ON CAMERA FLASH - Not always a bad thing....

You know how I harp on about off camera flash, how its so much better than just sticking a flashgun on the top of your camera and blasting away. Well I still totally believe that, the best quality lighting can only be acheived by getting your flash off the camera and using some imagination to light a subject. Well sometimes the on camera flash can create some incredibly powerful images and if used creatively can be equally as useful as a strobe on a lightstand.

Today I had the pleasure of photographing a good friend of mine, Chantelle. Chantelle is an aspiring model, with a very striking look, I have worked with her before and I have always be happy with the images we have created. On this occasion I used a bog-standard 580 EX, bounced off the ceiling of my studio, supplemented with a Lastolite Tri-flector placed under the camera. Thats it, as simple as you like.

If you look closely, you can see the distinctive reflections in the eyes created by the Tri-flector, the larger highlight, is simply a reflection of the white painted ceiling in my studio. This effect can easily create simply stunning images, but these particular images are mainly due to the good looks of an incredible model.

To E-Shoot or not to E-Shoot

Wedding photography has come along way since the days of standing in front of the church doors and an old magnesium flash. The typical bride and groom want something a bit more adventurous from their wedding photographer. They also want to be educated in how to 'perform' for the camera, so that on they look their best on the wedding day, thats why many couples opt to have an'engarement' shoot, or E-Shoot, prior to the big day.

All couples who pre-order an album package with me, qualify for a free E-Shoot as part of their package. Some couples opt not to decide to to use me as their wedding photographer until they have experience of my service, and instead opt tp purchase a seperate E-shoot before deciding wether or not to use me. If they are happy with how I work and what I produce they can then book me without paying a retainer, I just right it off against the booking fee from the E-shoot. I have still earned my fee, and the couple have had their E-shoot, so we are all set for the big day.

I tend to use the engagement session as a practise session for the big day, helping the couple get used to posing in front of the camera, by pointing toes and shifting weight between legs to get comfortable and slim those lines. We often hold the shoots at the main venue, so I get to have a good wander around and inspect the layout of the venue prior to the wedding so that I have an idea of what will work and what won't.

The shots I have included here are from two recent and very different e-shoots. Laura and David, and Katie and Matthew both booked me several months ago, so I haven't seen them in ages, it was good to get to meet them again and to run through the arrangements so we were all happy. Both seessions produced some very striking images, that I hope both couples will be happy with.

Portrait Photography on location







I spend most of my time photographing people in their homes or places of work. Most of my clients are busy professionals who don't always have the time to travel to a studio, or are uncomfortable being photographed in the studio environment.





Over the years I have minimised the amount of gear I use when working on location, so that I can be in and out of the clients office, or home, in as short a time as possible. Most of the location portraits, or environmental portraits to be correct, take less than 15 minutes to shoot, including set-up and take down time. Very few portrait sessions take longer than 30 minutes, most of those involve photographing numerous subjects.





The equipment I use is about as simple as you can get, either a couple of Canon 580EX speedlites, or a simple Lumedyne kit depending on my general requirements for the shoot. If I only have one or two subjects and the client only needs the simplest of pictures then I will often use the 580's, if I need to use a large softbox or I have numerous subjects then I will need the power and longevity of the Lumedynes.





The portrait above is a typical example of working with lightweight equipment. The photo is of my friend Mark Sheppard. Mark is a registered Hypnotherapist and the photo was required for his new website. I just used a simple set-up, a single 580 mounted on a Manfrotto Nano lightstand using an umbrella adapter. I aimed the 580 directly through a 30inch white shoot through umbrella placed about 20 inches from the subject. Mark was sitting about 3 feet from a plain wall just close enough to allow some of the light from the umbrella to fall onto the wall, but creating enough fall-off to drop the exposure by about 1 and a half stops, creating an even grey. Marks daughter was off school so I got her to help by holding a Lastolite 20 inch silver reflector on the opposite side, this just lifted the light in the shadow.

The result is a simple high quality portrait that could have been taken in a studio using an array of complicated and expensive lighting options, such as a softboxes, grids or spots. Even though I did stop for a cup of tea and a chat, I was in and out of Marks house in less than an hour, the photography was over in less than 10 minutes.

Simple yet extremely effective.

My new website...I love it

I have been working tirelessly over the last few weeks to create a brand new website. I have had the earlier website for about two years and I was beginning to feel that it looked a little dated and sterile, so i decided to give the site an overhaul.

