This post isn't a judgment on the underprivileged, or a suggestion that we all move into gated communities. It is about how to succeed. Who you surround yourself with, according to psychologists, affects how successful you’ll be. The same’s true for who you emulate or seek advice from. If you want a happy family, check out someone who has one. If you want to be wealthy, ask a rich person – not a financial advisor (not the same), and not a poor person either. Unless of course you want a list of what not to do. The internet delivers to us the best and the worst of all advice. I can’t count To View More >>

For Jo and Simon of Shoot Lifestyle Photography, several Annabel Williams' photographic training books provided the eye opener they needed to see the wedding industry wasn't quite as 'naff' as they thought... Seven years on, they've just been awarded the Annabel Williams CPT Award, for the Queensberry sponsored Wedding Album Category. Jo says, "This was a real life wedding album we'd designed for clients Andy and Lisa." Their wedding took place in a quirky little tavern which Jo says exposed some beautiful natural light. The light doesn't last long on a UK winters day though, so they had to To View More >>

Click here for Part 1. Who are those people ... the ones staring back at you thinking, 'What does he/she want us to do?' More importantly, how do they see the unfolding of their day? Is it a fairy tale? Is it some kind of weird reality show? Is it a 'performance'? Is it the beginning of something amazing? Is it a huge party? Is it something their mother planned? Is it theirs? That's the thing. We, as the image makers, also become the storytellers.  We create the vocabulary for describing the unfolding of the day. If we don't photograph something, will it still be remembered in ten years time? To View More >>

So there you are, looking through the expensive bit of glass on the front of your camera at two people you hardly know, thinking how do I make them look good? Is it a trick with the light? Is it a 'looking good' filter under the Artistic Filter menu in Photoshop? Is it making them really, really small in the image so you can't tell anyway, but man oh man that scenery is spectacular? Is it that they paid you SOOO much that they believe they will look good regardless of what you do, a bit like the 'Emperor's new photographer'? Is it that the photograph itself looks good, so by association/participation To View More >>

My two children are getting married, and In Part 1 I talked about how my eyes have been opened by the experience. What would my kids get if they hired a "professional photographer” for $3500.00 or so? Generally the photographer's time on the day, a DVD, no post work, often from someone who doesn't know how to give a "wedding day experience" on top of everything else. $3500 feels like too much money for that, but as I pointed out, the wholesale costs involved are too high to expect much more. Prices like that encourage couples to go shopping with unrealistically low budgets for photography … To View More >>