Have you been a walk this winter and photographed dead plants, twigs or leaves on branches, got home and been uninspired by them – they don’t really jump off the screen? Well previously in Lightroom, to make these “pop” out of your monitor, you would have to work quite hard to make your subject really […]
LIGHTROOM TIPS: Making subjects jump off the screen! Read More »
CQR Factory Photoshoot Case Study This project was commissioned to make new marketing images for CQR, a company making certified security, alarm and network cables, on the Wirral peninsula. Here is the blog as a video, if you prefer watching to reading August 2021 – Blue skies! On a beautiful summers day, I met up
CASE STUDY: CQR Cables Factory Photoshoot – Wirral Read More »
Clearsite Solutions Brand Photography in Bristol Direct answer: This shoot for Clearsite Solutions in Bristol was about creating practical brand photography that showed the team at work, Marc’s role in the business, and the new visual identity being built for the company. The images needed to turn a stripped-out retail unit into something clear, professional
CASE STUDY: Clearsite Solutions New Brand Photography Read More »
Anybody who photographs “normal people” will hear this question – every single shoot! It’s our “question everyone asks”. People want to look their best and they put their trust in you, also a great Icebreaker. The answer is “Yes of course”, we always do “something” to the photograph, just how far and how long we
Can you photoshop me? Read More »
Lightroom just changed its selective editing tools into one new mega-powerful suite, called “masking”. It’s hard to sum up how powerful this change will be for editing in future, so instead I’ve created a short video showing you to colour a specific area of a photo using two of the controls. Sounds easy? Well, it
Supercharge your Editing with new LIGHTROOM MASKS Read More »
For years I’ve read about this mythical software called DxO and its magical ability to create superbly detailed, best-in-class photos from your camera raw files. Like most people I know, I’m a happy Lightroom user and love its workflow, and have an intimate knowledge of what every slider does, so was never looking for something
Is DXO the ultimate RAW Editor? Read More »
If you set up a camera tripod and flashes outside an operational power station, it wouldn’t be long before security along asking you to move on, I know because it’s happened to me a few times. If you ask them whether terrorists often turn up with a model, 3 tripods and flashes, they are not
Andy at Eggborough Read More »
6 Tips for Photographing Industrial Processes Direct answer: Good industrial process photography starts with knowing what you need to show, who needs to see it, and why it matters. Wide shots, close-ups, team images, lighting, careful editing, and a sensible sharing plan all help turn complex manufacturing work into photographs that explain your business quickly
6 Ways to Bring Industrial Processes to Life with Creative Imagery Read More »
Fitness Photography in the Pennines We helped an amazing local brand who create sustainable, limited edition fitness clothing with their lifestyle photography – the owners, Clare and Rick, started Stretch and Burn in the lockdown. Sustainability is at the heart of what we do, limited edition pieces designed for real people, not mass produced and
Stretch and Burn – Lifestyle Shoot Read More »
How do you get started in this industry? I’m sure you’ve seen some of the amazing photos gracing magazine covers and advertisements. You might even have a few friends who’ve modelled for various modelling sites and agencies. But what do you really need to know about getting started? Before diving into the world of modeling,
How to Get Started as a Model – The Test Shoot Read More »
The yorkshire dales are pretty stunning – rolling green hills with limestone edges and pavements, waterfalls and woodlands, sheep and cattle and of course, lots of lovely walls making patterns throughout the landscape. Here we have 5 360-degree pano tours linked in Klapty, they are:- Arncliffe Taking in the lovely littondale and the road which
A tour of the Yorkshire Dales Read More »
Saltaire Bradford – A World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site in Bradford, Saltaire is is the creation of of a Victorian entrepreneur sir Titus Salt. It’s a small village built to house and serve the people who worked in his gigantic Mill on the Leeds Liverpool canal. He built facilities in Saltaire like the
Saltaire, Bradford – A Virtual Drone Tour Read More »
An Accidental Find So I was looking for a way to host and view 360-degree photos taken with my DJI mini 2 drone found this virtual tours software which allows you to upload many 360-degree photographs and then navigate around from photo to photo. How it’s done The way I created this was to let
Drone Virtual Tours… Read More »
Aarsleff’s Project in Chesterfield Ground engineering specialists, Aarsleff, have created this huge retaining wall for a new build in Chesterfield – it’s included lots of piling, steelwork and concrete, and we were invited along at the start and end of the project to capture some images and movie drone footage for them. 360 Degree Views
Drone Photos for Civil Engineering Read More »
I am a huge fan of experimentation when learning something and photography is the perfect subject to get out into the field and just try things to see what happens. Most of us end up taking the same photograph over and over again… This is great in the field, but very boring when you get
A Simple Tip For Everyone! Read More »
Sometimes you only get a fleeting second of light and you’ll have to grab what you can with the camera you having your hands. The story behind this photo is that we were walking to a limestone pavement to capture photos of trees growing out of rocks when one of the clouds opened and let
Photoshopping Sunrays with Curves Read More »
Like many people I have used HDR or purely ambient light for property photography for years, when time permitted I would use a a flash or 2 to add some light to the rooms but the results were always a little bit garish, bright and weird shadows would get in the way. This relatively novel
Modern Property Photography Read More »
How do you know whether you are progressing at photography? Well, There are many ways to look at this, it could be how successful you are with competitions in your local camera club or whether you get more likes and praise on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram or Flickr or more sales and new clients But that’s
Your old work should be embarrassing! Read More »
