Jacqueline Lowe You have described
yourself as a 'fine art photographer' could you please expand on this?
The fine art approach is very much
more focused on the ‘instinctive approach’ rather than the ‘technical.’ It is
also about crafting images rather than just ‘taking’ photos to convey a
personal impression (something more than just documenting a realistic journal
of the subject) but to reflect the personalities of your subjects with specific
camera settings and perspective to define a consistent stylistic workflow and
sense of place. This is done through delivering Images which work coherently
together whether its taking details to balance the visuals. It is also about being specific on
style choices for subject and clients (eg- aiming at you preferred clientele will help this). It’s about creating some thing
distinctive and unique whilst playing with the light and the space in a
consistent way, using specific choices of equipment to produce a style
recognisable without the ‘copyright logo’ covering the image.
Kat Pimpo: Antosova Why do you have on
your page so many pictures of yourself? Which makes me wonder, who takes them?
And if someone else, why do you take credit for them?
Hi Kat , thanks for your question. I
write a blog and post pictures of me because I want to share (as you tend to do
in blogs), my life, examples of my work, I document my days usually photos
taken on self timer or either with my family or my boyfriend . I credit them
because they are my work my skills, my editing, my styling, my equipment and my
vision etc I think its about sharing knowledge and my own journey to help
others or inspire them. (if I can!) Most my work is actually on my portfolio at
www.katiejpiper.com- i'm sure you won’t
find many photos of me on there! (if you want to see other photographers who
work a blog in a similar way, see Jana Williams and Christine chang- because of
how they document their days and their work I have been fully inspired from
that, and really what more can you do for someone than inspire them? For me if
I can do something to help someone else everyday, then that is enough! And if
my blog helps me do that then that is a gift in my opinion!
For me it is also extremely important
that I put myself in front of the camera to learn what it feels like and how do
deal with insecurities all we women have. I hated going in front of the camera
but I have learnt how to hold myself, how to own the space and ultimately it
results in me transferring those skills and knowledge to my clients. A lot of
what I do involves practically helping them to find the freedom to enjoy it!
Peter McConnochie What was the last
CD you bought/downloaded?
Emily Sande I think!
Peter McConnochie Favourite
body/lens combo for portraits?
I use the Canon 5D Mark 2 camera body and you can find out about my two
favourite lenses in my Video on my two favourite lenses which you can see HERE
Tracy Thompson what do you do to
relax after weeks of photographing perhaps?
Quite a few things
actually! I spend time with my dogs. I love to paint large oil paintings and
strolling down portobello road on a sunny day. I love to watch Grand designs .
I have a lot of respect for Kevin Mcloud ! Oh and I like to play tennis (when
its not cold! )
John Round Can you get by with crop sensor
body and none L series lenses ? What packages do you use for post production
& computer? ,)
If you are a serious professional looking to stand out in the photography
world offering wedding or portrait photography, then I think it is important to
have a full frame camera body and L Series Lenses to deliver a standard of work
which is expected. However I dont think it is necessary if you are an artist or
someone who loves photography as a hobby. A full frame does make life so much
easier though, I will say that!
Beth Sunners I am currently in
the process of setting up my own photography business and just wondered what
you have found to be the best ways of getting yourself known, getting your work
seen etc. Thanks
I think just following your
instincts, and taking action rather than just talking or thinking about it is a
good start! I read magazines and books and developed my work through getting
out there and doing it. Then comparing my work to photographers I loved really
help. Its important to have a place on all areas of social media aswell as applying
to be on blogs and getting published in magazines. I don’t think you can do
just one of all these things. If you have a foot in the door on all of them,
AND your work stands out, then you will create a buzz, and hum about you and
your work. Word of mouth is one of the best forms of building your business so
I think providing your clients with an excellent client service will sell your
services more than anything else will!:-)
Peter McConnochie What advice
would you give to someone starting out in their solo career as a photographer?
(I think I partly answered this
question in the answer above) my advice when your starting out… buy Turning
Pro’ magazine, that helped me to no end.
Nick Gommon: How often do you
stick to the rule of thirds
Quite often ! Unless I think something looks much better without it, but yes I
do use it as a general rule.
Lisa
Cunnington: You talk about bringing California style to British soil.
Are you from California or spent time there? (I wonder because you sound
British on your youtube video and I thought you were from Leicester?). Thanks.
No I’m not from
California, I share my time between London and leicestershire (where I grew up)
I was always inspired by the californian wedding blogs and I found them during
the 6 months I spent researching the market. To me it seemed like they were way
ahead of the game in lifestyle and wedding photography. The work over there was
presented to me in a whole new light, with the soft palettes, brighter images.
I struggled to see as much of this in the UK, so I knew what direction I wanted
to follow. Most of the photographers who
really inspire me are from California!
Michael Carty: Do you like the
work of any of the "Old School" people photographers like David
Bailey, Terence Donovan, Helmut Newton, Patrick Lichfield etc.?
Yes ! David Bailey for sure!
Kayleigh Fung ッ: How do you manage
to achieve such lovely, soft lighting on your outdoor shoots/what equipment do
you use? Your photos are lovely!
I always consider colours, light and
subject before shooting and am aiming for something very specific. I have my camera on a brighter setting and I overexpose very slightly, I shoot wide open and will expose for the shadows. I use soft natural
light most of the time and work with the Canon 5d Mark 2 Camera body. You can
see which Lenses I use on this video HERE
I edit my photos using both lightroom and photoshop. I try to do as little as possible. But occasionally I will need to brighten up the image, and sometimes add a bit of contrast, (some images may require more or less) but in general I am to keep a consistency throughout. Here is an example of an un edited image (left image) and then two edited images (centre and right) You can see what changes Ive made are really quite simple:
