Chris Barber Media Blog

The lights are one but...

2009-09-23T08:28:00.001+01:00

WE DON'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE.

We've moved to our snazzy new blog over at

http://www.chrisbarbermedia.com/

See you there!

Joanne & Stephen, St Leonards Church & Kings Norton Golf Club

2009-07-29T21:32:00.005+01:00

Before getting married ourselves, we had the pleasure of shooting Joanne and Stephen's wedding at St Leonards Church and Kings Norton Golf Club. Thanks for an amazing day guys!

Mr and Mrs Barber!

2009-07-29T11:57:00.005+01:00

WE GOT MARRIED!

Before the wedding, Dani and I agreed that we were not going to see or speak to each other before the actual ceremony. So it kind of caught me by surprise when her name sprung up on my phone. I answer the phone expecting "I can't believe we're getting married" but instead I get this...

"I can't believe Michael Jackson has died!"

So in a poor attempt to steal our limelight - MJ decided to die. I quickly re-arranged my speech notes trying to think of a way to include a reference to Jackson, but I couldn't think of anything witty so just left it as it was. Simples.

Oh and then the rain came. When I say "the rain came" I'm referring to all the rain from everyday over the last 5 decades in the space of an hour. It poured and poured....and poured.

It didn't matter anyway - I was so nervous/excited that I couldn't care less what the weather was doing. Dani (preceded by bridesmaids etc) entered and looked AMAZING (biggest ever understatement).

This is gonna get printed BIGGGGG!

Princess and the frog/ballerina

Demonstrating how a cake should be cut.

Love this. My wife is friggin' awesome!

Big thanks to everyone who could make it, thank you Bianca and Steve for the amazing photographs, thank you Parkash for being my best dude, thank you to everyone for your lovely cards etc. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

Mr and Mrs B

A Contrast

2009-06-19T17:09:00.008+01:00

A few days ago, I was out on a job shooting exteriors for a local construction company when Sophie (who is pretty much an agent to us at the moment) got a call from a company who needed photos for a new brochure.

So fast forward two days and we're on our way down to Devon for the day. I was up and ready to go at 4AM in the morning (mornings aren't a big deal for me in the Summer).
What made the day interesting was that half the day was spent shooting a range of photographs for the companies brochure and the rest of the time my "job" was to explore and photograph the local area. Which included a beach and the one and only Donkey Sanctuary (I adopted two Donkeys from there before. I'm not sure what they're doing now...)

These steps were almost the end of me. Coming down was great fun but going back up the 546 steps with a bag full of heavy kit wasn't fun.

This really made my day. Don't you just love it when a random Shrek just pops out of nowhere? Especially when there's loads of little Donkeys in the field next door. "Donkeh!" makes me giggle for hours.I took some time out on the beach and shot a few frames for myself. It's really rare I get to shoot for fun these days and I couldn't believe how much I learned from not shooting for a client. I also had a lot of fun and managed to write a few bits of my wedding speech, WHICH IS THIS TIME NEXT WEEK!!! ARH!!!

Personal favourite.Might squeeze in one more blog before I take a short break before the wedding. If not, I'll see you when I'm a married man! EEK!

Wish us luck!

Mandy & Pete - Guru Nanak Sikh Temple & St John's Church, Hagley

2009-06-15T12:30:00.011+01:00

This was always going to be one of the most demanding days of our wedding calendar. When Mandy called me at the start of the year she introduced the wedding as "It's not your usual wedding, it's probably something you've not done before..." - Good job we love a challenge!

Bit of background: This is Pete and Mandy (you may remember their pre-wedding session a month or two ago) The day was split into three sections;

1) Sikh Temple wedding
2) Christian Church wedding
3) PARTY

For all those attention to detail freaks out there - This blew my mind. Every detail was perfect.

Wowzer!
Love this next shot. Pete and his family arrived by coach, the whole town came to a stop when these guys arrived!This is just one of many awesome traditions that we just wanted to steal for our own wedding. Mandy's bridal party blocked the entrance to the Temple with a ribbon and Pete and his family weren't allowed in till some cash was flashed. Fortunately Pete was well prepared and soon emptied his wallet.

I want to thank Shakini for giving me a heads up that this might happen!

With the Temple ceremony complete - it was time to St John's Church, Hagley for the Church ceremony. How many couples can say they got married twice in one day?

The weather was unpredictable all day - it could be pelting it down with rain one moment and the next it was clear skies.

Check out those moody skies!

One more thing - How many brides get away with having two dresses?! Mandy loved every minute of it!
Then we headed back to Birmingham for the wedding reception at The Burlington Hotel. It goes without saying that this was a photographers paradise.
Me and Dani LOVED Mandy and Pete's system of partying. Mandy and Pete arrived and went straight into an epic first dance (no waiting around - ever!) After a bit of a dance, every tucked into the first round of food, followed by another dance, followed by the next round of food. You get the idea! What a super idea - every couple should do this!

It has to be said. The food was THE best Indian food I've ever eaten - and my Mum cooks a mean home made curry! Sorry Mum, this just whipped your secret recipes ass!

I love it when I grab moments like this. This is a photo of Pete and his Mum and it doesn't speak a thousand words. It just shouts and screams every word in every language!

This was easily the biggest and most challenging wedding I have photographed so far and we loved every single minute of it! Mandy and Pete (and all the guests/families) made us feel ultra welcome. I also want to thank Shakini again for giving me a run through of what to expect on the day.

White Rose Movement, Birmingham Hare & Hounds 28th May 2009

2009-05-29T12:09:00.009+01:00

Last night, we had the pleasure of shooting our favorite band. Full stop. Me and Dani have been big listeners of White Rose Movement for the last 3 or 4 years but this was only the second time we've got to see them live.

Gemma and Tim are on fire!

2009-05-27T11:12:00.007+01:00

So Gemma and Tim contacted me last year about shooting their wedding in August this year which we're super psyched about because it marks the start of an epic August which so far consists of 10 weddings.

Gemma insisted she isn't a super model and doesn't like posing for photos. She lied. I gave them the simple instruction to just use the time to be all over each other and then it was just a case of pressing the button on my camera a few times.

So these are a few reasons why Gemma and Tim are friggin' steamin!

1) Flair ;)
2) Spark3) Match

Ok I'm about to set this post on fire! Ready? BOOOOM!11!!!!!1

Claire and Karl - Dudley Priory Hall

2009-05-21T11:15:00.009+01:00

It's no lie that we'd been looking forward to Claire and Karl's wedding since we met them. Not only was their wedding at the same venue as ours will be in >>5 weeks<< (Arhhh!!!) but they're also a fantastic couple who we clicked with instantly. For those who don't remember - Here they are at their pre-wedding shoot a few month or two ago... Fast forward a month and we're shooting Karl and his Groomsmen moments before the ceremony. They look pretty cool, right? Until they sat down and they began to look a tad nervous. Can you guess Lee and Scott (sitting on the right of the three gents) are brothers by the way they're sat? Oh and then the stars showed up. Sorry kiddos, quite shortly after you showed up, you were out-shined by the real star of the day. I should mention that Claire is 7 or 8 months pregnant with baby no.2 and she looks amazing doesn't she? Can't wait to see the new member of the family! Then after lots of smiles it was back to being cool again.
Apart from these two who couldn't stop smiling...
Some lovely speeches... Then the competition ganged up on me...
Then it was just a case of tucking into a packet of crisps and holding tight onto Fireman Sam whilst mum and dad danced the night away...
Thanks for making us feel so welcome, Dani and I wish you all the best and we'll no doubt see you again when baby no.2 comes along! Cheers guys!

Lindsay and Adam - Copthorne Hotel, Dudley

2009-05-19T10:51:00.000+01:00

Meet Lindsay and Adam.

Last month I had the pleasure of covering there wedding day. It'd be an understatement to say they made my job super easy, and most importantly - fun!

Some couples like to tell us what they want from there wedding photographs. Some couples tell us to get on with whatever we do. Lindsay and Adam are an awesome couple who were happy to let us do our thang!

