Daniel Davies Photography

The crafting of a portrait.

2012-01-27T15:25:00.000Z

I've recently created a new blog at LoveEnfield.blogspot.com which showcases some of the great people in the borough who are making Enfield such a great place to live, work and shop in. I decided to do this as I wanted the opportunity to make some great, considered portraits of these people, to help promote their businesses or events and to make some local connections.

Yesterday I photographed Karen & Gunther, who run a great local coffee shop, MyCoffeeStop at Enfield Chase station. It's a small unit, and I wanted to maximise the space available to me, so I thought about using my 8mm fish eye lens.

I decided to pop this on my 40d as the crop sensor would mean that I got a slightly less wide field of view, and could focus more on Karen & Gunther than I would had I used my 5dII.

Here's how I set up:

This gave me the following photo, straight out of camera:

Importing the photograph into Lightroom and allowing it's automatic lens correction feature to complete gave me this:

Which is OK, but leaves Karen and Gunther a little small in the middle of the frame. I therefore chose to manually "correct" the photograph, which gave me this, still distorted but more natural look:

My next task was to enhance the effect of the steam. Pushing the clarity & contrast helped a little, but I didn't like what it did to my subjects who'd turned a ghostly shade of pale!

So I took this copy of the photo and layered it on top of the previously unaltered copy of the same photo. This further enhanced the steam, and gave me further options for refining the image:

The image below shows where my photoshop work was done:

The image was naturally vignetted, but because of the crop I needed to darken down this one remaining corner
By masking out the blend over Karen & Gunther I could allow the original, natural skin colours to come through.
A Waitrose carrier bag behind Gunther was cloned to remove the logo, and darkened down where it had caught the flare from the flash behind him
The tiles were cleaned up, the various posters being removed and cloned out.

This gave us our final image (see it large at the top of the post):

I hope you found this useful and/or interesting. Let me know in the comments below and I'll do it again if there's enough interest.

Dan

Pre-Wedding laughs in the January Sunshine

2012-01-10T17:52:00.000Z

It was an absolute pleasure to spend an hour last Saturday with Nikki and Mez, who's wedding I'll be photographing at the end of the month. We met at Enfields lovely Town Park, where we had a stroll together, getting to know each other a bit better, and taking some fun and relaxed photographs away from the stresses of wedding planning.

The guys will soon chose their personal favourites from the shoot, and I'll build them a completely unique, custom canvas montage as a memento of the shoot. Can't wait for the wedding now!

Nikki and Mez were clearly and hugely in Love, and being so relaxed with each other helped me to quickly start getting some great photographs like this one.

Either Mez has the best set of one liners I've ever heard, or he's very adept at subtly tickling Nikki as they walked together.

Mez practices his "Action Man" pose whilst Nikki shines out from the other side.

Nikki certainly gave as good as she got - no shrinking violet she.

As well as the laughs, their love shined through in tender moments like this one.

It was such a pleasure to spend time with such a light hearted couple. I hope the laughter continues for many years into the future guys.

Time to show "the rock" off

The January sun briefly visited, and we took advantage with this lovely natural light portait.

There are more photos of Nikki and Mez on my Facebook page - why not pop over and have a look. Whilst you're there don't forget to click the "like" button to be kept informed of all of my news, and to have a first glimpse of their wedding photographs at the end of this month!

A splash of Autumn Sunshine as Caroline & Jeremy get married in Enfield

2011-10-27T18:42:00.000+01:00

I was overjoyed last weekend to be able to capture Caroline & Jeremy's wonderful wedding. The sun shone and shone and shone, and as a result everyone looked absolutely their tip-top best and had a wonderful day.

Caroline tied the knot to Jeremy at Our Lady of Mount Carmel & St. Georges Church in Enfield, where the priest, despite this being his first wedding, did a fantastic job. The Church was bedecked in beautiful flowers, and the autumn sunshine flooded in. A fantastic choir almost raised the roof and the wedding went off without a hitch.

After this we all headed off to De Vere Ponsbourne Park where we were looked after in spectacular fashion for the rest of the evening.

I hope that these few photographs give you a sense of what was a fantastic day:

How I used my iPad to post photographs "near live" from Stamford Bridge last Tuesday night.

2011-09-08T16:36:00.001+01:00

One of my (many) roles is that of roving photographer for the The Chels website. As such I'm often to be found at Stamford Bridge where, thanks to a much more enlightened approach to fan liaison from the Abramovic regime I can cover matches below first team level.

With the action images that I produce having a very clear "sell by" date, it's important that I get them processed and available to viewers as quickly as I can.

Prior to this season that has involved an hours trip home, 10 minutes to download and import the images into Lightroom, 45 minutes of selection and editing, and another 30 minutes or more to export and publish them to my Facebook gallery.

This often means that my images aren't available until around 1am, too late for the majority of viewers who want to check back on the game before they head to bed.

So, having purchased an iPad, I was keen to ensure that I used it to get my images processed and published as quickly as possible. Last Tuesday's Chelsea v Blackburn reserve game provided a first opportunity to do so. Here's how I acheived it!

Part 1. Download of captured images to iPad:

With Eye-fi not supporting compact flash cards, I was limited to the Apple Camera Connection Kit (around £23), which is great, but has certain limitations. Firstly it supports either SD cards or USB only. My Canon cameras write data to Compact Flash (CF) cards, so I was limited to USB. A search through various online forums suggested strongly that I wouldn't be able to directly connect a card reader (apparantly this draws too much power for the iPad to manage) so I needed a card reader with a source of power. I could have connected my main camera to the iPad and downloaded via cable, but there was an inherent risk that I wouldn't be able to use the camera whilst the download took place and thus miss out on a lightening attack. My solution was to alternate two CF cards between my main camera, which I used to photograph with and secondary backup camera which was simply used to download images to the iPad. This was the most expensive card reader I'd ever used!

Part 2. Editing images.

I always try to get things as correct as possible in camera, but the nature of photographing sports like Football means that a little cropping is often necessary to ensure the most dramatic images. I've installed a couple of applications on my iPad that can straighten and crop my images, and tried each that night.

First up was Adobe Photoshop Express (free) - the straighten and crop functions were simple enough, but I hit a major issue when it came to saving the images. Despite photographing in .jpg mode and despite cropping, the save process was taking two or three minutes to complete. As I was looking to upload maybe 50-60 images in the course of a 90 minute game, this clearly wasn't going to work. So I switched to Snapseed (£2.99). Once again it was quick to rotate and crop the images as required, and this time the saving process took only a few seconds. So we had a solution.

Part 3. Watermarking.

I've had an issue in the past with people stealing my Facebook football images and posting them to their own streams without attribution. It's strange, as they could simply link to my album where the pictures are all freely available but sadly they didn't always take this honest route. I therefore needed to put a watermark on the images that referred viewers back to my Facebook page should they find the images somewhere else. I couldn't find a way to do this in Snapseed so it was time to switch to a second app. OneEdit (£1.49) allowed me to do this for a batch of images in a single sweep and seemed ideal.

I loaded the images in batches, and set OneEdit to create a textural watermark (although it can overlay .jpgs also, and I may use this facility in the future to create a more arresting graphical watermark). One button click was all that was necessary to add the watermark to each batch of images and a second click exported the images back to my camera roll

Part 4. Import into Facebook Album.

Although OneEdit does allow an automatic export to Facebook, it will only export to albums on your personal Facebook page. If, like me you have a business page and want to export to this, then you're stumped. I've put an enhancement request into the developers to add this, as it would be a great help.

I couldn't find any iPad apps that bulk export to albums on Facebook business pages (add a comment below if you know different!) so was forced to install a iPhone app instead. iLoader2 (£1.49) connects first to your personal profile, then offers the option of jumping to any pages you administer. From there it's a simple process to bulk export the images into the required albums. In addition to this, as it doesn't support hi-res uploading, there was no need to resize the images to fit the 595 pixel limit.

So, whilst the game went on around me, with one eye on my iPad and the other on the game, I could edit and upload batches of images, using half time as major catch up period. At the end of the game I had only the last 10 or so images to upload. My trip home was therefore taken up with the editing of these, and as soon as my tube appeared back above ground, I was ready to start the final upload.

I therefore arrived home with the job essentially done. This was especially useful as I had a 6am start the following day! The only remaining task was to copy the completed, full sized images from my iPad and bang them into Lightroom, something that can be done easily through iTunes or DropBox when I have a quiet moment.

So that's my football workflow for the moment. It'll no doubt improve with time - but for now it's sped up majorly from what went before, and that's good enough for me.

If you know of any better apps or workflow then please add a comment below and let me know.

Dan

A natural portrait session in Enfield Town

2011-08-13T13:00:00.001+01:00

A change from Weddings, with this round up of a recent family portrait session I held in Enfield. Using the great resources of our surroundings (this time Gentlemans Row and Town Park) I spent around an hour with this great family and recorded the development of their fabulous one year old son.

Sessions like this can be had for as little as £100, and £50 of that goes to purchasing prints or albums! It's the perfect way to get a professional record of an amazing time in your families lives. With the old "white background" become passe, why not get something more distinctive and book a Location Family Portrait session with Daniel Davies Photography.

Dan

Andy & Lorraine trot into a sensational Enfield Wedding

2011-08-10T16:17:00.000+01:00

A good news story about Enfield is surely overdue, and there's nothing better than a good wedding to get some smiles onto people's faces. Here's a few early sample images from the fabulous wedding I photographed at Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St. George, last Friday:

I hope you enjoyed these. Why not pop over to my Facebook page for more examples of my work. It's got to be worth a "like"!

Dan

Sophie & Will's big wedding day

2011-08-08T16:17:00.000+01:00

Saturday saw me happily sharing in and documenting Sophies fabulous wedding to her dashing soldier Will. Sophie was in every respect the immaculate bride and Will scrubbed up well for a squaddie too!

I'm still working my way through the photographs of their big day, but here are a few that immediately stand out.

Multi Tasking at the Brides Cheshunt pre-wedding HQ

The morning was filled with loads of laughs and more than the occasional cuppa.

Mustn't be late (even the bride was early!)

A broad smile from Will as he lays eyes on his bride for the first time.

An impatient groom is too quick with his "I will".

Simply beautiful.

Such joy as Will prepares to kiss his bride.

At the stunning high altar at Christ Church, Southgate.

What a perfect couple.

Table manners temporarily forgotten as we cut the cake at the Penridge Suite, New Southgate.

The first dance.

I'd like to extend a huge thanks to everyone involved in Saturday for their fantastic hospitality, to Sophie for being the most chilled bride I've photographed for years, to Will for his generosity and to Sophie's parents for their excellent hospitality, and for looking after one of my lenses overnight(!)

A few more of the day's top images are also available via my Facebook page, why not pop over there and take a look!

Dan

Sue & Scott Take over Tower Bridge

2011-08-02T19:03:00.000+01:00

Another hot Saturday in Central London and another trip to beautiful Tower Bridge for a wedding.

I was really looking forward to this one, Sue & Scott had been great fun on their pre-wedding shoot and the chance to actually shoot within the Tower was a major bonus.

I'm still working my way through the images from their day, but here's a few early favourites.

Is this what they call "a room with a view"?

Scott's feeling the pressure as he waits for Sue's arrival.

With only seconds to go, it's time for a final tidy up for the groom to be.

Groom, Bride and a happy Dad!

Time for a few words from a very proud father.

Eyes front Scott!

It seems I had some competition when it came to the "most professional photographer" contest.

A well earned breather for the beautiful bride.

Wow - what a view! Tower Bridge is a sensational place to get married.

Anyone for a Gherkin?

The Olympic Stadium Nears Completion.

Time to head back down from the heights.

Strolling, Just Strolling!

Sealed with a Kiss

A few more of the day's top images are also available via my Facebook page, why not pop over there and take a look!

Dan

Sue and Scott Scope out Tower Bridge on their complimentary pre-wedding shoot.

2011-07-08T08:17:00.001+01:00

I spent a lovely evening last week with Sue & Scott, who are fortunate enough to be hosting their wedding next month in the gorgeous interior of Tower Bridge.

We decided between us that we'd get to know the area a little better by using it as a backdrop for our pre-wedding shoot. I insist on these shoots for every wedding couple as I truly believe that they really build our relationship and make me far less of a stranger when it comes to the wedding day. This leads to fewer nerves & therefore better photographs!

Many wedding photographers will offer a pre-wedding shoot, but for most it's simply a chance for them to sell their clients more pictures. I really don't want my clients treated like cash cows, so I also give my couples a complimentary 16x16" canvas montage, based around one of three exclusive and unique designs. Having a montage like this means that there's no pressure sales and everyone knows that the sessions are all about making sure we get better photographs on the big day.

Here's a few highlights:

I've put a few more of the day's top images up on my Facebook page, why not pop over there and take a look. Whilst you're there add yourself as a fan to be kept in touch with all my latest news and offers. It won't cost you a penny and it may just save you pounds!

Dan

Louise & Marc - the stars come out in Chelsea!

2011-07-05T13:57:00.000+01:00

I had the enormous pleasure to join Louise and Marc for their wedding this Saturday at the famous Kensington & Chelsea Register Office, on the Kings Road.

It's still a little early for me to have processed all of their pictures, but I have had time to have a first look through their images, and have picked out a few that immediately caught my eye.

Louise's beautiful bouquet complimented her dress superbly.

A loving look as Marc places Louise's ring onto her finger.

Fabulous Louise... almost a model pose!

