How to remember the good old days

Some people find it difficult to pose but others are naturals. Here are two examples that fall into the latter case. She was smiling all the time. After the second photo she asked me why I was counting. I told her that I normally count to three so that people know when to smile. I didn't need to count at all with her.

She also posed quite naturally. On the left I asked her to hold a frame, just like I do with brides. It gives people something to do as they get over their nerves for the first few photos. There were no nerves here. On the right I gave her a newspaper to read. It does say when she had her photo taken (OK it's a few days out as it is a weekly paper) so that will be a useful guide in the future. In sixty years she can look back and say that she remembers the old days especially 2009.

Happy snapping

Portrait changes

My portrait photography has a similar basis as my wedding photography. I take photos of whoever wishes to have their photo taken and then I work on the photos to make them monochrome or sepia. Then I return within a couple of hours and they have a disc with a lot of photos.

Today (28th Sept) I took photos of this young girl. There is nothing wrong with photos in a living room but I wanted a plain background and suggested that they come over to my house where I have three backgrounds - a black, a white and a cloud effect. The answer to a plain background was much easier. We found a white wall and took a few more photos. On the left I converted the photo and gave it an oval vignette. On the right we have sepia and a rectangular vignette. As it only takes a couple of clicks I am open to suggestions as to how to amend any of the photos.

Happy snapping

What to use for a motif

When I was looking for a motif for my wedding photography website, I wanted an image that instantly told you that it was related to a wedding. I also wanted a photo that could not identify the bride or the groom. Typically a photo of the bride and groom would serve this purpose except it would identify the couple. They would recognise themselves even if the photo was taken from the back.

It would have to be a close-up and the photo of the bouquet on the right was a contender. Mostly the bride's flowers fit a portrait format rather than landscape, and I wanted landscape. I decided against this photo because it is too distinctive. I am sure that more than one bride has carried a bouquet like this but it is not traditional and the combination of the rare flowers and the white gloves put me off using this as a motif.

The motif that I chose may be seen on any page of the website (and on my notepaper) at www.gradwellphotography.co.uk

Happy snapping

More on Glasson Dock

Yesterday I asked where I was. Today I could ask the same question but the answer is the same. It is Glasson Dock. You see we do get nice weather. It was a warm evening and it felt like I could be walking along a docks in France or Spain. Package holidays killed off the British seaside resorts but it is possible to be lucky with the weather.

Lancaster has a quay but you don't see any boats there. The river has silted up and the tide would leave you high and dry for a large part of the day. Lancaster was chosen as a site for a fort by the Romans because you can cross the river here at low tide. Well I suppose that is still possible but I wouldn't recommend it now as there is a footbridge. It is still tidal at Glasson Dock and as you can see from the photo on the right, if you want to get your boat into the dock you are going to be limited to high tides.

Happy snapping

Where am I?

The photo on the left could be a 'where am I?' question. Is it a place where they make Kellogg's cornflakes? It isn'tactually anything to do with cereal manufacturing but the cockerel is a traditional design for weather vanes and although they are generally decorative weather vanes do have a functional role and the place where the points of the compass are most important is at sea. In the background are two cranes and this may lead you to think of a docks. If your name is Poirot you may now guess that I am in Glasson Dock. Well I was there yesterday. If you are not sure then look at the photo on the right.

Happy snapping

Sunderland Point Part Two

These are very similar photos to the ones I published two weeks ago. One difference is obvious, the second photo is sepia rather than monochrome, but I didn't go to Glasson Dock to make the photo sepia. I went because I was sure that the photo could be improved by taking the photo earlier in the day and by using a telephoto lens.

This time they are cropped to 6x4 instead of the panorama view that I published last time. I have put a little more contrast into the photo. In the sepia version I put a small vignette and finally there has been a little sharpening.

Well I used a telephoto as well as a tripod. I used the timer so that there was no camera shake from pressing the shutter. This must be the best possible photo that I could take. In fact there is still room for improvement. I didn't know it was going to be so windy! Maybe I'll get to Glassson Dock one more time.

Happy snapping

Don't forget the props

I have written in an earlier blog that this hotel on the shore of Windermere is spacious. It is also quite grand. There are a lot of fixtures and fittings that photograph very well. However the main beauty of the site is the lake itself.

Take a few steps away from the hotel and you have a wonderful background like the one on the left. Walk down to the shore and you get photos like the one on the right. I think that the sunglasses were a prop that were going to be used whatever the weather. As it turns out they were not only props but served a useful purpose.

Happy snapping