I should mention that the staff at The Copthorne Hotel were amongst the most friendly, welcoming and accommodating team I have come across so far. They let us shoot outside the "standard" areas of the hotel which was awesome!

Not as awesome as the cake topper though...

We had a lot of fun trying to understand how the lift worked before we go this sequence.

Adam makes looking cool - look easy.

And Lindsay makes looking glamorous look effortless.

And then it was pretty much time to PARTY!

Thanks for a great day guys!

BBQ and Our Page Boy

2009-05-11T10:38:00.001+01:00

So Summer is finally with us which means one thing - barbecues! Danis family we're kind enough to throw a little get together for everyone which meant I finally (after nearly five years) got to meet the rest of Danis extended family!

It also meant that we got to catch up with possibly the most friggin' awesome child on this (and every other) planet. We're on about Ollie ofcourse...

I should add that Dani usually finds children annoying and a complete pest. This next pic suggests otherwise. They look alike, don't you think?

BROKEN HEADS FTMFW!!

Ohh and I am the master of teasing dogs with left-overs in order to score cool pet shots.

Did I mention that Ollie is the king of GTA? On the way home, Ollie explained how much he loves MGMT. The kids three years old and has crazy varied vocabularily.

Joanne & Stephen

2009-05-06T08:25:00.000+01:00

We had a crazy busy day last Sunday which meant we were shooting engagement portraits right through the day until the sun went down. Joanne and Stephens shoot was the last of the day, which actually got some of the best of the evening summer sun!

Love this next one! Like Father like Son...

Wear your bra on your head!

2009-04-30T09:09:00.000+01:00

It's been a busy few days and i'm trying to juggle keeping this up-to-date with the 1000+ edit backlog from recent weddings etc.

These are a few fashion shots from a recent shoot with Becky, who's been trying to catch us for a shoot since like late '08! Emily was in charge of throwing colours at her face - it was my first shoot with her in a LONG time. This is what happens when you combine the awesomeness of Emily and Becky...

Love this next one! I have a big obsession for close up/beauty headshots.

So there's a funny story behind this next shot:

We wanted to add something striking to the hair to break out of close up beauty shots.

Ideally, we wanted a bow and then Emily shouts "Why don't we use Becky's bra?!"

We all laughed because Emily always says silly things like this. But then she held it to her hair piece and bingo, it sort of went from there.

Mandy and Pete Engagement Shoot

2009-04-29T13:58:00.000+01:00

Mandy and Pete are a lovely couple that we met at the start of the year. We'll be shooting their wedding this May, and what a wedding it will be! From Mandy's home to the temple from the temple to the church to Burlington Hotel in Birmingham - it's going to be a frantic day but we're psyched (as always) to be covering their big day!

Blossom this time of year IS FLIPPIN' AWESOME!

Get Out and Go To Work!

2009-04-22T08:48:00.000+01:00

Like many photographers, especially those who are still finding their feet or trying to compete on cost by reducing their over-heads - I work from home!

Although working from home has it's advantages (I can work naked...) - there are some serious disadvantages (Family members could walk in at any moment). Currently, my main problem is trying to separate work from home and trying to maintain productivity when working from home as it's very easy to get sidetracked by my dog or something shiny outside.

It's for this reason that (for the summer) I'm considering moving "premises" ... to a local field. You should too!

It's sort of like when I was at primary school and on sunny days the teachers felt like having a doss and getting a tan so they did the lessons outside and called it "Outdoor Education Days" or something like that...

Now obviously I won't be working in fields all summer, there will be days when it's raining/cold/too lazy etc but I really don't think there could be a better place to go out and work.

I'll be surrounded by nothing but open space, silence and nature - which has to be pretty damn awesome! Although I couldn't/shouldn't (but probably will) work naked in public - I can be 100% focused on my work and play my music crazy loud.

You should do it too!

Here's a few things to consider;

Internet connection: Unless your on that clever 3 dongle thingy - Wifi could be difficult in the middle of a remote field. Fortunately I've picked a field that's close to a small country pub so I can pop in and steal they're connection should I require it. (Brainwave... Why didn't I think about just working from the pub?!?!)

Food/Water: Pack some sandwiches and goodies in a lunch box and enough water to last the day. Or go to the pub...

Leaving Stuff At Home: Write a to-do the night before and triple check you have everything before you leave. IE - If you intend to contact clients, make sure you have their details handy!

Have Power: So last time I checked there's a severe shortage of plugs in the countryside so ensure you have spare batteries or near to a local public plug (ie - the pub again!)

It's a bit quiet... - Take some music (PUMP IT UP LOUD!!) or get a friend involved, make the field your office space.

Err - I need the loo... - Without just answering "pub" - it's probably a good idea to have local public amenities nearby. The reason I refer to pubs is because they are probably the only local facilities in the countryside.

With kids? Your joking? - I'm even more serious if you have kids! Although I wouldn't advise this with very young children/babies - most big kids love big open spaces. There's endless games to play outdoors, grab a few games/ideas and let them play whilst you work. You might even be able to enjoy a bit of piece and quiet!

It's going to be uncomfortable - It's free space my dears - we shouldn't be so picky! Millets (and the like) do great camping/portable basic furniture which is ideal if you plan on sitting around all day

http://www.millets.co.uk/camping/furniture/product/095564.html - Table
http://www.millets.co.uk/camping/furniture/product/096188.html - Chair

There's no nearby fields? - So getting out of the city everyday might not be an option, but hell - aim to do it once a week! Or if your not into fields... why not spend the day working from somewhere new; a cafe, bar, from a high viewpoint, or just under a friggin' tree!

The whole idea of this is to make the most of our week long summer and to improve productivity in a new environment!

Shooting Hannah...

2009-04-21T14:26:00.000+01:00

Last week I had the privilege of working with one of my favorite clients, Hannah, a local aspiring model & presenter. The great thing about working with models is that they usually have their finger on the pulse in terms of knowing what kind of images are going to "sell" them. Certain styles of photography come and go out of fashion, so for Hannah, it's important that her images stay recent and up-to-date, same goes for me.

I won't go into another rant about how much I hate studio work - but if it's for something unique/different - I kind of like it. Being able to experiment again is a great feeling. The following set of images are my faves from the shoot.

Also loving this black and white image which is pretty much straight out of camera.

Got Milk?
And then we went and spoiled it all and did this... My job is so boring. I dunno what the blog has done to this last image but it looks better big... Obviously.

Bridgenorth!

2009-04-14T07:34:00.000+01:00

We love days out to Bridgenorth, and this time it just happened to coincide with a lovely sunny bank holiday Monday. Less talk more pictures...

Danis Dad knows this guy in Bridgenorth and we stopped for a chat. He had this amazing Dog. I asked if he'd mind me taking a photo of her and he warned me that she hates the sound of the shutter. I laughed, thinking nothing of it, I snapped and I was nearly pounced on as she went into a rage.

I found it hilarious.

We also met this little cat who loved the camera. I'm gutted this is horribly out of focus but I sort of like it because it makes me remember how intrigued she was with watching the inner workings of the lens.

I didn't get chance to ask but...

Back home, I caught with some more of Danis cats. This is my Coco and her "Ready to pounce" face. Note that she pulls back her ears to decrease any wind resistance.

1000 Things For Kids To Do In The Holidays

2009-04-11T09:34:00.000+01:00

Back in January (I think?) I was asked to join Laura Joy Godwins talented group of children in Bournville to grab a few photographs of them "doing their thing" for TimeOuts new book - "1000 Things For Kids To Do In The Holidays".

I've already flicked through most of the book and promise that this book is not just for kids; building a kite, making a scare crow or baking ginger bread men all sound like my idea of a great time! Then again, i'm a child at heart.

A child that is due to get married in a few weeks time and runs his own business - eek, Dani should be worried.

Here's a selection of photos of the book and the images that made the final print.

The book is available from most high street book stores from 7th May this year and available for just £8.99 (exc. P+P) from Play.com, a direct link can be found below.

http://alturl.com/zavk

Happy Easter by the way everyone!

Meet Our New Team Member...

