Friendly, Affordable Web Design & Photography in Leicester & Leicestershire

Press and P.R. Photography

Manual Labour

I'm pleased to say I started my photography career in the days before digital cameras where invented. Why? Because in the days of manual cameras we had to learn about the theory and technical side of photography.

Full Auto Digital Cameras

Many photographers today have little or no understanding of aperture and shutter speed combinations or depth of field. Sadly a lot of new photographers simply set their sexy new auto focus, auto-exposure auto-ever thing cameras to the green dot and then wonder why their images are out of focus or badly exposed.

The Black & White Years

During my 30 plus years as a press photographer I must have taken close to 1,000,000 images. When I started at the Leicester Mercury in 1978 most of the photographers were using Rollei 6cm x 6cm medium format roll film cameras.

Most of the other photographers I worked with reminisced about using a Speed Graphic plate camera and told tales of flashbulbs and using two 4" x 5" glass plates per assignment.

The young whipper-snappers, like me, were all using the new miniature 35mm Nikon F1. This heavyweight professional film camera, which came without a light meter, motor drive or exposure meter, allowed snappers to catch the decisive moment and capture 36 images per film. We mostly used Kodak's 400 ASA Tri-X black and white film.

Going Colour

In the 1990s the newspaper made the transition to colour and for quite a while we were using two cameras on assignment, one with colour film and one loaded with black & white. These were processed and printed in house.

Going Digital

The first Digital SLR I used was the Kodak DCS620 two mega pixel digital camera which was based on the Nikon F5 film camera. These were huge and cost £6,500 which, though ground breaking lacked quality. This was followed by the Nikon D1 winch became the professional camera of choice for press worldwide. These cameras cost about £3,500 but paid for themselves in about 12 months of film and processing costs. Over the years we have upgraded to Nikon D2h's and lately the absolutely fantastic Nikon D3s.

Press Photography

I love press photography and I challenge anyone to find a more varied and interesting occupation. Every day is different and presents a new challenge. I have been privileged to photograph 1000s of fascinating people from politicians to pop stars and every age group from tiny infants to centenarian.

The great thing about press photography is the ability to travel light. 95% of assignments can be covered with a camera, two zooms and a couple of powerful flashguns. The real skill of the press photographer is the ability to instantly assess the location, lighting and situation and come up with a creative idea in a few seconds. It's this snap judgment and the ability to work quickly under pressure in a wide variety of situations which make a press photographer such a skillful operator.

During my award winning 30 year press career I have photographed:

News Photography
Sport Photography
Fashion Photography
Commercial Photography
Industrial Photography
Public Relations Photography
Aerial Acrobatics Photography
Underground Photography
Night and Low Light Photography
Multiple Flash Photography

Digital Camera Courses

If you like these pictures and you would like to learn the skills necessary to take similar images why not attend one of our Digital SLR Camera and Photography Training Courses

Digital SLR Courses

This is a one day digital SLR course taken by a professional photographer showing you the tips and tricks of the trade. It is aimed at photographers who are new to digital photography or have made the transition from film to digital.

Courses are run in the Kibworth area of Leicester, close to the picturesque town of Market Harborough and Foxton Lock, in Leicestershire. Other areas of Leicester can be covered by arrangement.

This intensive course will teach you more in one day than you could pick up in months of night school classes.

You will learn about:

When to use Auto, TV, AV or Manual
All about ISO
Image size and image quality
Flash settings and fill in flash.
The auto focus settings & when to use them.
Composition & the correct use of the zoom lens.

During the day you will discover how to photograph:

Perfect portraits
Lovely Landscapes
Great Groups
Artful Architecture
Super Silhouettes

This is a one day digital compact camera course will take you step by step through the settings of your compact. We will delve into the menu and explain what all those hidden settings mean.

Click here for dates and bookings