Studio Volution

If you are following this blog can I please invite you to move on over to Studio Volution which is where all the updates are appearing now - www.studiovolution.blogspot.com

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New Photography Workshops for 2011 in Liverpool Announced!

Please visit this link for information on photography workshops in Liverpool for 2011.

What's Happening?

Those of you that visit this blog regularly are probably wondering what's happening - well, at Zoe Photography we are undergoing some changes, and as a result all photography training is suspended for the time being.  Zoe will be doing some guests spots, but there will be no training under the Dovecote Training banner for now.

Thank you for supporting us here at Dovecote Training, and keep your eye open for the guest training sessions that Zoe will be doing around the country.

Makeup Artists at Weddings

Weddings are such lovely days to be involved with, aren't they? It's so nice being part of the bride's big day, having a natter as you apply her makeup, a little giggle with the girls as they get in the party mood. What fun! And then suddenly the time has run out, everything is in a hurry, the bride is having to dash into her dress, she's annoyed with the photographer for not getting a photograph of her and her mum, but hey, you were booked to do both of them and the two bridesmaids, it's not your fault! And there's still an hour to go before the ceremony.

As a photographer I see this happening all too often, and now I have become quite strict about when the makeup artist must be finished - that way when she's running late, working too slow, the timings of the day are not put out too much, and there is still time to get all the photographs that the bride expects to be taken before the ceremony. Taking the photographs all day at a wedding means that I'm the only vendor (usually) who is around from the start to the end of the day, and so I'm generally the only vendor booked for the day who knows how one or other vendors can affect the wedding.

But what I find interesting in talking with makeup artists is that the training they receive in bridal makeup instructs them to work in such a way that they are almost guaranteed to muck up the day before the ceremony, and can often be the sole reason for making the bride panic, stress out, or be late. It seems that many of the teachers of makeup artists tell their students to say to the bride "I'll do you last, love, you just chill out, enjoy a glass of champagne while I do the other girls, and we'll do you last." WHAT!!!! If the makeup artist is running late a bridesmaid can apply her own makeup! If a bridesmaid has to rush into her dress, well, let's face it, it's not that big a deal! It's not her day, afterall!

So here's my plea to makeup artists - please, please, please don't take on too much. Don't try to do everyone if there just isn't enough time in the morning. The photographer probably needs to be leaving the bride's house a good hour before the ceremony time, allowing for travel time, and time to photograph the groom and his groomsmen. And as the bride needs photographs taking too, as well as time to get into her dress, this means that you need to have finished applying makeup around 2 hours before the ceremony time to allow for the day to run smoothly. If the ceremony time is midday, you need to be packed up and gone by 10am.

And another thing - you are NOT the bride's mate (unless you are, of course :D ) and so it's not your job to be entertaining her. You have a job to do and please concentrate on it! When the photographer arrives they are arriving to take photographs, not watch you work.

OK, I know, this sounds stroppy, but this year alone I have photographed 5 weddings that ended up running very late because the makeup artist thought she knew better, and worked at a nice, slow, steady pace. One bride was nearly half an hour late, all because the makeup artist didn't understand how they were impacting on the day. Another bride missed out on the photographs with her mum, because the makeup artist was still doing the mum and bridesmaids' makeup 15 minutes after I should have left.

So I'm sorry for being stroppy, but seriously, it's the bride's day, no-one else's, except maybe the grooms, of course. And as vendors it's our job to make sure we add to the day in a positive way, not add to the stress of the day. Come on Miss Makeup Artist, please think about the bigger picture, consider how the bride feels, listen to her when she says that you need to be finished with everyone 2 hours before the ceremony.

And photographers, you can help the bride by telling her to be ready to get into her dress 2 hours before the ceremony - or if she's a long way from the church or venue, then 2 hours before she needs to leave.

Effective Training for Photography Trainers

"Hey, guess what, I've been a photographer for a couple of years or so now and I guess it's time for me to start training others as photographers! I mean, training can't be that hard, and I know most of what I'm doing with my camera. I know my posing is a bit questionable at times, and sometimes I make mistakes at the weddings I shoot, but no-one will know I've corrected those mistakes in Photoshop. You know, these people who want to learn, they know less than me, and as long as I stay one step or so ahead of them, well, I can blag it! Anyway, how hard can it be to train others how to become a wedding and portrait photographer?"

With 25 years experience behind me of designing and delivering training courses, along with a Masters degree in Learning I am often amazed to hear photographers moan about inexperienced amateur/semi-pro photographers blagging it with brides that they can shoot a wedding when they've never done one before, and then those self same photographers think that they can set up training courses when they have no knowledge of how to run any form of learning process.

Now let's face it, me commenting that everyone wants to be a trainer is hardly going to stop photographers offering themselves up as the next best thing in photography training, so I thought I'd offer some tips to wannabe photography trainers in order to protect the unsuspecting student when they pick their favourite workshop.

So if you're setting yourself up to do some form of photography training, what kind of things do you need to consider? Firstly, it's helpful to know what it is you are going to do - trying to be all things to all people is likely to get you into a mess, so be clear where your expertise lies and concentrate on that. This is in the context of both subject matter and delivery style. By that I mean that you need to know if you are better as a facilitator of learning (you create an environment through which the student can learn towards their own specific needs using their transferable knowledge and skills), or as a trainer (you guide the student through their learning, helping them to understand what and how to do something, without getting into the why) or as a teacher (you take an active role in telling people as you educate them in a structured process). Each of these styles of delivery requires a different set of skills and as an educator you need to be aware of what your skills are, so that you can focus your delivery towards the most appropriate learning process.