I recently bought the “MOD048 | 60cm Folding Beauty Dish Silver Mk.2” as a small, portable light modifier. These are available (or will be when stock arrives) on their website (https://www.lencarta.com/all-products/light-shapers/studio-beauty-dishes) or if you’re in West Yorkshire, you can order on line and pick it up in Bradford, which is what I did. Couple of
Lencarta Beauty Dish Test Shoot Read More »
You’ll never get an opportunity to photograph on Greek Street in Leeds like we did this January. The UK was in lockdown and this end of Leeds had virtually nobody there. We had the place to ourselves. Greek Street is one of the busiest bar areas of the city centre, bustling with people eating and
Nicola Paparazzo – Greek St. Shoot Read More »
I’m a fine art photographer from Yorkshire in the North of England, I started photography in January 2017 after being disappointed by the quality of images from my compact camera, from a once in a lifetime trip to Iceland (once in a lifetime because of the unpaid motor tickets I left behind). As soon as
GUEST POST – David Garthwaite – Fine Art Photography Read More »
How can you create new images and social media content, safely, whilst we are still operating under bizarre lockdown circumstances? The good news… Luckily, the government guidance states that people should work from home unless they “absolutely cannot do so” – which most photographers can’t. So this means we can still travel to create images
Social media content creation in Lockdown Read More »
Leeds always had a thriving hospitality sector packed with innovative bars, traditional boozers and amazing restaurants. I’ve been part of the scene by probably drinking a little bit too much in many of these places, and also photographing quite a lot of food and drinks for bars, restaurants and hotels over the years. I even
Leeds Pubs in Lockdown Read More »
<!– SEO CHANGE LOG 1. Added keyword "tilt-shift lens" to the H1. 2. Added keyword "tilt-shift lens" to the intro body copy. 3. Added keywords "tilt", "shift", and "tilt-shift lens" to the early explainer paragraph. 4. Changed H2 "Why bother using a tilt-shift lens for portraits?" to "Why use a tilt-shift lens for portraits?" to
Tilt shift lens for portraits of Andy Taylor Boocock Read More »
Imagine a world where you could click one thing and your photo would be edited to your personal taste – fast photo editing software is the ultimate productivity booster, is Luminar AI the tool for this? Obviously 1-click editing isn’t really possible because every photograph is different and every situation as different lighting and composition,
Fast photo editing software – Luminar AI Read More »
Sometimes you just cannot get everything in Focus in one shot… This happens a lot when you are photographing landscapes with a very close foreground, the background becomes blurry if you focus on the foreground, and vice versa. In this tutorial I show you two photos I took of the exact same scene, all the
How to get Maximum Sharpness with Focus Stacking Read More »
Usually when doing light painting workshops, I have several people with torches all lighting the scene at the same time so we catch everything in one frame which you can view there and then on the night. But when you are alone, or in small groups, often it isn’t possible because you just cannot get
Blending Light Painting Photos in Photoshop Read More »
How to Add Text to a PDF Using Affinity Photo Direct answer: You can use Affinity Photo to open a PDF, add text layers, and export the updated file in common formats. It’s a one-off purchase alternative to Adobe Photoshop or InDesign, making it a practical choice for business owners who occasionally need to edit
Affinity Photo for Businesses Read More »
Fundamentals First Fundamentals First an IT company based in Leeds, formed by software experts Phil, Hamish, Chris and another Phil. The purpose of this photoshoot was to create images for the personal Brand, marketing, PR and new website. CLICK TO SEE THEIR WEBSITE For this project we follow our usual process of:- Discover This included
CASE STUDY – Fundamentals First Read More »
I learn more through audio than text…. I don’t know about you but I definitely take more information in through my ears than through reading! Which is kind of ironic, because I’m writing this using words which you will be reading…. Anyway, having searched for the most realistic, affordable text to voice converter on the
Are AI voiceovers a godsend, or hell? Read More »
Here’s a quick “video blog” on solving the problem of poor looking websites the easy way… The text is below if you prefer to read or can’t have the sound on right now I read a Pearl of Wisdom on LinkedIn yesterday which was “Business is all about finding a problem then providing a solution
Transforming Websites The Easy Way Read More »
You can definitely take great phone photos these days. The technology has moved on massively since the early days, and the app software is truly amazing. There are probably dozens of phone photos tips you could give, but realistically these three things will make the biggest difference. 1 – Where is the light This may
Try these 3 Things RIGHT NOW to improve your phone photos Read More »
Back in Action with the Godox AD600: A Post-Lockdown Location Portrait Photography Session It’s been donkey’s years, but I finally got back behind the lens with my long-time collaborator and model, Andy Taylor Boocock. Picking a spot in Leeds was like choosing your favourite biscuit—difficult, but ultimately rewarding. So, I packed my Godox AD600 and
Using the Godox AD600 on My First Post-Lockdown Model Photoshoot! Read More »
A new name for Holbeck Here is a video version, with the words spoken… or carry on to see the photos and read it for yourself. The area south of Leeds station has been rebranded “Temple Leeds”, probably because of “Temple works”, an iconic Mill building in the style of an Egyptian temple. Previously this
Temple – Leeds – The New Holbeck! Read More »
The Lightroom Brush Tool Stand out with Selective Editing Some images really stand out when you see them on Instagram or Facebook, parts of the shot just look so much better than you could ever achieve using normal Lightroom techniques. The secret to creating these kinds of images is to get selective using the Lightroom Brush
Make your photos SHINE with the LIGHTROOM Brush Tool Read More »
Photoshop now comes with lots of “extensions” you can install – either paid or for free – you get to them from this menu item That opens up a web browser – you need to be logged in to your Adobe account if you’re not on Creative Cloud this may not work.
