My Week With Christina - By Lauren Phillips

When I first arrived at Christina's studio I found it to be very Professional and clean. On the the first day, we had a meeting in Coventry with One Vision Imaging to discuss different types of frames and glass. Also Christina suggested they tried something different by taking certain elements of one frame and glass and changing it, creating a new product they could sell.

When it came to Wednesday, we had a group of 4 men from a very high end business company. Whilst Christina was photographing the men, I was watching and looking at all the positioning of the lights and where Christina was stood. Overall I think this day was good for me because it showed me how an ordinary day was for Christina. After the photo shoot Christina showed me, on the computer how to edit the photos and make them so that the photos were pleasing to the customer.

Later on that day, Christina took some photos of me and then I got to choose the one I would like processed and edited. Then showing me on Photoshop, Christina would tell me what relevant icons she needed to use to edit them. After she showed me what to do she gave me a little trial run to see if i remembered how she did certain things and for me to just get used to the software and her awesome pen and pad-mouse?

Thursday. Well, we were expecting a client but it turned out that she told us the wrong day, never mind. But the good thing was that the studio was set up ready for me to use with my friend (client) later on. Christina gave me some time to edit and process another photo we took from the day before, which was nice of her. When i was finally finished; bearing in mind that it did take me a long time to get used to the software and remember where everything was stored, I asked Christina for her opinion and she was very impressed with my first actual photo..edited! Phew, I passed!

It was now only 1 Hour away from me photographing my friend, Ella. I was really nervous but excited at the same time because I had never done this sort of thing before. Christina tried a few shots with me just to make sure that the lighting was right, but would soon have to change it as Ella is nearly 6ft! Thankfully Christina let me go outside and take photos so I would get used to the focusing and how heavy the camera was (it was really, really heavy). I came back inside to show Christina my photos. She took out the memory card and then we looked at them on the computer. She told me where the focus point actually was and if it was even in focus at all; which some were not.

Ella has now arrived. I set Ella up in the position I wanted her, but then we had to adjust the lights because of how tall she is. Also, Christina wanted to try something different; having a light flare coming in from one side on an angle, which was interesting.

Christina stayed in the studio just to see the first couple of shots and how they turned out. Now we were left on our own. I directed Ella pretty well I thought, but I bet she would beg to differ. The photo shoot went pretty well, we changed backgrounds and changed clothes and I even got photographed. When we were finally finished, I showed Ella how we edit the photos and she was amazed that all her flaws were gone, not that she had any anyway.

Friday. My last day. I finished off editing the best photos I took on Thursday and I am very proud of myself to have been challenged with something this different to what I'm used to. However, I have enjoyed this experience and hope to keep in touch with Christina and she is a brilliant photographer! I would recommend her to anyone and everyone who needs school photos or portraits, whether it be of themselves, family or friends.

Comments

I am Still Me: A Story about a Transgender Boy

Meet Leo. Leo is 15 and currently going through an epic transformation that has momentarily turned the lives of himself and those around him upside down. A mum who once had the daughter she always longed for is now coping with the realisation that she will be living the rest of her life with a son instead. When your child is born you have certain expectations of the typical life they will lead but most of us know and accept that it won't necessarily end up the way we imagine. Not every person wants to marry, have kids or be involved with the opposite sex. Most of us have come to accept this and can adjust to whatever comes our way relatively easily. But few of us have expected to have to deal with a change in sex. Its not that we've hoped it won't happen, but just that it never occurred to us that it might. This is a new adjustment that we as a society are being presented with today, just like so many others that have come before. When I first heard that Phoebe

5 Reasons you Should Consider Getting a Professional Headshot

Headshots, or profile pictures are becoming a requirement of so many tools we regularly use or reference today. From Facebook to Linked In, Instagram to Twitter and often any website that represents a company for which you work or own will have a place to include a photograph that is meant to show your audience who you are. And how you present yourself there will tell your audience so much about you. 1. A profile picture is your first opportunity for your audience to see you. Its often the first impression you make and we all know you only have one chance at a first impression. A professional photographer has the skills to show you in the best, most suitable way to give a great first impression. (These headshots were created for recruitment firm Optima UK who asked to have their logo placed behind them. I think it makes these headshots quite eye catching and they should do their job well.) 2. Using a professional to create your headshot will convey yo

I'm a Portrait Artist and Variety is the Spice of My Life

I often admire the work of other photographers. I'm always having a browse or spotting something interesting on Facebook or Pinterest. Many of them have a very consistent style and subject, as is the case with many newborn photographers especially. This has made me wonder if perhaps I'm not developing as a portrait artist as well as I could be. We are taught early on within the realms of the photography world that we are to develop a distinct style and this of course must be clearly evident in any upper level qualifications panels we choose to submit. However, when I look at my own work over each passing year I fail to see the same consistency. I don't have a particular subject in which I specialise. I can photograph anything from newborns to teenagers, toddlers to families and even the occasional male nude. How can you put these together in an album and form a beautiful collection that I see many other photographers displaying so well.

My Fellowship in Child Portraiture, Baby Photographer of the Year and All Things Convention Related

Its been a very busy year for me. Hence the reason I've not been keeping this blog up to date. That's about to change though. I anticipate this coming year to be even busier but I plan on getting a lot more organised and keeping on top of things like this. For now though I'd like to tell you all about last week. I keep trying to think of some words to describe this past week and I keep coming back to 'I had the time of my life' and breaking into song in my head. Apart from when my daughter was born I haven't had a better time in my life. This week was spent at the Societies Convention where in excess of 14 thousand photographers from around the world meet to take part in print competitions, submit qualification panels and join in on various classes and events. The week began as one of the most stressful of my life. I've never felt nerves like it. I'd just spent the best part of a year planning and preparing my 20 image panel to present to 5

My Work Experience Week by Hester Sharpe

A week in the life of a Photographers assistant, is not all about saying cheese! I’m Hester Sharpe, currently at JCC but took a week out of normal school life on work experience to be a photographer’s assistant and learn the bits behind the camera, photograph and the process to get to the end result. During my week of work experience in photography I have learnt that there is a lot more than just taking the pictures and printing them. The steps in between are the key to getting the perfect photo. For example the photos have to be cropped, tweaked, edited, colour corrected. That is just a taste I have had in the processing of the photos and there is a lot more than just those things. Those processes are the most time consuming part of the photograph and a tremendous amount of detail is put in to the picture but all the hours spent are paid off with the end result; a perfect picture. It isn’t just how the picture looks; presentation is a key to photography too. Selecting the best

Christina Lauder Portraits

Search This Blog