My old site was created by the team at Creative Motion Design, they produce some wonderful template based flash sites specifically for photographers. The control panels are easy to use and the servers are reasonably stable and the support is amazing. I decided I wanted CMD to to create my new site, I chose one of their great designs and submitted a few changes and in no time at all I had a new site. The problem started when I had to start loading up the images and writing the text, I am so busy that finding time to actually sit down and do it was just so diffficult. When I actually pulled my socks up and started adding images I had it done in now time. The CMD control panel has an amazing facility to bulk upload the images, its so quick, my galleries were finished in no time at all.

I am really pleased with the site, I hope it shows of my personality as well as my photography. There are loads of great photographers in the Newark area, so having a good website is really important when trying to get noticed. I think my new site is even better than I expected it to be and I am sure it will bring more interest in my work.

I love photography, my family are always saying that I am lucky to be doing a job that I enjoy doing so much. I have to agree with them, I consider myself priveliged to be allowed into so many peoples lives and to actually get paid to photograph them.

Gemma and Nicks Wedding

This weekend was a bit of a rush, non-stop shooting, mostof which I had not had alot of time to prep for. On saturday I photographed a wedding at Prestwold hall near Loughborough, it was a bit short notice as Nick and Gemma original photographer had been injured in an accident earlier in the week. I got a desperate phonecall on Thursday, and I obliged by standing in for him.

The Antiroom at Prestwold is stunning, and served as the ideal location to shoot the groups. I lit the groups with a single Canon 580Ex placed off camera to left of me. The flash was bounced of the wall behind me, even though the wall was not white, it had a soft shiny surface which reflected the light without too much trouble.

The star of the wedding was Harvey the Page boy, this little fella had all the girls after him, even married ones!!

I managed to grab the couple for few moments just before the sun went down, to create a couple of really nice portraits that also showed of Gemmas wonderful dress. I grabbed one of the guest to help, asking him to hold the flash and diffuser while I directed the shots. In all we were outside less than two minutes. Which was ideal, as it was freezing..

Gimme a B, Gimme a L, Gimme a U.....

Last Friday I had the pleasure of photographing a group of lovely young ladies from Newark. The Blue Sapphires Cheerleaders are preparing for a trip to America to compete in an International Cheerleading Competition. By all accounts the girls have great chance of coming home with medals and trophies, so lets hope they do well.

The group was simply lit with my Lumedyne portable lights, another example of why using battery powered lighting systems enables you to work effectively without having to trail cables all over the place. The gym was lit with horrible flourescent tubes, which were giving a sickly green colour to the image. I decided to overpower the ambient light by using a fast shutter speed and white balancing for the flash.

Anyway, being in a room full of giggly teenage girls turned out not to be as scary as I had imagined, they are harmless really.

Go Girls.....

2008 Fight the Flab Campaign





Well here goes, I've spent the last 2 weeks gorging on pork pies, chocolate and roast dinners, and I have drunk more than my fair share of wine and beer, so its about time I started to look after myself abit.

I have always been able to carry a little weight without looking too porky, but just recently I have noticed a gradual increase in my waist size and I have started to feel more tired earlier in the day. Not a good sign for someone who has only just had his 39th birthday, if I was 10 years older I wouldn't feel quite so bad, but I am not exactly old and I feel like I should be wrapped in a blanket, doing jigsaws with a cup of cocoa. "I AM NOT OLD", I keep telling myself, "but why don't my trousers fit anymore?" , because you eat too much and sit in front of a computer too much....easy really, I know what the problem is, so I really must do something about it.

So I am publicly announcing my intention to fight the flab. I intend to lose at least 13 kgs over the next 6 months. I shouldn't be so difficult, cut down on sugery sweets, no snacking between meals, exercise more regularily....arghhhh, I can feel the pressure already.

Never mind, its a case of mind over matter, Alison doesn't mind, and I don't matter.

To help me along, and to give everyone an idea of how I am doing, I have created a Lardometer, a simple scale to demonstrate just how much weight I am losing. I intend to post an update every week, hopefully there will be an change and you will be able to see how I am doing.

Anyway, too all of you who are in the same boat as me, and are willing to do something about it, good luck, I hope you all do better than me.

Happy New year





Paul

Merry Christmas Everyone......


Just a quick one to say thank you to all my wonderful clients I have had the great pleasure of working with this year. I wish you all the best for the holidays and for the coming New Year.

Next year is going to be huge, I have a packed program of events already, plus I have some massive changes coming up for the New year. Look out for my new website, which will hopefully be live early in January and also look out for news of a new range of totally exclusive products.

Anyway, good luck for next year, I dearly hope that all of you have a wonderful time,

See you in 2008

Paul

YOU'RE KIDDIN ME





Believe it or not, the Christmas promotion is nearly over, only a few more days to go. We have had a huge success with bookings so far and nearly all of our allocated slots are full, but due to the amount of interest we have had, we have decided to extend the offer for one more week.

