Xmas Scene Shoot

Over the last 10 days we offered the chance for parents to have their children shot in a Xmas scene we created in the studio.

This was well subscribed to and considering the short notice a good success. We are bringing it forward next year thus giving people more chance to decide on Xmas card styles whilst allowing sufficient delivery time also.

Easy enough to set up and no real cost either considering they are just sat on sheets of seat foam padding, lights from a certain discount outlet, xmas tree from the lads bedroom and a background we already had.

Used my kids as a test/demo image on the usual outlets too. The Merry Christmas text was optional.

 

Swimming

Another new one for me this weekend covering a swimming competition. Compared to the speed and directional changes I am used to with gymnastics this was an absolute breeze to cover.

Simply situate myself at the opposite end to the timekeepers and move around freely giving me access to any of the 6 lanes available. Excellent head on shots captured here. Capturing side imagery was a little more difficult with all the people in the way or just ignorant of my requirements and moaning at my positioning. The pool end won here.

The main difficulty was lack of light and capturing a suitable image. Lots of splashing about but capturing a sellable image is not so easy as people may think. Arms especially get in the way or just look as if they have been partly removed owing to water distortion. I found the key to simply be waiting for the competitors to breathe. The positioning of their arms varied, depending on stroke, but 90% looked fine.

Another sport covered and a nice tick in the box for me.

Last big weekend of 2015

Our manic run of weekends has finally come to an end. With something booked every weekend since July it has certainly been interesting and at times stressful. Editing 10’s of thousands of images week on week can get a little monotonous. Our attention to processing however certainly makes our product better than the apparent mass processing of our competitors.

From weddings to national finals in London’s Olympic Park we have certainly been around. Almost every event has produced further contacts and bookings which have already laid a solid base for the business through 2016. It’s also great to meet competitors from differing regions competing at regional events who we have seen before. Having parents compliment you personally, that we are the chosen photographers, because our images and product is superior to other event photographers is great to hear.

I’m sure we’ll also hear the same from guests at certain weddings next year also.

Image wise our hardware has certainly taken a battering this year. Our 5Diii’s have proved themselves as worthy workhorses with one now exceeding 80,000 clicks whilst the newer one, at 6 months old, is at a more respectable 30,000 clicks. Red3’s grip is tiring and feeling in need of a service so I may have all the major items serviced in the new year after the last of the 2015 Zonal finals have been completed.That small outlay may save us £’s in the long run.

Here’s to the Mkiv coming out or indeed, if viable, the 1Dx Mkii early enough in 2016 so I don’t have to buy another Mkiii to prop up a failing Mkiii.

As always I’ll finish with an image. This is from Sundays North West Schools Zonal Qualifiers and show’s a very happy young lady who had qualified in her age/category for the semi’s in Jan 2016.