Happy Family

My first shoot of 2017. My niece was 21 at the beginning of 2017 and wanted some family portraits. Her mum, my sister, asked if I would be the photographer. Of course I said yes. I'd wanted to produce some family portraits again. It has been a few years since the last time.

The first thing to decide was, inside or outside. We settled on a studio shoot. It was January after all. There are plenty of studios, but I didn't want just a white infinity cove, or paper roll background. I wanted other areas to shoot in. Furniture, something that resembled a room in a house. The difference being there would be more room than if we used a real house. The owner met me at the beginning of the shoot, showed where everything was and left. If I hadn't used a studio before that could have been a problem.

I already had a clear idea about the pictures needed. My sister and I had talked a week before the shoot. Once I saw the studio I could see how we would achieve them. It was now up to me to lead the group, and keep the session flowing. Be positive and decisive. I wanted them all to relax and enjoy the experience. Not feel uncomfortable. I saw as we went along everyone did become more at ease, but still occasionally they looked a bit stiff, I knew that was not what they wanted. So I thought of a way to distract them. I asked them to look away from me and each other. I would count to three, they would look at me or each other, and I would press the shutter. I think it worked. To relax the session even more I took a picture of them, looking all over the place.

natural laughter

When they realised what I had done they all laughed. Leading to a picture of natural laughter. I think that is one thing that can be difficult to achieve.

The four hours flew past, they were a little surprised how quickly it went, and that I had over three hundred shots. I took that as a good sign, they must have been at ease and enjoyed the session.

I edited a couple of pictures the same evening. And uploaded them. They commented about the black background. How good the pictures looked. I wanted to produce something different. Not just high key portraits against a white background. I was very glad they noticed so quickly.

But the shoot is only half the story. I now have to edit the pictures. Which starts with reducing the number from over three hundred to a more manageable fifty. although now as I edit them, maybe fifty is too many. Next time I'll make it around thirty. I need to set that expectation before the shoot. I'm not sure how many they are expecting. I hope it's not three hundred. A lesson learnt.

I have noticed some family portraits sets appear to have been shot at different times. I'm guessing they weren't. The editing was not consistent. White balance changes from shot to shot. In a studio that shouldn't happen with good lights. The lights I was using were good, but I still noticed differences. It wasn't difficult to fix. I wanted every picture to look it's best, I also wanted the set to look it's best. Ensuring colour temperature was constant, picture to picture, so that skin tone and clothing looked the same in each shot was a basic requirement. I strived for a consistent style to the set. How I cropped some pictures, how they were lit. To give a good balance.

And to top it all. I asked for some feedback, forgetting the family connection. And it was good.

Feedback

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Winter apparel

I cycle all year round. When it rains as it can at any time of the year. A coat gives reasonable protection, still not as good as the advertising gave hope of. When it's cold though. Fingers and toes suffer. I have tried various gloves and shoes. Extra layers don't seem to help either. There are lots of clothes sold under the premise that they will keep you warm and dry. I haven't found anything that can keep my fingers and toes warm. I have even resorted to shoes one size too big so I can wear two pairs of socks. One of which were hiking socks. Designed, they said, to keep feet warm in extreme conditions. It was the same with gloves. An extra layer of base layer gloves, under my "winter" cycling gloves. After a short time, cold fingers and toes.

I mentioned rain earlier. I have had cycling coats that have been anything but rain resistant, never mind waterproof. A days cycling in the rain on the first leg of a London to Paris ride ended with me removing soaked money and passport from a jacket pocket. Not what I expected from a waterproof coat. I thought maybe it was the cost that was the difference. But I'm not so sure. The picture in this post is Matt's balaclava. I think he bought it from Millets. It keeps him warm even in the snow. I have a cycling specific hat. I'm sure it cost more than Matt's solution. It does work so I'm not complaining. But it's the cost compared to cheaper alternatives that annoys me. It seems that any hobby or interest specific accessories always have an extra cost. 

Any suggestions about ways to keep my fingers and toes warm, gratefully received.

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Looking back 2016

I wrote a post a little time ago, reviewing my year. This one is about choosing my favourite pictures.

I might have posted these pictures before. Hope you like seeing them again.

Cheryl was great to work with. I hadn't been to the studio before. It had two areas, the main one has a background frame. I just used the white roll.

The second area, was the bar. It was the one I booked the studio for. They don't normally use this for a shoot. But I think they should. 

Really like these black and white pictures. Cheryl suggested a more dramatic set. I think we nailed it.

A great natural smile.

Again with Marilyn, the studio area was a nice place to start. And much warmer than the bar area.

But I liked what we did in the bar.

My first shoot with Coco. I had said the theme was urban, she knew a location with some graffiti. Hopefully not too clichéd.

