A trip to Manchester

Yesterday morning I woke up staggeringly early - well, 6am - and somehow made my way to Preston train station. Hopping on the train, then another bus ride to Openshaw in Manchester - I'd never even heard of it till a couple of days ago - I arrived at the studio in perfect time for the day's training to begin. The thing is, I was 2 hours early and stuck in a part of Manchester that, to be fair, isn't exactly interesting.

Fast-forward an eternity to 11.30 ish and the training could begin. Mike Larson is an internationally known and respected photographer, but for me at least, it's not the quality of his images (which, by the way, are fantastic) that sets him apart, but his ability to talk about the business side of things in a way that seems to inspire people. For example, he mentioned having a 'to be' list, and not just a 'to do' list ... hmmm, I feel I need to buy a pipe, pour a glass of port and ponder this over some Chopin.

After a while he got down to some shooting, with the model, giving us some valuable insight into what goes through his mind when he takes on a shoot, particularly in regard to lighting - incidentally, by the end, we were working in conditions so dark that bats would've had to turn on their full-beams. Well, maybe not that dark, but you get the idea.

So, here are a couple of pics I managed to grab in the couple of minutes available to me ...

This one was taken with the model sitting on a window-ledge. No extra lights, nothing. 

This had the exact same set-up, but went for a more abstract composition.

I went to Bristol and this is what I did ...

Well, that's actually not true, because the action actually took place in Stonehouse, Gloucester. I booked my place on the Lovegrove 'Shooting Winter Weddings' training day back at the end of August, when I bought my new camera gear. The option was floating around my head to either attend this workshop (not exactly cheap, but I'll get on to that shortly) or buy another piece of equipment, like a great tripod / another speedlight, etc - as a bloke this was more than tempting.

I decided, however, to bury my desire for yet more gear and get some training. There are loads of training providers out there, but I went for the Lovegrove thing. The quality of their work is outstanding and Damien has a column in a magazine I subscribe to.

So I made my way down to Bristol, then the next day back up to Stonehouse (about 35 miles out of the city) and waited somewhat anxiously with the other delegates to meet Damien and Julie. I was actually more nervous about this day than I was about the real wedding I shot a couple of days previously .. maybe it was just not wanting to make an idiot out of myself in front of other pros ...

So, without further ado, here are some of my best pictures from the day.

1) I loved the sense of movement you get from the spiral staircase, the directional lighting on the groom and the warmer light behind him - this gives the picture a real 3D quality.

2) I really like the simplicity of this one. The streak of light in the bottom right corner is at the same angle as her head, while the look away from the camera gives the frame a sense of movement.

3) The bride just touched her face for literally a second (not an intentional pose I might add), so I quickly took the shot. It just makes it look a bit less posed, and I like her expression, as well as the angles created by her arm, which always lead you back to her face.

4) This was taken in the church, with all 8 photographers, as well as Damien and Julie, vying for prime position. The mixed lighting colours weren't giving me the effect I was looking for, so I did a sepia conversion. I love the directional lighting and the shaft of light from the window in the background.

5) Another sepia one, this was inside, with a one light set-up.

6) Moving to a two light set-up (I think, anyway)

7) Moving outside to catch the darkening sky, Damien set up a single speedlight to capture these dramatic shots.

8) To make sure we all got a turn at getting wet and muddy by lying on the ground, I decided to try the same shot from a different angle. I darkened down everything surrounding the bride, and I like the results it gave me. Really really simple, yet quite striking.


So to sum up, anyone considering doing some training, such as this course by the Lovegroves, cannot fail to be delighted with the results. It is not cheap, but the crucial factor is that it is worth the price. The use of an amazing venue, beautiful and professional models, and of course the expertise of Damien and Julie will give you shots to be proud of. I expect to book my next training day with them asap, just don't tell the Mrs ;)