FREE Luminosity Mask Extension in Photoshop Read More »
Having I watched the most amazing spring from my garden during lockdown it seems a little bit unfair that the weather in June is dreadful for photography…. But one day last week the sky look like it was about to erupt at any second so I took the gamble of going into Leeds to see
Storm Brewing in Leeds Read More »
If you’re planning a trip to photograph Leeds, you might be wondering which locations offer the best photography opportunities. With a city as vibrant and historic as Leeds, there’s no shortage of captivating spots. The city offers a mixture of modern architecture and heritage sites, providing a wealth of visual diversity for any photographer. While
10 “Must SEE Leeds Photo” Areas for Photographers Read More »
9 weeks into lockdown and I finally decided to take my daily allocated exercise by walking around the city centre of Leeds. I had been putting it off because I didn’t really want to upset and overstretched police force or get a fine! I expected in the early lock-down weeks, it’d be desolate, 9 weeks
Like many businesses, we deal directly with clients in person, so have taken quite a hit with this lockdown. We can’t really leave the house to do any new work – and if we could, we can’t get close to people so it’d be awkward. Here are a few things you can do remotely, and
Get the most from your photos during LOCKDOWN Read More »
How many things in life do we buy & not use? Most kitchen gadgets I use once or twice, and then stash away neatly in the cupboard never to see the light of day again, All that money spent, all that good intent to make a change and no return. The same can be said
Photos only work when you use them Read More »
There’s a lot of new building going on in Leeds, so on a rare sunny February day I decided to take the 5D Mark IV and the 24mm tilt Shift lens out and going capture some of the new and classic architectural delights. I decided to start at the new Wellington Place developments which is
Leeds Architecture 2020 Read More »
What do you do on a wet day in Sheffield? Well if you’re Clare Jane Garret, you get a dancer called Sarah Hobson and paint her green, then get a milliner called Hannah Gray to create a fantastic headpiece and create a real-life Medusa! This was all done in a dance studio near the university
DJ and production duo “Wh0” are a mysterious pair currently rocking the House dance floors around the UK – They’ve both been around in their regular DJ slots for years and have remixed some of the biggest acts around. So after a gig in Leeds a few weeks back, we met up at this amazing
What’s it all about? About a year ago I came up with an idea, it was based on years of photographing companies and what had worked best. It offered individuals who may be just starting out (or ready for a new set of images) 5 photos of them for a bargain price… and other people to act
The Madness of Share the Shoot… Read More »
Photographer Recommendations are King – But Are they Right For YOU? The best way to source most products and services these days is to ask for recommendations based on people’s experience. It can certainly filter out solutions, products, and providers who have given a good experience. Most people look at Amazon reviews or What Hi-Fi
How to choose a photographer from the 1000's recommended on LINKED IN Read More »
Jaeda Portrait Shoot at Morley Golf Club Direct answer: This gallery post covers a second portrait shoot with Jaeda, a 12-year-old model and competition diver, photographed at a ruined spot inside a Morley golf club on a bitter January day. Despite wind, cold, and rough weather, the conditions ended up adding proper drama to the
Everything is video these days, we are all told to do Facebook lives or record things from the seats of our cars, in car parks, before meetings to engage with our audience. I’ve spent the last year creating video content, be that behind the scenes footage of a photoshoot, close-ups of food or even photoshop editing videos. It’s
Don't Forget About Photography! Read More »
It’s the way that you do it… “It ain’t WHAT you do, it’s the WAY that you do it” – As the Bananarama song goes. That’s probably true in most businesses but it’s certainly the case with photography. It’s not just the end product which counts, but how you get to it. I’ve been shooting
BusinesS Headshots – it ain't what you do… Read More »
Finding old photos can be a pain – if someone asks if you’ve got photos of Liverpool (or something like that) in future, how quickly could you locate them in your file system? Or if you’re looking to create a print of Ingleborough, could you find all your photos of the hill and quickly make
How to organise your photos like a pro Read More »
