I watched the tail end of a live Scott Kelby video tonight, his closing words were about people that complain that they don’t get the shots they’d like, partly because they don’t go out at the right time of day to get the best light [or bring it], or don’t find the interesting or photogenic subjects to shoot.  It reminded me of the evening I did a quick Street Photography shot of the lady you see here.

It had been a regular day in the city and I was moments from home.  Standing with my camera bag strapped to my back I was gazing out through the windows to the buildings on our side of the road.

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In the play The Tragicall History of the Life and Death of Doctor Faustus the abduction of Helen of Troy by Paris causes the launch of a thousand ships, starting the Trojan Wars.
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I’m looking for couples about to become a family or give their current child a new sibling to help build my online portfolio at my other site Lifebookphotography.com. I’d been waiting for my Enhanced CRB check paperwork to come through before saying anything about it…
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Listening to a couple of Frederick’s Shut Up And Shoot audio casts on the train this morning I got thinking about how little I’ve used the camera outside the studio the last few months.

A beautiful sunny view out of the window inspired a walk up to St Paul’s for lunch. Expecting a call from a team mate I decided the walk, talk, lunch and taking in some Vitamin D was in order. Rather than do the normal pressured steam-in, steam-out I’d take the camera too and chill out, if only for a few minutes. (read the rest of the post…)

I popped along to Pro Beauty 2012 this afternoon at ExCel London primarily to meet up with fellow ‘tog Mark “Goose” Sayer. He’d made the four hour trip down south from Selby, North Yorkshire to work with the team on the Nouveau Beauty Group stand. They were there to promote the new line of eye lashes by Amy Childs. I was also looking for inspiration for some more off the wall make-up for studio shoots. While talking to Mark I spotted a lady with very shiny pink lips, see the fist of the shots below. While Mark did some more press shots with Amy I went for a wonder finding the lady in the second image below having a lip makeover. Applied to the lips and soaked off the paper with water they’re very much like the transfers so popular with children, only in much more vivid colours! These “lip wraps” were from trendynailwraps.co.uk

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Should press pictures with half blinks be banned?

I’d started this post a couple of months ago, recently spotted pictures of the late Whitney Houston looking worse for wear and last night caught Avijit blinking in every shot at Kaushal’s leaving drinks. X^)

Wind back the clock and….

I’m on a train into London reading the Metro. Page 25 in the “Guilty pleasures” section has a photo of Kate Moss and Jamie Hince leaving Soho’s Box. “.. after what looks like a damn good night. The notorious party girl ..” reads the text.

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I got a message from a fellow photographer Michele saying a football friend had asked her to take some shots at his mothers birthday party at Bromley Football Club on Saturday evening. She was unable to make it and wondered if I was interested. As the club is only a stones throw from home and I would only be needed for a couple of hours late in the evening I accepted. It turned out Michele’s friend is Mike Delaney, founder of Skills Academy, the soccer training organisation for 5-12 year olds. Mike is also a football choreographer helping put together fast paced action video commercials for clients like Nike, Pepsi, Adidas & Reebok. (read the rest of the post…)

It’s an issue that I’ll raise when I see parents taking photos of their children. They’ll often stand with the camera to their face and need to look downwards to compose the shot. The resulting image reinforces the “You’re smaller than me”. Some times that’s what’s wanted, and it can look cute with toddlers, recreating the loving looks the parents see. For young children I suggest coming down to their eye level. The difference in view point will change the composition quite drastically, bringing the environment around them into view rather than the ground or floor on which they rest or play. (read the rest of the post…)

“Laura, can’t you give me some time,” is the opening line of the song Laura by the Scissor Sisters.

I’d arrived in Ipswich for another visit into the labs, loaded down with a heavy travel bag with two laptops inside. I’d brought my personal one to watch Rankin’s BBC documentary on LIFE magazine on the train up. I liked what I’d seen on their Photo Essay and the fact that the photographer called the shots and reporters followed. As I walked towards the station exit, Bose ear warmers on, the lady pictured gave me a lovely smile.

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I’ve seen what “finding your colour” in clothes can do for people, having had it done for free by a stylist one evening at a Goldmans Sachs event many years ago. Pink shirts make me look healthy while some other colours make me look washed out and quite unwell.

While watching an American TV show on quick fixes for medical issues a presenter gave an alternative to bleaching with hydrogen peroxide also based on the use of colour. (read the rest of the post…)