Graphistudio albums

I received my first Graphistudio album yesterday and I want to share it with you. The photo on the left shows you the main album and three copies of the smaller 'parent' book. This is an exact copy of the main album only smaller. I am really pleased with the results,and in the future I can show prospective brides and grooms how their photos could look in an album like this.

Getting these albums has also taught me about the complex nature of Italian pricing including a different VAT. You can see more detail about these financial lessons in my politics blog at http://politicsfornovices.blogspot.com/ The bottom line is that not only am I very pleased with the photographic results, I am also very pleased that I know the costs which are less than I had thought. Prices will come down for next year but you can see my full moral dilemma in the politics blog.

Happy snapping

Last two photos of Andy Bell

And so for the final two photos of Andy Bell. It is always nice to have a willing model and Andy was also willing to advertise his sponsor, Extremist. The name seems to fit. I wrote about Andy seizing the day which he has done for 29 years and that takes some dedication. He seized the day by working in the gym and by looking after his diet. I understand that the Extremist company make dietary supplements.

The photos have generally been good to show off muscle definition and tatoos. Neither can be seen in the last photo. I just liked it for the composition, which doesn't quite follow the rule of thirds but looks good to me. The other thing that I like about it is that your eye is drawn to his eye. There is a little more interest in the photo but basically it is his eye and then you are trying to read his thoughts. You don't need to read thoughts on the left as it is spelled out for you, but did you see that I superimposed another background? This is one way to get rid of the shadows as seen in yesterday's blog.

Happy snapping

More remarkable photos

I make no apologies for writing about Andy Bell again. It isn't everyday that you get the chance to photograph a former Mr Britain. Andy took 29 of his 43 years to get like this and this includes a setback involving afractured left arm and left leg. The scars have healed well but you can still see them even if they are not visible on these photos. In fact doctors told him that he would never walk again. This makes these photos even more remarkable.

As for the photos, I have increased contrast again and made them darker for the same reason as in previous blogs - to increase definition of the muscles. When I am indoors I generally point the flash to the ceiling. I started like this with Andy and although it stops the shadow, it does make the head brighter and because the fake tan didn't go on his head there was quite a contrast between head and face. It's not a bad rule to follow and my first thoughts will continue to be point the flash upwards.

Happy snapping

Andy Bell 3

If you met this man in a dark alley then you would think that all associations with dark alleys are over. Compare that image with the smile on the right and you start to see the man behind the tongue.

I heard the phrase carpe diem recently. You may know it as 'seize the day' and it means make the most of the time that you've got. Well here is someone who has seized many days and has so much self-discipline. It takes discipline to get into a gym and work hard but even his dietary needs require discipline as his supplements are fixed at regularly intervals. During the time I was taking these photos he had to stop for a moment and take a drink.

As for the photos, the darker variation and the increased contrast bring out detail. A close crop on the left ensures that you concentrate on the subject, if you weren't concentrating already. On the right the sepia has a similar role to a tan. Muscle definition is enhanced. The added benefit of sepia is that colour distractions in the background (not that there were many) have been reduced. An added effect to concentrate on the subject is the vignette. Basically you spend less time looking at folds in the curtain.

Happy snapping

Andy Bell 2

No there aren't two Andy Bells but it is the second blog. The obvious difference between these photos and my usual portraits is the pose. Andy knows how to pose. I didn't need to mention a thing. I just kept taking the photos.

Andy is used to different poses which show off different muscle groups. On the left you can see him pushing his fists together. The pectorals perform this action. If you don't know where the pectorals are then take a look on the left.

On the right the left hand is pushing upwards and so biceps is working. To some extent tricep is also working. The main thing about bodybuilding poses is that they are isometric - the muscles don't move and this makes the poses easy to photograph.

Happy snapping.

Mr Britain

This is Mr Britain 2000, otherwise known as Andy Bell from Morecambe. Following injuries that put him in a wheelchair for four months he recently came back to competitions and was runner-up in the Mr United Kingdom competition 2009.

These photos were taken on Friday 6th November and it was fairly easy for me to move some furniture (that's because Andy did it). The background is nothing more special than a set of curtains. As for the difference between the left and right photos, you can see the closer cropping and the monochrome. As well as this I made the photo a little darker which brings out the definition of the muscles in much the same way as tanning does.

Happy snapping

The answer is take a lot of photos

There are some advantages to being near the back of the cathedral with a pillar behind me. I wasn't going to disturb anyone by taking photos. I did take a couple with flash and one of them is on the left. The advantage is that the aperture is open for only a short space of time which means that blur from movement is much less obvious. The great disadvantage is that you light up the backs of heads near to you and this means that the exposure is affected and the background is much darker.

Just compare the exposure of the altar on the left with that on the right. The image is transformed, but if you want to use the ambient lighting then you have to use long exposures and this means you have to use a tripod. Even then if anyone moves they become a blur. Look at the two people on the right. They were obviously clapping their hands but the person in the middle also moved his head. What's the answer? Take a lot of photos and they may even stop clapping.

Happy snapping