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Professional Conference Photography in Scotland a few Do's and Don'ts
Hi Everyone
With the Festive season well and truly over and the conference and event photography commissions starting to come in at venues in Edinburgh and Scotland, I thought this would be a good time to take a quick reflection, as a professional event photographer, on the do's and don'ts for conference photographers, so here we go:
Do's
1. Take only the equipment you will need, don't overload yourself with gear
2. Make sue you have all the timings right and the key shots the client wants
3. Be creative outwith the client requirements, they will thank you for it later
4. Use flash but not constantly, give the speakers and delegates some peace
5. Be helpful and responsive to the delegates and organisers, this is crucial, as it will likely effect whether or not you get booked again
Don'ts
1. Don't overdo the number of pictures of the lead speakers, give them some space and limit flash if possible
2. Don't use large lenses all the time, keep it small where possible, this should be more achievable with mirrorless cameras, as they have smaller lenses
3. Don't shove to the front all the time and get in the way of the conference, a good professional event photographer should hardly be noticed at all
4. Don't use the event as a means of selling your services and only give out business cards if asked for them
5. Dedicate yourself to the conference, keep a professional attitude, don't be seen on your phone all the time. I now have a mirrorless Canon, which can transfer the images to my phone as a back-up. if I use this facility, I make sure I let the client know what I am doing and the reasoning behind it
So, hope this helps. until next time.
Kind Regards
Colin
www.colinwrightphotography.co.uk
The Infrared Photography Collection - Scotland
Hi Everyone
Having just published my collection of the top 15 infrared photos I have taken in Scotland, I have decided, as a break from my corporate photography commissions in Edinburgh and around Scotland, to pick one image and talk about it each week. These will be quick blogs just to give you a flavour of the where, when and how behind each photo.
The image I am concentrating on today took at Dunbar Harbour about 2 years ago. The clouds were looking good on this lunchtime in Dunbar, with a perfect amount of infrared light. A fishing boat had just moored, which helped make the composition interesting and just to add to the photo, a seal came in, hoping for some fish from the fisherman. It was one of these photoshoots where it all went well and everything came together just at the right time. I did it in black and white and colour infrared but I think the black and white one is best. it is also one of these infrared photos where you can't really tell it was taken in infrared. I sold a copy of this image and it also received a positive reaction on Instagram, especially from local East Lothian people.
Anyway, watch this space for more photos from the collection.
Kind Regards
Colin
www.colinwrightphotography.co.uk
Infrared in Arthur Seat Edinburgh
Infrared Photography Scotland by professional fine art and corporate photographer Colin Wright
Gosford House in infrared
Infrared Photography Gosford by corporate event and fine art photographer Colin Wright
Working Effectively as a Professional Photographer, Edinburgh Scotland with Limited Time
Hi Everyone
People often ask me what the most important aspects of being a professional photographer in Scotland are and the answer is varied, as there is more to it than just making sure you have quality unique images you can offer the commercial client or the fine art photo customer. Whilst that is vital there are other aspects which often scare people away from the profession and that is not even including the financial side of things. When I was in Edinburgh yesterday, the every day pressures of life kicked in. I had to drive my daughter to diving practice and during this time I went and did the weekly shopping, I had 15 minutes left with my infrared camera on my own and the weather was perfect, what do I do. I quickly went into Pollock Halls in Edinburgh, remembering that the foliage in the grounds was good, even in winter with fir trees and tropical plants, under time pressure I came up with some really good infrared photographs to add to my Infrared Photography in Scotland collection, quickly edited them at home and started to post on social media right away. This made me realise one of the most important aspects of professional photography is the ability to operate quickly and effectively. I learned this from 10 years of working in the newspaper industry when you had lots of jobs with limited time and I think it has helped me in my corporate photography commissions in Edinburgh, Scotland and also with wedding photography when capturing the moment is crucial. now there will be times when you have all the time in the word to compose your photo etc, but this doesn't happen very often, especially in Scotland, where the weather often changes every few minutes and you have to act quickly. So practice at how to operate effectively in short bursts within a limited timeframe, it will help your photography in the long term.
All the best
Colin
www.colinwrightphotography.co.uk