Think like a square

First stage of Project Square: to look back at existing images and see if any of them work if they are re-cropped as square rather than rectangular. The aim of this exercise is to start to train my mind to think of composition in terms of a square. I didn't realise how firmly entrenched the rectangular format was until I looked back through my portfolio of 366 images for ones I could crop square. The majority of the shots would simply not work as a square - a critical element would be lost and the picture spoilt. I automatically fill the rectangular viewfinder when I take a picture. I was reassured to find that this means I am considering composition all the time, even though I'm not always aware of it.

I did find some shots that could be cropped with interesting results. Fans of the square image maintain that it focuses the attention more immediately on the subject, as the eye cannot stray away to the left or right, or to the top or bottom. In some cases it has changed the feel of the photograph, made it more immediate. Take a look and see what you think. Click on each set of images to enlarge.

By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!

All squared up for 2013

After completing the 366 project in 2012 and deciding not to carry on this year I've been twiddling my thumbs a bit, itching to embark on something else, but it had to be less time consuming and a little more flexible, but still challenging.

I was catching up on some reading over the weekend, thawing out after a romp in the snow with the dog and came across an e-book I had downloaded over Christmas. It's called "Square" by a photographer and author Andrew Gibson and looks at images that are square as opposed to the more usual rectangular format. Aside from featuring some really beautiful photography this book looks into the increasing popularity of square images and gives some great pointers into what makes them work.

We are so used to the rectangular format that unless we have a camera (e.g. a medium format camera) or  an app (Instagram etc) that creates a square image, we forget to consider anything else. It's perhaps the amazing popularity of the Instagram type photo that has contributed to a re-appreciation of the square image.

I took a look back at my 366 images and could only find a handful that were square, excluding those that I had taken with a retro camera app on my phone - you can tell which these are as they feature a border. I didn't create any of the non-retro camera images with the intention of them being square - I decided to do that afterwards on the computer, so I wasn't really setting out to shoot and compose for square images.

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The square format has got me buzzing with excitement and now my thumbs are twitching rather than twiddling. During 2013 I am going to create a series of images that are square and intended to be square from the outset - I'll be specifically looking for subjects and compositions that work for the square format. I'm not setting any timescales or boundaries, other than I'll work on it throughout the year. As and when I take an image I am happy with I'll share it on this blog and ask for feedback.

You can download "Square" by Andrew Gibson (and other great e-books from him and other authors) at Craft and Vision. Each book costs around £2 to £4 and they often sell bundles together. I love the fact that I can download them to my tablet and read them wherever I am. I've not bought a bad one yet - they are highly readable, not too techie and the imagery is stunning. I've not been paid to say this, they don't even know I'm recommending them!

By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!

Top tips for a great business headshot (Corporate headshots Cheshire with Picture It Big)

In this digital age business portraits are very important. Even before you meet a client for the first time or go for an interview, you will have been checked out on LinkedIn or on your website and will have already made a first impression. A potential client surfing the net may have opted for the next listing below your's because they liked the look of the person more!

So you can't avoid it any longer, you need to get your head shot updated. That grainy old picture just doesn't communicate the right professional image and let's face it, was taken ten years ago. You've changed and fashions have moved on and it just won't do anymore. If you are like 90%+ of the population you dread having a formal picture taken as much or more than a trip to the dentist for a root canal filling! I would certainly prefer the latter and am infinitely more comfortable behind the camera than in front of it.

I've photographed lots of different people over the years and have also had to face up to having my own portrait done and have amassed a number of hints and tricks to make the experience more pleasant and to ensure that you end up with a portrait you are pleased with.

What to wear (and what not to!)

• A head shot usually means head and shoulders, usually to around chest level, so pay particular attention to what is worn in this area.

