Hi All
Today's blog is looking at the weather and how this can seriously affect the outdoor professional photographer around Scotland especially. I love my job and while working as an corporate event photographer, when I am wandering around Edinburgh and the surrounding area, I tend to spend a lot of time outdoors and here are some of my key tips. They may sound like commonsense, but its amazing the amount of times I have seen people in trouble by neglecting to take these things seriously. So here they are, for what its worth:
1. Check the weather forecast and bring clothing accordingly, then also take clothes suitable for the opposite type of weather. Yes, even in this day and age the forecast can be drastically wrong.
2. Take suntan lotion, even in the winter.
3. Take some towels to dry your gear with.
4. Get yourself the most expensive boots you can afford and they will last you a lifetime - this is the one thing you shouldn't try and save on.
5. Take a hat, sun stroke is not cool, I had it once after a supercar photoshoot.
6. Get some protective waterproof housing for your camera, nothing too complicated mind you, if you are fiddling with it too much, it won't work in the rain.
7. Use your car for cover, where possible - I even managed to do this at a golf tournament once.
Anyway that's all for now.
Until next time.
Kind Regards
Colin
Hi Everyone
Just had a good couple of days photographing the Deer Park Masters annual PGA golf tournament in Livingston. I really enjoyed it, although the weather did present us with some challenges, however for the professional sports photographer in Scotland, this can also provide you with some unique photography opportunities, the lone golfer picture attached demonstrates how bad the weather was at some point and play was abandoned not long after this point due to thunder and lightning. However we had play for most of the 2 days and as a freelance event photographer operating in Edinburgh and around Scotland, I can now add golf to the list of sports that I enjoy photographing. Here are the challenging aspects of photographing golf listed below:
1. Although a fantastic sport, it can be difficult to make it look interesting in photos, as the participants are not running or moving fast, so you have to keep thinking how to get creative.
2. It is difficult to get the ball in all shots and you shouldn't worry if you don't for every shot, it's good to include it if you can, so fast speeds when you can and take more shots of pitching and putting when it is easier to capture the ball.
3. As with all sports, positioning is the key, so get in the right place and keep moving if you are permitted.
4. The main thing when you are close to the players is shutter sound, so put it on silent if possible, and if you are close do not click the shutter until the ball has been hit, otherwise you could seriously end up in the bad books of the players.
5. Weather can be an issue for golf photographers, with little shelter available. Trees are good, but not this week when we had some serious thunder storms.
The above just added to the challenge and it is a sport I love to photograph. I even managed some sport infrared photos as part of my infrared photography in Scotland project.
Anyway, until next time
Kind Regards
Colin
www.colinwrightphotography.co.uk
www.edinburghphotographer.com
Hi All
An the eve of my 2 day event trip to Deer Park Country Club as one of 2 commissioned photographers at a PGA golf tournament, I thought this would be a good time to go through some do's and don'ts for sports photography. One of the main things is to study the sport. Although I have been working around Edinburgh and throughout Scotland as a professional freelance event photographer, I am also a sports fan and as a previous track athlete, tennis player and golfer, I have a good idea about these particular sports. Like a lot of guys, I am also a big football fan. There is no substitute for knowledge when it comes to the sports photographer and if you don't have it, them acquire it, watch clips, read up on the sports etc. It would be difficult for a non golfer to photograph the sport for instance. You need to know where to stand, when not to click the shutter etc. One of the main issues in sport is to be able to anticipate what is going to happen next and have your camera move to that position in advance, this is particularly relevant in football and rugby photography. Focus on the crowd sometimes, or the players celebrating, or an off the ball incident - don't just relax after you have caught the goal in football. My best selling images have not been goals or dramatic action shots, they have been celebration shots - see attached. Take most sports at a fairly fast shutter speed ie at least 1/800, unless you want to create motion through an intentional blur, then move the camera smoothly in line with the subject using a slower shutter speed - this is particularly useful in motor racing. Try and get some close ups of the participants faces if your lens is long enough, emotion is a key aspect of sports photography.
More tips for the professional sports photographer later, but for the moment, here is the final one - enjoy the day.
Kind Regards
Colin wright
www.edinburghphotographer.com
www.colinwrightphotography.co.uk
Hi Everyone
Just back my holidays from the Isle of Mull. As a professional photographer operating in and around Scotland, it is always a treat to have a vacation in Scotland. As a landscape and infrared photographer, Scotland is one of the best locations in the world to visit and this time I also had the weather on my side. As I was with my family, the opportunities for photography were pretty limited, along with the potential to visit a variety of locations, but I manged some good images, which I will be able to include in my art portfolio for future sales. When most people go on holiday, they are encouraged to forget their job for a bit and certainly the lack of email and internet was good for my soul. However, it is a bit different for freelance photographers in Scotland, who are always on the lookout to add to their landscape portfolio and as we all love our job, it is no hardship to continue taking photos on holiday. I tend to travel light on vacation, not using heavy gear and I don't get obsessed, as my kids really do come fist when I am on holiday, but I have a whole batch of infrared photos to work on. I also must be one of the only professional photographers who exclusively photographs their children in infrared - I think this is maybe worth a book sometime. Anyway I have a masters golf tournament to photograph next week at Deer Park Country Club, Livingston, near Edinburgh, very much looking forward to the photoshoot next week, also more supercars and some wedding photography in East Lothian.
Anyway, until next time.
Kind Regards
Colin
Colin Wright Photography
www.colinwrightphotography.co.uk
www.edinburghphotographer.com
Hi Everyone
As a professional event photographer working in and around Edinburgh and throughout the UK, this is a busy time of year, with sport, gala days and all sorts of events taking place. While I seldom have any time these days to just pop along and take photos for fun at the weekend, event photography was a great way to start and I urge all amateur photographers to get themselves along to a local event as it is ideal practice. Often these events can be attended free of charge, or if its a local junior football team, you can offer to give them photos for a priority position at the games. Airshows are great events to attend with all sots of opportunities. This was how I got a foothold in local newspaper photography in Edinburgh and Scotland, I was approached at a rugby event by a newspaper photography who asked me to contact them with my portfolio. As I had been attending events for a few years, I had a good varied portfolio which is ideal for the type of photography required by newspapers. Working for the press also enabled me to raise my profile locally and I was approached for private interior and wedding commissions. This type of marketing is invaluable, even in these days of social media. I do appreciate it is a bit more difficult nowadays with the surge in digital photography and there are probably more rules in relation to the taking of photographs, but its still worth a try and a great way to gain valuable experience and to experiment and find your photographic niche.
So out you get photographing, there is plenty on.
Anyway, until next time.
Kind Regards
Colin
www.colinwrightphotography.co.uk
www.edinburghphotographer.com