Hi All
After a very busy, but also enjoyable week photographing a 3 day conference for the Intercontinental Hotel Group in Edinburgh, i thought in this blog I would reflect a bit on the hidden aspects of conference photography ie some of the things you overlook. As a professional conference and event photographer operating in Edinburgh, Glasgow and other parts of Scotland, I have learned a fair bit about conference photography and some of the main challenges are not necessarily related to technical photographic skills. Modern conference events are a bit like weddings, you can't miss key moments of the day, you may also be covering evening dinner receptions, with dancers pipers etc, so make sure you are fully aware of the timings and to keep your energy up. Most of the organisers will feed you, so make sure you don,t skip this, otherwise you will flag, especially if you have been up since 5am. Try and persuade the venue to put the lights as high as they can tolerate, even though modern cameras are great in low light, darkness is still the enemy. Make sure everything is pre-arranged ie your car should be fine, you should know the route, traffic etc and leave an hour earlier than you need to. This is not an office job, lateness will not be accepted and you could be in deep trouble if you miss a key moment. Think about any possible disasters ie have loads of charged batteries, extra lenses, lens cleaning clothes, flash etc, at least 2 of everything. I know a few photographers who only have one camera at events, that would scare the hell out of me and to be honest, it is not very professional.
So happy conference photography shooting.
Until next time.
www.colinwrightphotogrpahy.co.uk
www.edinburghphotographer.com
Hi Everyone
As I approach one of my busiest ever spells as a professional corporate and event photographer in Edinburgh and Scotland, for once I had a weekend off and it was good to spend it with the family at a battle re-enactment event in Dunbar. We went too early and had to leave before the battle but that's another story I wont bore you with but I did take my infrared camera and managed a few shots for something a bit different to add to my Infrared in Scotland project. I have been selling the infrared images online and this has been a success but I am also in the process of finding a suitable retail outlet, more news on that front soon. People in costume can often be good to depict in infrared and metallic objects such as swords and helmets can be shown in an entirely different way due to infrared light - see it's not just all about white trees you know. I think there is no subject that is taboo where infrared photography is concerned and I plan to expand my range of subject matter soon. In the meantime, here is a photo from the event. Starting to get prepared for a 3 day conference in Edinburgh next week, really looking forward to this one, as it takes place at various venues throughout Edinburgh, including a couple of top class restaurants. Overall, this will be one of my biggest conference events as an event photographer in Edinburgh, due to the duration of the event, cant wait.
Anyway, until next time.
Kind Regards
Colin
Hi All
A short blog this week, before I embark on a busy period of motor sport photography and some corporate and event photography in Edinburgh. At the weekend I had the privilege of doing some infrared photography in the Pentland Hills, Midlothian. Now as you all know, you need sunshine for good infrared images and it was certainly sunny at the weekend, but almost more important than sunshine is clouds and detail. To demonstrate, the attached image would be extremely boring without the wonderful detail in the sky - by the way I never use composite skies, preferring reality to a sky that is super glued to a photo. Now my daughter Gina is also integral to this photo as she appears in the distance but it is the sky that makes it, whether in colour or black and white, the photo works due to the sky. In fact in landscape photography in general, you need detail in the sky. Everyone was wondering why I was so excited before I left the house, it was because I just sensed the sky was perfect for infrared photography. it is one of the things as a professional landscape photographer in Scotland that I really like about this country, the changing weather, clouds and yes, you guessed it, detail in the sky.
So no moaning about our weather in Scotland please, it is great for photography.
Until next time.
Kind Regards
Colin
www.colinwrightphotography.co.uk
Hi Everyone
I had a rare day off on saturday and a couple of hours to spare in Dunbar, so I took myself off to the Dunbar RFC v Penicuik rugby game. it was just like old times, as a professional newspaper photographer, I used to photograph a lot of sport and events in and around Edinburgh and throughout Scotland. As always, I have been trying to do something a little different for my own personal projects. Recently I did some infrared photography at a football match. This time I decided to do some contrasty HDR images at the rugby match, including a few black and white images, utilising On One and Silver FX Pro software. It took a little more time post processing, but well worth it, I think. As a professional event and sports photographer
working in and around Edinburgh and Scotland, my philosophy is to keep trying new things - not easy in for professional photographers in Scotland - but still achievable. Let me know what you think. Dunbar won by the way.
Until next time.
Kind Regards
Colin
https://www.colinwrightphotography.co.uk/
https://edinburghphotographer.com/
Hi All
As you have probably heard me explain before, infrared photography only works well with sunshine, even better if it is in the midday sun. As you know most of us professional photographers in Edinburgh and around Scotland don't necessarily see much of the sun, although that's a bit of a myth to be honest, its just not that warm really. Well on sunday I had the opportunity to take some infrared photos midday on a bright hot scorching day in Edinburgh. Great you would say, but was it. There was absolutely no cloud, or if there was, it was a tiny wee thing hardly anything you would notice. This can make infrared photos a bit boring, as blue sky with white cloud is the best, for detail in the sky. Its the same with sunset shots in conventional photography, you want some cloud. So what was I going to do. Well you can make sure you find some prominent trees to fill the frame, also don't include much sky in the frame. Colour infrared is also better in cloudless days, than black and white. You can also fill the top half of your image with something to give it some interesting detail ie leaves from a tree in the foreground. Also you can concentrate on a striking foreground, so the sky wont matter that much. So it wasn't a bad photoshoot after all. Let me know what you think of this shot taken at Dynamic Earth with the Scottish Parliament in the background.
Anyway, until next time.
Kind Regards
Colin
www.colinwrightphotography.co.uk
ww.edinburghphotographer.com