Pre-Portrait Consultation
Shoot First, Ask Questions Later? Nope…. Not a camera in sight, but the Pre-Portrait Consultation is actually the most important part of the entire process – it ensures that the session runs smoothly, we know what we want to achieve and ultimately it ensures that the quality of the photographs are stunning.
This usually works best in your home (or via Zoom under the current Covid restrictions), at a time that suits you. It will take around a half an hour. We will discuss your preferences for location(s), timing, style, groups to cover etc. – basically we map out the whole session. We will also discuss the final output – the Wall Art. Having this chat in your home means that we can use samples to see how the various sizes fit in your space (it is much cheaper to figure that out beforehand rather than realising when it is too late and we have already printed). Also a home visit means I can check out the lighting and advise on some locations if we decide to shoot in the home itself. Which brings us to…..
Location, location, location…
There are only two primary things to consider here – we want to choose a venue with plenty of light that will present a nice backdrop to the images and we want to choose a venue where the family feels comfortable. The best setting is usually in your own home or a favourite place where the family spends time and can relax (e.g. a local park or woods). Keep it simple, the main focal point will be your family.
Preparation
You don’t need to do much here, just be ready in the clothes / hair / makeup that you like best. One useful tool to have to hand is a hairbrush. On a similar note, if it looks like it will be breezy (and the shoot is outdoors) have a think about headwear and hair-ties to keep all the faces clear.
We can discuss clothing during the Consultation, but at a high level it is best to avoid ‘busy’ patterns. If the clothing is simple & low-key it will keep more emphasis on the people in the images. Crisp, simple clothing works well. For family portraits it can be fun to dress the same (e.g. black trousers, white shirt) – sometimes we can do a quick costume change. It is best not to wear clothing with large branding / labelling – it just doesn’t age well. The only other preparation is to relax, the pressure is on me to perform, not you ;-)
The Shoot
This is the fun part. Whatever the location, we will start off with some posed shots. Kids (and adults) quickly get tired of posing. I will give you some simple & gentle direction, it is 'just' a few photographs, we will take our time and keep snapping until we are done.
Once we have that in the bag, what works very well is if we get the kids (and adults!) engaged in something fun. For example if we are in your home and you have a nice table in a bright room get the kids baking or painting or playing a game or something creative (building a fort in the living room has been brilliant, and a pillow fight can be hilarious!). Everyone will forget I am there and I snap away. Nice and relaxed. If we are outdoors then maybe playing hide and seek in some trees or chasing a ball or playing catch - anything that lets them have a bit of fun. I don’t rush the sessions, and I take a lot of shots, there is always a lot of magic captured along the way.
The Big Viewing
About a week later I will again call, armed with a slideshow of spectacular images. This is where you guys decide which are your favourites and, of those, which ones to turn into Wall Art and in what sizes. Usually this Viewing involves some difficult decisions and many cups of tea.
The Delivery
Generally within three weeks (subject to the complexity of the order & framing) you will receive a package with your Wall Art. Sit down, unwrap & enjoy. You will love it. Your walls will love it. You will want to show your friends and family. They will love it. Make sure you tell them who made it. Oh and make a space for next year’s collection!
The Price
The fee for the photo shoot itself is €200. This includes one 30cm X 20cm print and I offer a range of additional Fine Art print options including Canvas Prints and Framing, we will talk through this during the Consultation.
How to Book
Drop me a MAIL and we can arrange a chat. I keep it simple. If you would like to buy a session voucher for yourself or as a gift, follow this LINK. Looking forward to speaking with you.
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Hi folks,
As a Wedding Photographer I have seen first-hand how worrying and frustrating these times can be for engaged couples, caught up in the whirlwind of a global pandemic.
Everything is changing on a daily basis, we are well and truly in uncharted waters. I have put together some simple tips here that I hope will help you get the show back on the road.
Be calm
It is a perfectly natural (if unproductive) reaction to panic a little bit. Years of carefully crafted plans, all gone up in smoke. But this is not the case. All that work, all that research, all those difficult decisions – that is still solid and not wasted effort. Most, if not all, of that work can be reused & recycled. Invitations & save-date-date cards is probably the only certain casualty (unless you want to go down the Tippex route).
