Shooting babies

I don't shoot many babies, so when I do it's actually quite fun and refreshing from the other kinds of photography I do.

Yesterday, in a slightly weird trade of services, I needed my car fixed and babies father wanted some shots of his 20 month old daughter Evelyn.  A win win situation for both of us.

We did the shoot in Evelyn's back garden, so she was completely at home, with all of her toys to hand.  My favourite picture from the shoot is below.  It captures her lovely personality perfectly.

Gear Used: One of my Canon 40D's suddenly refused to accept / format memory cards at the start of the shoot, most annoying, but hopefully Canon service can fix it so I don't have to turn it into an expensive paperweight.  I always have back up bodies when I'm shooting, and I used my trusty old second Canon 40D and my favourite lens, Canon 70-200 f2.8 IS.

Photographing Jimmy White

I've been a fan of snooker for over 25 years.  My first memory of snooker was watching the Steve Davis vs Dennis Taylor 1985.  I was one of the 18 million that stayed up to gone midnight to see the conclusion of the match.  I was only 15 at the time, it was a school night, my parents didn't "get" snooker, so I was forced to watch it on a tiny 4" black and white telly hidden at the side of my bed.

My first memory of Jimmy White is watching the Mercantile Credit Classic where Jimmy won his first ranking tournament beating Cliff Thorburn 13-12.  I remember it so well for two reasons, firstly because at the height of tension in the final frames Jimmy called a foul on himself that the referee didn't spot.  I'll never forget that act of extreme sportsmanship.  The other reason I remember is so well is because I'd started watching the final session at my Nan's house, but just a few frames from the end we had to drive home, longest 15 minutes ever!

The shoot was for a Jimmy White iPad / iPhone app called iWhirlwind, and we were shooting at the South West Snooker Academy in Gloucester.  The shoot came about because of contact made via Twitter, with Jim's business partner Jamie Trump during the 2011 World Snooker Championships.  A few short weeks later, and here we all were.

I've photographed quite a few famous people on stage, and quite a few fitness celebrities, this was my first proper shoot with someone as well known as Jimmy.  I didn't want to come across as a fan, but I did have to ask Jimmy and Michaela Tabb to pose for one quick picture with me.

My job for the most part was to keep out of the way of the video cameras, and just to photograph Jim in action.  My first time photographing snooker, and I was quite pleased with the results.  My Gran (who died 4 years ago) would have been proud of me, she was a big Jimmy and snooker fan.

It was the most surreal shoot I've ever done.  For a time I was re-spotting the colours for Jim as he was warming up while the video cameras were being set up.  When I arrived home that evening it almost seemed as if the day was a dream.  Being a self employed photographer is not the easiest way to make a living, but on days like this, oh so worth it.

Thank you Jim for a great shoot, looking forward to seeing the app, although I will have to borrow someone's iPad!

Thanks to Neil Sheppard for coming along to help, although he didn't really do anything!

Shooting babies in the USA

Normally when I'm in the USA I shoot fitness, fitness and more fitness.  However my final shoot on my 2010 trip was rather different.  Tonya, a model I'd photographed almost ten years ago in Nevada wanted me to do a few photos of her 9 month old baby.  As I was staying with a friend in her town of Fredericksburg it seemed like the perfect time to get together.

So we did.

I am happy to report that no babies were harmed during the photoshoot, and amazingly I did not make the baby cry!

A couples photoshoot in Las Vegas

Finally I get to do something other than a fitness photoshoot in North America!

Thank you to Terra and Henry, and for all the insults we traded throughout the morning.  It was fun!

Cat portrait photography

They say never work with children or animals.  I say ignore that advice because both can give you some amazing photos.  You may have to have more patience, and work a little harder, but the results are often worth it.

Yesterday I had the pleasure of photographing 5 cats.  Well, at least I should have photographed 5 cats, but 2 of them weren't playing our game, so we only ended up with photos of 3 of them.

Cats might be very cute, but they're a bit of a bugger to get them to do what you want them to, where you want them to do it, for a photoshoot.  The easy way would have been to chase them around the room working with natural light and a flash, but no, I decided to set up a mini studio, which meant they'd have to come and sit in the right place.

With a little bit of food, a fluffy bird on a stick, two helpers, and a bright green laser pointer pen we just about got them to do what we wanted.

It was my first time doing cat photography like this and I'm rather pleased with the results.

Update:  The cats are both Maine Coon cats.

Cat portrait photography outtake

No more pussy related gags, just my favourite outtake from my cat photoshoot in London earlier today.  The proper photos will come tomorrow.

Making babies cry

I'm normally quite good at making babies cry.  On look at me with my camera and they're away.  Thankfully with this little one the tears only lasted a few seconds after which she gave me a hard time chasing her around while I tried, and very nearly failed to get her to stand still enough to have her photo taken.

I shoot babies

I seem to be shooting quite a few babies lately.  Here is a shot of another family photoshoot I did in London recently.

Being given the look of Damien on a baby photoshoot!

Cute baby photos are everywhere, but it's not often I get one where the baby looks pure evil.  I like this photo of little 17 month old Ava!

Just to proof she can also do cute....

Shooting children

I often joke that I really don't like children, but truth is sometimes they can be quite fun and pleasant.  Although I couldn't eat a whole one.

For some weird reason, and I don't think I'll ever work out why, kids seem to like me.

Anyway, these are a few of my favourite photos from the family photoshoot I did in Southampton over the weekend.