• Think about the image you want to project. Usually for a business head shot this will be professional business clothes but it depends on the profession you are in. In this shot Maura has chosen a slightly softer but still smart look - she is a collaborative solicitor and wanted to appear approachable and professional but not stuffy so opted not to wear a business suit.
• Wear something you feel good and comfortable in. Avoid tight fitting clothes and clothes that wrinkle and crease easily.
• Avoid busy patterns, logos or overpowering bright colours. Reds, yellows and oranges can reflect a colour cast onto your skin and should be avoided. Pastel or nude / skin colours can make you look washed out. Colours that match your eyes are good.
• Avoid fussy scarves and collars. Simple is usually better. Jewellery is OK as long as it is understated. Don't wear anything that will date your picture too quickly.
• Go for 3/4 or full length sleeves rather than bare arms. Bare skin distracts attention away from your face and unless your arms are tanned and toned (and mine aren't!) then it doesn't look great.
• V neck jumpers are generally quite flattering as they elongate the neck. Avoid polo or roll neck tops.
• If you need a full length shot rather than a head shot, then wear tops and bottoms in the same colour. Avoid strongly contrasting colours i.e. white top and black bottoms, as this cuts you in half and makes you look shorter.

What about make up and hair?

• If you know you look good then you'll feel good too and that will show at the photo shoot. There's no need to book a full makeover, especially as you might end up not looking and feeling like you! But this is a personal choice, some people feel better if they've had their hair and make up done and others are happy to do their own.
• If you have long hair you could do some shots with your hair tied back and some with it down. 
• Wear what make up you would normally wear for a evening out - and we're talking a meal out not a full on Christmas party! Avoid lip gloss and anything too shimmery.

"I feel really uncomfortable posing for my photo".

Don't we all! But any good photographer will know how to make you feel relaxed and how to pose you in ways that flatter you. Here are some tips to make sure your best side is captured:

• We all feel uncomfortable just standing in front of the camera - how should we stand, what should we do with our hands? To avoid feeling so awkward lean against something if possible and you will feel much more relaxed.
• Try not to stand full on to the camera, instead stand at an angle, with your hips and shoulders on a slight diagonal and turn your head towards the photographer. If it's for a full length shot, then put your weight on your back leg and bend your front leg slightly, toe pointed towards the photographer.
• Where possible I get people to sit down on a chair as this is often much more relaxing for them. It also enables me to shoot from above, getting the model to look up slightly which is often more flattering.
• Sitting "cowboy" style on a chair (astride it backwards) works well, giving you somewhere to rest your hands and getting you to lean forward.

Top Secret Tip

• To avoid those double chins (we all have them especially when we smile!) then try this little tip: point your chin down and then jut it out forward - this tightens the jaw line.  The photographer is shooting you from face on, not from the side so although this feels unnatural it really works! Try it in front of the mirror.

Backgrounds

The decision whether to go for a plain background or a natural one depends on you and sometimes on restrictions imposed on you. In the shot below a graduated grey background was required to match existing head shots of business colleagues on the company web site.

Where possible I prefer neutral, natural backgrounds that complement the image the client is looking for  - complimentary colours, nothing distracting in the background to draw the eye away from the face. In the image below I purposely included the urban background but made sure that it was out of focus so as not to be distracting.

In some cases you can hint at the working environment but always ensuring it isn't a distraction.

And in this next shot we styled it so that the client was lying down amid hundreds of toy white rabbits. It's still suitable as a head shot but has a much more informal feel and is suitable for PR purposes.

A little extra help...

I edit every shot in post production and make sure that the client looks at his or her very best. I remove blemishes and imperfections, reduce wrinkles, slightly brighten eyes and teeth and even slim faces a little. We're not talking L'Oreal airbrushing, my intention is that the client will look at the picture and say "Wow, that's a really nice shot of me!" but not be able to put their finger on exactly what I've done!

What happens after the shoot?

Everyone works slightly differently, but I usually select a number of final images, do an initial edit on them and then send them across as low resolution files to the client who will select two to three they wish to use. I then provide fully edited high resolution JPEG files.

Who owns the copyright to the final images? 

It's usual for the photographer to retain the copyright for the images but to grant you full business usage.

By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!

A trip to Crosby Beach with Big Boy

After endless days of rain over Christmas we were desperate to get out somewhere - me particularly so as I had only been able to use my new Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 lens once since Christmas Day!