A huge cascade of confetti for the newlyweds.

Another highlight came when Ben Di Lisi, who just happens to have designed Louises fabulous frock, strolled by. Huge kudos to Marc for booking him to come by bang on time!

After the wedding we headed into Battersea Park for some portraits, however we did get disturbed on more than one occasion!

Louise and her beautiful sister & bridesmaid.

A joke between Marc and his best man.

Even the fountains burst into life on schedule.

To keep you going whilst I process the remaining images, I've put a few more of the day's top images up on my Facebook page, why not pop over there and take a look!

Dan

Sealing the Entente Cordiale

2011-06-28T20:30:00.003+01:00

Sunday saw a slightly different day's wedding work for me as I covered the beautiful Fran's wedding to her dashing French beau Nick.    We began at the Highgate Scientific and Literary Institute where I was ready to meet the newlyweds as they stepped away from their quiet, private wedding ceremony.

A quick champagne reception (well we were never going to have some dodgy cheap Cava were we!) followed for friends and family, before we decamped in a fleet of Taxi's and headed to the lovely Knight's Templar in Chancery Lane for a larger reception (and more champagne).

With Fran and Nick wanting an exclusively candid account of the day, I was freed from the responsibility of shooting anything in any way "formal" and had plenty of time to capture a feel of their day. I hope I've succeeded.   Here's a few of the images that stood out to me on first viewing.

The newlyweds grab a quick kiss as they celebrate with champagne.

With the weather so gorgeous all day, the windows at both venues were acting as beautiful "soft boxes". It seemed a shame to spoil the mood with a battering of on-camera flash, so instead I took lots of images using this natural light only.   Here's Fran chatting with a very proud Mum.

Nick clearly adores his new bride.

On moving to the Knights Templar, I kept my eyes open for images that told the story of the day - not just of people, but - as here a "still life" to illustrate "the happy couple".

Guests deep in conversation - whilst enjoying the champagne, naturally!

Nick, relaxed and happy.

Essential information for the French guests - left here on a bar stool.

"First Class and Abroad" - the perfect description for Fran & Nick?

Even the oldies had time for a little tenderness.

Fran & Nick deep in conversation.

An animated moment from another guest.

More chat, and more beers - perfect.

Everyone was in a loving mood.

The bride holds court.

On a humid day like Sunday, why not!

Time for a little dancing.

It's been a huge pleasure over the last few weeks to spend time with some couples who's weddings have felt completely authentic. Every thing that has been done has been done with thought and meaning, and there's been no compulsion to do other things just to show off, or because that's what convention says you should do. It's been great to be a (small) part of and I wish you all very long & happy marriages.

A few more of the day's top images are also available via my Facebook page, why not pop over there and take a look!

Dan

A Sneak Preview for Rob & Dawn

2011-06-22T20:06:00.000+01:00

Saturday was one of those days when everything came together - at the last minute! I arrived at the stunning Holiday Inn Brentford Lock to find that our poor groom Rob, stricken by Norovirus all week, had only just recovered just in time to marry the delightful Dawn. The weather had turned from torrential thunder (nice box Dawn!) to bright sunshine, and Rob & Dawn were ready for a wonderful wedding. Salli and her team at Bomboniera Events had given the venue some extra sparkle and the guests were gathered expectantly.

I've not yet had time to edit all of their pictures, but here's a few that stood out when I had a first look through:

It's all go before the wedding as the bridesmaids put the final touches to their sensational outfits.

Dawn's on her way!

Warning - buttonholes can be dangerous!

One of several funny moments in what was an extremely personal and relaxed ceremony. Gran looks on with pride.

The beautiful bride.

Sheer joy as Rob & Dawn are pronounced "Husband & Wife"

Dad couldn't be more proud of his daughter.

The riverside at Brentford - a stunning location for this dapper couple.

Have you ever seen a happier couple?

Plenty of fun for the bridesmaids.

A few more of the day's top images are also available via my Facebook page, why not pop over there and take a look!

Dan

A photographers wedding preparations

2011-05-28T12:22:00.000+01:00

When presented with a headline figure, many people wonder if their wedding photography is an unaffordable luxury and whether their photographer is "raking it in" with their high charges.

With a full day’s photography and wedding album almost always costing in excess of £1000 it seems a huge fee for a “single days’ work”.

For me however, a wedding is much more than a single days’ work and to demonstrate this I thought I'd take you through my check list for the day before a wedding.

The first task is to check that my kit is clean - this involves.

3 Camera bodies (two used, and one backup). Clean viewfinder, puff dust from mirror and sensor.
5 Lenses. Clean front and back elements of each, along with inside and outside of filters, clear dust from mount and exterior, check full extent of zoom and focus mechanisms for smooth travel. Ensure set to Auto and not manual focus.

Now I have clean kit, I need to make sure that my cameras are set up correctly. I check that all are:

Set to the correct ISO for the expected conditions.
Have the right motor drive mode set.
Are set to RAW format for the highest possible image quality.
Have their internal clocks synchronised (so that images taken across both [or all three] cameras can be imported and displayed "in time order" and the overall order is correct - which helps to tell the story of the day.
Have the correct white balance set.
Have the correct focussing mode set.

I can then move to my memory cards.    I prefer to use several smaller cards during the course of a wedding - this spreads the already small risk of image loss further should one card become corrupted.     I therefore need to check that every card is formatted and blank, ready to be inserted in seconds into either camera when required.

Next come the camera batteries.   Most weddings pass with one set of batteries per camera being sufficient, but of course I carry multiple backups.    Camera batteries at least, are pretty good at holding a charge but I always check that every battery is fully topped up the day before someone gets married.

Once the camera is ready I prepare the 4 flashes.   I clean the front, battery contacts and hot shoe attachment for each of these, as well as checking full zoom, bounce and rotate movements. All are checked for use both on camera, and when remotely triggered.      I'll also check and pack my coloured gels which allow me to "create" a sunset in camera even when nature lets me down should the couple wish for this sort of shot:

These flashes run on 4xAA batteries.   I always use NI-MH rechargeables, these have several advantages.   They allow me to shoot faster than non-rechargeable batteries, and unlike normal NI-CAD rechargeables are less susceptible to "memory effect" and don't discharge themselves whilst stored as quickly.

Each of my batteries is labelled as belonging to one of 16 sets that I carry with me always.   Every set is fully charged the day before a wedding, and goes through a multiple discharge/refresh cycle in my most advanced battery charger each six months which further prolongs their life and ensures that they are always in "tip-top" condition.

My flash triggers consist of rechargeable receivers and a battery based sender. These are also recharged and checked before leaving for every wedding, and I also ensure I have at least one spare battery for each trigger.

Once this is all packed away safely, I can relax right?   Unfortunately not!

Now comes the car.   I can't risk any mechanical problems en-route to the wedding (even though I always build spare time into my journeys), so off to the garage it is to check:

Fuel
Oil Level
Water Level
Tyre Pressure

Then the sat-nav needs pre-loading with the location of (all of the) venues along with printing out of paper based directions as a backup. I'll also spend a little time here checking various travel websites for advance notice on any possible disruptions to the next day’s journeys.

Into the boot goes a stepladder (useful if I'm short of space or just need a slightly different perspective on a shot), along with a beautiful pair of white lacy umbrellas (well this is England after all!) and a very pretty clothes hanger (because you don't want a picture of a gorgeous, expensive and unique bridal gown spoiled by me shooting it hanging from a cheap, ugly clothes hanger do you?!). I also pack the mini photo cards that will direct guests to the online wedding gallery ready to be placed on the tables at the reception.

At this stage I'll also pack at least one light stand, a reflector and possibly an easel and any signing frames that the couple want displayed at their reception. I'll then make sure to have a couple of energy bars and some water available in the car should they be necessary on my long working day.

The expensive camera kit of course is safely locked away ready to be loaded into the car the following morning (just in case the local burglar is reading this!)

Around 10 days before the wedding l will have had a final chat with my brides & grooms, checking that there have been no last minute hitches or changes to the schedule and that I have plenty of contact numbers for the couple and the venues. These details are printed out and additionally synchronised onto my phone, which is then fully charged and set to vibrate.

Finally, I'll remove my suit from its dry cleaning bag, check my shirt is neatly pressed and lay out the remaining clothing for the day, before shining my shoes.

As you've seen the day before a wedding is busy and a vital part of my professional service. Missing any one of the steps can result in missed shots (or worse) and weddings are a one-time only experience. I love the adrenaline of being in this situation, but adrenaline is quickly replaced by fear if I don't feel prepared, and that's not a pleasant sensation.

Make sure that your wedding photographer demonstrates the same level of care about your wedding photographs – you deserve nothing less!

Dan

Luiza Marries Jonathan in the Tower Bridge Sunshine

2011-05-27T12:47:00.000+01:00

I had the immense privilege to be chosen to capture Luiza's Wedding to Jonathan last Saturday. We all had a fabulous day together (well I did and Jon & Luiza seemed to be having an amazing time from start to end). I'm still working on their images, but here are a few of my early favourites from their big day.

Luiza was already beautiful, so I only had a few moments in which to capture the final touches that made her such a sensational bride.
Dad here looks so incredibly proud as he gives his daughter away at the front of the church.

"You may kiss the bride".

Time for a quick "model shoot" around the beautiful St. Katherines Dock. We'd already been here together for our pre-wedding shoot, so we were able to make the most of the short break in Luiza & Jon's other commitments.

Perfect timing for us as the bridge lifts in the background.

It's just as well it was a scorching hot day as Luiza & Jon cool off a little.

What a lucky bride!

A few more of the day's top images are also available via my Facebook page, why not pop over there and take a look!

Dan

Will & Sophie "Own" Broomfield Park(!)

2011-05-26T18:52:00.001+01:00

Last Monday saw me out and about again, this time in Broomfield Park, Palmers Green.

I was with Will & Sophie, a lovely couple who's wedding I'm really looking forward to later this summer.

A pre-wedding shoot like this is really important to me, primarily as it allows me to continue to build a relationship with my clients. By the time of their wedding I hope I'll feel less like a stranger and more like a friend - and that the concept of a professional photo shoot is less daunting than it might have been previously.

A shoot like this also gives Will and Sophie a chance to feed back to me how they feel about being in front of the camera, and some guidance as to which types of photograph they like best, and want for their wedding day.

Here's some of my favourites from last week's shoot:

A few more of the day's top images are also available via my Facebook page.

Will and Sophie have been presented with a full gallery of around 50 images and then will have the pleasant task of choosing their top 10 pictures. From these I will produce a unique, complimentary 16x16 canvas, in one of three designs - all of which you can only get from Daniel Davies Photography. To see more information on these wonderful canvasses, click here.

Another thank you :-), this time for my event's coverage

2011-05-15T10:21:00.000+01:00

I never get tired of recieving letters of thanks, and recently had the pleasure of opening this letter from a client who had invited me to cover their businesses 10th Anniversary celebrations:

“I'd like to thank Dan for the excellent work he did during our recent 10 year celebrations held at our practice.

He arrived well before the first guest had come and was efficiently unobtrousive in setting up all his equipment.

He used his considerable expertise to take portrait shots of my staff and I, as well as 'action' shots of many of our guests during the event.

The images were delivered in a suitable format promptly and were of fantastic quality.

I would have no hesitation in recommending Daniel Davies Photography to my friends and colleagues

Kind regards

Deven Lakhani"

The day was great and Deven certainly got full value for his time, we managed to squeeze in some corporate headshots, like the one at the top of this article (isn't Deven a handsome chap!), and some product shots as well as covering the event itself.

I love giving exceptional value to my clients!

Dan

Laughing in Richmond Park - my latest pre-wedding shoot.

2011-05-03T19:33:00.000+01:00

Last Saturday, and another of my recent sequence of pre-wedding shots saw me in beautiful Richmond Park for a shoot with Dawn and Rob.

Spending time with these two made it impossible not to see the connection they have - one that became even more obvious when seeing how often each got the other to dissolve in fits of giggles!

Have a look at a selection of my early favourite images below:

A few more of the day's top images are also available via my Facebook page.

Rob & Dawn will shortly be presented with a full gallery of around 50 images and then will have the pleasant task of choosing their top 10 images. From these I will produce a unique, complimentary 16x16 canvas, in one of three designs - all of which you can only get from Daniel Davies Photography. To see more information on these wonderful canvasses, click here.

St. Katherines dock provides a beautiful backdrop for Jon & Luiza's Pre-wedding shoot

2011-04-26T18:00:00.002+01:00

The glorious sunshine of the weekend just gone and the beauty of London's St. Katherine's dock was an apt background for Jonathan & Luiza to slot in a pre-wedding shot ahead of their nuptials next month. The pre-wedding shoot is something I insist upon as it provides me with an excellent opportunity to work with a bride and groom ahead of their wedding, to learn a little more about what they like and don't like, and means that I'm less of a scary stranger when it comes to their wedding day. All of this adds up to one thing ... BETTER WEDDING PHOTOS ... and that's why I do it!

Here are a few highlights from saturday's shoot:

A few more of the day's top images are also available via my Facebook page.

Jon & Luzia will shortly be presented with a full gallery of around 75 images and then will have the pleasant task of choosing their top 10 images. From these I will produce a unique, complimentary 16x16 canvas, in one of three designs - all of which you can only get from Daniel Davies Photography. To see more information on these wonderful canvasses, click here.

Fran & Nick... a pre-wedding shoot on wheels!

