Hi Everyone
Today I am going to discuss a subject that is on everyone's mind at the moment, especially for people who earn their living through digital means and the arts and that is AI and how it effects professional event photographers in Edinburgh and throughout Scotland. I will look at 3 things, the legal aspect, which photographic genres are effected most and finally the moral side of things. I will also look at how it effects myself as a professional conference and event photographer Scotland.
The legal question of AI
So we start of by looking at the legal aspects of AI. I can only address this from the perspective of a professional photographer Glasgow, Edinburgh and Scotland, so here it is for what it's worth. When you use a background or an object or anything photographic to enhance your photo, someone else has created that background or object and there should be copyright involved. Is every photographer being reimbursed for their work in these cases, I don't think so. It also could create a new market for some photographers
AI and how it effects professional event photographers in Edinburgh
From my point of view as a professional conference photographer in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Scotland, the answer is not very much. As an event photographer, it is all about capturing the moment and adding something unreal to a wedding photo, or sports event or conference will not be what the client wants. There may be some minimal uses but not much, in my opinion. Now as an infrared photographer in Scotland, Colin Wright Photography, Edinburgh and Glasgow corporate and event photographer | Infrared Collection Gallery this is an entirely different story and landscape and artistic photographers could lose out most with the introduction of AI. It is such a big issue that the Royal Photographic Society are holding a conference to discuss the effects of AI on the photography industry. BBC Yorkshire and Simon Hill (rps.org). Other than to set rules for their competitions and awards, there is probably not a lot they can do, but at least it makes people aware that this is a big issue for the industry.
AI and the moral argument.
Now this is the one that really interests me. If you replace your ball during a game of golf to gain an advantage, cheat in any other way, then at the end of your round, you won't feel so good about your game and you may even feel guilty that you won. Now I know this doesn't seem to be an issue for a lot of athletes these days but it is still a big question. You should feel proud of your photos and happy that you have captured a moment in time, that is what got me into photography, capturing the beauty of Scotland and beyond. So there is an argument that it is a form of cheating, ah I hear you say, but haven't we been doing this anyway in Photoshop and other software packages, well yes, but this takes it to another level and you could end up with a digital creation and not a photograph, as a photograph is meant to capture the world as it is, not as a computer sees it. Technology will always lead to new ways of doing things and the move from analogue to digital was a big step, but we have to keep an eye on it, or it could destroy the art within our industry.
This subject will be explored in greater detail in future blogs. That all for me now. Some event photography in Midlothian coming up in the form of photographing segways in action.
Until next time.
Kind Regards
Colin
www.colinwrightphotography.co.uk
www.edinburghphotographer.com
Hi Everyone
As an event photographer in Scotland, I am well into the outdoor conference and event photography season with it being August. This year, as well as conference photography in Edinburgh, wedding photography in Scotland and some general event photography in Glasgow, I will also be returning to do some Segway photography in Vogrie Country Park in Midlothian. So I thought this would be a good time to provide you with some top tips for event photographers in Scotland.
1. Research your event thoroughly, whether it is for a sports event or classic cars, make sure you have a good knowledge of the subject.
2. Get the timings right, don’t be late and make sure you know the key times involved.
3. Prepare all your gear in advance the night before and only take what you need with lots of batteries. I have conducted a wedding photography assignment with only one lens befire.
4. Communicate with the client well in advance and nearer the time and establish a good relationship with them.
5. Know your brief to the exact degree, then use your creative photography skills to give the client something extra. I have often supplied couples for weddings in Scotland, some infrared photography photos and they loved them.
6. Be confident and knowledgeable.
7. Respect the guests/participants and take great care during the photoshoot, in addition to adopting a friendly attitude at all time.
8. Dress appropriately and smart but casual. For wedding photography in Scotland, you dont need to try and upstage the wedding couple.
9. Keep in mind what the final photos will look like after editing. Pre-visualisation is a very important aspect of photography.
10. Finally have fun and enjoy. Professional photographers in Scotland have the most enjoyable job in the world.
Hope that is helpful. Until next time.
Kind Regards
Colin
www.colinwrightphotography.co.uk
www.edinburghphotographer.com
Hi Everyone
Today I am going to look at the need for photographers to keep pursuing projects, especially ones that divert from their specialist photography genre. As most of you know, I am a freelance event, corporate and conference photographer working in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Scotland. Now recently I went on a quick family holiday to Karlsruhe Germany and I used this vacation period as a time when i could pursue another one of my photography projects. In this case I wanted to continue with infrared photography and also to combine it with photographing art installations and architecture in Karlsruhe. I also wanted to extend the definition of art to include graffiti and other every day things. So what exactly makes for a good photography project. Here are a few tips to get you started:
1. Have a general theme and work round it ie in my case it is infrared photography and art and then I have expanded it.
2. Keep in mind if you are going to be producing a final colour or black and white image or a colour photo. This is particularly relevant for infrared photography in Scotland, as certain subjects are more suitable in colour and others work better in infrared, a lot of foliage and strong sunshine can work well for colour infrared, while metallic subjects and photos with a lot of detail sometimes look better in black and white.