Working with Tropical Rose again was great. She had just decorated her spare room. I wanted a nice soft white set.

First time working with Gabrielle. A bit punky, but soft was the theme.

This was the first time I had worked with Cheryl. She had travelled a long way. And I had only been to Hever Castle once.

But it worked out great. Cheryl was just so relaxed, easy to work with and knew the type of shots I wanted. There are so many from the day I liked. It was very difficult to edit the numbers down.

Coco again, this time a July beach shoot. It was cold and very windy. Not what I had expected. But Coco coped really well. I have some pictures I really like, and a bit more experience dealing with the unpredictable English weather.

Coco keeping warm on a cold July day.

Coco ignoring the cold, and looking good

I was asked by Xandria to help her produce some new pictures for her portfolio. Really pleased to be asked and able to help.

The last shoot of the year. With Stephanie at a farm house. I had time before Stephanie arrived to walk around. I placed some of my lights in a barn. The other areas I wanted to use had adequate natural light. I wanted the barn to look naturally lit. So some test shots were needed, again before Stephanie arrived to make sure I was ready to go.

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Pushing yourself

The top of White Lane. You can see the edge of the hill. It's the last part that's the steepest.

Today is boxing day.

We at NVL like to try for a Boxing Day ride. The weather was on our side. It must have rained overnight, but this morning was warm. It was really good to be on the bikes. Matt's new bike is still too clean for a mountain bike. Today wasn't going to see it get dirty. One day though.

We meet as usual at the green. But where to go? We decided on Tatsfield again. The alternative was Westerham. A longer ride, but nowhere dry to sit. I think it was Matt who suggested White Lane, to add a bit more to the challenge. He wanted to test how much better his new (too clean), mountain bike would fare ascending a very steep hill.  It's well known in the area, and hosts an annual sprint race. We weren't going to win any race this morning though. But it was a personal challenge. I don't often really push myself. Either because of lack of opportunity, or I just feel too tired to be bothered. I'm disappointed that I don't challenge myself more often. I have completed a few cycling journeys, with some big distances. A mixture of physical and mental strength was needed. The sense of achievement at their completion means I forget the physical pain, and look forward to the next time. 

I hope I am better at dealing life's trials because of these efforts. I know I can focus on the task in hand, and complete what might as first have seemed impossible.

I don't do new years resolutions, but maybe this could be one. My photography is very important to me. Can I push myself to new levels; new achievements?

Tomorrow we plan to complete the same route. Good times.

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Motivation II

After turning back early yesterday I was determined to go further. It wasn't as foggy so I avoided the cyclepath. Hoping that meant no punctures. 

I had an idea a sunrise through the fog would make for some good pictures, with a couple of locations in mind. Pilgrims Way gave me the one in this post. Chevening Church would have been great with the sun streaming through the fog. But total cloud cover meant the sunrise past me by without making an impact. I look at the pictures now I'm home. They just don't grab me. But I'm happy with the one I have.

This is the best advert for keeping motivated. 

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Motivation

I cycle nearly every weekend. During the summer it's easy to motivate myself to get out on my bike. Cycling with my fellow NVL member, Matt helps. If I decide I just can't be bothered to go out. What do I say to Matt? I know it's the same for Matt. Even bad weather rarely stops us. But what if Matt isn't around? This weekend he is down in the New Forest. The weather, as you can see in the picture, wasn't inviting. Damp, chilly and very foggy. Should I just have stayed in bed?

No. I got out. The sun hadn't risen as I left the house. Compared to some recent mornings, it wasn't too cold. Unfortunately the fog got thicker the further I cycled. As I left the street lights behind I had to make a decision. Turn around and go home, continue on the road or use the cycle path.

I didn't want to turn around but the road from here is a 60 limit. Too dangerous to cycle on in these conditions. But the cycle path is typical of many. Very poorly surfaced. Covered in mud and leaves. With slippery tree roots pushing through it. Pretty dangerous. And then there is the very real possibility of punctures. Alongside the path is a hedge of thorns. Not too long ago it was pruned. Leaving behind small branches covered in big thorns. I did well, covering around 3 miles before getting that deflated feeling as air escaped from my rear tyre. It didn't take too long to locate and remove the thorn. And then replace the inner tube. But my motivation for a long ride had gone. I had intended to cover 30 to 40 miles. Now I am home I wish I had pushed on. But to be honest, I know it would have just been a case of saying I had done it. No real satisfaction or enjoyment. Had Matt been there we would have continued. There is still tomorrow to look forward to though.

I do get a sense of achievement from completing a task that I may not have had much motivation for. The cycling is a good reminder to myself that I am stronger than I sometimes feel. And that, I think, is another reason I do it. My photography also benefits. I know I can push myself, learn and improve.

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