Masters Of Arts Degree: Professional Goals

For my second directed study assignment, we were required to set up a blog and post recent photos onto it commenting on a few areas.  This I am happy to see is something I already do, and posted some of Lauren & Craig’s wedding photos with a little write up in my previous post.  One other request for the study is to list at least 3 professional goals that I would like to obtain by the end of the academic year.  Here are my goals in no particular order:

• Fine tune my technical skill set - specialise in lighting techniques for portraiture, events and commercial photography 
• Have a current first-class professional portraiture, weddings, commercial and wildlife portfolio
• Know the ins & outs of the photography business  - and a variety of marketing tools
• To have a Master of Arts Degree in Freelance Photography :) 

I am uber excited to be starting this journey - pursuing a career change is daunting and fixed with lots of uncertainties, but I have a good feeling about this and know deep down I have finally found my calling in life! Namaste ;) 

Wedding of Lauren and Craig Rostron 30.08.14

On the 30th August 2014 we had the honour of photographing the wedding of Lauren and Craig Rostron at the beautiful Swiss Gardens in Shuttleworth, Bedfordshire.  We photographed the whole day-from the bridal preparation to well after the first dance in the evening. We discussed wants and needs with the lovely couple prior to the wedding day and knew that they wanted us to capture the whole day as it unfolded, like a story. The Shuttleworth Air Show was also on that day and there were times where our gazes were fixed to the skies as iconic planes flew over. We are really pleased with the fresh, modern, timeless images of their big day and had a really fun evening showing them on a big screen at the couple’s home when they returned from their honeymoon; re-living their special day all over again over a glass of vino! The great thing about our style of candid photography is that both could see parts of their big day that they would not have otherwise seen and to see the emotions of friends and family that would have been missed in the whirlwind of memorable moments. Here is a selection of our favourite images chosen from nearly 600! It was a challenge to choose for we love all of them, but 600 is far too many to put on this blog! ;)  

  

It's whats on the inside that counts ;)

 I had a bit of fun with this image!  I wanted to try and bit of multiple exposure photography art and so I shot a portrait of Justin Lemm when he was working at Box End Park wakeboard cable.  I also captured a number of different images from around the cable operating area and then layered and blended the images together in Photoshop.  I wanted the image to represent what Justin was thinking; what was in his mind at the time of the portrait being taken.   

My Journey ...

I am now well underway with my Masters of Arts Freelance Photography course at Birmingham City University (BCU).  I have decided to pursue this academic journey not only for my own achievement but also to help me be the best in a very competitive field! I aim to share this journey with you and would be very grateful for your support.  I am also keen to receive comments, should there be anything that you may like to comment on. 

I am blown away by the facilities at the new Parkside centre at BCU.  The media centre opened two years ago and hosts some state of the art studios for all media genres.  The photography studios are awe-inspiring and very exciting. One of my interests is to specialise in lighting, so I’m sure I will be making as much use as I can of the equipment, facility and tuition on offer!

  

My fist couple of weeks have been geared around finding my strengths and realising my specialism.  I am now very much focussed on the area of ‘Social Photography’ and of course ‘Wildlife Photography’.   

What is Social Photography?  I always knew my interest lays in portraiture, commercial, weddings and events but I was naïve to the fact that these all fall into a category!  So I am a Social Photographer!  This, I like, for it enables me to specialise in all of the fields I enjoy and have already worked on as Lemm Photography.  I love weddings, studio shoots and location work and am pleased to discover that my style suits these areas greatly. 

The first directed study assignment was to come up with a statement that best describes me as a photographer without stating that I’m a photographer.  The following mission statement will be the ‘heart-beat’ of all of my work...     

As time flies by in a flash, I aim to capture personality, emotions and the uniqueness that exists on the inside as well as the outside. The special, whimsical moments that can be cherished forever.

 

Lauren and Craig's Pre Wedding Photoshoot

Justin took Lauren and Craig and their adorable pug to the Mill in Bromham to capture some lovely pre-wedding day images.  Their wedding will be at the stunning Swiss Gardens on 30th August and we feel very honored and can't wait to photograph their magical day :)