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Living the Dream - part 2 of 1 2

by Dave Wall Published 01/11/2012

Old School Approach

If there's one thing Dave prides himself on it's his approach to his craft, which he variously describes as 'old school' and 'old fashioned.' "These are my values," he says, "not just with regard to customer service but also in the way I tackle any given job. I am not a 'spray and pray' photographer, as my work is highly stylised and often requires multiple images to fit seamlessly together. I enjoy the challenge of being asked to create the impossible.

"As my background is so wide and varied I have created images for some of the biggest names in some of the most pressurised environments, so I know the right questions to ask and know instinctively if a client is being unrealistic either on time or budget. Being also a professional retoucher and pre-press expert I have the added benefit of being able to see a job straight through, from conception to print-ready files. I am also bold enough to walk away from jobs that will end up costing me, as I am a firm believer in the principle that it's not about turnover but profit. Put simply, the kudos of having certain blue-chip clients as customers and caring about 'bragging rights' doesn't pay the bills!"

These days Dave splits his time between commercial assignments, book covers, retouching and training other fellow pros. "This scenario hasn't come about by design," he says, "but it's just morphed over the years into this business model. It keeps me fresh and interested, and when one area goes quiet another usually picks up. I suppose my biggest challenge is to try to differentiate myself from other trainers out there who have been in the industry for just a very short time and who have little or no formal training themselves. I'm lucky to have been involved in photography for over 25 years and to have worked on all sides of the industry, from R&D for Kodak through to running high-volume photographic studios and retouching houses. Pre-press manager, software beta tester, photojournalist - you name it and I've probably done it, and this experience helps me immeasurably. It gives me a rare and unique insight into all the different aspects of our industry that not many can profess to possess."

The Next Generation

As a passionate believer in passing on his skills to those coming up behind, it's perhaps not surprising to find that Dave is holding two highly promising looking masterclasses at the 2013 Convention, and yet this will be his first time there and he has only recently signed up to become a member of The Societies."It was a conscious decision not to become a member earlier," he says. "I'm involved in such a wide spectrum of the industry that I felt that I should try to stay independent to a degree, but then I was made an honorary member of the SWPP and was delighted to accept, and feel that this way it keeps everybody happy and leaves me free to work with my clients without prejudice.

"I'm really looking forward to speaking at the Convention and I'll be tackling two important subjects there. My masterclass revolves around 'getting organised around Lightroom' or, as I like to call it, 'Lightroom; the boring but very important stuff...' It's a seminar very much aimed at showing people how to get the most out of Lightroom's organisational abilities, which should be interesting since most people just use it to process their images, which is only half the story. I'll be talking about the best settings to use and how to utilise Lightroom's catalog system to its full potential so that you can locate any image on any drive in less than 10 seconds while also making sure that you never lose an image again. I guarantee that it will be a real eye-opener for many...

"My Superclass is something totally different and it will be a no-holds-barred look at how to retouch skin! If you are serious about your people images then this is the place to be: I'll be showing you how to retouch like a pro in simple easy steps, and how to get perfect skin colour every time with my simple skin formula. You'll find out how to even out blotchy skin, carry out a digital facelift and blitz those zits; pretty much every scenario will be covered, and I think this will be a really valuable session."

The workshops will set Dave up for a Mediterranean tour that he's doing with The Societies that will see him speaking in five countries in just eight days ("very hardcore!") and he's looking forward to flexing his training muscles as giving back to the industry is what he values the most.

It's good to see someone so obviously in love with the business they're immersed in, and for those lucky enough to be attending Dave's sessions at the Convention plenty of value and more than a little entertainment is guaranteed!

More information: www.davewallphoto.co.uk

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1st Published 01/11/2012
last update 09/12/2022 14:56:03

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