At National Photographer we strive to bring the best photographers and the best skills  and techniques to photography for our clients. This often means having a constant learning curve for our photographers and trainers to meet the trends and changes to technologies and techniques for photography.

The WPO bring various photography competitions to their members throughout the year, offering the chance to be critiqued and to win great prizes; also join in an international programme that uses the power of photography to raise awareness for global issues.  Each year, they collaborate with an international charity for a special programme which creates a bespoke campaign that runs throughout the entire year.
The Student Focus competitions offer an international platform to support and connect the next generation of photographers. Each year one academic institution is awarded the Student Focus prize, winning photographic equipment for their photography departments and the students representing the school.

The World photography awards by Sony gallery  The  UNICEF, A Photo Pledge for Children’s Rights can be viewed here along with other galleries of recent winners

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Members of the WPO originally appeared on National Photographer on July 28, 2010.

National Photographer was setup 3 years ago by Photographer Rory Witham, Rory’s idea was to give photographers a platform where they could be involved with more photography services that maybe outside of their local area. With the photographer directory, members also have free listings and to benefit clients the photographers also have a 0845 telephone number making it more inviting for client to call you for business.

The main backbone of National Photographer is that we check the members on a regular basis, after the news of the SWPP members being taking to court for such a poor service, something needed to be done for a more substantial service for clients, giving them peace of mind. For photographers meeting the requirements are an achievement and the rewards that come with the branding of a national Photographer.

We look at photographers work when they apply to become a member to see what the quality of their work is like, we also look at a full set of images and also check client references at least twice per year. This ensure that the photographer continues to meet the standards and requirements that we set. Our requirements are:

• Your chosen areas of photography are good to exceptional.
• Your work remains at a high standard continually.
• Your clients regard you is high esteem.

Photographers pay an application fee to cover the costs of administration their application, a yearly membership fee is payable where the photographer receives:

• A personal website hosted by National Photographer.
• A mini website Hosted by National Photographer.
• A local photography site hosted by City Photography.
• A email address @ national photographer.
• A 0845 telephone number.
• Listing on the National Photographer directories.
• Access to post on the city photography and national photographer websites and blogs.
• Two shirts or blouses with the national photographer logo.
• Referral jobs from National Photographer websites and City Photography websites.

When the photographer is a member they will be expected to add content to the websites & blogs, this can be self promotional and city websites can also have links to the photographer own website. The website are all managed by National Photographer were photographers just have to send text and images into us by email and the site is updated, Blogs are simple websites where the photographer can add content and upload images.

To find out more about joining National Photographer, or joining City photography please contact us for more information or post your comments below.

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joining National Photographer originally appeared on National Photographer on July 26, 2010.

With the amount of pop up fly by night wedding photographers, we looked at the wording from ‘bob’s’ websites and found many to be unlawful, we also are aware of the growing legal cases taken against so called professional wedding photographers, who are offering a sub standard service.  This of course gives creative professional photographers a bad name.

Making the difference.

When it comes to wedding photography and making your  wedding packages you need to look at the true nature of photography to give the service that stands out of the crowd of photographers competing for the same work, we will look at some of the things that you can do to compete.

Price war

You can try to under cut  with prices but you will soon find that this leads to a dead end and stops the essential growth of your business.
Bob is a weekend photographer and has two cheap lenses,  maybe one semi pro camera, no insurance, and no overheads. He or she may has a full time job working  in a production line and therefore does not need to cover the overheads in running a professional photography business.
Client will view cheap photographers (less than £500) as cutting corners and not offering the great service and quality as more costly photographers. Typically you will see this in the galleries and creativity of the photography.

Creative challenge

Getting creative with your photography is a great idea, many photographers will rely on the static ‘school photo’ poses for groups and really lack in the creative set-up for both the groups and bridal party and B&G photographic shoot.

When you start with arty print design, more creative poses for what many have the standard posing of groups, you will start to see your worth in the value of your photography that people will want to buy from you.