2009-04-07T08:10:00.000+01:00

After much consideration, we finally gave into temptation last week and brought the new Canon 5D mk2. After just a week of using it, Dani is getting more and more concerned that I may actually run away with the camera and live happily ever after.

But seriously I don't know how I managed without it. Churches are dark places as we found out last weekend at Becky and Lees wedding and being able to shoot at around 2000/3200+ is a friggin' lifesaver.

However, we have not named him/her yet so we're opening it up to suggestion from you guys!

Spring time!

2009-04-03T13:20:00.000+01:00

So spring only means one thing at CBM HQ. Engagement sessions!
We've booked close on 40 weddings for 2009 which kinda kicked our target of 15 in both bum cheeks.

Meet Claire and Karl! Just one of our lovely couples booked in for this summer. Their wedding is just round the corner and we can't wait to cover their day because it's another wedding at the same venue that me and Dani will be getting married at this Summer, did I mention that they're also a lovely bunch and Claire will be 7 months pregnant with baby number 2 by the wedding day? Awesome!

Anyway, enough jibber jabber, I'm here to take photos right?

Cuteness alert!

An Evening With Lionel Richie

2009-04-01T09:42:00.000+01:00

I was lucky enough to be invited along to shoot Lionel Richie at Birminghams LG Arena on his "Just Go" tour. This was my first live gig shoot at the NEC and I was actually feeling pretty nervous about the whole thing. Partly because I am rubbish at catching trains and partly because... It was friggin' Lionel Richie. Even if you don't like his music, there is no denying that this man is a music legend.

There are times when I'm shooting and I sort of forget that I'm taking photos and I start thinking about the subject - last night was one of those moments. Looking through the viewfinder and seeing Lionel Richie shaking his crotch and pointing in your direction is..... an experience.

Thankfully my nerves went away the moment I hit the first exposure and we got some decent shots. Some of which will be getting printed very soon for our walls :)

Out of the studio!

2009-03-24T10:45:00.000Z

As I've complained time and time again over the winter, I hate being confined to studio photography. Being mainly self taught, I spent alot of my time learning photography/lighting outdoors, so being "stuck" in the studio isn't my cup of tea.

So it was a breath of fresh air when Sophie (you remember Sophie, right?) mentioned that she's bringing her cousin, Maddy down for her shoot - and she'd prefer photos outdoors.
Maddy was having these photos as one of her Birthday presents (it's actually her Birthday today so Happy Birthday Maddy!) and she was really up for all my silly ideas and enthusiastic to get the best shots possible.

We started the day at a long stretch of abandoned railway, which is a fantastic location I came across last year whilst shooting the Bostin calendar. Prepare to see alot more of this location this summer!

Later, we took a trip to some nearby fields for (what I refer to as...) "Mum shots" - These are the photos that mums/families like.

Did I mention the light was ammazzzzing! I've ever never shot in light like this or just never seen the opportunity in light like this before.

Anyway - this is all abit of a taster to a new style I've been trying to develop over the last few months. The approach is very different to the style I used to work to about 6 months ago. I've found myself spending more time getting it right on camera and literally only seconds on each image in Ps/Lr, which is how it should be, right? I have alot less time to edit images now so I've sort of had to adapt to getting it how I want it to look in the first place.

The Rain In Spain

2009-03-10T14:55:00.000Z

Apologies for the lack of updates recently, it's not you - it's me. For starters we've been away the last week and prior to going away we were dead busy with house buying/sorting out the wedding, which is all coming along slowly - but it's getting there. Which is reassuring as we only have 4 months till we get married. Eek!

Anyhow, I took the decision to take some "time out" with Dani and her family at the start of March prior to the total chaos which will be "Summer 2009". Fair few pictures knocking about on this blog so go and grab a cup of coffee and get comfy.

So Dani's family own a house in Spain, to cut a long story short...

Dani and her family moved to Spain about 3 (might be wrong) years ago, and for the first 7 months of mine and Danis relationship - we spent in completely different countries (not nice). So eventually Dani decided to move back, closely followed by her family who now live about 5 minutes from my house. Anyway, the house sits empty most of the year and they'd like to sell up so I went with her family to put the house on the market with different estate agents and speed up the whole selling process. I should add that I didn't help in the slightest - I just tagged along for the Sun, Sea and Sangria - none of which really materialised but more on that later.

We arrived in Spain on Sunday morning and immediately noticed it wasn't warm. Driving from airport to house - it was like a trip down memory lane. The urbanization (town?) they live in is really sparce now following a boom and bust routine of Brits moving to Spain then wanting to sell up.

This place has probably been here forever, there's loads of smaller buildings like this one which have always just been left. It's a photographers heaven, they have it real easy over there, especially as there was NO photographers (of any kind) listed in there local directories in southern Spain.

So anyone who follows my work will know that i'm a portrait and (more recently) a wedding photographer. However, being away from the restrictions of clients and being able to experiment was a total breath of fresh air. I love working for clients and to specification but it becomes a routine, I've learnt what sells and stuck with it, but being away from that gives me a chance to be abit more creative and best of all - OUT OF THE STUDIO (a place I've come to deteste over the last 5 months).

Anyway, I'm certainly not a landscape photographer, but I admire landscape photography and loved having the chance to be somewhere aesthetically different to the UK. I will fight with Dani to get a few of these on our walls when we get our new house.

I'm actually quite scared of these chairs now, I'll explain why later;

These two pictures makes me "roar" like an idiot.

This picture makes me want to kick back and whistle the day away

After spending most of the holiday "chilling" out...indoors, we thought it'd be a good idea to get out and do something. We head straight to Guardamar (Gwo-der-mar) - which has a super outdoor market that I intend to exploit for photographic purposes.

Then I remembered how scary market people are. Dani watched my camera every second of the day and refused to leave me to my own devices after almost snapping a policemen (not a good idea in Spain if you're English).

Dani thought it'd be nice to meet a few locals. Infact, this was her trick for me to grab a photo of an "interesting" woman sitting outside Lidl but I found her plan funny and ended up snapping this instead.

Right so you've gone all the way to Spain for the week and you wanna send home a post card telling everyone it's rained most of the time? This shop had just the thing; a faded, doggy eared Limp Bizkit post card - perfect for telling loved ones about the great time you're having abroad.

Back to the market:

For you nut fans out there:

There was lots of hanging meat on the stands at both the little market stands and the big supermarkets, similar to butchers, expect everything looks like it's only just died a minute or two ago. Far more appealing were these sweets, the man at this stand offered to trade the nuts for Danis dad's Nikon. BARGAIN! It's a Nikon - take the nuts! Only kiddin' Nikon fans, I use Canon because it makes photoshoots more exciting when things stop working for no reason (Y).

Oh I forgot to mention, we bumped into this delightful lady!

Oh and this man... I was hiding (pretty well I must say) so I could get a sneaky picture of this guy playing without him posing for a shot. He clocked me and immediately started dancing...grumble grumble...
This man was shouting "BUY MY PANTIES" - He wasn't really but I thought it'd be hilarious to tell you that he was. But tell my ladies - would you purchase under garments from this gent?

So market done, we took a trip down the back streets to find the central park. This side is a little more residential, with tall tower clocks over every street, it's quite nice actually.

This is a wall. It's a nice wall though. I told Dani at the time that it was a nice wall and she looked at me as if I'd gone mad. But it is a nice wall. Very nice indeed.

We found this little cafe on the way there, where they spoke hardly any English (which was a welcome change).

Eventually we found the park! I say "eventually" - it wasn't actually that far, probably like 10 minute walk, if that. I'm just sort of lazy. Dani however - Isn't. Check out these smiley snaps.

Compare the meerkat....

PHROARRRR, like her abit...like. I'd smack dat.

Wouldn't smack this though;

Sorry! Back to the park, there's a lot of peacocks/ducks and what not - but frankly I can't be bothered to add them because y'all know what they look like. So here's a picture of a waterfall which i've casually ruined in photoshop. Simples.

Oh and there was this nice tap. Like that wall I showed you earlier - but this was a real nice tap.

