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The Mind Over Camera Med Tour - part 2 of 1 2 3

Published 01/06/2012

What was the purpose of your tour?

What did you want to transmit?

The purpose of the tour was to hopefully help people look at things a little differently. When you open your eyes to the world around you you start to realise that there are great photo opportunities everywhere and you don't always have to have the latest kit and technology to capture some interesting photographs. I also wanted to try and help people feel confident in themselves and not be afraid to do things their own way.

What do you want to get from a model on a shoot and how do you get it?

I want to make the model, or anybody I might be shooting, feel good about themselves. There is so much pressure these days, especially for girls. The media has made so many people insecure about how they look. I appreciate all shapes and sizes and always do my best to not only make them look good but to hopefully give them an experience they will never forget. As I said earlier, a photograph is a memory so our job as photographers is to make sure it's a good one.

Why are people always shocked at your flash?

haha because it's so cheap, it's an old Centon manual flash that was £25 on eBay. It's been going strong for a couple of years now and I use it for everything. I like especially to use it on seminars for everything, to prove to people that it's always about the kit. A flash is a flash for the kind of work I do, as long the power settings can be changed it can be any flash. I have a whole load of weird-branded flashes, they all work great.

What are your favourite things to photograph and why?

It's been a whirlwind couple of years for me, so much cool stuff has happened in my photography career. From going on the Gumball 3000 rally to getting my Fellowship back at the Convention in January. Being asked to speak on The Societies Med tour was the icing on the cake. Before I start I would just like to say a huge thanks to The Societies and everyone else who has had an impact on my career in the last couple of years. Without the Societies staff and members/friends I have been fortunate to meet and befriend I'm sure things would be a lot different. I love photographing people really, my business is built up from shooting portraits and weddings mainly. But if it comes to it I'll shoot pretty much anything, although whenever I shoot something with a person in I can't help thinking it would look better as a portrait. I just love having a camera in my hand and having to try and make things look interesting. I try and reinvent myself all the time, it's keeps things fresh for me, I get bored really easily if I'm doing something I've already done. I also love travelling as much as possible so this tour was perfect for me.

How did you get started in this business?

I started photography in college 11 years ago, a few years into being a photographer I met Jon Jenkins who took me on as an assistant on weddings, this led to me working full time for a couple of years in his studio. I was shooting a lot of babies and family portraits in the studio 9 'til 5 and I just felt it was starting to kill my passion for photography and also started to feel like a real job. I decided to leave the studio full time and just continued to help out on the odd wedding. I was 'freelancing' (doing nothing most days) for a while when I had a great opportunity offered to me my friend Lee Dainton (some may know from MTV's Dirty Sanchez) Daint wanted to go into business with me and set up a studio. It was perfect timing and we haven't looked back since. I would encourage any serious photographer with a passion to take the plunge and get a studio if you already haven't. We have had the studio for almost four years now and I love it!

What makes you successful?

Well It's nice of you to think I'm successful Celine, thank you. The word success can mean different thing to different people, I do class myself as successful purely because I am fortunate to make a living, travel and meet new people with something I love doing. I guess I've always just stuck with it because I love it so much. People often tell me how lucky I am, I don't believe in luck, we are all capable of anything, the only thing that makes us different is the way we think; things might not happen overnight, but if you believe in yourself and have dreams then things will all come together eventually. I have been living and breathing photography for almost 11 years. There hasn't been a day go by where I haven't been involved in photography one way or another - if I'm not taking photos I'm thinking about it. Pretty sad really, but that's what happens when you love something I guess. I have always wanted to be original and have always thought it is surely more practical to try and be an individual in business as opposed to just being a photographer keeping up with all the latest trends. Over the last few years I have been able to shoot things I want to shoot thanks to clients booking me for me and just booking a photographer, It's a lot easier to appeal to a certain type of person rather than trying to appeal to everyone, so striving to be original as a photographer in business is really important.

What did you take from the overall experience?

So much, it was a fantastic experience with amazing people. I am so grateful to have not only been asked to do this tour but to be welcomed so well by everyone who came along. A huge thanks to everyone involved.

What is your mark factory?(explain you're

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1st Published 01/06/2012
last update 09/12/2022 14:56:37

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