This is a real Big Boy of a lens - extremely sharp, focuses almost instantly and silently, is image stabilised and has a wide aperture of f/2.8 at every focal length. Basically it's great for making sure moving subjects are really sharp even when the light isn't great.


I first got my hands on one at a pet photography course in December and it went straight to the top of my list for Santa (I did help Santa out a bit with the cost!). I couldn't get this shot of a spaniel in flight with my best zoom lens - it just wouldn't focus fast enough nor let enough light in to achieve the amount of blurred background I wanted.

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On Christmas morning I barely had time to get one shot of our puppy, Ferb, before the holiday monsoon set in. It was well into the New Year before a free day and good weather came together at the same time. The beach seemed like a great idea, especially as Ferb hadn't been to the seaside before.

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Nic's wanted to see Antony  Gormley's "Another Place" art installation at Crosby Beach for a while (once he explained it was those naked statues of men staring out to see we were a bit more enthusiastic!).

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Conditions were perfect for an uplifting frolic across the sand and for getting used to Big Boy - bright, low sunshine, clear, flat light. At any other time of year the sun would have been too high and direct, causing harsh contrasts but it was perfect that day. The sun was at the right angle and bright enough to create silhouettes and I was able to get an amusing picture of Abi assessing one of the figures - we all know what she was looking at! Works well in black and white as it emphasises the contrast.

OK, so the naked statues weren't exactly going anywhere and I wanted some practice shooting moving subjects. The kids and puppy duly obliged by dashing around on the beach, somewhat complicated by the fact that Ferb was on a 30 metre long lead! To keep them in focus I used the AI Servo focusing mode, which I'll admit I've largely steered clear of, but it performed perfectly. You just have to remember to keep tracking your subject with the lens and it looks after the focusing. Takes a bit of practise but well worth it.

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It's not often we see Nic in full flight - he's renowned for falling over, so this is a rare sight indeed! I love Ferb in this one too!

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And freeze framing the kids kicking water around worked well too. (Spot the full frontal statue in the background!)

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Nic had made that fatal mistake of forgetting to put a memory card in his camera so we nipped into Crosby to buy one and to refuel. When we got back to the beach around 3pm the sun was lower in the sky, the light had changed significantly and the tide was in. I would have loved to have got a proper sunset shot of the statues being immersed in the sea but cold, bored kids and wet dog were clamouring to go home. So I made do with this shot instead and felt very jealous of the increasing numbers of people appearing with cameras and tripods.

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By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!

New year, new look blog

It's been a while since my last confession post... I fell out of the blogging habit last year, largely because I spent most of my free time on a project to take and post a photograph every day during 2012. (Separate post on this is simmering away in my brain and will come to the boil soon).

I've really missed writing and have made it a resolution for 2013 to do more. I'm planning to combine all my blogs into one - it was getting confusing for me never mind anyone else. So top tips on photography and posts about recent shoots will all nestle here alongside tales of our exploits as a family.

I've given my blog a bit of a facelift - it took far longer than I expected to do a few simple changes to the background and header - but I'm pleased with the overall result. Feels a little friendlier than all that serious black and green I had before. And it seems more appropriate to feature my lovely children and dog in the header too!

Ferb, the dog, is a new addition to our family and he will no doubt be the star of the show for the foreseeable future - he's so darn cute and extremely photogenic. He even has his own Facebook page if you can't wait between posts to see his little hairy face.

Also set to feature a fair amount is our new (to us) caravan. With two successful outings under our belt (we won't mention the encounter between our gatepost and a caravan window!) we're planning holidays up and down the length of Britain this year.

I've already got a long list of ideas for blog posts and am itching to get started. With heavy snow supposedly heading our way I can forecast lots of photo opportunities and lots of time sitting in front of a roaring fire, blogging away. Hopefully they won't just languish unread in the ether somewhere - at least I know my other half reads them and points out where I've used apostrophe's (sic) in the wrong place and embellished the truth somewhat, in order to be more entertaining!

By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!