Service level

We all know that there is a lot to cover for a wedding and this can lead to a 15 hour day, with packages leading to sectional cover of the wedding, it is important to know what you are offering and the service that you will provide.
With the research we have carried out, the common cover of the wedding photography  is (on the day):

• Preparation’s
• Arrival – to groups
• Wedding breakfast to cake cutting
• First dance
• Evening Reception

There are many variations to thewedding  packages to what they include at set price margins that you can offer, there is also the consideration that the shoot time often means 4 times more editing work than the time spent doing the photography.

Photographer may include: Pre shoot, wedding rehearsal, engagement shoot or a couples photo shoot which takes place before the wedding.  This has benefits for the photographer and client where the photographer will be aware of the Bride and Grooms reaction to being in front of the camera and can also lead to a better working relationship on the wedding day, the client will see and know how you work and are more prepared on the wedding day.

Rory offers a different outlook for wedding photography packages. Covering some of the planning stages of the wedding offers clients a complete picture record of the wedding rather than just the one day. His personal wedding  service website is available in HD and SD and is broken down in to the parts of the pre wedding,  the wedding day and post wedding photography.

Quality Products

While the wedding day and the photo shoot are important and you would work the crowd well and make the wedding enjoyable as possible, the finished product is the final point of the process of wedding photography. You will know this as the Preview gallery and the wedding album. There may be a slide show included with your wedding photography package or an add-on.

Photography by Rory Witham

Essentially All the guests will see the preview gallery and it is important that you show your work off to the best it can be. this will be the word of mouth sales for you, A combination of how you worked on the day and the preview gallery will make a large difference to custom. The wedding album will be seen more by close family and friends and therefore should stand out and be of the highest quality. Bad news spreads fast and will see a down turn in business.

We have found that brides and grooms like to select a complete package where there is little thought required in the designing of the wedding photography package  from their point of view. Most will want a photographer just on the day of the wedding and not into the reception, they would also like a package with an the wedding album included with between 60 and 100 images.

If you would like to know the most common package that people ask for, why not view the National photographers wedding elegance website, and see the packages that are offered.

Essentially when you are competing with other wedding photographers there are a few main areas to consider:
Is the style of your photography appealing?
Are your prices value for money?
Do you offer the right choices?
Is your conduct and approach at weddings inviting?
What makes you different?

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Wedding Photography originally appeared on National Photographer on July 23, 2010.

Portrait’s are artistic representation of a person, where the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person whom the portrait is of. For this reason, in photography a portrait is generally not a snapshot, but a composed image of a person in a still position or interpreted to signify the person and topic or interest of that person.

Portrait photography is a popular commercial industry all over the world. Many people enjoy having professionally made family portraits to hang in their homes,  special portraits to commemorate certain events, such as graduations or weddings.

Photography by Rory Witham

Since the dawn of photography, people have made portraits. The middle of the 19th century saw the growth in Portrait photography due in large part to the demand for inexpensive portraiture. Studios sprang up in cities around the world, some cranking out more than 500 plates in a day. The style of these early works reflected the technical challenges associated with 30-second exposure times and the painterly aesthetic of the time. Subjects were generally seated against plain backgrounds and lit with the soft light of an overhead window and whatever other light could be reflected with mirrors.

National Photographer Rory Witham; uses natural environments and interactive subjects and personality to create life-like and more softer and casual photo shoots for portraits that takes the subject and client away from the studio and it’s static and often stark plain back ground as commonly seen in family Portraits.

Personal Portraits of a single person can often be based on looks others maybe of fashion, or environmental portraits. 

An environmental portrait is a portrait executed in the subject’s usual environment, such as in their home or workplace, and typically illuminates the subject’s life and surroundings. The term is most frequently used of a genre of photography.

By photographing a person in their natural surroundings, it is thought that you will be able to better illuminate their character, and therefore portray the essence of their personality, rather than merely a likeness of their physical features. It is also thought that by photographing a person in their natural surroundings, the subject will be more at ease, and so be more conducive to expressing themselves, as opposed to in a studio, which can be a rather intimidating and artificial experience.

Photo by Rory Witham

Working with children and young adults often the aim is to keep them active and involved in the things they enjoy, such as parks and playgrounds, while the subject plays they are less prone to stair and grin at the camera and give a more natural and happy expression. Often in studio’s children can become restless and agitated by the environment, where of course a park or activity can allow for the creative capture which we are well known for.