So we hit the beach after but it's friggin' deadly there - you gotta watch yo back for... a horse and cart(!?) speeding over your face/kneecaps and various other random parts of the human anatomy. My only explanation for this is that the horse is angry because it has a stick up it's backside, therefore it would be angry...therefore it'll run over pedestrians. I have no idea - but clearly Guardamar think it's a risk to public health.

I mentioned the pictures earlier in the blog made me "roar" - well this makes me roar but in a really little persons squeeky voice.

It was real cute till I stood on it.

Just kidding. But this little guy was about as tall as my shin but looked like a lion. Glad I got this shot, it makes me smile sympathically then smile again to think I'd win in a fight with it. (I should add that it's actually a dog incase I convinced anyone it was an actual mini-lion).

I mentioned that I didn't like (or total phobia of) abandoned chairs...in spain...on road islands...during the day. Let me explain, on the way back from Guardamar we're going round a main road island that connects La Marina with Guardamar and Alicate etc. Dani's mum points out someone sat on a chair on the island. Me (being innocent) thought it was someone waiting for a bus, so I reach for the camera thinking it'd make a good picture. Wrong again.

I take the shot (which was appauling because we were in a moving vehicle and I was shooting on a wide) and as soon as the shutter clicks, I hear bursts of laughter from everyone else in the car. Dani shouts "Did she just give Chris a sexually explicit mouth gesture?" (she didn't say that - she used a more direct wording of the gesture) but then Danis mum confirmed the worsed. Turns out she's like this major prostitute who sits at the road island all day waiting to be picked up. So my innocent portrait of a lady waiting in the Spanish wasteland for a "Bus" was actually advertising "her personal services". Phoar? Not this time.

I forgot to mention, it's my birthday today (Yes I'm blogging on my Birthday, It's not "sad" it's "hardcore"... actually it's probably just sad, I have a strange vision of what a "hardcore blogger" looks like - and it aint me, so I'll stick with "sad" - I'm rambling).

The reason I mention that it's my birthday is because we all went out to celebrate as an early present from Danis mum and dad (Thank you!) who treated me and Dani to a lovely suprise meal at a local restaurant that me and Dani ate our "proper" first meal together (Dis aint no MaccyD's shizzle, get me?) Heres a few pics of me and the others trying to look sober.

Another blog will follow this one to thank the pub that kept me and Dani fueled on alcohol for the week, we had a great time there and I have a bunch of photos that I shot on a film camera that we'll get processed and onto the blog hopefully early next week!

Update again soon!

Snow mk 2

2009-02-07T14:30:00.000Z

Took a walk with the dog over Clent this afternoon, most of the snow has melted as the suns been on it all day. Didn't want to miss the opportunity to get some Nature shots which I have found myself doing alot of recently to pass the time.

Getting this one for the walls of our new studio I think...

And finally... (I found it like this)

We couldn't resist...

2009-02-05T10:02:00.000Z

After the 3rd/4th day of snow, me and my sister (and the dog) couldn't resist some silliness in the snow, which is now about a whole inch and a half thick. Sadly, the snow is very fluffy so our efforts to create an igloo or even a snow man were in vain.
But that didn't stop us (and the dog) getting out and enjoying the snow...

Bostin, mon!

2009-02-03T17:40:00.000Z

Every now and again, I have the total privilege of shooting portraits.
Some of you will say...Duh, that's what you always do...?

Wrong.

I always refer to them as portraits but the original definition of a portrait is to capture the subjects personality and character. Which is what I was fortunate enough to do last week with Donato!

Once again, the standard, uninspiring British weather got the best of most of my outdoor ideas (Roll on Spring!) so we were confined to the studio.

Brief background: Donato is the founder of the popular brand, Bostin, most of you may know of him from the Bostin t-shirts. I met Donato back at the end of 2008, when I produced a variety of promotional shots for Bostin.

Donato is full of character, so capturing a "portrait" wasn't challenging, but it was a lot of fun.

We eventually got outdoors for a few photos. Everynow and again, clients do nice things - like buy me cookies or muffins - Donato went one step further and treated me to a PIEEEE... from The Pie Factory (I kid you not, www.madorourkes.com)

Thanks Donato!

Photoshoot with Jade!

2009-01-27T10:38:00.000Z

Almost forgot to blog this one. It was an important shoot because for the first time since around November last year - we actually managed to get outdoors and shoot! It was still freezing but we got some great shots and retreated to the studio.

Featured: Daily Star (Take 5) January 09

2009-01-18T12:35:00.000Z

Remember we braved the cold winter weather at Custard Factory with Jerome, the 50 cent look-a-like?

We'll today the photos were published. But not the recent ones, oh no, The Daily Star thought it'd be better to use the low-res older photos from a fashion shoot this time last year (??!)

Anywho, it's a great feeling to see your photos in print, and knowing that 10,000's/millions (I have no idea how many read The Daily Star or Take 5 Mag) but it's fantastic to know that my photos will trick the eyes of (Alot) of people this morning.

Even better is how the article is headlined on the front cover of the supplement as "I'm the Brummie 50 Cent"

Brummy? Brummie? Anyone?

Our photos grace the page along with Cilla Black (advertising life cover), an interactive cuddly dinosaur and "Weird World" feature that includes information on Japanese workers smashing plates.

Here is the article anyway; (Please try ignore the "Men pay me to stroke my stockings feature") I did explain to Jerome that we would have made the cover of the newspaper and supplement if we had our Fiddy look-a-like wearing some kind of kinky gear but sadly, this idea was rejected.

Shooting "Fiddy"

2009-01-07T08:22:00.000Z

Oh the fun I've had with this shoot! Let me set the scene first;

I get a call around Xmas and New Year from the Daily Star asking to use photos of the 50 Cent look-a-like I did early last year. Sadly, my earliest work was erased in what I now refer to as "The Great Hardisk Wipeout Disaster of March 2008"

I lost all the high res files of my previous shoot with Fiddy and couldn't provide the high res pics for the Daily Star, gutted. Thankfully - the Daily Star are quite patient people and they were happy to let us re-shoot some new photos of Fiddy.

So I decide to have some fun with it, I let a few people know that THE 50 Cent will be at Custard Factory around 3pm, which sparks off a few "OMGGZZZ IZ DAT FO'RIL?"

I arranged to meet Fiddy at Custard Factory, and within minutes, a small crowed had gathered around our spot. After shooting around Custard Factory, we thought it might be a good idea to get out into Digbeth.

Have you ever seen someones head turn 360 degrees? I personally didn't think it was possible but people driving past in buses and cars seemed to lose all interest in the road and become fixated/bemused by 50 Cent, randomly in the middle of Digbeth.

My favourite parts of the day was watching peoples reactions to him. Stereotypically, mainstream rap wouldn't go down well with people based at Custard Factory, so it was hilarious watching a few awkward "Hellos" from people that clearly dislike 50 Cent.

The thought process (if you transfer words to facial expressions) went something like this;

"Minding my own business >> Eh? Thats 50 cent! >> He's looking at me >> I'm going to have to say hello >> But I don't like 50 Cent"

Anyhow - The main objective was to get some great shots for his 1 and half page feature in a magazine and for the Daily Star, which is exactly what we did - despite the cold and group distractions. I'm really pleased with how they came out.

Chris Barber Media is One Today!

2009-01-01T12:49:00.000Z

We're officially one year old today!
Obviously we'd been setting up business for months before and after January 1st but today marked an official start as a business according to all important bits of paperwork and what-not.

Thanks for a great year everyone (see previous blog)

Mumbling Metaphores and Genuine Gratitude [End - 2008]

2008-12-31T15:32:00.000Z

I’m sat in the same place as I was this time last year, but everything has completely changed since then. January marked an official start of what I wanted to become, I had a vision, and although ideas and views change, that vision has never altered. It’s nearly impossible to sum up a year which has been just so eventful.

Personally, 2008 has proved to challenge me and every single person who I regard as family. There’s been times when you think I’ve let you down, and times when I have. I hope – that when you look back – I’ve made those close to me – proud. Through all the business jargon, that’s all I’ve ever pursued.

