All photographs, including bride and groom photography © Al Macphee/MiraclePR
Thursday 15th July 2021 – Torquay United WFC Portrait Shots (Green Screen)
The first thing you do is make a kit list for the job that’s ahead and pack the car. So we’ve got green screen, background supports and floodlights or flash lights. This one was planned for outdoors but we had a back up plan in case we had to go indoors.
When we get to the venue, we look for some good, even, portrait-type lighting. We don’t want our subject looking up into bright sunlight because of the harsh shadows under their eyes. We also need to find a piece of nice, even ground that isn’t going to be in the way.
Hair in the gate!
The grass had been cut so there were grass cuttings all over the place. That meant I knew we would have to fully shake down and brush off all of the equipment when we were dismantling. You don’t want grass in the camera cases or to be pulling it out of your pockets the next day.
Once I was part of a TV drama shoot at Central Pier, Blackpool. It was freezing cold. The cameraman takes the lens off, a hair gets inside the camera, they put another lens on. The cameraman carries on with the shoot, somebody checks the scene and then shouts, ‘Hair in the gate!’ The poor actress they were filming had to go back into the cold water as they retook the whole scene.
I’m a stills man but ‘Hair in the gate!’ is an old film saying that I take to mean the same as ‘Dust on the sensor’ – or in our case, ‘Grass on the screen!’ I didn’t want to do the next day’s bride and groom photography with a lump of grass on the screen.
‘Hair in the gate!’ is an old film saying – or in our case, ‘Grass on the screen!’ I didn’t want to do the next day’s bride and groom photography with a lump of grass on the screen.
Once you’ve set your poles and green screen up, done yourself a test shot and got the lighting set up, you get the team to queue up like for school pictures. I’ve noticed in some pictures that players cross their arms. Where’s the shirt sponsor? Underneath the arms. So, you’ve got to think about product placement.
Then you simply tick them off as you go along the list and the players can go back to their training. So the portraits can take five minutes – it’s the set up that takes the time.
PRO SPORTS PORTRAITS TIP
When you explain to someone how to pose – if it’s all a standard way of posing (e.g. down on the right knee, hands behind back, etc.) – tell them once. Get them all together and make an announcement to everyone: ‘This is what you’ve got to do. Watch this girl!’ You take her in, you pose her, you tell her what to do, turn to the others and ask them, ‘Have you got that?’
If you’ve got to spend 60 seconds explaining to each player, by the time you’ve done a squad of 15 to 20 players that’s a lot of time. Demonstrate it once and save yourself a lot of time and stress. It’s as simple as that.
Friday 16th July 2021 – Prepping for bride and groom photography
We had already done a rehearsal at the venue a week before. It was a bit of a dull day so we didn’t really have the same light as we did in the actual wedding but we were able to talk at length about where they were going to be and explore the paths down to the summer flower meadow. We couldn’t talk about the bride’s dress (the groom was there) so we had to presume we needed to find space on a path where she wasn’t going to be dragging her nice, white, layered dress through four foot high grasses and flowers.
So, we’ve sussed out the venue and spoken at length about where to stand. The wedding was at a horse rescue centre so there was rustic gazebo with a nice horse sculpture made out of branches so we had to look at getting that in the pictures. We had to try and predict the light we’re going to get on the day, mark out where the bride and groom would stand – because in bride and groom photography, there’s nothing worse than having an over-exposed bride and an under-exposed groom – decide the speed they’re going to walk at going up the aisle.
So we’ve got the location sorted out – in theory, as long as it’s not going to be tipping down and we end up walking through six foot grasses in suits.
PRO BRIDE AND GROOM PHOTOGRAPHY TIP
I always speak to the bride and groom about the colour scheme. It’s a personal thing to me because if they’re wearing Cadbury’s purple cravats then I’ll tend to wear a Cadbury’s purple tie. It helps you blend in. It’s those little touches that I like to bring to a ceremony or a service.
