Posing.. ! Do it well do it right!! A photographers insight to getting well posed pictures.

I am a wedding and portrait photographer... And I am starting this blog with a bit of a rant... so sorry in advance!!

I don't mean to rant and I am not saying my work is by any means perfect

( I to am constantly challenging, changing and perfecting what I do).

 I know the time constraints of weddings.. and you don't always have the time to be overly fussy regarding posing... but do you??? ....... should you take more time to make those finer details your finishing touches??

There are some brilliant photographers out there that show documentary photography in a whole new light. They think fast and move fast. But they don't sacrifice composition, lighting or framing. So then why am I seeing this steady flow on badly composed images, positioning, lighting... Grrr! It really does grinds my gears...

While I am  very much pro about training and educating yourself in your craft.. I do know that there are self taught photographers out there that have a natural eye and ability. But unfortunately since the rise of affordable DSLRs, I have started to see influx of images that  totally frustrate me. Because they are poorly managed in both lighting and composition... and yet they could be so much more with a little finesse and patience. So stop clicking your shutter thinking that speed is the key to good photography and really start to look, because photography is not pot luck!.... So you have a camera! does that suddenly make you a photographer??? well... the truth is no... you are what makes you a photographer.. your eye and the way in which you see the world. Translate this well.. and you wont need to tell someone you are a photographer.. they will no through your images! So take the time to find those moments.. be patient and wait and when the time is right, when the light is right.. you will find those images become so much more. Edit them wisely... and you can have a wonderful series of images to be proud of.

Yes I know.. this pose is old skool..  but look at how they are posed, the expression on their faces, along with the way in which there arms, hands and body or positioned. They are flattering to the camera. We have used off camera flash with this image.

Photography is art,  a science and its also maths... I know I sound insane..

OK let me explain my last comment. Photography is more art then anything, but science and math do play a part too. When I first started my training... I was horrified that I was being thrown all these numbers and measurements.... exposures, ratios.... and we even studied physics to understand different forms of light, and their temperatures... I could not be without that level of learning. It has given me a grand foundation that I am in debt to. I also religiously studied the history of photography as well which to was an insight.... I was enveloped in my learning and I still am. I will critic my work till the day I die... and I will give my self challenges to always better what I do.. Looking at photographers who have been and gone and those that are relevant today.. are good habits... why? well you can look at there work, see how the edited there work. Yes some may be on film, but digital editing can work very much the same.

Photographed using available light with a -2 flash fill in light to pick up detail in the shadows.Taken in the later part of the afternoon. Brilliant light for photography.

Knowing your light source is the most important aspect any photographer will need to understand. You need to know where it is in the sky. The suns position and level in the sky will be detrimental to how you images will turn out. Generally most wedding photography happens at the worst time of the day. High noon, when the light is at its brightest and hottest. This can cause  high contrasting images, with over exposure and dark shadows... So again you have to understand the light around you and how to work with what you have.. so understanding fill in flash is essential. Fill in flash is just that... its not your main light..!

Positioning your subjects.. let them in and what you want them to do.. but also allow them to add there bit.. and then you have magic!! Take a sequence of images so that you get a variety to work with later on.

Your work should say WOW! you shouldn't have to sell your self.. your work should almost scream at them.. you want me to be  your photographer! Not I was the cheapest with the poorest quality.. yes you might be getting the work.. but that does not make you a good photographer that just means you are lowering the standard of everyone's work, time and quality to compete with poor quality. Personally I refuse to allow myself to go down that route, because I believe that my clients value what I do.. and that lowering my prices will not achieve make them consider my work to be better. Lower prices devalue what you do, I dont think that you should be silly with your prices.. but I think you carefully calculate your time.   Its kind of like buying something for £1 from the pound shop and spend £10 in M&S... which item will you treasure the most??

Sometimes letting the couple become you main focus, the main feature of their own story! then you can allow others to go wild.... Just like this image... best part every one including me had lots of fun.

Its just not taking the images on the day, there are many factors that make a professional photographer differ from someone who is a amateur ... These are issues you should address, if they come up you answer them in a professional manner.. or you lead these topics...

