Summer Light In Summary

With the weather we’ve been having this August you may not be feeling especially Summery, and it’s true to say I’ve had a challenging few weeks dodging downpours, thunder storms and gales, but it’s often assumed that Summer sunshine is perfect for photography.

Well it can be of course, but as a rule, when I’m taking pictures of people for their business website or press release, if we’re having to work outdoors and the sun is screaming down, it’s not always a great help. The subjects will either be squinting into the light, their eyes streaming, or if I put the sun behind them I’ll end up with silhouetted people unless I balance the daylight with flash – not always a simple task.

Of course there are things I can do to minimise the problem, but sometimes the chosen location and time of day for the photo session mean it becomes a purely technical exercise in overcoming the sun.

In the two photos featured here you’ll see how placing the subjects in the shade has meant they’re not not made to squint into the sun or get hot and bothered, while I’m able to fill in their features with controlled use of flash.

The client, the award-winning The Bristol Pest Controller, needed some images for their website, including a hero image, and they knew the location they wanted. My job was to make it all work for them and their website.

The session happened back in March of this year, but I don’t know if you remember, it was quite sunny back in the Spring! Sunshine in Spring is just as tricksy to work with as sun at any time of year, but finding the right location helps a lot to mitigate the issues.

And of course if it’s sunshine like we’ve had this August, ie not a lot, that can actually be quite helpful as it’s easier to balance overcast daylight and flash. The only problem this Summer seems to be how to avoid getting drenched or struck by lightning during your photo session.

 

Graduation Time!

If I’ve been a little quiet the last couple of weeks it’s because of sheer pressure of work; it’s hard to take photos and blog at the same time, but I wanted to give you a quick post to let you know I’m still alive and clicking (see what I did there?)

This week has been a busy one for me as I’ve been helping out with the University of Bath’s coverage of their Summer (haha) Graduations. In between other work, my task has been to capture celebratory images to show the joy and fun as students receive their certificates in Bath Abbey.

Within minutes of the end of a ceremony I’ve been dashing off to a quiet corner to edit, caption and deliver the images so the press office could get them up on Facebook and twitter. Apart from some torrential rain, it’s all been pretty smooth.

I leave you with a selection of photos taken over the last three days.

In Summery [sic]

If you’re currently on holiday, sitting in a caravan on a rain-soaked and windswept holiday park in the UK, I feel your pain.

I used to take photos for holiday park brochures, mainly of the static caravan variety, and it was always a task made unpredictable by the English weather.

The photo featured here was taken after I’d been held up on a park in Northumberland by poor weather which persisted for two or three days. It got to the point where, having done every conceivable interior photo, I literally couldn’t shoot anything outdoors that would have made the park and its surroundings look like a great Summer destination as the mist, or sea fret as it’s locally known, had set in and wasn’t going to shift.

Eventually I had to abandon the shoot and drive home, which back then meant a six-hour drive to Portsmouth.

There is no moral or sage advice attached to this tale of inconvenience, except to say that it being August and holiday time, I shall be suspending blog posts until September 1st.

I hope that whatever you plan to do this Summer, wherever you go, you get the weather you want and return refreshed and ready to face Christmas merchandise in the shops and an Indian Summer which will no doubt be in full flow once you’re back at your desk.

Bye for now!

The Graduates

Yet again, sorry for the lack of a post last week, but I was incredibly busy photographing the University of Bath Summer graduation ceremonies. Eleven ceremonies in three days, days which easily ran to 12 or 13 hour stints, but which were ultimately successful. Success is when the client sends emails saying that the pictures they’re seeing come through after each day’s ceremonies are over are exactly what they needed. Success is also managing to not mess up even though I’d never done this before, and rarely have I had to cover an event with quite so many requirements from different parts of the client organisation.

Now all the editing is done and the photos delivered, I thought I’d pluck a few of my own favourites from the assignment and let you have a peek inside what is a pretty big event in Bath and certainly for the University of Bath and the graduating students and their families.

Bedel Bearer Evearl Walker polishes up the mace prior to the first procession

Bedel Bearer Evearl Walker polishes the mace prior to the first procession

HRH Prince Edward, Chancellor of University of Bath, exits Bath Abbey after a degree ceremony.

The university’s new chancellor, HRH Prince Edward, looking relaxed in his role

Bath Abbey during University of Bath graduation ceremonies.

The abbey is a superb setting for the ceremonies

A parent using an iPad inside the abbey to photograph the ceremony

One parent likes to record the ceremony on her iPad

A University of Bath graduate smiles and gives the camera a thumbs up

One of my tasks was to capture the fun of the day

Two female students make a selfie while smiling and pulling funny faces

Selfies at graduation are a new trend

A graduate pokes his tongue out while shaking the hand of the Pro-Chancellor

One graduate wins his bet

A graduate makes her way back to her seat after receiving her certificate, the grandeur of the abbey seen behind her.

A graduate makes her way back to her seat after receiving her certificate

A group of smiling, camera-wielding parents in Abbey Churchyard

Proud parents line up to get photos of their sons and daughters

University of Bath graduates throw their hats in the air in celebration

The obligatory hat-throwing shot

University of Bath Summer Graduations, Ceremony 11 hat-throwing

A different take on the hat-throwing shot

Graduates standing on top of an open-top bus throw their mortar boards in the air

Top deck hat-throwing