Let's assume then that you know what your skills are as an educator. Next you need to be clear about how you are going to deliver the information - what is your structure, how will you pace delivery, what will you introduce to create variety and retain the learner's attention (we can apparently only take in around 12 minutes of information before our minds start to wander), what level of challenge will you bring in, and what exercises will you use?

It's noticable that a lot of photography trainers think that it is sufficient to tell the participants something, demonstrate it and then leave them to experiment - but is this enough? Does it lead to true learning? When you are working out your course structure make sure that you include time for instruction, for discussion, for demonstration, for experimentation, for review and reflection, and also for some level of risk and discomfort to push the participants' boundaries.

If you are doing training for groups you will also need to consider the group dynamics, how people interact, what happens when someone takes over with their views, questions or comments, and how the power dynamics will work within the group. As the workshop or course leader you need to be able to be in control of the group, and be able to handle any issues that arise, including your own nerves.

And finally for now, it is critical that you design appropriate exercises for people to be able to learn, along with procedures for keeping exercises on track. Make sure that your exercises have a purpose to them that is more than about giving yourself a break from the group. Consider how you create moments of learner autonomy to encourage the learner to take charge of themselves in the learning process, and ensure that there is a mix of experimentation, risk and analysis so that the learner can use the exercise effectively.

If you are a learner, looking for training, make sure you have checked out the credentials of the trainer - they may well be able to take reasonable or even good photographs, but are they really able to teach you what you need to know? Remember to do your research before you book your place and part with your money!

QUICKIE: I'm a Specialist

"I'm a specialist, you know - a really good specialist in fact. I specialise in weddings, portraits, baby photography, events, fine art, pet photography, fashion, sports, boudoir, landscapes and pregnancy shoots. Oh, and for weddings I shoot reportage, classical weddings, trash the dress, traditional and candid."

Have you ever caught yourself - or noticed it with other photographers - with a long list of specialisms? Anything longer than 2 or 3 things means you are no longer a specialist, you are a generalist who turns your hand to anything. And your potential clients, the people you are marketing yourself to will notice this. If someone genuinely wants a specialist to do some work for them, then they'll look for a specialist. My experience from my early days when I was trying to be all things to all people suggests that when clients see that you 'specialise' in a lot of things, then they are likely to have one expectation - you will be cheap!

And as a specialist, clients expect you to be an expert in your field - are you an expert? If not, what are you going to do to become an expert, a trusted specialist who shows top quality work in your specialism? I love Bella West's work with young children and the way she uses light - it's truly beautiful, and it's very obvious she is an expert in her specialism of children's portraiture. The same can be said of Kevin Wilson and the way he uses light in weddings. (By the way, watch out for our review of Kevin's 'The Art of Fellowship' DVD coming soon.)

So, do you really want to be a specialist? Or are you content attempting to be all things to all people? It's a simple choice.

Inspiration

I don't need inspiration, I have my own ideas - at least, that's what I'm told by some photographers. That's fabulous, amazing in fact! How fab to have so many creative ideas you don't need inspiration from others, from any other aspect of life. Incredible! So why is it that all your photographs are a bit flat and boring? They all look the same to me. Oh, right, so that's your style .... hmmmm.

There again, I've come across those that tell me that they have created their own style, their own special, unique, inspirational style of photographs .... er, haven't I seen that somewhere before? Oh, right, I see, you've put your own twist on a photograph that Jerry G created, right!

Honestly, I don't think any of us can afford to stop being inspired, however long we've been in the industry, but equally, we need to watch how the inspiration creeps into what we do, making sure it is inspiration, and not copying.

I use a range of things for inspiration - I love watching movies and some mainly US TV shows for ideas of what to shoot and how to shoot. For example, I love CSI Miami and the way that they do tight crops and use negative space. The separation is fabulous too as are the colours. Some music videos can also be great for getting ideas from, such as those created for Christina Aguilera.

I also use art for inspiration, looking at how artists use light, composition and posing. There is a fabulous painting in The Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, called The Death of Nelson which is full of inspiration around use of layers, linking of subjects, and lighting, as well as posing. I also love the work of Edward Hopper and Jack Vettriano, as well as the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, particularly John Everett Millais.

And then there are other photographers - I love some of the great masters of photography, such as Norman Parkinson, Cecil Beaton, Henri Cartier Bresson, Eve Arnold to name just a few, as well as contemporary photographers. I find Annie Liebovitz's Hollywood covers fabulous for inspiration around photographing groups and creating links between subjects, and Mario Testino's lively groups are just amazing!

But there are other photographers whose work I get inspiration from who are not out there in the media as 'famous' photographers, yet just as worthy. Take a look at Kevin Wilson, Bella West, Julia Boggio, Parker J Pfister, Johannes van Kan.

And then, of course, people watching has to be one of the most inspirational things we can do, as we watch people doing what they do naturally. So next time you find yourself saying you don't look at other photographers for inspiration, that you don't copy others when really you do, that you have loads of ideas, just ask yourself this .... if this is what I am able to do when I don't look for inspiration outwith myself, how good might I be if I did look for inspiration? Maybe, just maybe, you could exceed your own expectations!