You’re always on parade. You’ve got to take that opportunity to impress. Even if just one person out of 200 guests notices and says, ‘Wasn’t that a nice touch for the photographer to wear the same colour tie,’ it gives you a chance of getting more work.
PS. With bride and groom photography it works – at football it doesn’t! You can’t look biased as far as sport is concerned.
Taking time to choose your clothing for the day is important, right down to the soft, comfortable shoes that aren’t going to creak or clonk around. Take a change of shoes, a change of socks, change of shirt and a change of trousers. because if you really have to, you can nip off while they’re having their wedding breakfast and change. With it being a rescue centre, I could be shooting in a field and accidentally kneel in something a bit nasty. You don’t want to be working on the evening do with a patch of horse manure on your knee!
Climate control
It was in the middle of a heat wave so I’ve got deodorant and baby wipes to freshen myself up with. Again, with the wedding being held at a rescue centre, we don’t know what changing facilites we’re going to have. As it happened, there was a mobile shower unit where you could freshen up but not anywhere where you could sort yourself out properly.
I made sure my car air con was set up for comfort – the little bits that will make your life easier and get good bride and groom photography. Think about how you would want to work. Do you want to work with sweat dripping down your brow or would you like to work feeling cool, calm and collected? No heat, no panic, no stress. Stress build stress.
Throw in a spare deodorant. Put sandwiches in. Put cold drinks in. You might not use them but you might just get that chance to chill out in the car park with your air con going and a cold drink. That will help recharge you for the evening do.
On to the kit. I knew it should already be clean but I check it anyway. Make sure you’ve got back ups for your cameras, back ups for your flash guns, back ups for your remotes, back ups for your batteries, back ups for your back ups. You can’t turn around and say, ‘I’m sorry, your pictures didn’t turn out because my camera packed in.’ Well, you’re the one with the cameras. That’s what you’re being paid for. If you don’t produce those pictures, you’re not a pro!
You should always have back ups. I usually work with two cameras. I’ve got a back up for both so if one packs in, I’ve got another.
Make sure you’ve got back ups for your back ups. You can’t turn around and say, ‘I’m sorry, your pictures didn’t turn out because my camera packed in.’
So, I’ve got my kit list. If it comes out of the bag, it gets taken off the list of being in the bag, it gets cleaned, it goes back in the bag, it gets ticked off as being in the bag. That’s the way it should work. Everything is in sturdy bags and cases.
I use a master kit list and make a list from that list for every job. You need to work logically and tick things off from lists as you go along. After processing all the football portraits from Thursday my brain is getting tired. When your brain is tired, things get forgotten.
Never trust your memory! I have been doing that with COVID masks recently and guess what happened? I forgot my mask and ended up having to stop in a shop on the way through. Now, they weren’t worried about masks because the wedding was in the open air and everyone was having lateral flow tests but as a mark of respect I brought masks with me anyway.
I’ve got my car full of fuel. That’s a God given. Don’t hope for the best that you’re going to find a petrol station that’s open and in the right spot. Do it the night before so all you have to do in the morning is load the car. Don’t leave your kit in the car overnight because extreme changes in heat can cause problems with lenses – plus it would be a security risk.
That leads on to another point. My car is unmarked. The minute you put ‘Jo Bloggs Photography’ on your car, you become a target.
The route map and timing for leaving is important. I already knew the route because I had been to the rehearsal but if you’ve got a 1.30pm service and you’ve got a 20 minute drive, don’t leave at 1pm, especially on a hot summer’s day. Leave yourself a good hour. With the roads in Devon, you could be stuck behind anything – a driver going 30 in a 60 on the A38 to Totnes or a horse in Ipplepen. If you know you have time to toddle along behind them and still get there in time, you’ll get there feeling less stressed and the wedding party won’t see the stress in your face. You can even wear your comfy driving jeans and leave the tie off.