Some more examples can  be found on our website, currently we have decommissioned our Portrait Photography business called Portrait People ( http://portraits.nationalphotographer.co.uk/ ) and we will be looking forward to  re-establishing the Portrait photography services shortly.

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Natural Portraits originally appeared on National Photographer on July 12, 2010.

Human nature is predictable and almost everyone follows the same problems when it comes to photos being taken, Double chin’s come from two area, one is physical and the other is mental (psychological)

Lets deal with the psychological  double chin problem. This I can break down to two parts one is thinking they look good and emotive response…

Pose with a mirror out of sight and then look at the mirror you will find that this may not be a flattering as you thought or you could do if you could see yourself in a mirror.
the camera tends to lie  with poses so what to most feels right may in fact be very wrong.

The other part to this is the shock or bracing themselves that Leads to the pose with the head retracted and back, if you think to yourself shock and horror or jump and startled expressions you will find that your head moves backward on your shoulders and your chin drops down leading to a double chin.

This is obviously the physical which most people do, by leading your self for a pose you should.

Press shoulders back and make sure your back is straight.
Push your head slightly forward and upwards using your neck being carefull not to drop your chin; for some rasing the chin slightly will remove a double chin in photographs.

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Double chin in photos originally appeared on National Photographer on July 11, 2010.

National Photographers Award Winning Photographers are available to hire for fixed day fee on contracts depending on the type of work and licence that you require.

With day rates from £650.00 you will find our consultancy and photography one of the best services within the UK.

Contact us today for advice and see how we can help you.

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Photographer hire originally appeared on National Photographer on July 7, 2010.

I believe that each wedding is the same in many respects and that it is the personality of the couple and their friends and family that can make the wedding. While photography is painting with light, the capture of weddings should be about painting a reflection of the wedding in a true account.

As you can see in the wedding photo shown, there are different approaches to the photography for each wedding. Some people prefer a relaxed approach to their photography some more reportage and others like the fashion as well as more traditional formal styles of photography, but usually it is the mixed range of photography that people like.

When it comes to ordering prints, the style of photography differs greatly in how people will order their wedding photos and their wedding albums.
Fashion styled bride and groom only photos, they sell out right  with every single print ordered that is available, the details do not, however the casual groups will also be ordered in particular to family groups, but as most people have cameras, these are dwindling in numbers.

Developing the wedding albums is the more over all picture where design and a personal touch comes to mind and really show  in the album designs.
The detail photos that were taken are used as backgrounds to the pages and then the groups and more traditional photographs are lover the top to give a traditional and contemporary look and feel to the wedding album.

In this wedding album preview video, you can see that there are two designs for the bride and groom to select from,  alterations are made by the bride and groom for the album to suit them perfectly.

As you an see in this video of some mixed weddings and albums there are wide range of both wedding album designs and also styles of photography.

And there are more….

As we can see, there are many styles and they are all different to the wedding, the couple and the emotion of the day and thats what makes our service both personal and individual to all our customers.

View our wedding photography services web site which has over 2000 wedding photos, stories and notes and commentary of wedding photography we have carried out with our clients.

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Mixed wedding photos originally appeared on National Photographer on June 20, 2010.

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Male photo shoot originally appeared on National Photographer on June 20, 2010.

Bridal boudoir photography has become popularphotography Planning as a exciting gift to give to the husband to be on the wedding day,  aside from the card and  a ‘normal’ gift to give the husband at the start of the wedding day ensuring that they are ready and waiting at the alter for you bridal boudoir offers the bride a little TLC after all the planning of the wedding.

The brides Boudoir or wedding lingerie photo shoots add a lot of tease  to the groom on the wedding day, with stunning photos of the bride in a pocket book or a gift box set can send his pulse racing; for the bride it is a secret photo shoot a few weeks before the wedding where she can have her make-up and hair all done and relax with our photographers on her photo shoot, even adding a day spa and photo shoot together she gets a little well deserved pampering.