Speaking of invitations & invitees, don’t be agonising about having to tell your guests that the dates have changed. You are not alone in this boat, it will not be unexpected that you have to bend to the will of a global pandemic and change your Wedding plans. If any guest does take umbrage at your flightiness, maybe this is a good way to filter out those guests that will not be receiving an updated invitation.
Be Proactive
It is very important to take control of the situation. Be proactive. Get in touch with each of your vendors, starting with the hotel / venue. Don’t beat around the bush, be direct.
- Find out where they stand with your current date and what are their proposed alternatives.
- Call the other vendors in your team, find out where they stand on the alternative dates.
- Most important – find out where the vendors (including the venue) stand on deposits. If they can cover the new dates then your deposit should carry over. If they cannot cover your new dates then what happens your deposit? Do not leave this question unasked (or unchallenged).
- Keep track of all your responses (a table with the alternative dates, marked with the availability of all vendors).
You may lose some of your deposits, a lot depends on the policy of the vendors. Personally, I am accommodating all date changes where I am available and refunding deposits where I am not. But that is me, and other people may have different approaches (and different interpretations of the word ‘fair’).
If you are taking a hit on a deposit or two, have a think about whether you need more time to save or whether you want to scale things back a bit. Maybe you might want to consider renegotiating or downsizing with a vendor or two. Just beware that most (or all) your vendors will have been savaged by this situation (an entire year of work & income has disappeared) so be sound.
Now is a good time to shamelessly show how sound I am (again) - if you are forced to change your date & have lost your photographer, I will cover the new date at half price (if I have availability). I believe in Karma and in keeping the show on the road. Every little helps!
Be careful
Don’t rush into the new date. Take your time, don’t let anyone put pressure on you. Remember how you agonised over the initial date? Remember all the factors you considered (big and small) before the stars aligned and one date popped out of the Ouija Board (confirmed by a Magic 8 Ball or two)? The second pass at the date selection is no less important.
Have a cuppa, look over it all with a cool head, consult your table with the vendor availability, and find the date that works for everybody, including yourselves. No use picking a date that makes everyone else happy apart from you guys – this is your day, don’t let the tail (or multitude of tails!) wag the dog.
Make sure you consult with the Government guidelines of course.
Be smart
It is not all doom & gloom & negatives here. You can make the best of these changes and turn this into an opportunity.
First off, enjoy the easement of pressure – the big day is a bit further down the road! You have a second pass at the entire Wedding now, you can use this as a chance to make the changes that you felt you couldn’t at this late stage.
- Change vendors (subject to deposit policy of course)
- Change the guests, either for the reason I mentioned earlier or because your circle of friends has changed a bit. You can always blame the postman…..
- Change t
he Groom / Bride – for those who truly like to think outside the box. - Change the Season – if you feel the whole thing is becoming a bit stale in your mind, change the Season for the new date – you would be surprised how this can make the entire planning feel fresh and exciting once again.
Be safe
A bit of a cliché right now but do stay safe and keep perspective. It is a global pandemic. This is ‘just’ a date change. Might feel catastrophic but it is really anything but. You guys will be spending the rest of your long lives together. This also gives you more time to plan your Diamond Jubilee anniversary. Stay kind, stay
zen, stay nice, stay sound.
Hopefully you found this useful, please share it with anyone else that might need it. Best of luck with your changes. Keep a cool head & clean hands.
Until next time,
Stephen.
70mm, 1/125s, f2.8
There is a lot crammed into that sentence but the sentence before it really sums it up – I loved it. One of my favourite things about the music, apart from the creative splendour, was meeting other musicians that shared the same passion. You can’t fake it, it is real and raw and nothing in between. One musician that we shared a stage with on a few occasions was Jinx Lennon, a name to remember, a live act you could never forget. I jumped at the chance to cover his recent Dublin gig, combining two passions.