Not only that we are offering a limited number of gift certificates to lucky applicants. Each certificate entitles the bearer to £100 of products and services from our portrait range. These include handmade frames, display portfolios and albums.

Email me at paul@paulsaxby.co.uk to book your place.

Celtic Tigers Roar.........

"I can jump further than you...."

Last week I had the honour of being invited over to Ireland to photograph an entire extended family and some of their friends and family. I was invited into the family and waited on hand and foot for the three days I was in the Emerald Isle.

"Seaweed is great..."

I had been asked to photograph several families and all their respective children, all aged between 4 weeks and four and a half years. It was great, I got to behave like a child again, crawling on the floor, rolling about in wet grass and digging holes in a muddy beach. I thoroughly enjoyed myself, even when I found myself changing nappies and watching Thomas the Tank Engine.

"Catching some rays man..."

Best af all I was given as much creative freedom as I wanted, so I took the bull by the horns and began using off-camera flash. As soon as I arrived in Ireland I instructed 'Uncle Russ' in how the VALS(Voice Activated Light Stand) system worked, gave him a Canon 580EZ, a Quantum Turbo Battery pack and a Pocket Wizard Plus II Transceiver, and we got to work. Russ even found himself in one or two of the images as he tried to dodge back and forth between children on the beach. I deliberately included him in the shot below to demonstrate how I lit the group shots.

Is that Russ or VAL in the corner of the picture?


"its not really gonna fall over....is it?"

I was really surprised how quickly the children got used to me being there, even though it was the first time I had met most of them, within a few minutes, the children strated to behave like children and ignored me. I let them get on with playing with their toys, racing around the garden on a peddle powered go-kart, playing on the swings and digging in the mud.

"Did someone say there were Ladybirds in here?"


Even Uncle Peter gets in on the act...What a poser..."

I am really happy with the results, I hope everyone enjoys the images as much as I do.

Many thanks to Carina, Russ and family for inviting me over, and a special thank you to Suzanne, Brian, Paddy and Collette for putting me up, and treating me as a member of their family.

Its all go...




The last few days has been a total blur, I have projects coming out of my ears, so I guess there are going to be a few late nights on the cards. More on the main job coming up in a few days, but in the mean time I have to mention a job in conjunction with Ursula from FLUK Studios in Nottingham.

Ursula had asked me to come in with her to help out on a large commercial project photographing a collection of designer jewellery. I have to say that most of the items were fairly ordinary but a couple of the items were incredibly striking, including the diamond pendant featured above.

I found this job extremely interesting as I was using techniques that I hadn't used in years, normally used to photograph broken pieces of aircraft engine or in forensic investigations, the use of macro technology enabled me to get up close and personal with some stunning designer trinkets, some worth tens of thousands of pounds.

Anyway, the rest of the week I was working away from home, but I will talk about that when I have had a chance to sort my life out.

Autumn is well on its way....

A few days ago, Alison, Lucy and myself managed to get a few hours out in the fresh air together. It seems like ages since we had all been out together, and since the weather was so good we decided we had to make the most of it.

We decided to load up and go for a gentle stroll at Sherwood Pines, which is the largest public area of Sherwood Forest. Its only about 25 minutes from where we live, so it really convenient as well.

Lucy absolutely loved it, she went completely bonkers ferreting in the undergrowth, she didn't even notice the two stags that appeared momentarily in front of us. They were an awesome sight, its a pity I only had my 50mm on my 30D, as they were just to far away to get a decent shot, but it was worth it just to watch them as they wandered past us.

Lucy swimming across the pond, with Alison in the background

Anyway, the most stricking part of the day was the stunning colours of the leaves that are turning. The 50mm was perfect for selecting the individual leaves on the ground, as well as the Chestnuts that were all over the forest floor.

If anyone is stuck for something to do in a quiet Sunday afternoon, I would recommend a trip to Sherwood Forest.

Christmas Promotion

Just thought I would let everyone know that I am now running a special Christmas Portrait promotion for families with young children starting this weekend.

If you have a child aged 5 or under I will photograph you and your family for the princly sum of £15( thats a saving of £50). This is a perfect oppurtunity for you to get some Christmas Gifts ready for friends and family.

I am happy to travel to your home, or we can meet up at a favourite location of your choice(a small charge will be made for a location more than 20 miles from Newark), and we can spend an hour or so creating some beautiful images of your child for Christmas.

With the nights drawing in, please note that evening bookings are becoming scarce, but weekday and weekend shoots are still available. The offer is valid until the end of November.