2011-04-21T16:41:00.000+01:00

I spent a really good fun morning last Saturday with Fran & Nick - two of the nicest people you could want to photograph, as they zoomed around Island Gardens in Docklands on their in-line skates.

Fran had previously told me that they're looking for an entirely documentary coverage of their wedding this summer at the Knights Templar pub in Chancery Lane, so my usual, more posed pre-wedding session didn't seem to fit. I therefore loaded my long lens, turned the camera to high speed mode, and clicked away as Fran & Nick skated around their home. I hope you like the results:

Fran & Nick now have the pleasant chore of choosing their top 10 images from the full gallery, from which I will produce a unique, complimentary 16x16 canvas, in one of three designs - all of which you can only get from Daniel Davies Photography. To see more information on these wonderful canvasses, click here.

A groom - at top speed

2011-04-19T17:20:00.002+01:00

Part of my busy saturday was an afternoon spent with a stag party as they karted at top speeds around the great track at The Raceway on the Greenwich/Charlton borders just south of the river.

The 90 minute session looked tremendous fun, with tight corners and fast straights combining to make for some "interesting" racing. A few of the photographs of the day are below:

Getting down low to the track helped me capture this great image of some close racing.

Here, I mixed a slow shutter speed with a burst of flash to get this great "action" shot.

Someone's concentration levels could clearly do with improving!

It's the eyes that make this shot. Can you spot the tinest hint of fear?!

After racing there was the chance to capture some of the (slightly sweaty) combattents as they relived their finest moments.

You can see a full gallery of photographs on my facebook page, where simply clicking the "like" button will qualify you for an extra special complimentary pre-wedding upgrade offer.

Dan

A recommendation via Linked-in

2011-03-31T12:46:00.000+01:00

I was delighted to recieve the following recommendation from a past client via the "Linked in" professional social media network yesterday:

“On one of my website projects I had been dealing with a valued client who runs a well known physiotherapy practice. We had decided that the website would benefit from some professional photographs of the staff, facilities and techniques used. Having dealt with Dan in the past on a previous project I was happy to use him again. Dan arrived on site fully prepared and was able to set up a shoot area to take the staff photos as well as capturing some great close ups of the reatments and dynamic shots of the facilities available. Both the client and myself were exceptionally pleased with Dan's professionalism, the quality of the photography and the swift turnaround of discs containing the finished images.” March 29, 2011

It's always lovely when someone likes you, and even better when completely off their own back they send you a massive "thank you".

We produced the headshots for the website using a small corridor at the rear of the premisis as a temporary studio, which meant that we were away from the general hustle and bustle of their busy physiotherapy practice and were able to call each member of staff in for maybe 5-10 minutes as and when they were ready.

We also spent an hour or two taking some more general photographs of the practice, it's treatments and treatment rooms, once again fitting in around their clients and staff.

You can see my work on their finalised website here, and if you want a similarly professional image for your website then contact me on 020 8372 2090 / 07596 470077 or by clicking here.

Dean Vale, who produced the excellent website can be found here.

Dan

Another thank you from Lindsay & Steve

2011-02-11T10:06:00.000Z

It's always a great pleasure to receive a note of thanks from Brides and Grooms that you have worked with to photograph their weddings and this pleasure was afforded to me a couple of days ago when I recieved an email from Lindsay and Steve, who got married last autumn.

Hi Dan,

We wanted to thank you for all of your hard work on the day of our wedding and for designing our beautiful photo album that has captured so many happy memories of the day.

You did a wonderful job of making two people who are very nervous in front of cameras relax and enjoy ourselves during the pre-wedding shoot (a great idea!) and you made us feel comfortable during all of the photography on our wedding day. You listened to our views and took photographs in exactly the style we asked for. The mixture of natural and more formal shots has given us the perfect record of our day. We are very grateful for the amount of time you spent with us, from the "getting ready" stage through to the first dance and many of our friends and family commented on how friendly and unobtrusive you were.

We'd also like to thank you for your patience with us. You understood how overwhelming organising a wedding can be and gave us plenty of time and opportunity to choose exactly what we wanted without any pressure.

The album is beautiful. It was such a special moment to see the photographs printed out for the first time. The album shows all of those little details that you just can't see in the same way on the computer screen and we've taken great pleasure in showing it off to friends, family and even our neighbours!

Thanks again, Dan.

With our very best wishes,

Steve and Lindsay

Working with an experienced professional photographer means that you'll get photographs and albums that provoke similar reactions when you recieive them. If your wedding photography is important to you, then why not take a look at www.danieldaviesphotography.co.uk and see what I can do for you.

Nicole & Tyrone say "Thank you"

2011-01-18T18:03:00.009Z

I was absolutely delighted to recieve a very generous testimonial over the weekend from Nicole & Tyrone. I photographed their wedding party at the Bushey Country Club at the end of September after they had been married in the Maldives, and put together an album of photographs from both events. This is what they had to say:

16th January 2011

Dear Dan

I am writing to say a massive thank you for your photographic services leading up to and on the day of our wedding party. We were thoroughly impressed with your professionalism; and Tyrone and I thought you were brilliant in making us feel relaxed on the day of our pre-wedding shoot which really helped us know what to expect at the wedding party. We feel that you truly captured the spirit of the day and the finished product; the storybook album is absolutely stunning; something we will be able to treasure forever.

Our friends and family also really enjoyed receiving the cool thank you cards; and being able to view the pictures online!

Many thanks again

Nicole and Tyrone

It's always a huge pleasure to recieve such a generous testimonial from such a lovely couple. Their Wedding party was fantastic, with a great venue, beautiful surroundings and a bunch of really fun people. In turn I wish them both a long and successful marriage. Given how happy they looked on their wedding day, I have no doubt that they'll acheive this!

Dan

Professional Corporate Headshots: Mike Varney Physiotheraphy

2011-01-11T19:18:00.001Z

Just before Christmas, I had the pleasure of visiting the lovely people at Mike Varney Physiotherapy at their superbly appointed practice in Harlow, Essex. Amongst other things they had asked me to create some corporate headshots of their staff.

A scout around the practice showed me a suitable out of the way place to set up, and so at the end of a corridor, sandwiched between the Sports Hall and the Fire Exit, I set up my lights ready for my subjects.

I spent between five and ten minutes with each member of Mike's team, running through some simple variations on poses and taking maybe 20-30 shots of each of them. These were returned to the practice the next day, and I invited them to select 2-3 shots each for final retouching.

I completed the retouch the week after Christmas, delivering them on DVD in a range of resolutions, and sending a copy to the excellent Dean Vale, who manages their website.

The practice made their final selection and Dean has now uploaded these to their website.

Take a closer look here and see how a consistently exposed, professionally shot and finished headshot can help lift your website, and your personal profile above the mundane.

Because Mike and his team have my images on a DVD they can also use the images for any other promotional purposes - pay once, use many times - in a shrinking economy that's the kind of offer that no one can afford to ignore.

DAnalogue Photowalk - My results

2010-11-30T13:46:00.002Z

Saturday afternoon, and despite the bitter cold and grey skies I found myself amongst four exceptionally talented photographers for the first ever. "DAnalogue" photowalk.

The aim of the walk was to get us all to slow down and think more about composition and exposure by taking us back to the 'analogue' days of 36 exposures, a fixed ISO speed and no LCD display giving us instant feedback.

A roll of tape was used to blackout our displays and I have to say it felt immediately uncomfortable not to have the 'crutch' of seeing your results straight away. In fact I wasn't alone in instintively going to check the display after taking my first few shots.

Like most of my friends, I decided on 400ISO, but with the light levels low and dropping throughout the walk and with the 5D's great handling of noise, I probably should have gone to 640 or 800. Hindsights a great thing isn't it?

This meant that much of my time was spent looking for props to wedge the camera or my body against, so that I could get away with the lower shutter speeds necessary.

Here's a few of my favourite shots from the day:

Some of the other guys on the walk have also published their results. Check out Callum Winton's, Mark Hewitson's and Quoc Huy's.

Let me know if you're interested in joining me the next time I do something similar (although I reserve the right to wait until the weather improves!).

Dan

TODAY'S DAnalogue Photowalk Final Details

2010-11-27T08:08:00.001Z

A previously mentioned the talented @GlynDewis and I will be putting on the first DANALOGUE (That's Digital Analogue) Photowalk in London THIS AFTERNOON

The walk will start at around 2pm from the Market Porter pub in Borough Market - nearest tube is London Bridge. Glyn and I will be there from around 1:30 if you wish to partake of some pre-walk sustainance.

Central London "Danalogue" Photowalk, more details:

2010-11-11T15:42:00.000Z

A previously mentioned the talented @GlynDewis and I will be putting on the first DANALOGUE (That's Digital Analogue) Photowalk in London in a couple of weeks.

I can now announce further details:

The walk will start at around 2pm from the Market Porter pub in Borough Market - nearest tube is London Bridge. Glyn and I will be there from around 1:30 if you wish to partake of some pre-walk sustainance.

A stroll through the market ought to give us the opportunity for some shots of the shoppers, stall holders and colourful stalls before we begin wandering down the South Bank towards our Tower Bridge destination (where the River Bar will await our arrival.

To join in you'll need a Digital SLR which - by dint of a clever set of rules and some tape will be transported back to it's analogue equivalent. These rules are

* Before starting on the walk, you will be asked to select a single ISO setting, which you should stick to throughout.
* A maximum of 36 exposures are to be taken whilst on the walk.
* We will supply some electrical tape which will temporarily cover your LCD, taking you back to the pre-digital days of NO INSTANT FEEDBACK!

At the end of the walk we’ll meet up, and with the help of a couple of laptops can compare results and discuss our experiences. The aim is to remember the often lost skill of thinking before pressing the shutter, and upping our "shoot it right first time" rates.

If you’d like to take part, meet a few new friends and polish up your skills, then please fill in your details below or contact me via my website and we'll be in touch.

Dan

Blowing my own trumpet - I'm Published!

2010-11-05T12:20:00.000Z

Time for a little "trumpet blowing" if you don't mind.

I've just received my copy of Where are they Now - Chelsea, a lovely book detailing what's happened to a number of players since retiring from the game and no longer pulling on the shirt of the mighty blues.

It's a perfect Christmas present for the Chelsea supporter in your family (and shouldn't every family have a Chelsea supporter in it!

Here's a few samples from the book:

Finally, a couple of reminders about recent blog entries:

With Bonfire night upon us, check out my post on how to take great fireworks photographs and;

Why not check out my DANalogue Photowalk at the end of November?

Happy shooting!

Dan

Announcing the first Central London "DANalogue" photowalk with Glyn Dewis

2010-11-03T08:43:00.000Z

Digital Photography is easy eh? All the technical advances of the past 15 years coming together to make photographing anything almost 'Childs Play' right?

Well – there’s some truth to the above statement, but it’s really no more than part of a bigger picture (pun intended!).

If you can get your exposure spot on first time, if you can frame quickly and effectively, and if you can get the right shot the with the very first press of your shutter button then you’re going to spend more time creating great images and less time rescuing average images with the help of hours of expensively acquired Photoshop skills.

As an aid to developing those “right first time, every time” skills and as a fun way for a few committed photographers to get together and spend a couple of hours in a supportive environment; I’ve got together with with good friend and all round photographic guru, Glyn Dewis to put together an “analogue” photowalk, which will take place in London on Saturday 27th November 2010.

Those of you who took part in any of Scott Kelby's World Wide Photo Walk’s last summer will know what a photo walk is – if you don’t then have a look back on the walks that Glyn and Dan hosted earlier this year

Of course DANalogue is a (pretty weak) pun on my name and the word "Analogue". When I say analogue, we’re not going to ask you to throw away your shiny new Nikon’s and Canon’s in favour of something from the ark, but we will be introducing a set of rules that will (almost) turn your DSLR into its pre-digital equivalent.

These are:

* Before starting on the walk, you will be asked to select a single ISO setting, which you should stick to throughout.
* A maximum of 36 exposures are to be taken whilst on the walk.
* We will supply some electrical tape which will temporarily cover your LCD, taking you back to the pre-digital days of NO INSTANT FEEDBACK!

At the end of the walk we’ll meet up, and with the help of a couple of laptops can compare results and discuss our experiences.

If you’d like to take part, meet a few new friends and polish up your skills, then please fill in your details below or contact me via my website and we'll be in touch.

North London Photographer: Tips from a Professional #5 - Photographing Fireworks

2010-11-02T14:42:00.002Z

With Bonfire night fast approaching, and the family dog beginning to cower in the cupboard on a nightly basis, Firework season is definitely upon us. In the course of photographing weddings through the years, I’ve had plenty of opportunity to hone my own skills photographing Fireworks displays. I therefore thought I’d bring you my top tips for creating memorable images of this November’s great displays.

The first thing to say is that to successfully photograph fireworks you will almost certainly need a digital SLR camera, and enough knowledge to shoot in manual mode. Apologies go to those who find this post a little more technical than my usual offerings.

TOP TIP NUMBER 1: USE A TRIPOD.

To create striking photographs of light trails as fireworks streak through the night sky takes long exposures – usually of several seconds or more. However good your handholding technique, without a tripod you will introduce shake into your photographs, so make sure to get a good sturdy base for your camera – almost certainly a tripod. You’ll also need some kind of remote release so that you can open the shutter without introducing some shake as your finger depresses the shutter release button.

