon arrival it was as though me and Tim had known each other years not a couple of weeks with never having met in person. I sorted my gear and got to work photographing the wedding at the lovely Hawkesyard Estate in Rugely. Me and the couple had not had much time to organise the proceedings of the day so a lot of the organisation and timings were all on my shoulders. I managed it comfortably and made sure that my presence was no inconvience for the couple, guests, or venue staff.

It took me 7 days to deliver the completed photographs to the couple. All in all, the experience was a massive success with some great photographs captured, as you can see. I look forward to more challenges like this one in the future.

Adam.

The post Fast Paced Booking appeared first on Adam Lowndes photography.

Recently I had a consultation with a new customer that’s interested in employing my services. We shared our enjoyment from using Pinterest. After leaving I thought that it would be a good idea to use Pinterest to collate photo ideas for this clients wedding. While myself and the client aren’t meeting we can share photo ideas into one combined board. Then we can comment, like, etc to let the other know what we think of them. This is also beneficial as the client can add a pin anywhere and then an idea cannot be lost. By the time the wedding comes around I should understand  what exactly the client wants.

Between the first consultation/deposit meeting and the meeting before the wedding myself and the client keep in contact a lot more than if we weren’t using the site which helps me to create a closer relationship with the client.

The normal way of doing a similar thing would be to sit with the client looking through quite a lot of portfolio pages or articles that they’ve found.. This can be a very boring and unrewarding task. With the photographer only taking notes it’s not very accurate either as once the meeting is over then that is it.

So from now on a Pinterest Collaboration will be included in every package! Below is a screenshot of the board me and a client are currently putting together, it can also be viewed here.

The post My Pinterest ing Ideas appeared first on Adam Lowndes photography.

I chose a square 12″x12″ book because it accomadates both landscape and portrait images. The book is 40 pages of 190gsm ProLine Pearl photo paper. The book is covered in a charcoal cover and a classic photo dust jacket to keep it traditionally tidy. It has light grey end sheets to fade in the charcoal cover. Included in the price of the book you can change the cover to a modern photo wrap or change the charcoal to a lovely oatmeal.

To round it up, I think it is modernly beautiful and I can’t wait to use it!

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Last Friday I volunteered my help to another great charity! Rushing home I gathered my things, changed and was off. The location was only 15 minutes from my house so it was easy enough to get to. I was originally asked to take photos of the general goings on around the show.

Upon arrival I got told that one of the photographers who was setting up a sort of photo booth style thing hadn’t shown up and wasn’t going to as far as they knew. Having one at home, I rushed home and picked up a fellow friend to help as we were people down as well as equipment. This was the first time I had every used my screen for a public event. It was great, went up straight away and fastened securely.

When I finally started taking photographs I was so pumped with adrenaline from rushing home and setting everything up in time that I almost broke my foot when I tripped on a floor light. Much to peoples annoyance I managed to land on my feet.

Ruby Girl UK, which is what the night was for is a local charity that supports young girls in the city that face difficulties like abuse, depression, self harming, etc. Shown mostly below, Dawn Deaville is one of the directors of the charity, she started it little over a year and a half ago and they are fast becoming well known in Stoke-on-Trent because of their values and actions. She was an absolute joy to photograph. Imagine a person that blinks a lot or always has a plain face, they’re pretty hard to photograph. Dawn is the opposite, constant facial changes and you can really see her emotions through her facial expressions which then makes every second a new look photograph.

There are a lot of rules of thumb when it comes to taking photographs, but I believe capturing emotion correctly can make or break it.

In the end, the night was a complete success apart from almost breaking my foot and the charity raised over £5000.

The post Rubylicious appeared first on Adam Lowndes photography.

My aim with these photographs was to achieve a a sharp, friendly, modern portrait. I like them, do you?

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