Classical bridal boudoir photography

Planning your Bridal boudoir shoot is simple, All you need to do is contact us about two months before the wedding to arrange your photo shoot and plan the time when you can secretly escape to come to one of our studios to have your photos taken. You may wish to consider having a great time with a hen night boudoir photo shoot, so that your close friends can enjoy a weekend away or a day  being pampered at a spa before their photo shoot.

Our absolute deadline for photo shoots is two weeks before the wedding and with the growth in the popularity of Boudoir and Bridal boudoir gifts, we advise to book a far as possible in advance to make the most out of your photo shoot and planning.

Links:

http://boudoirphotographyuk.wordpress.com/2009/12/30/bridal-boudoir-photoshoots/

http://boudoir.nationalphotographer.co.uk/boudoir_party.htm

http://boudoirphotographyuk.wordpress.com/2009/12/02/bridal-boudoir_before_or_after/

http://boudoir.nationalphotographer.co.uk/Boudoir_Photo_shoot/bridal_boudoir.htm

Bridal boudoir Album preview

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Bridal Boudoir Photographers originally appeared on National Photographer on June 4, 2010.

There are several aspects to how and why photographs appeal to clients and this varies between social groups, age and geographical locations and often over looked, is the time of year which can make a massive difference to what you should display.

To begin with a signature photo you will all know as professional photographers as the “Venture portrait”  In your minds eye you already know how it will look with its over contrast, over saturated and white background. This is of course  a common and widely used system for ease of use and it is hard to ‘mess-up’ a shoot when you offer this signature photo.

Also consideration to Fashion and what people would like is the nice softer skin tones and vibrant colours to hang on their walls, as people see the photo’s they also want the same and therefore we have the word of mouth and of course the fashionable to have prints.
With consideration to fashion, we also know that there is a difference with age and over time fashion can look dated, so maybe traditional prints and shoots can work well. Between these lines is a wade range of options for photographers to really capture the minds and heart of their clients with what they offer thats Different.. You will Always find some one who is looking for something different and to not copy friends and have the same as everyone else.

Age will have a difference to the clients wants and expectations, you will find that younger clients want wow and excitement, and essentially a fun time on their photo shoot, Middle age will want a professional studio feel with a little fun and traditional mix in their photo shoots and older generations will be looking for more classical traditional photo shoots.

You will find that your style or comfort zone for photography will dictate the services that you offer and you will find that due to this approach to photography, how and what you present for your clients to see as your work and the ‘feel’ will change your clients who come to you for your services.

As a professional photographer, you will know how to market to your clients with careful business planning and marketing skill that you have developed over the years, it is important that you look at the changes in your style and photographs that you offer and adjust your pitch to meet those changes. Seasonal changes need to be taken into account when producing slide shows and websites to give the right image at the right time of year.

Lets look at the common images based on seasonal changes:

Spring – Often weddings and birthdays are booked at this time of year. With valentines day romantic couples photo shoots as well as boudoir as gifts are also booked.

Summer – Boudoir, Glamour and family photo shoots. Fashion is also popular as well as portfolio work.

Autumn – weddings appear again for the following years booking and also children’s and family photo shoots are also popular.

Winter – Portraits that are personal and of course the weddings for the following spring. Family portraits are largely popular over the festive break.

With your website having just a few seconds to capture the interest of your visitor, it is important to deliver the right images in the right order at the right time of year for the right client. Typically you will have a range of pictures that will hit the right spot within the first 3 images that a client See’s on your website.

Photographers offering an ‘everything’ service will benefit from having different websites for the different topics of photography that they offer; This is because you can deliver the right information and picture to the clients, with out the need to sift through lots of different information on subject areas that do not interest them. This  could be termed as ” The Right Tool, For the Right Job”.

Selecting your photos that are shown to clients should be based on your ‘usual’ photograph in that particular area of photography. For example a wedding photo of the couple may  be taken in ‘your way and style’ that will be your signature photo that is more unique to you and your service. Portrait photography can be different with photo’s such as Location, environmental or studio based and also will reflect the clients age and requirements for their own shoot.
If you do have a wide range of photo styles and backgrounds, you may see a pattern with how you approach the shoot and these will be your signature style of photography that you offer your client.

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Photo signatures originally appeared on National Photographer on May 21, 2010.