It is no secret that I love photography and I love weddings. When I can combined the two together the results are pretty damn fine (if I may say so myself). Concert photography is similar in the context of combining the passions, but very different in terms of topics and themes. It is tremendous fun and it is great to do something a bit different. In this blog I will outline how I approach Concert Photography, the challenges and the gear, and share some practical tips on how to make it work (because although it may be fun but it ain’t easy!).
The venue was The Sound House on Eden Quay in Dublin. I was unfamiliar with it so headed down just as doors were opening to have time to suss out the best perches and get myself setup for the lighting challenges.
Horses for Courses
Live gigs always throw up a raft of physical & physics obstacles, here is how I approach them:
Low light means you need to open that shutter a little longer to let in enough light for the correct exposure, but your performers are not statue-still (unless you are a pretty shit gig). Blurry or dark..... blurry or dark.... neither a good option generally. To combat this I brought along my trusty 50mm f1.8 lens - the massive aperture window means more light which should help combat the darkness without going too ‘slow’ on the shutter speed.
So close, yet so far away - The 50mm is a fantastic lens but it is a Prime lens (i.e. no zoom) so not much flexibility. Additionally, the focal length is pretty small so if you are unable to get a decent perch that is close to the performer your frame is going to be filled with a whole lot of nothing and a small bit of something. In good lighting this is not such an issue as you can generously crop an image and retain high resolution on the part of it that you want to keep. In low light, blowing up this ‘good’ part to fill the print will introduce a lot of grain. Stylistically this may sometimes be pleasing but generally speaking, it is not good. So, to address this I also brought my Tamron 24-70mm f2.8 zoom. This is a fantastic lens; great optics, wide aperture and it also has image stabilisation (which means that at low shutter speeds it adjusts for any movement I make while holding the camera).
Crowds! Apart from my naturally introverted nature (ahem) there are practical considerations in crowded venues - how close can you get to the stage (see above)? Will my perch become over run (or rendered useless by a seven foot tall super-fan)? In the larger venues it is a little more predictable - The Pit is a nice bubble with uninterrupted access and aspect (assuming the other photographers follow the 'Don't be a Dick' code and share the best spots). But in smaller venues, the crowds are unpredictable and things change fast. An excellent vantage spot can become a windowless prison. Access to the front of the stage can be cutoff, a moshpit can be either a cool foreground or a reason to head for the hills with that delicate equipment.
70mm, 1/125s, f2.8
This venue was pretty decent, a large tube shaped room with bar on one end and stage on the other. The stage had a nice lift to it. I spotted a large pillar to one side of the area in front of the stage and flagged that as my main perch. Standing in front of that pillar gave me a few things
- Security - Nobody can get overexcited and knock me forward.
- Soundness - I don't want to be standing close to the front of the stage getting in people's way and annoying them. It is just not cool.
- Stability - I will be standing tonight for about two to three hours. Having a solid structure to lean on will save legs. Also (more importantly) if I can lean on the pillar while taking a shot it means the camera is more stable. Particularly helpful with the 50mm where I have no image stabilisation.
The lighting was the only thing I was really concerned about. The stage was bright enough but the Front of House lights had the ‘Dreaded Red’ filters. This look works for certain types of boudoir photography, or maybe if you are covering a submarine, but for concerts it is shite. Red tints are hard to remove in post-production without stripping out natural skintones (which also have a dominance of red). I could adjust my white balance and take a punt but I rather shoot things 'real' in this situation and spend a bit longer in the editing session working it out.
That's a lot of talk and I haven't pushed the button yet! Moving things along....
Support Act
My top tip on shooting concerts? Shoot the support act! And I don't mean 'Shoot the Support Act' as Morrissey might say 'Hang the DJ', I mean cover the support act just as you would cover the main performance. You get to iron out all the wrinkles in your settings and position (just make sure you are analysing the images on the back of the camera as you go). Also, the support acts may not be in a position to hire a photographer and it is a really sound thing to do if you can send them some professional quality images for free. That wheel of Karma won't be long turning around..... Anyway, I had a good time with the support act (Deadlians) who not only put me through my paces but they were, well..... deadly! So what did I learn? I learned that the 50mm was a little bit 'short' and that the light was actually pretty good. The frontman was in nice balanced light even if one or two of the other band members were Red. If I had changed my settings for Red and not covered the support act, I would have lost a few minutes re-adjusting once Jinx started playing. Also I knew for sure I was going to be doing most of my shooting with the 24-70mm lens (it can be very tricky trying to change lenses in a crowded venue like this during a gig so this gave me a lot of peace of mind).