A newborn photo shoot with Ella Rose (by Cheshire baby photographer Picture It Big)

I was delighted to be asked to photograph one week old Ella Rose - she is absolutely perfect and second time mum, Mindy, was totally chilled out, so this was the ideal newborn photo shoot.

Ella was having a feed when I arrived so having set up the first shot I put the kettle on and made us a nice cuppa. After a short while Ella fell asleep and we settled her onto a snuggly blanket and popped a matching hat on her head. I'm a bit of a knitter and take along a selection of things I've made for mum to choose from. This pink and purple blend really suited Ella's colouring.

As it turned out Ella didn't fancy a very long nap and I took the opportunity to set up the next shot whilst she had another feed and a quick nappy change. Mindy's family own the Hollies Farm Shop and we incorporated one of their branded apple boxes into the next shot, along with some beautiful sunflowers borrowed from the shop!

I decided to shoot this against a simple black background with Ella lying on super soft black velvet and I love the simplicity of the final shot. These apple boxes can be decorated with a baby's name or birth date, or simply "Made with love" etc, so watch this space as I intend to offer newborn packages incorporating the apple box, which can be used as a toy box or planter afterwards.



Mindy and Phil had been given a beautiful stripey blanket by some friends and wanted to use it in a shot, so we incorporated it into the next one with Ella's "big" brother, Ewan. Now this is where our relaxed morning shifted to a different pace, as I worked at the speed of light to capture this active toddler with his new sister! Mindy was thrilled to bits with the resulting pictures - it was very important to her to capture them both together and I like to have a happy client!

I then switched to a plain cream background. It's always nice to have a variety of shots with different props and colours. By this time Ella Rose was in a deep sleep and was very amenable to being posed.

The whole shoot took about two and a half hours and I think Mindy would agree that it was a very stress free experience, interspersed with several cups of tea, a delicious lunch brought across from the Hollies restaurant and quite a few curious visitors! I think our only complaint would have been about the heat! With baby Ella stripped naked for most of the time we had to keep the room nice and warm.

A couple of weeks later I returned to show Mindy and Phil the final photographs and to show them some options for displaying them on the walls. Mindy and I had already discussed before and during the shoot what she wanted to do and I also had some other ideas mocked up.

Mindy was a very well behaved client (!) coming back to me with her order within just a few days, so I was able to get everything turned around for her and delivered back nice and quickly. I love presenting clients with their finished, framed images - it's a magical moment, often with a few tears (of the happy variety!) and I realise all over again why I love this job!

They had chosen a number of different framed images - here are some of them.

I'm looking forward to going back to photograph Ella with her family during the next year and seeing how much she has changed.

If you'd like to see how I set up a newborn photoshoot in your home, check out A newborn photo shoot with Isabella Rose.

By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!

How professional commercial photography can give a boost your business

A picture can be worth a thousand words ...or can even bring you new business as it did for chimney sweep, Simon Barton. Simon spotted an opportunity to sweep aside the competition when he realized that no local chimney sweeps featured photographs on their websites. He decided to get some pictures of himself at work cleaning a domestic chimney, aiming to clearly demonstrate his emphasis on cleanliness. "Clients are very worried about soot getting everywhere and I wanted to show how my system completely seals the fireplace so that not even a speck of dirt can escape", Simon explained to me before the shoot. He even wears blue shoe covers to avoid bringing in dirt from outside.

I took a series of photographs of Simon as he set about cleaning a chimney and conducting a smoke test. Since posting the pictures on his website he has seen a significant increase in business, with new customers mentioning that they picked him because they liked the way he worked, having seen his website. "I'm really glad I had the photographs done as it's had a real impact on my business" Simon commented. "Jane found a great venue and made the whole shoot feel very relaxed and easy. I just got on with my job!"

Prospective clients can often be wary about what to expect when they book a new service - seeing images of you at work can help to remove their concerns and make them pick you and not the competition.

The small investment you make in professional photography can reap great rewards, so get in touch. My commercial photography rates start at just £125.00.

Thanks to Simon Barton for his great testimony.

By Jane Burkinshaw. Share this post by clicking on one of the Share buttons on the right hand side. I'd love to hear your comments too!