As soon as I get there, I tell the receptionist to tell the couple I’m here because they will be stressing out. I can then get myself ready, have a drink and breathe. I get my equipment sorted and go through my list to remind myself of what I have to do (readings from people, etc.) I can also make sure all the doors are open and the viewpoints are clear. I can make sure everybody is singing from the same hymn sheet and nobody is going to be closing the doors I need open, etc.
PRO BRIDE AND GROOM PHOTOGRAPHY TIP
Make sure you’ve got memory in every camera and make sure your camera is set to not take any shots if it hasn’t got memory in it. You could go through a whole wedding with no memory card in your camera and your camera would still sound as if it’s taking pictures.
Saturday 17th July 2021 – Bride and groom photography: shooting the big day
Because the sunlight was really harsh, I ended up having to take control of the bride’s position at the altar. The sun was coming in from one side and if she had stood where she was supposed to stand, her face would have been in shadow and the groom’s face would have been lit so we had to shuffle them around.
The groom, with all due respect, isn’t the one everyone’s focused on. Everybody wants to see the bride’s face, so that’s what you want to prioritise.
We had a word with the registrar: ‘Can we turn it around so that the bride can face the other way?’
‘Of course you can,’ he said. Registrars are human. They know that you’re there to do a job. We’re all there to work together and produce the best images, creating the best day that we can for the couple.
Because I work in the same area, I see the same registrars over and over again. I can actually have a frank conversation with them. For example, I said to one, ‘That was brilliant what you did last week but you caught me out a little bit.’
‘What do you mean?’ he asked.
‘Well, you turned the bride and groom towards me and said, “Now that you’ve put the ring on just hold it there because I’m sure you’d like a lovely picture of that.” I’ve got a wide angle lens on doing a wide shot of the whole room and now you want me to do a close up! Hang on a minute. You’ve never done that before.’
‘I only just thought of it today,’ he admitted. ‘I knew you’d cope.’
When they know you and they know you’re good, you get the job done and you’re not intrusive, you get to the point when they know how you work and they trust you.
So, I changed the postion of the bride and groom. It stands you in good stead. It gets people thinking, ‘He does know what he’s doing.’
Because I work in the same area, I see the same registrars over and over again. You get to the point when they know how you work and they trust you.
It was a nice wedding and everything else went to plan except for the reading they had forgotten to tell me about! But you have to be ready for every eventuality. Some photographers like to work with two cameras but I like to work with one camera, one lens and one camera in the background ready to grab: the double harnesses chew up your shirt and bounce against your leg. Cameras also tend to fall off them sometimes which doesn’t help.
Bride and groom photography: working with animals
The next major event was taking pictures with the ponies. We had a small rescue pony first.
It came into the garden and there was a little parade where the pony was led out with its handler – who turned out to be about 10! That made the pictures. She’s leading this pony, which is almost as tall as her, to the top of the meadow where they had ice cream. We did some pictures with them eating ice cream with the meadow in the background.
The trick is really to get everyone in step. In an ideal world, you will get somebody walking properly, in time with the pony, so the pony looks good too – it doesn’t look like it’s got two legs and isn’t moving.
Suddenly I had to chase the bride and groom half way across the meadow. They were off to meet a nice, big, black retired guard’s horse at the gate. We did some pictures but we knew we really wanted him in the meadow.
PRO BRIDE AND GROOM PHOTOGRAPHY TIP
With animals, you need to see what mood they are in and always ask the handler’s advice and let them make the decison. You can then always pass the buck. Make sure you prime the bride and groom before the day so that they are aware that it’s the handler’s call and that they might not get the photos they want. Certain photos are guaranteed in bride and groom photography, but when it comes to animals, they’re not.
We asked the handler, ‘Do you think he’s good enough?’ Once he’s got in the field with horseflies, he might not behave – he might even rear up and end up hurting someone.
He went down to the meadow and kept trying to duck his head down to get a mouthful of delicious, purple flowers. So, we went with it. Instead of them looking at a nice, cool, handsome beast, we’re looking at a happy horse with grass sticking out of the sides of his mouth.