Many images can also be ruined by light “leaking” onto the sensor through the viewfinder. Most camera straps contain a cap that can be fixed over the viewfinder to prevent this, or do as I do and slip a lens end cap over the rubber viewfinder guard. The rubber keeps the end cap in place and I find it a little less likely to fall than the one on the camera strap.

TOP TIP NUMBER 2: SET YOUR ISO CORRECTLY.

Most people’s intuition suggests that to capture the low level of light from fireworks on a pitch dark night would require a high ISO setting, perhaps in the range of 1600 to 3200. This is not the case. The light from fireworks is very bright, but very localised. To maximise the quality of your images, set the camera’s ISO to a low number (maybe 50, if your camera has it or 100 ISO). This will give you the longest safe exposures, the lowest amount of noise, and the maximum recovery of detail around the bright highlights of the firework.

TOP TIP NUMBER 3: FIND THE RIGHT LOCATION.

Well before the display is scheduled to start you need to have scouted a great location. You’ll probably want to go away from the main vantage point for several reasons.
1. It may be too close to the display to allow you to capture the entire scene
2. It’ll probably be too busy and your rock solid tripod will get in the way and probably be knocked at the critical moment
3. You might want to also capture some foreground images (maybe a bonfire, or the stately home or whatever hosting the display). This gives a sense of scale and point of interest instead of the photographs becoming almost abstract images, solely of streaks of light.

TOP TIP NUMBER 4: SET YOUR FOCUS MANUALLY

Usually setting to infinity will be great. If you are particularly close, then find a lit object about the same distance away from you as the display is, focus once on that and then immediately knock your camera into Manual Focus mode.

TOP TIP NUMBER 5: BRING A TORCH & SOME FINGERLESS GLOVES!

Cameras are fiddly beasts, and it can be difficult in the best of conditions to find the right button to change the right setting. Photographing fireworks almost always means that you’ll be out in the cold and dark. Fingerless gloves keep your hands a little warmer without compromising precision and a torch can be invaluable to shine on your camera when you’re searching for a particular setting to change.

TOP TIP NUMBER 6: USE SMALL APERTURES AND BRACKET EXPOSURES

As with almost any type of photography, choosing to shoot in RAW mode will give you more flexibility to correct exposures after the event, but to minimise the amount of work you have to do in post processing you should be prepared to set the camera in manual mode, and bracket your exposures for best results. A good starting point is somewhere in the region of 8-20 seconds at f/8 ISO 100.

You will want the sky to be black and the fireworks bright but not “blown out”. The LCD on the back of the camera can only give you an approximation of this, but the histogram that can also be displayed can & should be used to give you the best exposure:

Good Exposure

This histogram image shows a large chunk of Black, meaning that the sky is nicely inky black, and the highlights are close to the right hand edge, but not so far right that they are “blown out” and thus recorded as pure white on the image.

Bad Exposure #1

The gap on the left hand side of the histogram shows that the sky isn’t recorded as black. This will give you problems later when trying to combine images.

Bad Exposure #2

The right hand side of the histogram shows that the highlights are blown out – the detail is being lost in the lights of the fireworks.

For more information on how to interpret histograms see this excellent resource here.

TOP TIP NUMBER 7: COMBINE EXPOSURES FOR MORE DRAMATIC IMPACT

There are two easy ways to combine exposures – you can do this either “in camera” – at the time of shooting, or you can use Photoshop or some other editing program to do it after the event.

To combine exposures in camera, you’ll need to set the camera to “bulb” mode. Most remote releases will support this in that the first press will open the shutter and the second close it. A piece of black card can be used to cover the end of the lens up between ‘bursts’ of fireworks. If you remove it as the fireworks streak upwards and replace it when it’s more quiet you can combine several fireworks into one single shot. Just be careful not to knock the lens with the card and spoil your hard work.

Alternatively you can use an editing program to combine your exposures. Again make very sure that the black sky is actually black (use the “Levels” command in Photoshop or the “Blacks” slider in Lightroom to correct this if necessary). It should then be a simple job to select an interesting area of one image and paste it onto another. The “Screen” blend mode is your friend here.

TOP TIP NUMBER 8: HAVE FUN!

Photographing fireworks is great fun and not something that can be done all year around. It’s also very different from everyday photography, so give it a whirl and remember with digital it’s not costing you anything to try and fail. Follow my tips above and you’ll be on the road to success.

I’d love to see any pictures that you do manage to create following these tips. Please feel free to use the comments feature below to point me to your images!

Dan

Catching up: Family fun in the Studio

2010-10-29T18:04:00.000+01:00

With apologies to blog readers, I'm still in catch up mode. Today I'm going to take you through a few family portraits taken recently in our North London Studio.

It's always great to get a family who are ready to be creative, have fun and really enjoy a photoshoot and so it was when Solomon, his wife and daughter joined me a few weeks back for a happy hour with me a few weeks ago.

I love this image - no distractions but captures the love and sense of fun that only a mother and daughter can have.

Young Ellie settled quickly into the role of international supermodel - maybe a portent for the future?

Sometimes the best images come through play and not through posing. Ellie seemed particularly susceptible to the 'tickle treatment'!

And having been the victim of a little rib-tickling Ellie seemed keen that she should turn the tables on her own Dad!

In fact she found it so funny, that for a few moments she could only roll around on the floor in fits of giggles!

In a quiet moment (and thanks to Ellies phenomenal energy levels, there weren't many!) I took the chance to make a few images of Mum & Dad...

...Before returning to focus on the undoubted star of the show, who by now was loving the camera!

A final shot of Ellie on her own, where I tried to create a sense of her smallness and vulnerbility with this shot.

Sometimes it's not just about the single images themselves. Here I've combined two complimentary shots to create this one canvas that I think really showcases Ellie and her Dad perfectly.

A huge thank you to all three of you for the fun, energy and spirit you brought into my studio last month. It really is a pleasure to create great images of such great people!

Dan

Catching up: Hyde Park, the perfect pre-wedding photoshoot location?

2010-10-13T16:21:00.001+01:00

Another in my series of catch-up blog postings today as I look back to Abi & Ricardo's pre-wedding shoot in Hyde Park last month.

An early arrival and a scout around the park confirmed what I had originally imagined - that there were a million possible locations for shooting. One of the many great things about this career is that it frequently gives me the opportunity for new discoveries.

As a Londoner for most of my (ahem) 40 years, I pride myself on having a pretty good knowledge of most of the capital, but it's frequently when walking around a location having arrived early in case of possible travel delays that I make new discoveries.

I must have been through Hyde Park more than a thousand times in my life, but I still didn't know of it's police station and I had never spotted the fact that each plinth on the Albert Memorial depicted a different continent. Being a photographer encourages you to "look" really closely and in London there's so much to learn.

So, onto the shoot itself. I offer every couple whos wedding I photograph a complimentary pre-wedding shoot. Actually I almost insist upon having one. Quite apart from being a load of fun, these have a very defined purpose. On your wedding day, as bride & groom you'll spend more time with your wedding photographer than anyone else (apart from each other!). Imagine how difficult that is if you don't know or feel comfortable with that. A pre-wedding shoot allows us to continue to build a relationship that serves us well on the nervous big day. It also allows me to try out various styles of photography and find out which the couple is happiest with - meaning that we don't waste any time on your wedding day taking photographs that will never see the light of day.

We met at the beautiful Serpentine Cafe (great Eggs Benedict!) before heading off to begin the days shooting.

We started on the Bridge over the Serpentine. Couples who are not used to being in front of the camera (i.e. pretty much everyone) often find it easier, at least to begin with if they aren't looking directly at the camera & the photographer so I often begin with an image taken with the couple looking adoringly at each other. Quite apart from that it's great fun to see how long any given couple can "hold" this look without dissolving into fits of laughter!

I think that we came closer to the "moment of giggle" in this second shot taken in front of the Diana memorial fountain!

The Albert Memorial gave us our next location, and next challenge.

The technical set up of the image was relatively easy, the pose was easy (for the couple at least - any excuse for a kiss!) but the challenge was negotiating in several languages with the hoards of tourists who randomly walked across the frame, or even took a seat behind the couple. I'll have to insist that my next pre-wedding shoot in the park begins at 5:00 am.

We moved slightly for the next shot, allowing the Albert Hall to share top billing with Abi & Ricardo. I underexposed the background slightly, allowing some detail to be recorded in what looked at first glance a flat grey sky, using the flash to bring the light back for my relaxed couple in the foreground.

Walking from location to location, I glanced down to see my couples hands entwined. Asking them to stop for a second I grabbed this:

The bright colours of Abi & Ricardo's clothing help this one to sing out and confirm that good images are everywhere if you only keep your eyes open. I call it "looking with intent".

Finally for today, we took the chance to try and grab a deck-chair without being accosted by an attendent looking for our daily fee for doing so:

I worked through a variety of colour and black & white options in Lightroom, before deciding that this fun mix complimented their relaxed pose.

So, at the end of the shoot I felt I knew Abi & Ricardo a little better, was aware of how relaxed and easy to direct they were (thanks guys!) and in short can't wait to Photograph their wedding at the end of October.

Dan

Catching up: London Style at Nicola & Ben's Chancery Lane Wedding

2010-10-12T17:05:00.000+01:00

September was a mad, but hugely fun month at Daniel Davies Photography. As a result, I've been rather naughty with regards to my blogging. It's time to catch up!

The month started with a very lovely wedding in Central London's Chancery Lane. I arrived at the Knights Templar pub bright and early and was amazed at how beautiful it is. The walls and ceilings are so much prettier than I had imagined (and I even had time for a tour of the ladies - before any guests arrived I should add - which were truly stunning). Jan Swords, the pubs manager was incredibly helpful and couldn't have done more to make the bride & grooms day go swimmingly. Massive cudos to her and her friendly team.

I spent a lovely hour or so before the session strolling around Fleet Street, Chancery Lane and the local area. I always leave a good couple of hours spare before a wedding just in case of any traffic delays, and spending this quiet time in such lovely surroundings made for the perfect preparation for my long days work as well as giving me a few more ideas for locations for shots later that day.

Bang on time, the ceremony began, meaning that there was just time for me to capture this lovely image

of the nervous groom with his sister, waiting impatiently for his bride to make her entrance.

The registrar's were great, very relaxed and the ceremony itself flowed easily. Here's the great moment when the new Mr. & Mrs. Minto took their first kiss as a married couple:

We headed outside for the posed part of the day, a mixture of traditional, formal family groups and some more relaxed shots of the Bride & Groom together, enjoying a quick half hour away from the throng of guests. As we walked up to the location for the formal shots, I couldn't help noticing the immaculately dressed young chap in front of me and as he turned to look for his parents, captured this lovely moment:

How grown up does he look!

After the formals, we headed into nearby Lincoln Inns Fields where together with the newlyweds, I created this fab shot.

I decided to slightly mute the colours to give the image a timeless feel - you can see how the Bride & Groom are lovely and relaxed now the scary part of their day is more or less done!

We finished these shots in Chancery Lane itself, where I deliberately took a low position so as to include the street sign in the image, so that it had a sense of place. A little photoshop work removed the stray "stop the war" sticker from the corner of the sign and we were done.

Back into the Knight's Templar and scandal ensued! It seemed that the Groom had been spreading his love around and that another woman wanted to snatch him back.

No sooner had the cake been cut and there she was, desperate to drag him away from his bride! Grandparents are truly a blessing and it was lovely that she was around to see her Grandson so smart and so very happy.

When the first dance comes, I usually try and set up some lights away from the camera. This creates drama and allows me to focus attention on the bride and groom in a way that's not otherwise possible.

I love how this image echoes the feeling that most brides and grooms have at this time (I know I did when I got married) that you are the only people in the room as you move gracefully across the dancefloor.

I finished with some silhouette shots, and these were enhanced by the light bouncing off the bubbles blown across the dancefloor by the younger guests at the wedding:

It was only when I got home and processed the images that I caught sight of the beautiful young face, eyes wide and smiling broadly in the corner of the frame in this lovely shot.

Nicola and Ben were kind enough to ask me to stay on and relax for a while once my work day was complete - this was typical of the generosity that they showed to everyone throughout the day. Nicola, you looked stunning in that beautiful dress and Ben and the boys defined "dapper" with their matching outfits. Thank you so much for inviting me to record your day - I hope that you'll be happy with the images and that you'll look forward to viewing them for years to come.

Dan

North London Photographer: Lindsay & Steve get married - Sneak Preview

2010-08-31T11:34:00.000+01:00

The bank holiday weekend meant a chance for a lovely Sunday wedding in Edmonton, North London where I was delighted to capture Steve & Lindsay Sluter's big day.

From the moment I stepped into Lindsay's parents house in Ponders End to the time that I left the reception, with many thanks ringing in my ears, everyone made a special attempt to make me feel welcome and as a result I really enjoyed my day.

I've had a first look at the images from the day - here's a few that jumped out at me.

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Everyone here wishes Steve and Lindsay a long and happy marriage and we hope they're busy enjoying their honeymoon. We'll have the full gallery ready for selection from pretty soon.

North London Photographer: Short Notice Outdoor Portraits

2010-08-11T14:55:00.005+01:00

I took a short notice call last week from a client who needed some professional portraits for her own use. She told me that she needed them provided back to her that same day as this was her only free day in the near future.

Fortunately I was able to jiggle a few things out, but unfortunately I didn't have access to the studio at that short a notice. We therefore agreed that we'd take a walk in Enfield's Town Park and take some photographs that featured her in it's beautiful surrounds.