I regard everyones strength and optimism through this difficult year as an inspiration, those who can overcome, hide, diffuse (or whatever it is they do) have become the strongest people I think I’ll ever meet.

It seems we’ve drove through 2008, blindfolded, and arrived at a pit stop safely with nothing but a few scratches. Atleast for the next part of this road – we have a friggin’ Sat Nav.

Dani, you’ve become my world and everything that’s in it. Together we’ve somehow forged a wall and started to build things inside it. Our future won’t be spent driving blindfolded – this is a mere construction site, and very soon, we’ll build our little fortress from nothing but determination…and blood…and sweat…and tears, actually – we’ve giving it everything we’ve got.

“I Love You” isn’t the start of it.

With work, there’s been times when I’ve doubted myself, and enivitbly numerous occasions when people have doubted me, I’ve learnt to develop a determination that goes beyond obsession, accepting that most of the time, I am – infact, wrong.

This is not an obsession with photography, and certainly not a determination for media success, it’s simply the fact that I am literally 70% focused on where I see myself being (the other 30% is spent sleeping or drinking coffee).

I can’t begin to look at 2009, because it’s immediately going to throw us in the deep end. You won’t hear a lot from us during the first half of the year, we’re hoping to get our first place sorted by February/March and obviously we’re getting married in June, so, personally, it’s a massive year. From a business perspective – it’s equally as busy , there’s a lot going on from day one, right through the year, the scary thing is – it’s already planned out.

Over the last year, I’ve met some amazing people. I want to take the chance to say a “thank you” to everyone we’ve worked with and to the (over) 200 people we’ve photographed since starting as a business exactly a year today. I also want to say thank you to everyone who works with us on a regular basis. I’ve discovered a nutter, her name is Emily-Jane. I want to thank her for all her support over the last year, working with you has been a total pleasure.

I personally want to thank everyone for giving us a chance, thanks for your trust, your friendship and for even taking the time to read this. I’ll never stop being grateful for everyone who has supported us in building our future.

“Thank You” is a massive understatement.

Happy New Year!

Creative Shoot with SJ

2008-12-18T10:33:00.000Z

For me, the winter is a quiet time and I always enjoy every minute of it after months of "shoot after shoot after shoot". This year, I decided to use this time abit more creatively and set up a shoot with one of my favourite models and obviously, Emily-Jane.

The day was always going to be abit hectic, we had a model coming from Derbyshire and our make up artist coming from around Leicester, which causes enough problems with logistics etc. Once Emily arrived at the studio, Emily stopped to grab a few munchies (too many to list here haha) and we set off to collect SJ from t'station in Birmingham.

First thing that made me giggle (to myself) was everyones accents. Even though Derbyshire or Leicester arn't too far north of Birmingham, I couldn't believe the difference in accents.

We arrived at the studio and began the mammoth task of figuring out what order to shoot everything in. We started with a few beauty shots of SJ. I love shooting in a beauty headshot style, I think it's amazing how removing somebodies make up and keeping hair out of shot can have such an impact, I suppose it shows a person at their purest physical state, which can only be a good thing in a portrait.
But what would be the point in having Emily around if we wern't doing any make up? Well, other than her constant supply of snacks, hilarious random statements about nothing and her posing direction skillz...not much. So I gave permission for Emily to go mad.

And she did! In all time best, creative style!

SJ did a fantastic job sitting still all day in our freeeezing studio whilst we ran round throwing things on her, whilst her partner somehow endured the mind numbingly boring task of... watching. Well done, both of you!
Just want to say a massive thank you to everyone involved in the shoot. I'm choosing which prints to order for our new studio as we speak! Thanks guys!

Sharon & Paul Pre-Wedding Shoot

2008-12-07T11:01:00.000Z

So we'd had a morning of pre-wedding consultations at our local pub with a few couples looking to book us for next year, and by lunchtime, me and Dani got a bit peckish so we grabbed a bowl of cheesey chips from the bar.

Scoffing away, saying "We best eat these quick because the next couple will be here in a few minutes". The pub was really quiet, just to set the scene, it's only about 11:30am and the pub is pratically empty, there's one or two people there too, including one couple sat on the next table to us.

We're still scoffing, and I mention to Dani; "I'll just erase the shots off camera from the last shoot" - at this point, the couple next to us say; "You're not Chris Barber by any chance?" - Embarrased, we shamefully admitted, "...yes" - it was our pre-wedding shoot couple...

Thankfully, Sharon and Paul found it funny and after discussing a few points about their wedding, we got out into the lovely winter sun and did their pre-wedding shoot.

We got some really nice shots! They are such a great couple, we had so much fun doing your shoot. I can't wait to shoot their wedding Christmas Eve!

Shooting Holly

2008-12-07T10:48:00.000Z

You remember Holly right? We worked with her a couple of months ago, triggering her aspiration to become a model. This shoot was very different to her previous shoot, although we were re-armed with our make up artist - Emily "Bready" Jane (Great to have her back!)

Holly brought some great ideas to the studio which she's spent the last couple of months planning. The great thing about people bringing in ideas is that it gives me the time to plan exactly how I want to shoot it. This was one of those shoots when model/tog and make up all fitted together really well to create some great shots.

Holly did real great and we had alot of fun working with different ideas, although it was freeeezing in the studio. We'll be moving very soon to a brand new home studio - which is going to be a vast improvement, more news on that in the next month or two.

Just want to say thanks to Holly for choosing us to put such a great idea into action. I really hope you like your new photos!

A Day Away

2008-12-02T16:15:00.000Z

Don't get me wrong. I love every aspect of my job, I love the variety, I love new challenges and I love the independance working for myself offers. However, we all need a day or two to rest every now and again, and seen as Virgin media decided to provide no internet for a day or two, I thought I should get out and enjoy a family day (me plus mum/dad and dog)

Armed with my new fetching wooley hat and camera (ofcourse) I got snapping in some great Winter light... which soon clouded over and turned to snow?? I even managed to get my favourite ever shot of a Mushroom. Yes, really.

Shoot for Timeout Magazine

2008-12-01T16:34:00.001Z

I received a slightly frantic phone call last week from Timeout Magazine requesting a photographer to cover an article for them at short notice. After abit of rescheduling and jiggling about, I was able to say yes. Turns out, one of my favourite local photographers was meant to be covering it for them but he's away in New York from Saturday so he recommended me, which was my favourite "tap on the back" so far.

I really didn't know what to expect. I had been informed that it was a childrens choir, but I had no idea what age or exactly what the photos were for. But it's not my job to be nosey, I'm there to take pictures.

I arrived in Bourneville, welcomed by Laura who was really helpful and welcoming throughout the shoot. The small group from of around 9 children performed the Keymaster. Despite only having 4 days to prepare, and not having the certain elements of the performance available, they put on a great show.

These children are really talented and it's great to see people taking time to provide activities for youngsters.

Thanks to everyone who was there on the day for making me feel so welcome and I wish you all the best!

Nikki and Family Portrait Shoot

2008-12-01T16:15:00.000Z

Going back a few weeks - Nikki contacted us requesting a portrait shoot for her mums birthday with her sisters.

A few weeks later and it's the day of the shoot. The clouds are brewing and the threat of rain has never looked more likely. I believe that family portrait shots shouldn't be posed in a studio - so outdoors was our only choice.

We arrived on location and the rain started, as though it was just waiting for us to get out the car. We started with a few mother and daughter shots in a relatively sheltered part of the park, but it was clear that the weather wasn't on our side.

But Nikki and family are a great bunch and were really co-operative with getting the shots they wanted. After a few shots in the rain, the girls seemed to forget it was pouring down and got on with the shoot, even braving a few without umbrellas.

There was the occasional bright spell, but the day was really dominated by a depressing drizzly cloud hanging over the park.

Thankfully, mum and girls saw the funny side of it all and we got some great shots. Amazingly, in some shots it actually looks warm/dry. I'm sure they'll back me up on this....It wasn't! It were bloody freezing!

Great photos though and that's all that matters :) Thanks guys, hope to see you all again sometime!

