Hippy Clothing Co Photoshoot

Point the camera, press the button, photo taken. Easy right? Well that’s what I thought, I mean why pay for a pro photographer and add all that cost to the clothes? So I got a camera, a good one, a Canon SLR . Problem solved! Great shots and very low onward cost. Erm, in a word, no. I had launched myself into a world of photography pain. What’s it doing? Why is it fuzzy? Why is she not in focus? Too dark? Too bright? And so on. I was completely confused and thought this better camera would be like a point and squirt camera, but much better quality.

Seeking advice

After pouring my heart out to a friend, who happens to be a pro photographer, he said “forget about the camera, it’s not what you take the photo with, it's seeing the photo to take." This and a few other basic rules..."now get out there and take lots of photos!" And that’s what I did; from family days out and friends' kids birthday parties, to holidays lugging this massive camera about!

I also booked a course with a local photography shop where I bought the camera, which was really helpful. On the course there where many others like me. One guy, who was an estate agent, told me his clients demanded better images, and with the rise of the web, displaying high quality images of properties had become a key part to his job. In addition to going on the course, I purchased a number of very helpful books and persevered with the relentless task of taking photos everywhere I went.

Getting there

Slowly but surely the quality of the photos I was taking improved and I gained a greater understanding of the lenses and all the parameters involved. I got into flash photography, which is somewhat akin to learning to walk again, but once you get the hang of it its brilliant!

Now I’ve reached a stage whereby I'm much more relaxed with the camera, which really helps put the people I'm photographing at ease. It’s funny; taking a photo by yourself, with no pressure, is actually relatively easy...but when you have to get that winning image and lots of people are standing around staring as you try your best to capture the best shot, it can still be very intense.

A magical journey

There is a lot to think about from making sure the batteries are charged, that there's plenty of space on the memory cards, setting up light stands, soft boxes, back drops and prepping the clothes. With all this said and done there is something magical when you capture the right look and moment. I still have a long way to go on my photography journey and I’m loving every minute. I look forward to a future of being more creative and learning from other great photographers.