• Are you a people person?how will you organize the shots? How will you handle someone who is being difficult?
• what will you wear? are you punctual? Time management?
• File management? how will they see the proofs?
• What is your edited portfolio like?
• Are you creative and flexible... are they open to your ides?
• DO you offer good quality service and work for the value they want to pay or what you would like to be paid for?
• How fast do they want your images after their big  day?
• How many wedding/events have they worked on?
• Can they rely on your support to direct them when capturing their photos?

So many factors.... but all equally important to choosing the right photographer for you.

The points that stand out to me are..can you direct/mentor us?

Just because you are posing your clients, does not mean you don't think out side the box.... your final editing can add punch to the final product. But most important for me is that my subjects enjoy their experience and they relive this when they see their images.

This is kind of how I know whether some one is a professional or amateur photographer. Is by the way in which they communicate with their subject. You have to be able to read people, see whats natural to them and work with it. When you see the face of confusion appear, try something else. Why? well at that point the frustration in you and the subject will surface and you wont get the shot you want.

Sometimes its better to move on and try something new and go back to it later. Don't just keep clicking the shutter.

SOMETIMES... you have to direct, and instruct, and make sure every one knows you are about to take the photo.. count them down. I tend to say on 3... but take the picture at 2. This is also when a tripod comes into play. You can set your camera in a fixed position, or angle etc... and move back and forth to your subjects to get the correct positions... don't ever down play your tripod it can be your saving grace.. not all groups or couple shots can be easy. Some times keeping you eye on them with a shutter release can be its wait in gold.

So what happens after the day? well you will upload your images.. make sure you have a back up of those images!

Remember that all you images should reflect their day the best you possibly can. Keep the edits simple for proofing, when they choose what they want you can take it a little further. Just as much as these images are the couples, they are also yours..They represent the work that you produce. In effect they are your ripples in the pond! x

I know I feel bad.. I have ranted on.. but i love what I do so much!! I know you love photography too... so I just wanted to impart some tips to help you. Yes I had a bit of rant, but after working with students both on location and within the studio. I have been someone that positively critics work so that you can improve. I will be offering workshops at Bailey's Studio in Stoke prior. So if you want to learn more, better your techniques in the field or through editing then I'm girl.

If you would like for me to discuss further tips, dos and don'ts.. then please email me at

expressive-marks@hotmail.co.uk

I can then develop a blog post with you in mind.

Fairytale Dreams Promotional shoot.... Eek? Front cover!!

Well it was a seriously busy weekend. Starting with a wedding fair... to then lead into a promotional shoot that had already begun without Em. We rolled in at 4, with Meg my model all suited a booted to go.

I would love to show you the outtakes from this shoot. But all I can show you is the re-blogged post with my twist on the theme Rainbow. So pleased.. as I wasn't especially fond of this image. I decided as it wasn't favorite that it wouldn't hurt to have a play with an idea that was sitting in my head.

I guess you can call me a creative/imaginative photographer. My mind is set in the movies, and is brought to life with briefs such as this one.

Hope you like! xx

Please look at this blog to see my work xx
Fairytale Dreams: Welcome to Fairytale Dreams...:   A big hello and welcome to Fairytale Dreams... My name is Kris Oughton, I am the Director of HB Events & Floral Design Company Li...

The Vintage Booth ....

You may have already guessed that I have a love of all things vintage.

I think my love of vintage stems back from all the movies I loved as a child. Channel 4 was my hero. With stars like

Vivienne Leigh, Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart... Danny Kaye, Ginger Rogers.... oh the list goes on!! 

I even styled my wedding on the lovely Grace Kelly...

But what inspires me is the lighting, and ever since studying photography I was taken with Hollywood Glamour books.

I have been studying them ever since. This has led me to attending Vintage Fairs with my 'Vintage Photo Booth'

This Is Baileys Studio, a converted stable based in Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove. Baileys is to become a vintage destination for portraits and location shoots. Being based in the country we have some fab locations.

This is our vintage booth, and makeover studio. We have themed props and backdrops, along with a mini makeover on the day. The next stage is taking the photo and then printing the chosen photograph on site. Each customer can walk away with a printed photograph.

These images were taken from our most recent fair. 

Images taken for a previous fair for Vintage Duo.. based in and around Walsall and Pelsall. 