Pre-Wedding Shoot - Hana and Kaleem

2008-12-01T15:54:00.000Z

Myself and Dani took ourselves off for our weekly outing to Birmingham, where we seem to based every weekend now for the last month. It's great because Dani's introduced me to trains. Prior to this, I have been a hardcore bus rider (I use buses). I'm still abit to weary off catching a train on my own, but hopefully, one day, I'll have the knowedge to catch trains without ending up in Tunisia (Honest - it'd happen to me).

Anyhow,

We arrived at Snow Hill station (which is cold!!!) and walked down to Digbeth (Custard Factory) to meet todays clients, Hana and Kaleem, who we're shooting a wedding for in less than a month.

Thanks to my sophisticated army trained timing skills, we got there about an hour early, which, with our tummy's rumbling - was a good thing. We searched and searched but sadly Custard Factory dedicates itself to selling second hand things you never want on a Sunday, calling it "vintage" - apologies to vintage lovers out there - but I don't know why anybody would want to purchase a decaying, smoke smelling, colour faded, stuffed budgie in the middle of a credit crises and Christmas.

I'd like to add that eventually we found a little place that sold jacket potatoes, so we were happy.

We took Hana and Kaleem to a little old pub for a coffee and a chat about wedding arrangements, which seemed alittle silly seen as we only saw them last week - but still we confirmed ideas for photos and clarified arrangements for the day. And then it was out into the cold for a quick shoot.

And quick it was! We braved the cold Digbeth air for about an hour, pretending it was 30 degrees on an exotic carribean island.

Really looking forward to the big day! See you then

Chris

Sams Toddler Portrait

2008-11-27T07:50:00.000Z

Sam and Mum popped down to see us on Tuesday to get some photos of baby Sam, who's grown loads since I last saw him last year.

After spending about an hour throwing things at me indoors and playing with our dog, Sam and I went out into the garden to play football. By this point, he got into the habbit of throwing things at me and I found myself battered from pegs, flower pots and small bricks after about an hour.

Needless to say we got some great photos! Following our shoot, I've been invited to go along to a nursery in Birmingham to discuss ideas to be there main residential photographer, which will be fantastic! Anyone who knows my work will know that I hate just putting people in front of white backdrops and shooting away, so I hope my fresh approach to their nursery photography will be enough to persuade them!

This weekend is looking like a very mixed bag at the moment (I love it when there's a variety in my work). Friday afternoon I'm in Birmingham picking up some new bits of kit (new lenses/accessories/back up cameras etc) before meeting a "haute couture" gown & dress designer to sketch up some ideas for a few creative photos coming up.

Friday night, I'm the main photographer at a models party in Birmingham (Why oh why can't I just live in Birmingham!). Saturday I'm in Bourneville shooting a childrens "choir" for Timeout Magazine (wow!) and Sunday I have a pre-wedding shoot with Hana and Kaleem before photographing their wedding in less than a month! Then in the afternoon we return back home to meet more potential wedding clients to discuss plans etc.

We've been very busy with wedding consultations and bookings at the moment. Our most recent clients met with us last night to discuss their wedding. They booked there and then which was great. They seem like a lovely couple and they're wedding venue looks stunning, Thanks Amanda & Gareth!

New Design

2008-11-23T11:20:00.000Z

As you can probably observe, we have made a few changes to the blog. We've replaced it with a nice new header and a cleaner layout which should encourage to write more here.

I have plenty to write about just not much chance to actually write it here.

Going back a week or so, I met up with Tii in Birmingham for his second portrait shoot with us. We decided to try and make the most of everywhere around Birmingham and tried to get as many location shots as possible.

Highlights of the day included getting to the top of a lovely high multi-story car park which overlooked Digbeth and the Bullring. We got some great shots from there and a few shots playing around with light etc.

Tii's one of my favourite people to shoot with because he's open to ideas and has some great ideas of his own. Also - any client that buys the photographer lunch deserves a fantastic set of photos!

Cheers Tii!

Yesterday we spent an hour or so at our "wish" house. It's a house we've had our eye for the last month or so. It's in total need of work (basically demolishing and starting again), but it's a spacious house in a nice area so we're eager to snap it up. All the parents were down there yesterday seeing how much work needs to be done. It'll take a long time to develop, but I've fell in love with it. Bad news is - because I'm self employed, we have to wait till January/February till I have my first years worth of accounts. So we're not getting our hopes up till after Christmas!

Today we're in Birmingham meeting half booked wedding clients Hana and Kaleem before their wedding on December 20th. Very exciting :) Might do a spot of wedding shopping down there too! We seem to be in "Confetti" every weekend now, Dani knows it's the only shop she'll get me into because they give out free sweeties :D

Featured: Urbanitez Magazine

2008-11-12T11:13:00.000Z

Received this through the post this morning.
Inside cover/page 2. Random but Nice.

We're Engaged!

2008-11-07T16:43:00.000Z

We're home after a short break in Poole, Dorset. Which was lovely!
Before blogging about the whole holiday, I thought I'd summerise it with two simple words. "We're Engaged!"

I know some of you may already know (or guessed!) but I finally broke the question to Dani on fireworks night on a quiet beach near Poole. It's something we've both wanted for a verrry long time and it's so great to finally tell people and start planning for our big day, which we're hoping will be Summer next year!

I could go on about why I want this to happen so much but I really don't wanna get soppy or sound like I'm engaged for the sake of going against what everyone thinks, so that's all.

Anyroad, we went on holiday....

First day in Poole was spent....in Poole. We took a look around a few of the shops, Dani spent the ENTIRE day (or atleast it seemed like it) in Lush and some other beauty shop spending all the money we haven't got.

Second day was my turn to choose where we spent the day. As you'd expect, I chose Monkey World.

We drove through a tank/military training ground to get there, as you'd expect from a holiday with me. Having a huge roaring tank pulling up behind you on the way to see monkeys was a little bit odd, but we soon found a short cut and parked up ready for a day of monkeeeeyys!

We got in and I found myself in the souvenir shop before we even got into the actual park. Once I was dragged away (without purchasing the monkey mask I so dearly wanted) we walked around a few empty monkey enclosures, but saw plenty of Robins and Crows, not as good as monkeys but still...

Eventually we came to the orangutan enclosure, which actually contain orangutan and not pigeons, which was great. The youngest of the three orangutan even took the time to have a quick chinwag with Dani. The picture below shows Dani looking into the mirror. :P

On the evening, we went down to the small local beach to do abit of proposing etc etc.
On the evening of Wednesday 5th November, me and Dani were engaged :)

We started the morning early to go to the island of Brownsea. Which sounds like diarrhoea, but it's actually a dead pleasent place with red squirrels and lots of bits of wildlife and stuff. We jumped on a boat which took us to the remote island, Dani took the chance to show off her new ring.

It's also currently inhabbited by the BBC for Autumnwatch, which finished the day we visited. I tried my very best to get a (good) photo of a red squirrle, but frankly, I hadn't the patience to sit and pretend to be a tree/nut/pile of leaves etc, so focused on getting a photo of a pheasant. Hmm.

All in all, it was a time I'll always remember, mainly because the fruit machines there never paid out and I lost about £60 on fruit machines and fulfilling my addiction to grabber games. I'll also remember it for other things, like proposing to Dani n that.

Tune out now to avoid abit of cheese,
Dani you are everything to me, I can't wait to spend my life with you.
I Love You.

Shoot It Loud: Launched!

2008-10-22T10:52:00.000+01:00

So after much time, thought and planning, I've decided to go ahead with launching a new online blog committed to bringing the forefront of Birmingham's live pop acts into pictures and words.

Shoot It Now is simply a blog and online store, which is strongly affiliated with Chris Barber Media. It's going to take around a year before we build the reputation and material to make it a success, but by covering everyone from The Killers to Cliff Richard in the next 6 months, I really do think they'll be something for everyone.
The blog is based across numerous websites, including the main Chris Barber Media website, which now means that fans have the chance to purchase prints of their favourite artists.
I've been extremely fortunate to be offered passes for these, frankly HUGE gigs, and I'd like to take a sec to thank all the publications that have offered and provided passes for the gigs over the next year.
Stay tuned to the Shoot It Loud myspace for details on upcoming gigs, if you're gonna be at one of the gigs we're covering - give us a shout - we'd love to hear from you.
We'd also like to hear from photographers, reviewers and the average gig goer so we can get you involved.