Please feel free to contact me to discuss your requirements on 01636 650954, or email me at paul@paulsaxby.co.uk.

A manic few days.....

Its been incredibly busy over the last few days, along with the normal portraits and stuff, I have been awfully busy with commercial and PR work.

Yesterday was very busy, I had the great oppurtunity of working with the girls at Willoughby PR, for the official opening of the new Westfield Shopping Centre in Derby. It was an early start, getting in to the centre at just gone 6am and working almost none stop until 6 pm photographing VIP's, special guests and shoppers visiting one of Europes biggest shopping centres.

The centre was officially opened by Tess Daley, one of the presenters of Strictly Come Dancing, and the owner of Westfield, Mr Frank Lowy, flew over from Australia to be there at the opening.

The day was spent running from one event to the next, and then transmitting images to the Australian Press for use in their papers.

I ached like mad this morning, but I must admit I totally enjoyed the day. Many thanks to Diana and Laura from Willoughby for looking after me, and also to Spike and Neil for getting me the gig in the first place.

CHEESE FANS - CHECK THIS OUT

One of my many, many failings is an absolute passion for cheese....especially anything covered in mould. I have been known to eat an entire block of mature chedder to myself...in one sitting.

Yes, yes I know its not good for me, but niether is drinking an entire bottle of cheap red chilian plonk, but I still do it.

The clever people at West Country Farmhouse Cheesemakers have been running a web cam in the maturing room, it makes my mouth water every time I log-in.

Anyway, if you want to watch some really interesting tv(well its better than most of the rubbish on the digital channels), then check this out.

Kelly and Paul.....a sneak preview.



This weekend I photographed a lovely couple at Rushton Hall near Northampton. The wedding was a lively affair, with great kids, bouyant guests and adoring family members.

Here are a few examples, all given the black and white treatment.



Kelly arrives at the church with her Dad.



The girls were wonderfully well behaved...







One of a few more traditional shots near the lake at Rushton Hall.





A portrait of Grandad, a proud Normandy Veteren and ,in my eyes, the star of the day.

I hope you like the photos, and don't worry, there are loads of colour ones too.

Ruth and Adrian

This week I had the pleaseure of photographing a lovely couple from Newark, which was great as for once I didn't have to travel far...all of half a mile.

Ruth and Adrian had a lovely quiet civil ceremony followed by a small gathering of friends and family, which went without a hitch (well almost - we won't mention Kirsty and the Key!!)

Maz and Alex, a wonderful weekend..

This weekend I travelled to South Wales to photograph Mariam and Alex. I arrived a day early to shoot a few portraits, then I spent the whole day with them and their families enjoying a wonderful service and glorious sunshine.

A vintage Double-Decker provided transport for everyone, and was intended to keep everyone together, even so someone(John!!!) went missing. Nothing important, he was only giving the Bride away!!!!

Here are a few of my favourites,

The boys on the way to the pub...

Nervous Bride....no way, Maz was full of it.

A quick smile as Maz arrives...

The first Dance, boy can they move...

Faye and Matthew ....VW camper and Creme Brulee.

Here are a few from Faye and Matthews wedding at Rowton Castle Hotel near Shrewsbury. I have been looking forward to this particular wedding for quite a while now. Faye and Matthew are a wonderful couple, childhood sweethearts that were obviously meant for each other.

Faye hired a vintage VW camper van to collect Matthew(just to make sure he turned up!) and the boys. The van made for a great portrait, using my favourite Lumedynes and a 1/4 CTS filter to warm up the foreground.

As ususal I kept the formals to a minimum, just capturing a few shots on a long lens while the couple strolled around the lovely ponds at Rowton.

Then it was out to the lawn for Pimm's and Croquet, very English.

I have to thank Kate from Rowton Castle Hotel, she made a special effort to make sure I was fed and watered, not essential by any means, but very much appreciated. The Creme Brulee was absolutely outstanding.

Anyway, I hope you like the images, enjoy your time in New Zealand and see you when you get home.

Melissa and Tim sneek preview.

A wonderful day at Stapleford Park Hotel, near Oakham. The weather was glourious, but thankfully not too warm

Melissa and Tim tied the knot at Oakham Castle, an ancient hall right in the centre of town, you wouldn't know it was there unless you were looking for it. Followed by a ride back to the hotel courtesy of a horse drawn carriage.

To mark the day, Melissa and Tim, aided by their son Ollie, planted a Purple Beech tree in the grounds of the hotel.

Here are a few of my favourites.

Check you out.....

The kids......

A moment of laughter....

The next Grand Master...

Planting the tree...