2008 was an interesting year for me. At the beginning of the year I took the big step of going full time with my photographic activities. It's a big step because in this business there isn't a great deal of difference between 'full time employment' and 'full time unemployment', but I have no regrets - I feel fortunate that I have finally found a job that I truly enjoy.
In 2008 I mostly focussed (if you'll excuse the pun) on building up my weddings work, mostly by carrying out my duties as wedding photographer for a variety of lovely couples, but there are a whole lot of other things involved in running a successful wedding photography business: this year I have also launched and maintained my website and gallery; written this blog; booked wedding fairs; produced leaflets; built relationships with other photographers; provided reprints to guests; sourced new suppliers for boxes, prints and frames; tweaked and filled various accounting spreadsheets; commissioned a variety of forms of business stationery; stripped bare the shelves of my local Staples store; repaired a hard disk crash; filed away physical reams of correspondence and digital reams of photographs; met up with clients before, during and after their big day; registered on various wedding photographer directories; answered dozens and dozens of wedding enquiries; scouted locations; carried out engagement shoots in all sorts of interesting places; spent weeks of my life doing post-processing on all of my photographs; read lots of wedding photography magazines; writing blog entries and engaging in other forms of self-promotion; and so on. I have enjoyed pretty much all of these activities, I should make it clear - but I do wish that I got paid per hour for doing them!
Event photography is a similar thing to wedding photography (although the term 'event photography' means a lot of things to a lot of people) - as far as I'm concerned, it's all about capturing the places, people and events in the most flattering light - and I've had the chance to develop my business in this area as well during 2008. I've undertaken a variety of 'corporate jobs' this year (some in the event photography field), and I suspect that I enjoy these more than many of my professional colleagues. A job is a job, and I derive a great satisfaction from taking flattering portraits and capturing moments, whether it be for my best friend or a multinational. I haven't really shown off any of my corporate work this year (bar in the music field - see below), partly because getting proper clearance to use the shots can be a bit of a pain (due to the nature of the work), but maybe I can work some shots in later.
It is worth noting in passing that owning the copyright to a photograph does not necessarily mean that you can exploit it as you see fit (something which many of my colleagues are not aware of or simply disregard). in an extreme example I could get sued for libel if I used a photograph of someone on my website without permission (because it may suggest that they endorse my business). There are also issues with privacy laws, especially if the photograph was taken at a private event and/or in a private place. So I do try to get permission from everyone in my photographs before posting using the photographs in my website, blog or promotional material, but partly as a matter of courtesy. One exception is music festivals and the like, where a condition of entry on the ticket is that you consent to being photographed on site (perhaps a bit sneaky, but getting clearance otherwise is damn near impossible).
Speaking of music festivals and the world of live performance, I was glad to be able to indulge my particular passion for live music photography this year with some relatively decent acts. Music photography is a very difficult field to get into (at least, if you want to make any money out of it), so it remains something of an occasional hobby for me at the moment while I concentrate on the weddings business. 2009 holds some particular challenges for me in the non-photographic world, but I hope that I can find the time to give a little more attention to the music photography next year. When I made the leap from amateur to professional (at least in terms of getting paid which, after all, is the only true measure for photographers) it was by spending night after night taking pictures of unsigned and little-known bands, all the time refining my technique and equipment until I could comfortably deliver great low-light action photographs (a must for weddings and the like!).
Of course, it is pleasing to see that some of those little-known acts (at the time) are doing so well!
Belleruche, signed to Tru-Thoughts. Their second album 'The Express' now available!
Lastly, I think it is very important to keep learning and to keep trying new things, and one way I did that in 2008 was to start a little flickr group to carry out a series of photographic challenges. Sadly the group is now 'resting' after I handed it over to someone else, but maybe I'll try again next year. It was all very good fun, by the way.
So, without further ado, here are my faves from 2008:
Winter/Spring 2008
Spring was a little quiet, as I completed the process of quitting my job and shoring up my finances in readiness for a life as a full time professional photographer, but I still had time for a wedding and a few personal projects.
A portrait of my father (a great man) that I particularly like. Cheating a little, as it was taken just before the start of 2008.
Alison and Russell's wedding (still cheating, although now only two days before the start of 2008).
Nima and Mark's wedding at the RAC Club in Pall Mall in January. A fabulous dress!
For a dash of corporate job, here is Yasmin Le Bon captured at a style lounge event for the Baftas in February.
Fast forward to Easter, and I catch my brother in law and his son having a shared moment.
Portraits of The Cool Kats (Kat Arney and Kat Vipers)
A graveyard abstract, from a personal project (taking a black and white shot with severe technical restrictions).
The very talented comedienne Lauren Shearing.
The Council House in Nottingham, setting for Rosa and Andrew's wedding.
Summer 2008
The Summer means music festivals!
Various scenes from Wakestock 2008 (Blenheim)
The Farnborough Air Show 2008
Various scenes from The Big Chill 2008
Autumn/Winter 2008
Bombay Monkey play at Flomotion, at the Big Chill House
Stephy and Rob are engaged.
Stephy and Rob are married.
Maretta and Matthew enjoy the 'just married' moment.
So do Sam and Andy.
Sunrise on the Nile in Luxor, Egypt
There were many more great weddings, events, gigs, and so on, and many more photos I'd like to have put up here, but I don't want to bore everyone silly, so I'll sign off now and wish you all a pleasant end to 2008 and a brilliant 2009!
Matt