You're all welcome to check it out, although I'd recommend going back to the site in about 6 months time, when we've kickstarted everything!

www.myspace.com/chrisbarbermedia
www.shootitloud.com

Someone said to me....

2008-10-20T18:37:00.000+01:00

The other day, someone said "Chris-you've done really well for yourself - your so lucky!" Which is possibly the funniest compliment I've ever heard. Luck isn't waking up every cold winter morning and working from 5am till 9pm. I'm not taking it seriously, but hey, next time say something nice lol.

Moving on, I'm shooting Guillemots next month! For those who don't know, I'm a massive fan of their music and it's been very frustrating seeing them three times in the last year or so and not taking one photograph. So when I got the thumbs up from the publication I work with - I was well chuffed. I come back from my break on November 7th and shoot Guillemots on the evening. That's not a complaint - more of an extended Holiday.

This weekend saw Avay and Allbright infront of my lens. The Allbright lads came down and got a few promo shots for their upcoming album and promo material for tours with Army of Freshmen and Weatus. I introduced them to my local Chip Shop, Dan somehow seemed to think that Dudleys chips were better, but he's wrong.

Avay was our shoot on Sunday. The whole shoot was abit last minute but she came along with some great stuff and totally knew what she was doing infront of camera, which made my job alot more enjoyable for a Sunday shoot. We started in the studio and progressed onto two outdoor locations which was where I learnt an important thing about myself.

I love Autumn.

As a kid - I really couldn't care less that the leaves were turning red (I remember getting in trouble at school for throwing red leaves at the other kids and pretending they were fireballs...or something?) Anywho - whilst looking through the viewfinder, I see all these funky colours in the background, which just set off the whole photograph. I'm thinking of taking a little journey up there on my own tomorrow to get some nice autumn photographs.

I'll leave you with an example of how I like to work when I'm on a shoot. Most photographers choose step ladders or specially adapted tripods to get ariel high angled shots. I choose tree climbing. Once climbed, I could not get down and was forced to preform an unmanly collapse from the tree whilst pretending I hadn't crushed my ankle on impact. I haven't been feeling too well recently either - I'm not going to go on about it though, I've been accused of man flu far too many times to mention anything again. right, I'm off to a wedding consultation with Vicky and groom to be and then a busy day shooting The Hoosiers tomorrow, if you're going - Come say Hi!

Big Bad Blog

2008-10-18T09:39:00.004+01:00

So it's been a bloomin long time since I last update me blog.
Everythings changing here at Chris Barber Media HQ, a total new direction to our work in order to seperate us from competition and expand our services.
For starters, me and my beautiful lady are getting our first house together at the start of next year. Which means it'll probably actually happen around mid-2009. Alot of our time and finances are being thrown at that at the moment, which has sadly meant less shoots. But the shoots we have done have been very much focused and it's been nice to offer a more individual approach to each shoot. With the previous 10 shoots a week, everything became abit "run of the mill" - which isn't my idea of a good time.
So I'll update you from way back to last month which saw Jennifer and Steves wedding. This great couple were treated to some fantastic weather throughout the whole day and made me and Dani feel more than welcome so a massive "Thank You" to you both and your families. We're sending their photos (hopefully) by this weekend, I hope you like them guys!

Going back abit further, me and my family attended a massive family reunion with some people I haven't seen in around a decade and people my Dad hasn't ever met, which was great. I thought I'd upload a few nutty pictures from the night. I appear to be mid-head banging quite fiercly, I can assure you that this is just an average expression of mine. Photoshop it to your hearts content...

This last month has also welcomed our new make up artist - Sophie! We've only had two shoots together so far but the results from both Helens and Mandis shoots are fantastic! Helen came to the studio in a suit, she came straight from an interview in town. She left loooking like the photo below. Notice the expression similarity between the photo of me and Dani (above) and Helen's below...

This weekend also marks the end to the production of the calendar I've been working on for like the last 2 months. It's a bit of a weight off my shoulders if I'm honest, but the photos look good and I'm looking forward to seeing the final product on sale around the Midlands within the next few weeks. Photos from that should be coming soon!
Incase you haven't noticed, I shot "Last Shadow Puppets" last week in Wolverhampton, some of the best shots are online now. Thanks to everyone whos gave such a positive responce to the photos, I look forward to seeing you at more gigs in the future. Our next gig will probably be the Hoosiers (in Wolverhampton again) and then Goldfrapp - which I'm hugely honoured to be photographing, IF the passes get sorted. Big if.
Right then, I'm off to go and shoot those "Allbright" lads at the studio followed by a wedding consultation and an interview at a tanning salon in Birmingham tomorrow. More info on that soon, I'll do my best to keep this better updated from now on. For more frequent updates, follow me on Twitter. www.twitter.com/chrisbarbermedi

2008-10-18T09:39:00.003+01:00

2008-10-18T09:39:00.001+01:00

Coffee, Buses, Plans and Photographs

2008-10-08T10:56:00.000+01:00

Just about sums up the last couple of weeks. I simply haven't had a chance to update this blog as I've been working on location for the last 2 or 3 weeks solid and I can never seem to connect to a wireless in old factories or weird old houses.
But I'm finally back at home and enjoying some time to recoup and edit before launching our new project next week. It's already been plastered around the new website etc but we're launching "Shoot It Loud" very soon which is a new music blog and shop. More about that later.
So since the last blog I've been shooting weddings, bands and the occasional glamour model. I even went from shooting with monkeys at Dudley Zoo to shooting one of birminghams most promising glamour models within the space of an hour - although let me insist that the two shoots were completely seperate...
We're very near to completion with the calendar with just one more girl left to shoot. It's taken us everywhere from monkey enclosures to the not-so-cobbled streets of Black Country Museum and should be ready for purchase sometime next month.
Also working on a few more calendars up in Derby over the next few weeks for a magazine and a few fashion outlets, which i'm looking forward to.
Working everyday for the last two weeks has finally taken it's physical toll on me, I've had some severe Man-Flu the last few days - although it's not really flu, just a tad under the weather, I've been advised by Dani to take it easy for abit so I'm just kicking back for the next few days to regain some energy and eat some proper food. Rustlers 60 second burgers are nice once - but living off 60 second food for two weeks is not fun.
So back to Shoot It Loud - our new online music publication. It'll work as a blog system and can be accessed at shootitloud.com (when it's ready) - it'll link between the new Chris Barber Media website so you can purchase prints from the gig online. The reason I've set this up is for two reasons.
First of all, when I'm at gigs, I always have someone ask for more information about where they can view the photos from the set. Usually I work as part of other publications which is great, I can just refer to the publications website and they can view them there. But I want somewhere to host my music portfolio seperate from Chris Barber Media, which is currently in a fairly awkward hybrid of Music, Lifestyle, Wedding and Model Portfolios....lol. So hopefully the launch of Shoot It Loud will help to seperate my varied portfolio. Also - I've had alot of people contact me after the gig requesting prints from the night. Most of the time this is of the band, however, I've had requests to purchase photos of themselves at a gig (I try and get a few shots of the crowd at each gig) so Shoot It Loud will take a similar stance to succesful nightlife photography website - Tilllate, with emphasis on photos of the crowd as well as the band playing.
Below is the current planned gigs for the next year or so. As I said, most of my work is done for other publications, but this work will still be uploaded to Shoot It Live.

Spinto Band
Last Shadow Puppets
Towers of London
Foals
the Courteeners
The Hoosiers
The Fillers
Weatus/Frontline
Katie Melua
McFly
Ida Maria
Pigeon Detectives
The Script
The Fratellis
Stereophonics
The Enemy
Jason Donavon
Boyzone (Yep..)
The Killers

All the above are scheduled to go ahead within the next year, some of which starting from this Friday, so keep your eyes peeled and if you see me at a show - give me a wave. I'm usually eating Smarties Cookies or something :)

Chris!