We were trying not to damage the flowers so I was located in a different track to the bride and groom. Using perspective and angles, we made it look as if we were all standing in the meadow. I kept tripping over the collie that came with us.
We got about five minutes of that before the horse decided he wasn’t going to do it any more so we had to give up. You’re working in an animal rescue place so you’ve got to expect that – and you’ve got to be nice about it. I’m lucky because I’m good with animals; I talk to them just like they’re humans.
Then the pony went back and that was it until the Caileigh followed by pasties and marshmallows being roasted in the fire pit.
Sunday 18th July 2021 – Gulls and Swans
It had been after midnight when I got back from the wedding so I had a bit of a lazy morning before high-tailing it to Stoke Gabriel for Torquay United Women’s pre-season friendly against Swansea City Ladies.
The biggest thing that will stand you in good stead for sports photography is to know your sport. See my blog post, How to Photograph Sports.
With ladies, even though you might think you’ve got a decent set of shots of a player tackling the ball because nine times out of ten, they’ve got long hair. And nine times out of ten it’s all over their face. So if you’re after good shots for websites or publications you really need to keep an eye on that hair. Otherwise they will be all over Instagram saying, ‘I look awful!’
The biggest thing that will stand you in good stead for sports photography is to know your sport.
Monday 19th & Tuesday 20th July 2021 – Filing & More Wedding Bells
You don’t want to spend too much time filing. If you’re stuck in the office filing, you’re not out there making money. That’s not to say it’s all about money – far from it – but you do have to be pragmatic.
If you’re charging for the filing that’s different. If you’ve allowed that into your fees, that’s fine but you can’t charge somebody £50 trying to rescue an image for three hours. I can take an image from a raw file and produce it in about 30 to 45 seconds. I can take it from a JPEG and do it in about 20 seconds: open it up, level it, sharpen it, save it. Job done. It doesn’t take long. That’s providing you’ve got your lighting right, you’ve got the exposure correct, you’ve got your contrast near as damn it and you’ve got a good JPEG to work with. If you’ve got an under-exposed or over-exposed file and you’ve got to then spend the time putting the detail back, rescuing it, cropping it in – all those actions take time. If you get it right in camera, then all you have to do is the basic pulling the pixels together, saving it and sending it.
You don’t want to spend too much time filing. If you’re stuck in the office filing, you’re not out there making money. That’s not to say it’s all about money – far from it.
You might also have enquiries to deal with and this week I received a call from the mother of Saturday’s bride saying, ‘Because of the way you took charge and the way you worked, we would really love you to do our wedding.’ I think it was switching the positions of the bride and groom that got me her wedding because I looked at the lighting, I looked at her daughter and said, ‘The bride is the most important part of that picture. That bride’s got to be properly lit.’
Get your invoices out. Then you can psychologically rest your brain. You’ve got Wednesday and Thursday off and then Friday it hits the pan again…unless…
Wednesday 21st July 2021 – Helping A Worthy Cause
…Unless you spot an appeal for a photographer for a football match on Facebook. I wouldn’t normally do that but it was for a mental health charity and that’s a big subject. It’s important for men to be able to talk about things they’re going through so it had to be done.
I’ve lost a number of friends through the years who had been suffering, trying to keep it hidden and appearing strong because they feel like they have no one to open up to. I know personally that I used to keep things hidden because in my own misguided thought process, I was protecting my loved ones…and was embarrassed to admit it to my mates. If I’d felt I could then it certainly would have saved me a lot sooner.
This match, while also being a memorial game, was to raise awareness of the subject. To get across the point…’It’s OK, we won’t judge you, we’re your mates, we can help.’
So, I commented on the post and that night we spoke about it and sorted out what we would do. When you’ve worked with the press, your subconscious asks how you can get them some coverage. So, I liaised with everyone I knew from the local papers and it worked out well for everyone involved.
That took up Wednesday and part of Thursday but it’s an important thing.
Have a burning photography question you would like Al to write about in his next blog post? Email info@miraclepr.com with your request.