I have included a few shots of Deadlians at the end of this post.
There's no show like a Jinx show...
First off, if you have never seen & heard Jinx Lennon performing – sort yourself out! Massive energy, raw, real, grit, songs about you, your community, Ireland and what lurks in it. He is like nothing else. In my mind Jinx is a sort of pre-apocalyptic preacher and we are his congregation of converts and cannibals. I really wanted to capture him in this light; capture that passion and the power of a true believer. The frantic, manic frustration and desperation of somebody trying to open our eyes and ears to the chaos around us. Blue pill, red pill, everybody gets the same f*****g medicine.
I stuck with the 24-70, Jinx moves about the stage between two front positions - one for his synth & samples, the other for his guitars. A single focal length would not have been as effective. Surprisingly one of the strongest lights on the night was a spectral green which hit Jinx from behind. This light faded in and out and, at its peak, was quite strong. I timed my snapping with the 'peaks' for a very interesting ethereal look which I quite like (above).
Call me old fashioned but I think Black and White is the ultimate medium for concert photography. I grew up reading NME and HotPress, most of which were then printed in B&W. There is something transformative and magic about the black and white stuff, the images take on a sort of timeless aspect. My favourite shot of the night is below. I think it captures the Preacher in full flow, the lighting is juuuuust right and the black and white gives it the contrast and gravitas that the subject matter deserves. Very nice, if I may say so myself!
65mm, 1/150s, f2.8
So that's it, I hope you found this interesting / useful! Happy to answer any questions, just pop me a mail. Incidentally I cycled to and from this gig, which was one of the reasons I brought so little gear (simply a camera, two lenses and a flash which I didn't end up using). The other reason for a stripped down kit is that it all fits into a very small bag which is a lot easier to mind in a crowded venue. Keep it simple!
Until next time.
61mm, 1/125s, f2.8
Some Shots of Deadlians........
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Firstly, thank you for choosing Stephen O'Sullivan Photography for your portrait session. I appreciate your business and customer satisfaction is my number one priority. I want you to enjoy your photographic experience and I promise to provide you with a service (and an end product) of the highest quality. I have put together a quick guide here to outline the process, end-to-end. I like to keep things simple & relaxed and I like to avoid surprises - it helps us to get the most out of our time together.
The Preparation
My preparation - If we are shooting in your location I will spend about 20 minutes setting up my equipment. Generally this consists of a plain backdrop and a couple of lights & lighting umbrellas on stands. For Head & Shoulder portraiture (aka 'Headshots') we do not need a lot of room. Natural light is not essential but if you have a room with a nice window we can use that room (it gives us another lighting option). If we are shooting in my studio, we don't need to talk about my preparation! The room will be setup with backdrop and lighting already when you arrive.
Your preparation - The only presentational advice I would give you is to bring a hairbrush and spend a minute before the shoot checking that everything is in place (hair is about the only thing I can't fix in the editing room). The only other preparation is to relax, I will give you some simple & gentle direction, it is 'just' a few photographs, we will take our time and keep snapping until we get one that you love.
The Shoot
I will give you some simple & gentle direction on position & pose (this will depend on your own requirements as well as the light). We will take a few shots, try a few poses, and take a look at the photos on my laptop. If you love what you see, you pick out your favourite. If you want to go again or try another pose we just pop back in position and snap away. Keep in mind this is only going to take about another 30 seconds - retakes are simple and I won't be happy until you are happy.
The Finishing Touches
Either you or I (depending on the location of the shoot!) pack up our gear and go home. I will work on the selected image and make some adjustments (mainly tonal but also some structural), then provide you with the final image in high, medium and low resolution jpeg formats. If there is anything you want to change in the image (within reason!) that is no problem at all. Satisfaction is guaranteed.
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