I hope you'll agree that these are loads nicer than the stuffy and clinical typical school photo that all kids get sent home with once  a year.  I don't even see that as photography - it's just a production line money making machine for the companies involved.  Do yourself a favour parents, don't waste your money on generic school photos, treat yourself and your family and get a real photographer to get some real photographs that will actually capture the character of your children.

Mrs Smith aka the Mum had this to say about the shoot.   "Mr Palmer, the pictures are fantastic!!!!   Could not want for more!!!  You are great at doing your job and you were great with the children.  Many thanks for shooting my children we all had a great time all round !!!!  I shall be telling people about MR MICHAEL PALMER !!"

I filmed a video blog during this photoshoot - have a look down to see it...

A new character

I don't need a fancy studio. This set of photos of Jacquie was shot on location on the third level of the Bargate multi-storey car park in Southampton.

I'd parked there the day before and noticed how quiet it was, but more importantly I loved how the sunlight was bouncing off the white walls creating a natural reflector.

Not exactly the most glamorous of locations, but it's the end result that counts.  I'm really pleased with this set of photos.

After the shoot I walked up to my favourite camera shop, London Camera Exchange where I helped Jacquie buy her first digital slr, a Nikon D3000.  Even with me being a Canon man, it was the right choice.  With a 2 year guarantee and with the Canon equivalent D1000 feeling very cheap and plastic like, even I would have chosen the Nikon if I was buying my first proper camera.

Salisbury by Night

Note to self.  When going on a night shoot, always, I repeat always, make sure you have a tripod with you.

As you may have gathered I foolishly forgot my tripod for my excursion to Salisbury last week.  It wasn't the end of the world, it just forced me to rethink the shots I had in my mind and do try something different.

It was a bitterly cold evening, and I was out with another photographer.  When we weren't eating chips from the local chip shop, or warming ourselves in Burger King over a cup of tea, we were mostly bitching about the cold and taking the piss out of each other.  Good times!

Here's a few of my favourites.  Enjoy.

Edit:  I always forget to include technical details.  All photographs taken with Canon 5d Mark II with 24-105L lens.  Almost everything taken at 6400 ISO, at F4 and shutter speeds ranging between 1/15 to 1/400.

A change of look

Late last year I changed my look.  For the first time in my adult life I didn't have the same hairstyle.

I used to really hate having my photo taken but since becoming more confident with myself I really don't mind now.  I have a rough idea of what I want, and of course I came prepared with hat and camera.

Having good photos taken really can help with business - people often recognise me now because of the hat and as a result I've had more business.

The photos taken at my last shoot in the summer now look dated, I needed some new ones done to show how my hair has migrated south for the winter.  So when my good friend Jules Addison was in town this afternoon, I thrust my camera into his hands and he snapped away for 10 minutes.  These are a few of my favourites.

Shooting a toddler

It was towards the end of a long day of shooting in Winnipeg, Manitoba.  The day had started with 5 subjects, all doing fitness style photos.  It had been a great day, exhausting but great.

Winnipeg is a strange city, it's kind of the armpit of Canada, yet for some reason I like it.  I think it has something to do with the reception enjoyed on my 2 visits there.   Both times I've met some really good people, and been looked after extremely well.  Proof if proof were needed that it's not about where you are, but the people you've got around you.

We were photographing on the forecourt of a car dealership / garage (who says shooting pretty girls is glamorous?) and we were all getting bitten within an inch of our life's by Manitoba's provincial bird, otherwise known as sodding great big mosquito.

I was somewhere on the outskirts of the city with Amanda and Jayme finishing off the last few outfits they wanted to do.  Amanda's husband had arrived with a quad bike Amanda wanted to use for some shots, and their cute 3 year old daughter.

At first she was a bit scared of me.  I could understand why, a strange man with a stranger accent, and a silly hat.  Even though I say I don't really like kids, for some reason they quite often seem to like me.  I don't get it, really I don't.

Anyway, it wasn't long before she was sitting on the tarmac next to me, in the shade, while I continued to photograph her Mummy.

With Mum's permission I snapped a few shots of her baby, and my favourite is up top.

Below is a picture of Mum with her quad bike, and below that my good friend Jayme G!

We all went for dinner at a great steak restaurant in Winnipeg in my honour after, a slightly early 40th birthday celebration.

Fun business portraits

So my client today, we'll call her Sue, hates having her picture taken.  To get a picture she liked and would use was going to be a bit of a challenge.  We chose "nagging" because thats how she describes herself to her clients - she nags them (in a positive way) to get stuff done.

Who says business portraits need to be stuffy and formal.   The important thing is to be remembered, and hopefully this photo of Sue will be hard to forget.

You can follow Sue on Twitter - www.twitter.com/suepell

Note to self, next time clean the fingerprints off the blackboard.

He has a single out

One of my clients, as well as being a bit of an Excel geek, is also a musician.

Mr Ben Dalby has just released a new single called Doctor Can.

To find out more about Ben you can visit his Myspace page - www.myspace.com/bendalbymusic and you can listen to the ditty in question below....

Women can be characters as well

Last week I shot my first female character shoot with Lesley-Anne Hornbogen from On The Go.

We shot at the lovely Homewood Park hotel near Bath. The last time I was there was to shoot the wedding reception of Alice & Jules.

It was raining so we shot in inside while drinking tea using just natural light from the window.