Hi All
Something a bit different this time, with a blog on bungee jumping photography, following my trip to the Riverside Museum, Glasgow to provide the photography for UK Bungee at the weekend. As a corporate event photographer operating in Scotland, these kind of commissions can be great fun and something different for sports and event photographers. Although bungee jumping isn't a sport, you need the same skills to photograph it. You need to be quick, catch the moment, try and get facial expressions and the position and angle are crucial. Here are a few do's and dont's:
Do's
- Do make sure you are in the right position to catch the jumper, ie not right into the sun and underneath but not directly below, to give yourself some room to move and frame the subject
- Try and get the facial expressions, this is pretty important
- Equip for bad weather, remember there is no escape when you are looking up to the sky, keep a camera cloth in your hand and take your waterproofs
- Capture all angles and move about after you have taken the first dive shots
- Don't stop shooting after they have landed, the relief expression on their face can be a good one to catch
- Dont's
- Don't forget about the cage when it lands, it could so easily land on your head if you are not careful
- Don't chat to your pals just at that crucial moment, if you miss the very start of the jump, you are probably going to miss the best shots
- Don't shoot at too slow a speed, usually 400-1000 is about right
- Don't forget to compensate for the exposure if you are looking into a grey sky, manual is best
- Don't forget to change your settings depending on the weather changes, this is Scotland after all
Hope that helps, some new bungee photographs will go on the site soon from the weekend, until then, here is one I did previously.
Kind Regards
Colin
www,colinwrightphotography.co.uk
www.edinburghphotographer.com
Hi Everyone
What a great evening at the Voodoo Rooms in Edinburgh for the Graduation Ball for Heriot Watt Chemistry students on saturday. I had already covered a previous annual ball event for this group of students and as a professional event photographer from Scotland, it's great to be asked back. Your job as a freelancer is much easier when the people you photograph are relaxed in your presence and they also have the confidence you are going to do a good job and that was certainly the case with this event. Making you feel welcome is an integral part of ensuring the event photography is a success. I love photographing these graduation balls, you are photographing young educated people in their prime. As they are young, they tend to be more receptive to candid/reportage photography, which is more my thing anyway. As any corporate and event photographer will tell you, if you are pretty much given the creative freedom to achieve good results you tend to do far better, well at least I do anyway, there may however be, photographers who thrive on more of a structured routine. So it was a good evening and I was able to take all type of shots. Thought I would maybe even have a dance as well, or maybe not. So thank you to Rachael and the gang at the graduation event last saturday.
Anyway, until next time.
Kind Regards
Colin
Colin Wright Photography
www.colinwrightphotography.co.uk
www.edinburghphotographer.com
Hi All
This has been a hectic but enjoyable week, as a professional corporate photographer in and around Edinburgh. First of all I have continued to take infrared photographs, as part of my infrared photographer in Scotland project. On Thursday I had a really interesting corporate event commission for the Ras Al Khaimah Roadshow, a UAE nation promoting tourism to their beautiful country. It was a great evening, held at Edinburgh Castle. The weather was good and so was the crowd and I managed to get a good shot of a quest who had just won a prize of a holiday, photo attached. This commission had everything, portrait shots, candid photography, architecture, landscape photography from Edinburgh Castle and interior photography at the venue. The week ended with some Supercar photography at East Fortune on Saturday, not so lucky with the weather but a good day was had by all. So there you have it, the varied life of a professional event photographer in Scotland. Soon to come, a Graduation Ball, bungee jumpers and a sports award evening and I have been commissioned to photograph a Scottish PGA golf tournament at Deer Park Country Club in Livingston - can't wait for that one .
Anyway, until next time.
Kind Regards
Colin
Hi All
Just as the weather is changing, I am using every opportunity to update my infrared photography in Scotland collection of photographs. As a professional corporate and event photographer, with my main income generated from events and conferences, its good to have something totally unrelated to focus (pardon the pun) on. I have three very big corporate photography commissions coming up, one of them at Edinburgh Castle for a corporate workshop event, so I am using the last few free days to shoot some infrared, especially since the weather seems to be better here than in the med, surprisingly enough. Today I am going to look at specific qualities for infrared photographers and here are my tips:
1. The ability to pre-visualise. Whilst this is true for all photography, it is particularly relevant for infrared photographers, as the image they see on camera is often very different to the final image, unless you are using a full spectrum converted camera with a red filter, but that's a story for another blog. This tends to favour people who were brought up on film, as pre-visualising the scene was vital, as we never had the facility to check on the image on the back of the camera.
2. I think infrared photographers need to see things in an alternative universe ie to be able to visualise how the image will look in a mystical world.
3. You need to be very dedicated. The weather and seasons make it very difficult to plan any infrared photoshoot, even more so than landscape photography. For instance, even with the sun, I am not really that interested in shooting infrared unless I have some blue sky and clouds, which is why Scotland is a great country for infrared.
4. Always carry your camera with you, true for all types of photography, but very much so for infrared.
5. Study and understand infrared photography inside out. There aren't many books but there is plenty of info on the net, especially from the companies that convert the cameras.
Anyway, that's it. Hope that was helpful, happy shooting.
Kind Regards
Colin
Colin Wright Photography
www.colinwrightphotography.co.uk
www.edinburghphotographer.com
Hi Everyone
As the outdoor sports and event photography season is in full swing, as a professional event and corporate photographer from Edinburgh, who is regularly involved in event and sports photography around Scotland, I am going to use this blog to provide some general tips on sports photography. Whilst every sport has its own set of tips, there are some general rules and stipulations and here they are below:
1. Make sure you are in as good a position as you can get, this is the most important tip of the lot. if you are standing in the wrong place, you will get the wrong shot
2. Don't get in the way of the performers ie no flash. in golf don't click until the ball has been struck
3. You will need a long lens, but not as long as you may think ie up to 300mm or 400mm is ok for most sports
4. Try and tell a story, ie it is not always about action shots. This will often involve using a shorter focal length, so its not always about long lenses. One of my best sports shots involves the fans - see attached photo
5. Keep trying new angles, kneel down, tilt your camera etc
6. In most cases you will need to use a fast shutter speed, as least 500th, sometimes up to 2000th for fast action
7 Just to contradict this, try panning at a slower speed, for a creative blurred background and some motion effects
8. Learn the sport inside out, this will help your photography and positioning
9. Always prepare for bad weather
10. Take back up gear, but don't over burden yourself with equipment, especially if you are moving about
Hope that helps.
Anyway, until next time.
Kind Regards
Colin Wright
https://www.colinwrightphotography.co.uk/
https://edinburghphotographer.com/