But you know what I have discovered.. that the men of these Vintage Fairs are reluctant to become part of our photo booth.

So my next mission is to you guys looking like the next Clark Gable?? Not cliche cheesecake.. but elegance and charm rolled into one!!

Next Blog will be based on all that inspires me!! Stay tuned!!

The Lovely Miss Rosie Lea....

I really wanted to share with you a vintage shoot that I shot this Monday with Miss Rosie lea. My self and Rosie had never met till the day of the planned shoot. After a friend request, and then a status requesting photographers to do TF base work... I decided to respond. I am a full time pro photographer, and usually get paid for my work. But I decided I wanted to try my new lights and practice some new lighting techniques.. without the stress of a fixed brief or client pressuring me. This way I could retain my creative freedom and get back to what I love most.

For me this is where the positive side of social networking really excels. Until the days of social media, finding a photographer or particular genre of photography would have been less accessible. But with the advances of technology we can narrow searches and find people in our locality that have similar interests...WOW!! The world just became so much smaller and easier to explore....   research and seeing whats happening around you can be so inspiring and enriching.

Rosie and myself struck up conversation through FB...with reference photographs streaming there way through, we new what look we wanted to achieve.. we were getting more and more excited by the looming shoot. Its always nervous meeting someone for the first time. But being out in front a lens can be even more daunting. So I used my skills and tried my best to make Rosie as comfortable as possible. Making sure that whenever I asked for a certain look, that I explained it so that not only could she see what I asked, but she could feel what I was portraying to.

How to pose naturally in front of the camera 

Posing in front of the camera can be so scary, when you are the subject of the photograph. Putting a model at ease can also be difficult, usually you will find a photographer that fits into one of the two categories. Which ever one you are, my advise to either the model or photographer is research... know your subject, or style. This way you will both be speaking the same language on the day.

Two things can happen...

1. The photographer may expect you to know how to move, waiting for you to find the right angles at which point he will take the image. If you are a professional model with experience that should come a lot easier then someone starting out. Alternatively your photographer may portray a character within a scene so that you can see it in your minds eye. It is then up to you to translate what he/she has asked of you.
2. In this case, you're given clear direction, open communication throughout the shoot, and even physical direction where needed. Generally a confident photographer whom is aware of what shapes they want to create will be ready to show you as well as tell you what they want. They will also tell you when its not working and how to make it right. This is all done with tact and patience. So that the model is at ease the whole way through. The main key is open communication through out. I would also suggest open communication along with research and reference photos prior to the shoot.

My main aim is the later... its took me many years to be confident enough to direct someone. As a comfort or for a sense of security, I would take a fellow photographer friend. In the fear that I would be shooting above and beyond where my own knowledge could take me. Soon I started to feel like I wanted to be on my own, and this actually gave me more confidence talking to my model. I soon came to realize, that we are all nervous and that the model wants you to direct her/he. They cant see what we see.. so therefore we should say what we want, more importantly we should explain it clearly as it leads to less frustration. We should also be brave enough to experiment and to also admit when what we wanted didn't work. At least the model will know its not just them that isn't feeling that particular moment. Don't be embarrassed, Its no different to a artist chucking away a sketch. Its sometimes through the artistic journey that we end up somewhere else.. that suddenly caught our eye.. which in it self can be quiet organic.

My self and another model Vintage Candy have a little joke... as we have worked together many times. Candy knows when I am not feeling the image. But when I do you here a OOO...! and when I say I have the shot... I really do. But that has took me sometime to feel confident about if a image really does work.

For me and Rosie this is what happened. We tried out various poses.. and as she moved I was able to see positions that I wanted to use.. and the shoot became slightly organic. Even  the lighting took on a life of its own as we compensated for the varying heights.  Every body has a angle that works well for them.. and with lighting we can enhance this. Poor lighting can do the opposite and make even the most beautiful look horrible. So careful lighting, understanding the angles of your lighting and the different strengths and ratios can make all the difference. Plus, we must not forget the model. Rosie made my job easy.... I could concentrate on all my techy bits while she held her poses and changed them with simple direction.

I truly love what I do and its a awesome feeling knowing you are meeting unique people. Here is the work that we have produced together thus far.. I do hope that there will be more to come as Rosie works on a career as a Vintage Model.