We met in the early afternoon and strolled into the park. Fortunately the skies were cloudy - which made for a beautiful soft light we could use to both of our advantages.

Here are a few of my favourite shots that we took in our hour together:

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

I returned to the office and spent a short while processing the images, before uploading them to my website where my client was able to choose her favourite six shots. These were then emailed out the same evening and the job was complete barely 12 hours after the original call.

Great fun, and very pleasing to be able to react so quickly and give my client what she needed. An email of thanks from my client later that night gave me a final warm feeling of a job well done and then it was "time for bed"!

Dan.

North London Photographer: Guerilla Portraits @ My Coffee Stop for Chicken Shed

2010-08-10T10:29:00.000+01:00

I spent a few hours last week with my good friends, Karen & Gunther from MyCoffeeStop (the best little coffee shop in Enfield!) running what I called a "Guerilla Portrait" session for their customers.

I say "Guerilla" as we caught customers as they arrived for their morning refreshments and spent only a few moments with each of them taking some inpromptu portraits.

I arrived at 6:00 a.m. and set up my lights & camera and spent a few hours photographing anyone who was up for it. Each of my subjects made a donation to the Chicken Shed Theatre group as a "sitting fee" and their photographs have been placed on my website from where they may purchase prints or files for their social media profiles. All profits from this will also be donated to Chicken Shed.

A few of my favourite images can be viewed below:

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

and this video shows some more:

We all had a lot of fun, overcoming the difficulties of taking photographs and serving coffee, all against the clock (the trains were running to time unfortunately!) in a very small space. We'll look to do something similar again soon.

Dan

Scott Kelby's 3rd Annual World Wide Photo Walk - ENFIELD: We have a Winner!

2010-08-08T10:10:00.002+01:00

If I had my life to live over, I would have sat on the lawn and not worried about grass stains., originally uploaded by Tyla'75.

After a great days shooting with a fabulous bunch of people, Michelle & I had the unenviable task of picking a "winner" from the shots submitted to the World Wide Photo Walk website from our Enfield walk a fortnight ago.

I say "winner" in quotation marks, as the day really isn't about competition - it's much more about having a great time with some really interesting people and coming together to take some shots that you perhaps usually would not - maybe even learning some more in the process.

However, a winner does need to be selected - with a choice of photo editing books by the great Scott Kelby as a prize, and our winner is the perfectly captured candid from Tyla Arabas.

We love the simplicity of the black & white transformation, and the way the branches of the nearby tree frame the image. The stolen moment between two lovers completes the capture. Congratulations Tyla.

Can't wait to do it all again next year!

Dan

North London Photographer: Sneak Preview of Steve & Lindsay's Pre-wedding Shoot

2010-07-29T16:00:00.005+01:00

Despite the ever present risk of rain, I spent a very pleasant evening with Steve & Lindsay at Forty Hall in Enfield yesterday. I really enjoy these pre-wedding shoots as it gives me a chance to get to know my wedding couples a little better.

It's always great to photograph a couple very obviously in love, and Steve & Lindsay fitted together really well, in the way that only a couple completely comfortable in, and confident with each other can do.

Lindsay was a natural poser (and I mean that in the best possible way!) and Steve a quick learner.

Here's a sneak preview of some of my favourites from yesterday.

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

The full gallery will be posted to my website shortly, from where Steve & Lindsay will be able to pick their most loved image for a complimentary print.

Can't wait to see you two married, guys!

North London Photographer: Wonderful #WWPW in Enfield

2010-07-26T08:32:00.000+01:00

Just a quick note of thanks to everyone above here (and the wonderful Mrs D. who took this pic) for making my first ever photowalk such a success.

I had a great time and made some lovely new friends - I really look forward to making next year's walk even better.

You can view some of the images from the day in the Enfield PhotoWalk 2010 Flickr Pool

All the best

Dan

North London Photographer: Tips from a Professional #4 - Top 10 Free Software Downloads for Digital Photographers

2010-07-23T11:00:00.001+01:00

As a professional, everything I do has to be “top notch”. This is achieved by having the best of everything – cameras, lenses, flashes & lighting accessories & software (not to mention the techniques learned in over 20 years of photography). Now not everyone is in the position to make this kind of investment in what may only be a hobby, but I do strongly believe that with a little bit of time, anyone can make their own photographs better.

As well as my ongoing series of tips on how to take better photos, I’ll be looking at how to make the photos you’ve already taken look better. You probably don’t need to go out and spend £600 on the latest version of Adobe
Photoshop – you’d be unlikely to use even 10% of its features and the time spent learning to cope with its complexities would be largely wasted. I believe that you’d be far better spending your money on a better camera, lens or some training instead.

In fact – there’s a wealth of software out there which can dramatically improve your photographs and won’t cost you a bean.

Here’s a list of my Top 10 of Free Software Downloads for Digital Photographers.

As a PC user, I will concentrate on those available for Windows, though many of these applications are available for the Apple Mac also.

So, in no particular order:

1. IRFANVIEW
http://www.irfanview.com/

This has been around for as long as I can remember, and began as a simple image viewer. It has developed into an application which will also allow you to optimise your photographs, print them at their best quality, create interesting slideshows and to automatically enhance whole batches of photos in one go.

It still is mainly used as an image viewer, but the extra features are easy to learn and even if you simply use it to crop a few of your images, you’ll be surprised at how much more impact they can have.

2. PICASA
http://picasa.google.co.uk/

From the friendly giants at Google, Picasa also allows some basic enhancement of your images (the automatic contrast enhancement can be quite an eye opener) – but its real use is in archiving and managing your photo library.

When you’ve got more images than you can comfortably manage (pretty soon in my experience!) then being able to find a particular photograph quickly becomes a real issue. Picasa will help you do this. It has many of the features found in expensive alternatives like Aperture & Lightroom and is, like everything from Google - free to use.

3. HUGIN
http://hugin.sourceforge.net/

One way to get more out of your camera is to take a series of overlapping photographs and then to join them together – making a panoramic (wide) image. It is possible to “stitch” your photos together manually but it’s a slow and tedious job. Software does this much more effectively and Hugin is a free, simple and effective way to do this.

4. GIMP
http://www.gimp.org/

GIMP stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program and is often referred to as the free alternative to Adobe Photoshop.

Features include curves adjustment, selection tools, brushes, gradients, dodge & burn and other image editing essentials. For intermediate and advanced photographers it’s a viable free alternative to a full version of Photoshop, although the somewhat idiosyncratic interface can take some acclimatising to. GIMP is quite advanced, so if you’re a beginner (and you don’t recognise some of the terms earlier in this paragraph) you’d be better looking elsewhere

5. SKYDRIVE
http://skydrive.live.com/

If you’re lucky enough not to have lost data through a computer or hard drive failure so far, then it’s only a matter of time until you do!

Without a good backup of your images, years of your work and precious memories could be lost forever.

SkyDrive allows you to backup your files and photos and offers 25GB of free online storage with password protection, drag-and-drop uploading, and access from multiple locations.

6. PHOTOSHOP EXPRESS
http://www.photoshop.com/

Photoshop Express as the name suggests, is developed by Adobe – the people behind industry standard (and expensive) software like Photoshop CS5 and Lightroom. It’s fast, intuitive and offers 2GB free online storage. It runs online, so there’s no need to install any software on your PC.

Amongst other things Photoshop Express allows you to crop, rotate, resize, adjust exposure, remove red-eye, touch-up, adjust saturation, white balance, highlights, fill light, sharpen or soften your images. It is designed to Adobe’s high standards with an almost obsessive attention to detail. It can “get you out of jail” if you are away from your main PC and need to do a bit of basic image editing.

You can have a quick play with it by clicking here.

7. MEDIACHANCE – CLEANSKIN FX
http://www.mediachance.com/digicam/cleanskin.htm

CleanSkinFX is a “one trick pony” but it performs that trick very well. It’s used for cleaning up & smoothing the skin in portrait shots. It retains detail such as hair, eyes and the background but beautifies your subjects with lovely smooth skin.

8 – MEDIACHANCE - FREE DIGITAL CAMERA ENHANCER
http://www.mediachance.com/digicam/enhancer.htm

If you’re looking to try and rescue photographs that look a little off then this is a quick and easy way to do it. It corrects colour, shadows and tries to rescue photos that would have been great "if only the flash had fired".

9. PHOTOFILTRE
http://photofiltre.free.fr/frames_en.htm

PhotoFiltre is a basic, but capable image editor. It offers a simple, elegant user interface with a lot of one-click image adjustments, filters, and effects. It’s very good at helping you navigate your disks for image files, and once found has decent drawing, painting, retouching and selection tools. It can be used to batch enhance multiple images effectively.

10. NEAT IMAGE
http://www.neatimage.com/download.html

Images taken in dark conditions often suffer from lots of digital noise

this dappling effect reduces the quality of pictures taken in such conditions.
The Demo edition of Neat Image is free for private use. Don't be thrown by the name - it's fully featured. Professional editions are available costing up to $75 US. The way in which it removes the noise is identical to the expensive edition, but the free one limits you to removing noise one file at a time.

The results can be extraordinary: all the noise - and only the noise - is filtered out, leaving the rest of the image sharp and clear. The really surprising result is that fine detail is retained, even when the detail is so small that it's apparently finer than the noise itself.

So, there you have it. Ten pieces of free software that can be used to help you get the best out of your existing and future photographs. In the weeks and months to come I’ll talk more about how to use some of these to get the best results possible. Keep checking back for details.

Until then – keep taking photographs!

Dan

North London Photographer: Tips from a Professional #3 - Photographing Pets & Animals

2010-07-10T10:15:00.000+01:00

In the third of my occasional series of hints and tips, I look at a typical subject for everyday shooting; family pets and other animals.

Like the rest of this series, I will concentrate on technique. I firmly believe that good photography is a function of good technique & emotional contact with the subject and not solely the result of the most expensive equipment or the most up to date software.

So, with the weather set fair, why not put some of these tips into action and grab some great shots of the four legged friends of your family.

-------------------------------------

Many of these tips are equally important when photographing humans & that is certainly the case for my first piece of advice:

1. FILL THE FRAME.

Whilst you may need to be a bit careful when photographing crocodiles or tigers, most domestic animals are really quite friendly. There really is no excuse not to have your subject dominating the frame. Get in close for impact!

2. DON'T BLAST WITH FLASH.

Unlike humans, Dogs & Cat's don't suffer with "red eye" where the light from a camera's flashgun reflects back to the camera as a glowing, demonic red, but they do suffer with "green eye". Worse still, many have silky, shiny fur which will also badly reflect the light from a camera flash. Rather than shooting indoors or at night, try and capture your pet outdoors in normal daylight. Don't pick the middle of the day when the light is overhead and strong, but morning or evening, or even an overcast day will help you best.

This way, the flash use will be at a mimimum (remembering my advice about "fill flash" here), the shine and "green eye" will be controlled, and your photograph will be more natural and much more pleasing.

3. GET DOWN TO THEIR LEVEL.

Shooting your pet whilst you stand up will mean that you're looking down on them. Unless (like in the example below) you are looking to emphasise their diminuative stature, then you should try and shoot from their eye level. See the world from their perspective and you'll get a more natural portrait of your animal.

4. FOCUS ON THE EYES.

Every good portrait must have the eyes in focus. This is true of humans or animals. An added complexity of many animals over humans is the length of their snouts.

Autofocus cameras generally try to focus on the closest thing to the lens. In the case of dogs, horses or here donkeys! their long faces mean that this is often the tip of the nose.

To avoid this you need to learn the focus/recompose trick. When looking through the viewfinder, or on the back screen of your camera, the points of focus are generally shown as small boxes or crosses. When the camera focuses, these light up in red. If this is focussing on the snout then hold the focus point (cross or box) over the animals eyes. Half press down the shutter. This will "lock" the focus at that distance. You can then "recompose" the picture by slightly moving the camera so that it is framed as you wish. Without lifting your finger, fully press the shutter and the picture will be taken, the eyes will be in focus, and the snout pleasantly blurred.

(See here for a more detailed explanation of this trick)

5. CONSIDER THE BACKGROUND

Try and photograph your pets against a background that is complimentary to their colouring. Your eyes should be drawn to the pet itself, and bright spots in the background or similar will distract the viewer away from the pet.

In the example below, with the black dog, the eyes are drawn to the video recorder in the background and away from the animal itself. The complimentary, evenly coloured background in the image of the blue marl collie contains nothing to distract from her friendly face.

7. CAPTURE THEM BEHAVING LIKE ANIMALS.

If you ask your children to sit still, bolt upright and force a grin, you'll get some horribly staid, obviously posed, almost starched shots. The same is true for portraits of your pet. If you want to capture an image that really says something about the animal, then why not try and catch it "in action". Photograph it doing what it loves to do. Running, chasing a ball, stalking it's toys are all examples of perfect opportunities for greating great memories. Remember you can take as many shots as you like, delete all the duff ones and keep the one or two that really do work. These are the pictures that will most make you smile when you look back in years to come.

I hope that you've found these helpful. Put these tips into practice and you'll be surprised at how much they can improve your photography. Use the comments below to drop me a message linking to any photographs you take that follow these tips. I'd love to see them.

Keep snapping!

All the best.

Dan

North London Professional Photographer: Corporate Portraits for Friendly St. Albans' Solicitors

2010-07-07T16:30:00.000+01:00

A tough assignment this week, as I was tasked with making solicitors look human! All jokes aside, my clients were a friendly and welcoming partnership in St. Albans, and they, alongside their web-designer had asked me to create some portraits of the partners to show them both as professional and approachable.

