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Richard P Walton fswpp & Alistair Campbell The Benefits of shooting yourself - part 3 of 1 2 3 4 5

Published 01/12/2015

Richard P Walton: Nice, I worked for 'free' for years, building up a portfolio of things I wanted to become known for. I was shooting a lot of weddings and studio portraits which just didn't cut it for me. I wanted to start having more fun and create memorable experiences that would last for me and the people I was shooting. Most of my income now comes off the back of people seeing work I'd shot for fun; nobody knows it wasn't commissioned, they don't need to. I notice you like to involve props and unusual outfits.

Alistair: I wouldn't say I 'like' props, they are a challenge and I 'like' a challenge. Props can be tricky customers, they can either make or break an image. Incorrect use of props can certainly become contrived or cliched, and nobody wants that. I'd never use a prop that could make a model look stupid, as every part of the image is my responsibility. Whenever you hand anybody a prop, their first response will be to do something with it that epitomises that object in ways that we all recognise all too familiarly. If you give someone an umbrella, they'll either open it and twirl it, or leave it shut and bang it on the floor to the side of them as if they are hanging out with Fred Astaire. This is usually the moment where I say, 'Please don't do that, it's weird' (even though I'd do the exact same thing if you handed me an umbrella). When it comes to props, I usually just try my hardest to get the model to forget about it all together; it's there in the image adequately placed and significant, but not taking over the image, other times of course you do need that interaction with the prop, every situation is different and you just have to work out the best way to use them each time really, (sometimes that can even be me saying 'You know that prop I gave you?' - 'Yeah?' - 'Please throw it away'). As for the outfits, I've always been into fashion, fabrics and textiles; I'm now lucky enough to know a handful of really great, local designers/costumiers. When I'm doing the avant-garde, 'Fred Astaire style' images, I just carry on to apply what I've learnt from my fashion photography, there's really no need to over-think it any more than that.

Richard P Walton: Nice point about being careful with props, I've abused some in my time, I even have a shot of a model leaning on an umbrella. *laughs* How does it feel shooting for 'free' when you usually get paid to take photographs?

Alistair: I don't really ever consider it as for 'free' this word seems to get brandished about quite a lot in a derogatory way. I really just sum up my time spent taking photos to the amount of money I earn to get by. If you put all of this into one big melting pot, and you come out the other end with enough to get by through using your skills and equipment, then you're doing alright. If you owned a shop and spent time painting it to look nice, then no one would say 'Oh you're working for free?!' they would just accept that you have to put work in to get work out.

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1st Published 01/12/2015
last update 09/12/2022 14:58:54

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