3. Stick to your brief but this is digital photography, you can always shoot something else and go back to your project, however, sometimes it pays to concentrate on the project.
4. Think about telling a story, your photos should lead the viewer into your subject matter.
5. Enjoy, but event is you are a conference photographer from Edinburgh on holiday, take it seriously as, you never know, these photos may be your next exhibition. One of my most successful photos in infrared of a highland cow in the snow was taken during a hill walk, so always carry your camera and be alert.
Anyway hope this helps.
Until next time, have a good week. I will be off on an event photography in Edinburgh commission this week, then as a conference photographer in Glasgow the following week.
Kind Regards
Colin
Hi Everyone
I thought I would spend today talking about how landscape and infrared photography in Scotland can be used for conference and event photography in Edinburgh, or throughout the country. As you all know, I am a specialist conference photographer in Edinburgh, and throughout Scotland. I am also a general event photographer in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Scotland, however much of my time in the summer especially is spent on infrared photography in Scotland and also as a landscape photographer throughout Scotland. So how can I utilise my skills in landscape and infrared photography for the benefit of my my conference and event photography in Scotland, well there are many ways and below is a list of examples:
1. Wedding photography is ideal for using infrared if the weather is right, the cars, the white dress, foliage etc, just make sure you don't make the bride look too weird, it will also likely be better for black and white infrared, unless you have a really whacky couple who like colour infrared photography. Of course a good landscape photographer can take advantage of the background scene to benefit the wedding photographer in Scotland.
2. Architecture photographers can benefit greatly from a landscape photographers skills, but infrared can really help the architecture photographer with striking images depicting clouds and dramatic skies, not to mention high dynamic range.
3. Some sports can even work well in infrared, I have taken football and rugby using a converted infrared camera, again black and white is usually the preferred option. Anything involving metal such as super cars and racing events will look great in infrared.
4. Theatre photography if outdoors can benefit from infrared as it is an art form, which can create over the top images suitable for drama and other outdoor activities. I have often used infrared to depict outdoor Edinburgh Fringe Festival performers. Rock music performers and bands also benefit from the infrared treatment.
5. Urban infrared photography gives you something totally different for your city photos, see attached photograph taken in Glasgow.
6. Nature photography in infrared is really interesting, you can really play with colours and contrast. I took some interesting images of bees during the pandemic, which can be viewed in the infrared section of my website.
Anyway, more to follow soon. Hope this helps all you landscape and infrared photographers out there.
Kind Regards
Colin
www.edinburghphotographer.com
www.colinwrightphotography.co.uk
Hi Everyone
For my blog today I will be looking at how event and conference photographers in Edinburgh, Glasgow or Scotland can make use of skills from other genres and also generally how all the different types of photography link together. Now I am a specialist conference photographer in Glasgow and Edinburgh and this is my main source of income. However, I do other types of photography. I am also an active wedding photographer throughout Scotland and the North of England, I photograph all types of events in Glasgow and Edinburgh right up to Aberdeen. I photograph football, rugby, work as a newspaper photographer throughout Scotland and also do some fine art, landscape and infrared photography in Scotland. So how can all these genres help each other. Lets take a look at wedding photography for instance. A wedding photographer needs to be good at fashion photography nowadays, also the all round experience of a newspaper photographer will also be useful in weddings and conferences, as you taking formal shots, reacting to things happening, working to deadlines etc. As a sports photographer, I have to get the right position and know when the important thing will happen and this helps me at conferences, with set times and reacting quickly to famous delegates and speakers arriving a the venue. An architecture photographer will understand how to photograph buildings and interiors, which will obviously help at conferences and weddings and the portrait photographer can use their skills to great effect photographing conferences in Glasgow. However of all the genres and experience that enabled me to be an effective conference and event photographer in Edinburgh, the main one that really helped was my 10 years as a newspaper photographer, which gave me practice in a wide range of photographic disciplines and enabled me to work quickly under pressure within tight deadlines.
So, its of to photograph a conference in Edinburgh next week, then I will be taking some photos at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and some infrared photography in Glasgow and in the Highlands in Scotland, before returning to photograph a wedding in Glasgow after that.
So, until next time, keep snapping away.
Kind Regards
Colin
www.colinwrightphotography.co.uk
www.edinburghphotographer.com