One of the keys to this kind of assignment is the need to work at speed. We utilised a corner of one of the partners office for the initial shots, before lugging my lights around the building to capture each partner in their own offices.

Making each partner comfortable in front of the camera in the minimum time possible meant that we got the shots we wanted with the minimum disruption. Each client spent less than 10 minutes with me - with the rest of my time being taken up with ensuring that everything was set up to get me the shots I wanted first time, every time.

I then had the unusual pleasure of being able to spend an hour or so walking through the town centre capturing some of the local sights and vista's - looking for shots that could be used as banner illustrations on their new website currenly being crafted by the experts at e-WebConsulting.

If you want better images for your family or business then keep reading this blog. In the weeks to come I'll be showing you how you can improve your own photography and create more memorable, more engaging images.

Until then, all the best.

Dan

North London Photographer: Are Professional Prints "worth it"?

2010-06-29T13:00:00.000+01:00

Like any professional photographer, I get asked from time to time for a CD or DVD of images, so that my customers can get their own prints made.   My response is always the same - that I'm reluctant to do this as the quality of print/canvas/wall print that I can get from trade suppliers is always higher than the equivalent products from the "High Street".

So that I can be really happy to say this, from time to time I produce test prints from my own supplier and compare those against major "consumer" brands. I thought it would be useful to show you the results of my latest comparison.

I began by submitting exactly the same file, an image taken from a recent wedding to both my usual "professional" lab and to perhaps the leading online "consumer" labatory out there. The Image was taken on my usual Canon 5D Mk II with a 24-70 lens.

The first comparison comes in terms of delivery time.   The pro lab had the files back to me 2 days after I sent it, whereas for the consumer lab I needed to wait one additional day.   Now both services used the standard mail service so whether this delay was down to the lab or the post office I can't say for certain.

In terms of packaging, both items came very securely packed and consequentally the prints reached me in A1 condition.

I've scanned in both of the prints (again not adjusting anything apart from the resolution) and thought I'd upload the images and talk you through some of the differences.

Looking first at the "consumer" print in isolation and it seemed well, OK. Apart from the reds of the Grooms coat looking a little blocky it at first glance at least, looked very acceptable.

Reduced size scan of full "consumer lab" print.

The first thing I noticed when comparing it with the Professional print was the comparative lack of contrast.    True the colour tone was pretty good, but the contrast missing from the consumer print meant it lacked the same level of "pop".

Reduced size scan of full "professional lab" print.

I then looked more closely at the two prints and it was here that the differences really jumped out at me.
Firstly the professional lab print looked much sharper and contained an incredible amount more detail than the consumer print (the remaining images in this blog entry are full resolution crops from the untouched scans of the original prints).

The added detail captured by the high quality sensor in the 5D was getting lost in the muddy blur of the consumer print - have a look at the groom's belt buckle for perhaps the best example.

The next area where the professional print scored well was how it held the detail in the highlights. There's little point in a bride investing large sums of money on a beautiful dress only to skimp on the printing and having all of her memories showing only a feint blur where the jewels sat.

Finally I looked at both the brides bouquet and the folds of the foot of her dress. Again for me the detail is "night & day" - the professional print recording more detail more sharply and retaining highlight (shades of white) detail far better than the consumer one.

As a professional photographer, the quality of image that I present to my clients is of absolutely paramount importance. Not only do I want them to be "wowed", I want any of their friends, relatives or colleagues who see my work to be similarly impressed by my high standard of work.   If I allow my customers to print their own images then I'm losing out on one of the major ways I can do this.     Photographers who don't sell "images on CD" are not necessarily looking to make major extra profit from their own print sales, they just care passionately about showing their work at the highest possible quality always. Respect their craft and you'll get the best in return.

North London Photographer Loves: This "flash mob" wedding proposal

2010-06-24T15:30:00.001+01:00

As seen on YouTube - A Proposal in Washington Square Park. May 13th 2010. A seemingly unsuspecting lady is suddenly surrounding by a crowd of fifty dancing couples as her boyfriend proposes! Then they all bust into a great choreographed number.

Bless!

North London Photographer: Guerilla Portraits at MyCoffeeStop Enfield

2010-06-23T21:32:00.001+01:00

On Wednesday 4th August, I'll be making my way to the best coffee shop in Enfield - the small, but perfectly formed MyCoffeeStop on Platform One at Enfield Chase station. Here I'll be running a Guerilla Portrait session, ambushing commuters and families to raise money for the Chickenshed Theatre

Gunter, the master barista was the guinea pig today as I took a few test shots so as to be ready to hit the ground running at 6am on the 4th August. Here's a few of my favourites:

Come along and see us, grab a coffee, a great portrait and support a great cause.

North London Photographer: Nicole & Tyrone - Pre Wedding Shoot in Wattling Park

2010-06-21T12:43:00.000+01:00

Saturday saw me meeting with one of my future wedding couples, the lovely Nicole & Tyrone for a pre-wedding shoot.

We chose Wattling Park in Burnt Oak which gave us a mix of locations and backgrounds to work with where we spent an hour together making the following photographs.

One tip for aspiring photographers wishing to capture images from a low angle (like the first image shown here) is to check for stinging nettles before laying on the floor - despite wearing a shirt they didn't half sting!

If you'd like to see some more (and find out whether I suffered any more injuries in the making of them!) then hop on over to my facebook page and feast your eyes - whilst you're there why not mark yourself as liking the page, and be automatically kept in touch with what I'm up to.

North London Photographer: Nicola & Ben - pre-wedding sneak preview

2010-06-14T09:10:00.000+01:00

On Saturday I spent a lovely hour in the (occasional) sunshine with Nicola & Ben, a really fun couple who are getting married in September.

I feel that a pre-wedding shoot like this is an essential part of any wedding package. On your wedding day you'll spend more time with your photographer than any other person (excepting your spouse!) so it's a really good idea if you get to know each other before the big day. From my perspective, it's really useful to see how comfortable my couples are in front of a camera, and what poses work best for them, and from the couples point of view it allows you to tell me what you like and don't like before we take your wedding pictures.

Enough of the spiel - here's a few of my favourites from Saturday:

I'll upload the full gallery to my website in a couple of days, from where Nicola and Ben will be able to chose their favourite shot as a gift from me, but in the meantime, if you'd like to see a few more of Saturday's pictures, pop over to my facebook page and see what's on show there!

Scott Kelby's 3rd Annual World Wide Photo Walk - ENFIELD

2010-06-07T14:06:00.000+01:00

Scott Kelby’s World Wide Photo Walk is a chance to spend a couple of hours making friends and taking some great photos with other camera enthusiasts in the local area. This year, for the first time we'll have a leg in Enfield, and I'm very proud to say that I've been selected to lead this walk.

I'm hoping for better weather than this, but it's England in the summertime so you never know!
For those of you who don’t know what the Scott Kelby Worldwide Photo Walk is all about - basically it’s the biggest Photographic Event in the World; last year with over 900 Cities and 30,000+ photographers of all levels from Professionals with high end DSLR’s to kids with disposable cameras across the World taking part. (Check out the Photo Walk website for more details)

This promises to be a fantastic day of photography, making new friends and generally having fun so why not join me in Enfield on Saturday July 24th by registering at this link. I'd love to see you there.

Best be quick however, we're limited to a maximum of 50 places on the walk!

I'd also love to hear from you if you have a shop or community noticeboard locally and would like to promote the event by displaying an A4 poster.

North London Photographer: Karen & Westley's lovely country wedding at Coltsfoot, Hertfordshire

2010-06-06T20:17:00.000+01:00

Karen & Westley did really well yesterday to dodge the showers and have a relaxed and personal wedding at Coltsfoot Country Retreat in rural Hertfordshire.

Karen looked stunning in her beautiful wedding dress and Westley was quite the dapper gentleman in his classy blue suit.

I've placed a few of the pictures that immediately jumped out at me on the blog here and you can see a few more by jumping to my Facebook page.

Thanks to Karen & Westley for allowing me to be part of their fabulous day, and being so generous to me whilst I was there - it's always nice when a couple treat you more like a guest than a paid help.

Don't forget to jump on over to my Facebook page to see some more shots from the day!

North London Photographer: Tips from a Professional #2 – Improving your everyday shots.

2010-05-28T20:23:00.000+01:00

So, you've read my last blog entry and are suitably inspired to go out and take some photos. You’ve purchased your beautiful shiny camera (or dusted down the old one that you’ve kept in a drawer). The next question is how can you get better pictures from it?

There’s a variety of advice and wisdom available on the net as to how to improve your photography, none of which are worth listening to until you have the basics down pat. Today’s post considers these basics:

Pretty much every compact digital these days has a big display on the back. It shows in very pretty colours what the camera can see but encourages you to hold the camera at arms length so that you can see through it.

Holding it like this means that you are much more likely to move the camera slightly when taking the shot.

The more traditional method of pressing a camera’s eye piece against your face makes for a much more steady hold. It’s like using a tripod with three legs against one with only two!

If your camera has an “old fashioned” viewfinder, then use it! It might not be so “sexy” but it will help you achieve slightly more sharpness, critical to turning your picture into one you’ll want to keep.

Cameras work by gathering enough light through the lens to make a bright picture. Whenever there is less light around (at night, on gloomy days etc) then the camera will keep the shutter open for longer. This means that you need to hold the camera even more steadily in these conditions. How can you do this?

Firstly – look at your stance. Stand straight, open your feet slightly more than shoulder wide (or kneel on one knee). Lock your body.

Now – make sure that you’re holding the camera correctly, breathe out slowly – hold your breath for a split second and whilst holding it, squeeze the shutter slowly (don’t jab it) and release it slowly (then don’t forget to breathe again!)

Step 1 complete then, your photograph is sharp.

Next – create more impact with your pictures by using one of the two zooms you are equipped with.

Pretty much every compact these days has a decent zoom. As I mentioned previously, ignore the digital zoom (which tries to invent detail that the camera doesn’t actually capture), but use one of the two others at your disposal. You can use the camera’s optical zoom or how about employing your own “foot zoom” (walk closer to the subject you are photographing!)

Getting closer to who you are photographing so that they fill the frame means that you’ll create a connection with the subject and makes for a photograph with much more oomph!

I’ve talked about low light and slow shutter speeds, but what should you do when the sun is out and the light is bright?

This is exactly the kind of situation where your flash can come to your aid. It seems counter-intuitive to use a flash in bright sunlight but consider this. The sun is an (at least occasionally here in the UK) extremely harsh source of light. It’s also very high in the sky. If you take a picture of someone in bright sunlight then you risk very harsh shadows. These often show up worse in someones eyes when the eyebrow’s shade the sun’s light from the eyes themselves – we call this “panda eyes”.

Switch your camera’s flash on (use the “fill flash” option if the camera has it) and the flash will fill in some of the missing light and give you a much more appealing result.

You can also improve your photography on sunny days by making sure that the sun is behind the people you photograph. So long as you are careful not to have the sun “in shot” (which will cause flare and sunspots) then it will provide an attractive halo around the subjects head and again, you can use fill-flash to brighten up peoples faces.

Above all, digital photography makes it exceptionally easy to practice – with the cameras display giving you instant feedback. Learn these principles, know your camera and I guarantee you will produce more compelling pictures far more often than you did before.

Check back soon for the next in my series of “Tips from a professional photographer” and watch your photography take off!

Dan's #FollowFriday Blog

2010-05-21T09:59:00.001+01:00

“Follow Friday” (#FF, #FollowFriday) is an established part of the twitter week whereby users of the micro-blogging service recommend people that their own followers might like to follow.

It started for me with just a #FF tag followed by a list of names, but since so many other ‘tweeps’ were doing the same, the chances of anyone clicking onto any of these names and investigating them further seemed slim. I know that I was certainly reluctant to click on many of the large seemingly random names that I was presented with without a compelling reason to do so.

Then, one of my photography (and indeed #FF) friends came up with/discovered the idea of linking to a blog post of his where he could explain in a little more detail who he was recommending and why. Thanks Glyn! This immediately seemed more sensible to me, and so I’m ~~pilfering~~ re-using his idea.

My Follow Friday recommendations will be broken down into categories and I’ll add to (or even remove!) them as time passes. One of the joys of Twitter is its fluidity & social nature and the fact that you naturally meet interesting people in the course of a day’s tweeting.

So – here we go:-

PHOTOGRAPHY:

@GlynDewis – The UK’s equivalent of @Strobist (but with better shorts), The UK’s answer to @zarias (but with less hair). Glyn consistently gives more than he receives and his blog is rapidly becoming “the place to go” for off camera flash users this side of the pond. A consistent source of ideas, advice and encouragement. Oh and his photoshop retouching tips are worth a look too!

@Noel_Hannan – I met Noel on one of Glyn’s tester workshops. He’s got an eye for colour and composition and being Irish(!) his conversational style makes for a worthy friend to follow on Twitter and his blog.

@zarias - gets a mention for his epic workshops (often streamed live online) and no nonsense style of imparting advice

@MancTog - despite his Man Utd affiliations Neil is one of Manchester’s most interesting photographers and twitterers, his blog frequently giving detailed descriptions of how he gets his great landscapes. He also has the humility to admit to his mistakes – allowing all of us to learn from his experience.

@Richard_Hales – is another twitter friend and wedding photographer who’s blog contains enough to keep fellow ‘togs happy and isn’t just an additional selling vehicle for his business.

@MattSando – Matt has his fingers on the pulse of the “blogesphere” and his recommendations are always worth reading.

@tpphotography – Greg is a friendly & inspiring wedding photographer in beautiful Dorset.

@derekpye – occasional tweets only but undoubtedly “The world’s greatest living wedding photographer” (!)

CHELSEA FC:

@chelseayouth – Simply insanely dedicated follower of Chelsea FC, gives absolutely the best coverage of the club at Reserve and Youth Level and a thoroughly nice bloke too.

@OfficialCFCnet – the most complete independent Chelsea site in the universe.

@SouthernLatic – another Chelsea Nut with his own, frequently updated site.

@CFC12 – Yugam joins the list of Chelsea twitters with eyes on more than just the first team.

@rickglanvill – Chelsea mad journalist and author with the sense of humour that all Chelsea Fan’s need to have.

@TheChelsOrg – The new kid on the block but already a comprehensive CFC resource.

@CFCJourno -The man behind the ChelseaMad website.

OTHERS I KNOW & RECOMMEND:

@DeanoDV8Create - one of life's hard workers delivering exceptional design, copywriting and more.

@MyCoffeeStopUK - the best coffee in Enfield, bar none – a friendly welcome, fast service, fair-trade, f’ing awesome really! Find them on the London bound platform of Enfield Chase station.

@markhillary – Little could I imagine when sitting next to him in class twenty (or more) years ago that Mark would become one of the most interesting commentators on social media and users of blogging in the UK. An expert on outsourcing, IT, globalisation – it’s just a shame he’s got such a ropey portrait on his homepage!

@jwhairandspa - Stunning men’s & woman’s haircuts from James & Donna, great beauty treatments and happy times in the Enfield salon.

@keshmorjaria – inspiring and giving. Marketing for the modern age.

So that's it - hopefully you'll find one or two of interest in that list. Check back in future weeks and see how my recommendations have developed.

Dan

North London Photographer: Tips from a Professional - buying a new Compact Camera

2010-05-20T10:40:00.000+01:00

As a professional photographer, friends and relations frequently ask me which camera they should buy.   My first response to this is always "do you really need a new camera?"    Most cameras these days are so advanced that many people do not use 80% of their functionality.   Unless you really know how to get the best out of your current camera then buying a new one is likely to lead to dissapointing results.

If we ignore mobile phone cameras, generally there are two main types of camera on the market today:

    * Compact or "Point and Shoot" cameras - these are designed to be easy to operate and carry around and produce pretty good shots in most conditions through automatic procedures.
    * SLR cameras which are larger, have interchangeable lenses and lots of extra components like external flashes that can be connected to the camera.   These are much harder to operate but can, in knowledgeable hands, produce a higher quality image than is possible from a compact camera.

I'll talk in a later posting about the issues to consider before purchasing your first SLR - this post will concentrate on the more commonly used compact cameras.

If I was choosing a new compact camera today, then these are the points that I would be putting top of my list of considerations:

§         Lens quality: Cheap digital cameras have cheap, plastic lenses made by “no name” companies without a history in the business – a cheap lens will distort light and change colours leading to soft & lifeless pictures.   Generally if you pick a camera manufactured by one of the well known names (Canon, Sony, Nikon, Kodak, Fuji etc) you wont go far wrong.

§         Autofocus ability: Because of the way cameras work, only a proportion of the area between the camera and the distance will be in focus (or sharp). Good cameras have intelligent autofocus mechanisms which do their best to make sure that the most important part of the image is sharp. For example when taking a portrait, the ability of a camera to lock onto someone’s face (particularly if it’s a little dark) and bring it into focus is vital.

§         Shutter Lag: Cheap cameras often take a second or more from the time you press down on the shutter button to the time that they actually take the picture. That second is often long enough for the critical moment to have passed. If you are trying to capture a picture of say a bird perched on the feeder in your garden, by the time the camera takes the picture, the bird may very well have taken flight and left you with a lovely picture of an empty bird feeder.

§         Zoom lenses will help you to have the subject fill the frame – but don’t be fooled by “digital zoom”. All this does is to take the central area of the picture and enlarge it – this loses quality. The phrase “Optical Zoom” is the important one to look for.

§         How does the camera work for you?   Where possible, handing the camera that you’re about to buy before you purchase it is very useful. With a myriad of different options, cameras can be complicated things and finding one where the controls are logical to you, which fits in your hands comfortably and can be carried for extended periods of time is a really important consideration.

IGNORE THE MEGAPIXEL MYTH
Most cameras are sold with their "Megapixel count" (the number of "digital dots" that go to make up the image) emblazoned at the top of their sales literature. This suggests that it's the most important aspect of your potential purchase. However technology has moved on so far that I feel this should be a minimal consideration only. For example it is generally recognised that 5 Megapixels is enough to print a picture at A4 sized, so the difference between a 9 and 10 Megapixel is largely academic.

DONT BREAK THE BANK
I would also want to spend a little less on the camera itself to give me a little more money to buy additional batteries and memory cards. What good is a camera that you cant take pictures with, either because the batteries have run down or there’s no space for additional pictures on the memory card? Always have plenty of spares and there’s no excuse for running out at the vital moment.

Keep watching this space and in the weeks and months to come I'll pass on more "tips from a pro" to make sure you get the most out of your photography.

Dan Davies

North London Photographer: Bridal Fashion Shoot

2010-05-17T15:20:00.000+01:00

I recieved a brief the other week to photograph dresses for the website of a client who is setting up her own Bridal Boutique in Crouch End, North London.

So, I set about finding models, a make up artist and a location whist my client prepared around 30 dresses for me to shoot.

My models were excellent and hugely professional, and my MUA a star, as she always is.

Here are a few of my favourite images from our four hour shoot:

All in all it was a fun, but exhausting day. A big thanks go out to everyone who pulled together on the shoot and good luck to my client - I'm sure the shop will be a huge success.

Dan
(See What my wife says about me here!)

Chelsea Open Top Parade - May 2010

2010-05-16T18:59:00.000+01:00

I was delighted to cover today's Open Top Bus Parade where 100,000 delirious Chelsea Fans cheered and thanked the players who'd brought not one, but two major trophies to SW6.

With the addition of the FA Youth Cup and Community Shield, it has been a bumper season for Chelsea and filled with many magical moment's. My favourite? Drogba's late winner on the opening day v Hull, in retrospect - how important was that.

Here are a few highlights of today's parade:

Many more shots of today's celebration can be found on my new Facebook page here. Please view, comment, like and generally enjoy what's been a great day for every Chelsea Fan.

Dan.

North London Photographer: Westley & Karen, Pre-Wedding shoot at Coltsfoot, Herts

2010-05-05T12:21:00.000+01:00

Next month I have the pleasure of shooting Karen & Westley's wedding at the lovely Coltsfoot Hotel in Datchworth, Hertfordshire. To cap a busy weekend, I met with them on Monday afternoon and we ventured into the stong wind to have a little fun and capture a few relaxed "pre-wedding" shots.

I offer a complementary pre-wedding shoot to every bride and groom. Spending a little time together helps to build a good friendly relationship when the big day comes around, gives the couple a chance to know what I'm like behind the camera and gives me a better idea of their likes & dislikes and how comfortable "posing" for me they are. Everything goes together to help me create great images on their wedding day. Have a look at my website for details of our wedding service and the differences that make us the right choice for your wedding photography.

Photos - Chelsea win 2010 FA Youth Cup Final

2010-05-05T02:36:00.001+01:00

A noisy crowd of around 12,000 were in attendance at Stamford Bridge last night to see Chelsea take the FA Youth Cup for the first time since 1961 with a 2-1 victory over Aston Villa to give them a 3-2 aggregate win.

The best report of the game is here

My full slideshow of 180 photos is here (don't forget to hit the "fullscreen button" in the top right of the picture for the best viewing experience.

But first, heres a few highlights.

Gokhan Tore was an immediate menace on both flanks.

Using his pace, strength and skill to carve out several early opportunities

With Villa set up defensively, there were frequent opportunities for all four defenders to raid forward

Jeffrey Bruma here looking to add to his goal from the first leg ...

... and berating himself for failing to do so

Josh McEachran showing no little skill ...

... to defeat two Villa Defenders.

Another Tore cross comes to naught.

The partially hidden Marco Mitrovic (9) fires home from Sala's cross to equaliser.

A contrast of emotions as the Blues celebrate restoring parity.

With only five minutes remaining and from fully 30 yards Chelsea Captain Connor Clifford fires home the deserved winner ...

Before being engulfed by celebrating fans and team mates alike.

Celebrations when the final whistle blows.

and a quick lap of honour before ...

Clifford lifts the cup.

Much to Manager Dermot Drummy's delight.

Before finally relaxing and celebrating in a way traditional to all true winners.

It was fantastic to see such a disciplined, skilled performance from 1 to 11 and to celebrate a deserved acheivement. Well done to everyone involved and a big thanks to CFC for the pitchside access they afforded me.

London Wedding Photographer: Marvelous Military Wedding (and the weather held!)

2010-05-02T20:28:00.001+01:00

We spent an excellent day yesterday with Tariq & Rebecca, celebrating and recording the blessing of their wedding at the Guards Chapel on Birdcage Walk.

We had previously spent a really enjoyable couple of hours with them both in St. James's Park for their pre-wedding shoot and really enjoyed their company, so was very much looking forward to their big day.

Here's just a few of the shots that "jumped out at me" whilst taking an first look through the images from the day this morning.

Sometimes a look says it all.

At the high altar.

Exchanging vows.

A grand exit.

Am I getting older or are soldiers looking younger & younger these days?

Formal ...

... but fun!

An impressive line up.

Time for some more shots in beautiful St. James's park and Becky & Tariq's sense of fun is to the fore

Grey skies gathered but fortunately the weather held for long enough to create some stunning shots in the park.

A beautiful bride in a beautiful location.

On to the reception & Tariq's emotions show as he gives his speech.

The best man kept it cool throughout, however.

Guests signing the mount of a picture frame that will be updated with a wedding picture and displayed on the couples living room wall.

Kudos to the cake maker for these superbly accurate cake toppers.

The first dance and another demonstration of togetherness and joy.

We enjoy every wedding that we shoot, but what was most special about yesterday was how much that both Rebecca and Tariq made us feel welcome and treated us as guests rather than the interlopers we really are! Thank you both for your hugely generous hospitality - we both wish you every happiness for your future together.

Please visit our website if you'd like to see what makes our wedding photography different from the rest - we'd love to share in your celebrations too!

Travel Shooting: Elephants in Thailand

2010-04-28T18:48:00.001+01:00

Sad to read of further trouble in Bangkok today, and that the Foreign office is advising against travel to Thailand currently.

We had an excellent fortnight in Thailand only a couple of weeks ago - and the Elephants were certainly a highlight. Thailand is known for its' Elephants, and we didn't struggle to find them on our trip.

Whether it was a case of seeing them trecking through the bush ...

Or bathing with them ...

In the river at Kanchanaburi ...

and making a friend for life.

Or joining in the fun on the Khao San Road, on the day before Songkran

Where avoiding the spray and protecting your camera was the order of the day!

It was impossible to avoid the friendly beasts. Even when travelling away from them, reminders were everywhere. These are from the Erewan Waterfall (Erewan is Thai for Elephant). As a nation the Thai's are rightly proud of these gentle giants.

Frendly fish wait for a foot to gently nibble - any volunteers (and no, I didn't dare!)

Gatecrashing a fashion shoot!

Risking a dunking as I balance the camera on some rocks for a slow (1/5sec) exposure using the self timer.

I hope you've enjoyed some of our travel shots - it was certainly interesting re-acquainting myself with some old kit and cheap lenses. I definitely appreciate my 5DII all the more now!

Travel Shooting: Abandoned Vehicle at the Jeath War Museum, Kancharaburi

2010-04-23T08:22:00.003+01:00

I was intrigued by the long abandoned vehicle at the Jeath (Japan, England and THailand) war museum near to the rebuilt "Bridge over the" River Kwai at Kanchanaburi.

I wonder just how many years of dust the car is covered with and what led it to be abandoned in such a state? Also, if you know what the make/model of the vehicle is, then please amaze me and let me know by leaving a comment below.

Travel Shooting: Thai Sunsets

2010-04-18T13:08:00.002+01:00

I'm just back from a couple of weeks travelling around Thailand with the family and very glad to be back in the UK before the volcanic ash cloud hit (as no doubt, are my wedding clients!).

I couldn't resist the opportunity to take a "proper" camera on my travels, but didn't want to risk using any of my current kit - which is a good thing when I look at the sand ridden state of the kit I did take (and that's before we get to Songkran!).

So I packed an old Canon 350D with its 18-55 kit lens and purchased a variable aperture Canon 35-135 lens on eBay which gave me a good spread of lens lengths without taking up too much space or weight in my rucksac. The 35-135 lens will be back on eBay later this week!

I'll attempt to post a few interesting shots over the next week or so and avoid boring you with too many "holiday snaps". I thought I'd start off with a few pictures of various sunsets that I grabbed over the course of the break.

The long exposures that these need meant that I was often reliant on a combination of finding a flat, unmoving surface to balance the camera and the self timer to get sufficient sharpness from the shots, but nonetheless as someone who doesn't usually take much in the way of landscapes, I'm pleased with some of these:

We start in Bangkok and a view over the Chao Phraya River & the Phra-Pin-klao Bridge.

On to Kanchanaburi now and a longer exposure taken later in the sunset gave me this lovely image of the Maenam Khwae Yai river from our hotel restaurant.

At Ao Nang on the coast near Krabi I employed a model* and artfully posed her removing sea water from her shoes to get this shot of the early stages of the setting sun.

With my budget for live models exhausted I was forced to turn to a still life, with these discarded coconuts lit by the on camera flash whilst exposing the background for the ambient. I had to jump up to 200 ISO in order to get a little more coverage from the 350D's tiny flash (oh for a 580EX!).

Shortly after sunset on the same night, and for literally a couple of minutes maximum - the sky turned a vivid red behind the clouds and I took the opportunity to grab this shot.

Now on to Koh Lanta where I took the opportunity to combine my passion for long distance running with my passion for photography by sprinting through this shot(!) as the self timer elapsed.

Typically the best sunset of our time on Koh Lanta came when I was relaxing in the pool you see reflecting the sunset here. Undeterred, this shot was taken with the camera precariously balanced on a sun lounger late in a sunset on the next night.

Finally for today, a last sunset on a clear day at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok as we prepared to fly home and I burned the last space on my memory card.

Well I hope you enjoyed something a little different from me. Back to work properly tomorrow!

Dan Davies.

* - or possibly just took the opportunity to grab a shot of a passing traveller at the appropriate moment.

FA Youth Cup Semi Final - Chelsea 4-0 Blackburn PHOTOS

2010-03-23T12:00:00.001Z

Chelsea's Under 18's comfortably secured their place in the FA Youth Cup final for the second time in three years with last night's 4-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers at Stamford Bridge following on from a 1-0 victory at Ewood Park a week ago.

My full gallery of pictures can be seen here; but first of all, scroll down for a few highlights from what turned out to be an exceptional performance from 1 to 11.

Right from the start, Chelsea looked up for the battle. Kaby's attacking flair and defensive hard work typified the whole teams performance on the night.

Captain Connor Clifford showed early determination before injury got the better of him and and saw him substituted.

Marco Mitrovic begins his celebrations as he knocks the first goal home on the half hour

Jacapo Sala was first to congratulate Mitrovic. Sala would be celebrating his own goal within four minutes of the opener.

This looks like it's going to hurt!

Milan Lalkovic, an early sub for Connor Clifford made the most of lots of good ball down the right wing.

Gokhan Toure makes the game absolutely safe with the night's third goal...

... turning sharply to make space in the box before striking past Swann in the Blackburn Goal.

Celebrations at the final whistle amongst the ball boys as the stadium enjoys the team's success.

To see much more of last night's excellent performance, click here to view the full night's slideshow.

The most comprehensive report of the night's action is always on www.cfcnet.co.uk. Read last nights by clicking here. I'd also highly recommend following the report's author, Philip Rolfe on twitter for the best, most in-depth coverage of Chelsea at Youth and Reserve level that you could ever wish for.

Finally, don't forget to follow me on twitter

North London Corporate Photographer - House of Lords Reception

2010-03-17T16:52:00.000Z

Catching up on old posts now and a chance to see a few shots I took when covering a reception & luncheon for a charity in the House of Lords. The charity is celebrating it's 50th anniversary and were invited into the Cholmondley (pronouced Chumley) Room for a luncheon to mark this occasion.

Attendance was strictly limited and the official invites only part of a series of security steps necessary to get in

Ahead of lunch, the atmosphere builds

Viscount Tenby sticks to the soft drinks as he meets & greets

Following lunch, he signs a commemorative card to mark the charity's half centenary

Time to relax as the celebrations wind down

A last few minutes and time to grab a quick group shot on the balcony

At Daniel Davies Photography we pride ourselves on our ability to expertly cover events like these, offering a professional, flexible and unobtrusive service. All of our clients receive both colour and black & white copies of every photograph, ready prepared for use both online and in print at a variety of useful sizes. We pride ourselves on our ability to turn around these photographs on the same day where necessary - often useful when a press release is set to follow these events.

Contact us for more details of our service and make sure that your efforts in building a memorable event are matched by our memorable images.

North London Photographer: Tariq & Rebecca - Pre-Wedding shoot in St. James's Park.

2010-03-08T20:21:00.004Z

This morning I spent a very pleasant couple of hours with Tariq and Rebecca who are getting married in May. Here's a few of the shots which immediately jumped out at me as being special.

Tariq is in the Household Cavalry, so a trip around St. James's Park seemed entirely appropriate with his barracks situated just across Birdcage Walk. As the morning progressed I was pleased to discover just how appropriate a choice it was.

I love this first shot, not only for how comfortable Becky and Tariq are together but also as it shows both Horse Guards Parade, which is almost Tariq's second home and also the London Eye in the distance, where Mr Romantic proposed to his fiancée.

We of course had to get a ring shot, and this lovely one was taken in the shade of Buckingham Palace

The famous "Blue Bridge" was the location for this shot. Tariq and Becky are really very natural together and I loved how easily they ignored the many surrounding distractions to create a sense of intimacy between each other.

We next moved to the tea rooms, where a stairway to the upper floor gave us a breather, some peace and the chance to create this lovely shot.

Moving to the steps in front of the tea room, all I had to do here was to ask Tariq & Becky to stare deep into each other's eyes and wait for the magic to be created.

I also took another opportunity to photograph the beautiful ring again - this image is toned so that you can't see precisely how cold it was this morning!

With the departure of the guards imminent, we moved to the top of The Mall. Again this shot was taken as the two of them just relaxed together - suffice to say that a kiss followed very shortly!

The guards duly arrived. Tariq was a little concerned at the ribbing that he would recieve should he be recognised by his collagues but being the professional he is he carried on manfully.

Back to Horse Guards parade for this shot, as I again looked to create an image that showed some of their shared history.

Finally as we walked back to the barracks I hovered behind the couple and enjoyed capturing some spontanenous moments of togetherness, like this.

This pre-wedding shoot is an example of something I offer to all of my wedding couples at no additional cost. Firstly, it's great fun and gives an opportunity to relax away from the stresses of wedding preparations and it's also a great way for the couple and I to get to know each other, and find out likes & dislikes so that we can create some memorable and relaxed images on the wedding day itself. Tariq and Rebecca will be able to choose their favourite image from today to have printed out for them to keep. Visit my website for more details of my wedding service and benefit from this level of care for your own wedding.

Chelsea Reserves 1-2 Arsenal Reserves, 15 February 2010

2010-02-16T12:12:00.002Z

I was at Griffin Park last night to see the Chelsea Reserves narrowly go down 2-1 to Arsenal.

As Phil's excellent report describes, Chelsea had the better chances, but a combination of bad luck, poor finishing and a pudding of a pitch meant that we didn't capitalise on these and fell to two good strikes from an equally strong Arsenal reserve XI.

As ever with my Chelsea photography, I've picked a few highlights out for this posting. The link to all 50 photographs from last night's game can be found below:

Striker Borini's pace & power would cause problems all evening for the Arsenal defence. Unfortunately his finishing wasn't up to his usual high standards

Borini bringing the ball down before unleashing a powerful volley that smashed against the crossbar

Fabio curses his luck as the crossbar still vibrates

Gael Kakuta well markshalled by the Arsenal defence

Perhaps Borini's best chance - a clearer contact here would have rendered the arguments about whether this crossed the line irrelevant

Borini again, rounding the keeper before finding the woodwork for the second time of the night

Kakuta is tripped as he comes more into the later stages of the game

A full gallery of the nights photographs can be found here, or you can view a slide show if you prefer.

North London Photographer - Corporate Portraits

2010-02-14T21:00:00.000Z

I spent a little time on Saturday with Xen, a solictor who is looking to polish up his website and to have some images that he can use to promote himself with.

We worked for around an hour and three quarters, using his lovely offices to give us some environmental context to the shots, before quickly heading to a local canal for a few outside shots.

As well as some very "corporate" shots, we aimed to show the solicitor as a human being and so worked through a variety of outfits and made subtle changes to the way we shot to make sure that he didn't (always) appear too intimidating!

Using his office meant that we were also able to get his logo subtly into some of the shots.

The photographs from the shoot will be returned on DVD to Xen within a couple of days, in both colour and black & white and ready sized for various uses - we really do make it easy for you to always look your best, whether that be on the web or in a wall portrait.

Oh, and incidentally, if you need a really good solicitor then let me know - I'll put you in touch with one of the best!

Daniel Davies Photography - Passionate about Perfect Pictures.

North London Photographer - Pet Dog Portraits

2010-02-08T09:23:00.000Z

A break from a run of corporate work yesterday gave me a little time to get back to some portraits and a chance to capture Valerie, a young cross-bred Jack Russell/Chihuahua.

Valerie is completely deaf, which posed particular challenges in terms of getting her attention so that she'd pose for me, but with some perseverence we did, I think, hit the jackpot.

Working in a small bedroom, I used my flash on a ETTL cord, but switched to manual mode for both exposure and flash so that I could control the background to get these.

This first photograph captures a vulnerability in Valerie that I think is quite appealing. Her single visible dark eye staring hopefully forward shows the kind of trust that she has to hold for those around her as a small, disabled dog.

By moving the flash to fire behind Valerie, I created this lovely, near silhouette, which appeals to me as I think she looks almost Fox like.

Here by shooting from above, and feathering the flash so it illuminated her face but not the ground around her, I feel a sense of vulnerability along with a slight ridiculous note of the size of the ears of this deaf dog.

This final shot is a more conventional portrait and shows more dignity and a stillness, which is rare in a dog who is constantly reliant on her sight to sense opportunities for fun, love or even threats.

If you'd like similar images of your pet captured then please contact me by clicking here.

FA Youth Cup - Chelsea 1-0 Portsmouth

2010-01-29T08:55:00.000Z

I had the pleasure of a working trip to Stamford Bridge last night for the FA Youth Cup 5th round tie that saw Chelsea's youth team take on Portsmouth's equivalents.

Straight after kick off and Jacopo Sala is keen to make an early mark on the game

Jacopo Sala

Within minutes Chelsea looked dominant - this header was the first of several chances to rebound from the woodwork

But Captain Connor Clifford was not long to be denied, breaking from midfield to give Chelsea the lead after ten minutes

With Sala occupying the Pompey Left Back, Billy Clifford took several opportunites to get forward from his right back role

The hard working Billy Clifford once again

Gokhan Tore in action as a wet second half commences

Connor Clifford slides in as Chelsea continued to press

Gokhan Tore on one of several dangerous forays down the Chelsea left

Tore again as Chelsea win another throw

Further images from the game can be viewed here and Philip Rolfe's comprehensive report is here

Dan Davies

North London Photographer - Tattoo Project - Shoot Two (Video)

2010-01-20T15:34:00.000Z

Our second shoot for our major 2010 exhibition "InkedImages" took place just before Christmas.

I've put together a small video highlighting some of my favourite images from the shoot, please click the play button on the bottom left below to take a look!

* The video from our first shoot is still available here.

* If you'd like to be kept in touch with this project and to receive an invitation to the resulting exhibition then please drop me an email by clicking here.

* If you've got great tatoo's and would consider modeling for the project, please click here

North London Photographer - Newborn & Child Portraits

2010-01-18T08:11:00.000Z

I had the very great pleasure to meet yesterday, for the first time, Sophia Maria, a beautiful four week old girl. She was an absolute pleasure to photograph as was her pretty six year old sister Isabella. Here are a few highlights from the session.

For a limited period, you can book a similar session at your home for an amazing £25. The price includes a complimentary 7" x 5" mounted print and our prices for additional prints and wall hanging products are amongst the best around.

Call me on 020 8372 2090 or 07596 470077 to book your session now.

North London Photographer. Corporate Headshots - Maximum returns from minimal disruption

2010-01-14T17:49:00.000Z

I visited the excellent Robert Hawkins earlier today at his Winchmore Hill Clinic.

Robert's website is currently undergoing re-design and he wanted some high quality headshots for the new site.

I arrived and set up quickly and less than half an hour later we'd got shots of all his staff and a few photographs of specific techniques that he wishes to promote.

If you'd like similarly high quality shots for only £75 per hour, then contact me by calling 0208 372 2090 or 07596 47007 or by contacting me here.

All of your images will be presented to you on CD/DVD at a range of sizes ready for printing or use online and every image is made available in both colour and black and white. I also take a variety of landscape and portrait orientation images so that you can use either depending on your requirements.

These images can usually be provided to you electronically the same day.

So, if you're in and around North London & re-vamping your website or need photographs for corporate publications then please get in touch.

Winter 2010 - Enfield in the Snow

2010-01-07T16:09:00.000Z

A cancelled meeting today gave me some time to have a traipse around Enfield Chase and the New River Loop taking some snowy shots in the lovely sunlight we had earlier.

Now landscape photography is by no means a speciality but I'm quietly pleased with some of these. Take a look and let me know what you think:

Dan

InkedImages - second shoot friday

2009-12-09T19:38:00.000Z

With the second shoot for our 2010 InkedImages tattoo portraiture exhibition coming up this Friday, I thought it appropriate to put together a quick video of some of the interim images from our first shoot.

Take a look!

Stacey & Fleur's Civil Ceremony - Video

2009-11-18T17:07:00.000Z

Another bit of video fun with some pictures from Stacey & Fleur's gorgeous Civil Ceremony last week.

Enjoy:

And check our website for details of our packages if you'd like us to cover your wedding or civil ceremony.

Dan