Everythings about to become easy...

2008-09-23T05:57:00.000+01:00

Well atleast that's the plan. We've been working away to try and launch a totally different approach to our shoots which aim to support clients through each step of the shoot and help us appeal to more potential clients through Winter 2008.
We're hoping to launch this October 1st, but there's a million things that could go wrong so that's not an official date. Everythings gone abit quiet on the blogs as I haven't had any time to sit down and write this and I can't see it getting any better, our schedule is packed for a while now with shoots or other hard graft.
Worked on possibly the biggest team shoot ever the other day at the agency, the team included,
Photographer, 3 models, film crew, agency manager and assistant manager, make up, hair, location manager, assistant, and a few "extras" models to assist the main models. It was a crazy day but we seemed to manage and the location was fantastic. We even got a bit lucky and we were allowed to shoot in a sweet shop. Although - it could have been better if I knew we were going in there as the lighting sucked, but still - great shots all the same.
Anyway, I've started using "Twitter" which is far easier than writing lengthy blogs every time something happens, feel free to take a look - www.twitter.com/chrisbarbermedi (Yes, without the "a")(?) It's alot easier for me as I don't always have access to the internet when im out on a shoot but I can still update it from my phone so keep an eye out there.
Look forward to unvieling our new system very soon!

Chris

Artfest Incident

2008-09-16T18:13:00.001+01:00

Just a quick update following my promise to contact The Levellers concerning the way I was spoke to whilst photographic their gig on Sunday. It seems alot of you are interested in what the heck is happening/happened.
I've been in touch with a few of the photographers who happened to be nearby at the time and helped me to understand the situation far better than I did at first.
Just to briefly overview what happened, I was taking pictures on stage left when one of the technical crew chose to start shouting all sorts of obscenities at me (I couldn't understand a most of what he said, just the odd word. His gestures and the odd words I heard suggested that he wasn't in the best of moods).
So I speak to a few of the other guys who were around the time, and (although I'm unsure how) I seem to think I may have stood infront of him whilst he was pressing buttons and twiddling his knobs and what not.
It all happened VERY quickly - we're talking in a 10 second time frame. I remember him waving his arms around and some freaky veins popping out his throat the moment I turned around. I immediately reacted to what I believed to be "Can you please just step aside" (Add unessential expletives) and continued shooting with another photographer towards the front end of the stage, about three metres from the techi's "cove".
So following this, and the opinions from other photographers who saw what happened, I understand that I was in the way of the techi (in some shape or form), so therefore, I raise my hands and apologize for that (just like I said and did at the gig when he rudely waved and whistled me away).
However, this was in no way reason for him to act and speak to me the way he did, the sheer unprofessional-ism and almost laughable approach to those who publicize and review everything he and the band work for.
This unprofessional-ism was not denied when I later wrote to The Levellers record label, OFT Recordings, who replied,

"Hi Chris,

Sorry to hear about this. Usually, we hear only positive things about the crew.

I have passed on your message to the tour manager and agent."

As much I really just wanna let this go now, I look forward to their response.

Artsfest 08 Rant...

2008-09-15T11:05:00.000+01:00

I found myself at the mainstage photo pit at Artsfest this Sunday, looking forward to an evening of live music entertainment. This is by no means a review or overview of the event but instead a few thoughts based on last night.
I'd like to start by saying a massive thank you to the great crowd who were all very up for it and most of the bands who put on a great show.
However, why on earth was half the crowd in the photo pit? Whoever was in charge of designating photo passes on Sunday has alot to answer for. The pit was filled with people who really shouldn't have been there, making my job (and other photographers who were working for local press) extremely difficult.
I constantly found myself having to work around 15 year olds holding their mobile phones in the way of each shot. Most "photographers" I spoke to were not there on behalf of a magazine or press. For this I blame a Flickr group that sent in atleast 20 "photographers" to shoot the event, with no intention of the photos being used for press. Surely, the pit could and should have been reserved for photographers whos photos will be used commercially to promote the event. At times, I was tempted to just leave the pit and shoot from the crowd as I would have had more room to move.
The proof is in the pudding - I walked straight up to security and asked where and if I can get a photo pass, within 5 minutes I had full access backstage to the whole event with no evidence of working for local press, hence why there was SO many amateur photographers in the pit, and, even worse... people who just got in there to watch! I saw one girl just leaning up against the stage with no sense or purpose. I spoke to a handful of the headlining bands after their sets, and every band seemed frustrated and frankly pissed off with the sheer amount of photographers. I quote one band saying "It's like being at a f***ing Canon convention" - I'm sorry but in future, please allow the photographers who ARE there to shoot for local press and magazines to be prioritised over amateur photographers.
Second part of this rant is to The Levellers, or more so - your ignorant and rude technical crew on stage. Throughout the day, the photographers had been allowed on stage to shoot the band. This obviously goes back to my previous rant about photographers access and who security and admin had been allowing into the photo pit. During The Levellers set, I, along with every other photographer that night, spent two minutes getting a few shots from behind the band looking over the crowd. I was stood on the very far left hand side of the stage, far away from any action and creating absolutely no disturbance to The Levellers performance, when I was greeted by the grunting technical total twat who introduced himself with "OI F***ING S**T, F*** OFF". Hit by the sheer rudeness, I moved straight of his way and continued to shoot, along with two other photographers who were on stage at the time (Nothing was said to them). Out of his way, he then whistled and told me to leave the stage. I'd like to add that I was IN NO WAY disrupting or disturbing him or The Levellers from their performance and I was a good 3 metres from him when this happened. As a polite, respectful person, I left the stage at his command and even apologised for any inconvenience. At this point he shrugged me away and threw his hand in a "Just leave" gesture.
Never have I had to put up with such total rudeness from someone who was clearly just having a bad night. 20 minutes later I was back down at the pit and I could still see him shaking his head in disapproval of something else.
So, thanks to you, The Levellers set was totally hindered. In future, I'd like you to remember that some of the photographers that night were there to review you and actually publicise and promote the band you work for. Thankfully, The Levellers put on an entertaining show, as I said, this isn't a review, just an opinion on a poorly operated (from a press point of view) and ignorant technical crew that work with the Levellers.
I look forward to reviewing this, I'll make sure the technical crew get a copy.

Fool.

Shooting The Prime Minister.

2008-09-09T09:00:00.000+01:00

My day was totally turned upside down yesterday. I was scheduled for a portfolio shoot at 10:30am at the agency. I was almost there and in the space of 10 minutes my commute went from boring to super exciting as I found myself face to face with Gordon Brown.
10 minutes is a total exaggeration, I waited amongst the other paps for over an hour or so before the PM arrived. I got a great spot after fighting my way through the other photographers. There was atleast twice the amount of armed police as there was people who came to see what was happening, even the press didn't seem to excited when the PM arrived. I always thought it was a joke when they say that security talk into there watches, but it appears to be true...

Prior to his arrival, I got a few shots of the ICC, and just spent some time zoomed in and scanning around the building when I noticed two guys standing on the roof looking straight at me with a telescope....and a sniper (Y) - At that point I thought I should just start minding my own business lol. So after getting in the way of Jacqui Smith (Home Secretary) and throwing my lens in other politicians faces, Gordon Brown arrived, about 2 hours of waiting came down to about 6 seconds of him leaving the car and going inside. Enjoyed every second of it though, was good fun.

Rain...

2008-09-06T19:29:00.000+01:00

Can I just say...

The floods and closed roads out of my town are not putting me in good spirits for tomorrows calendar shoots.

Lets all put our faith in miracles. Again.

Home from Wales

2008-09-05T13:52:00.000+01:00

Wales is an amazing place filled with rolling hills for miles, breath-taking waterfalls and sheep. I was lucky enough to take a break from work to go and spend this week there with my partner and her mum and dad.
The first night saw an amazing sunset which was a short walk from our caravan (down a huge hill ofcourse). As soon as we unpacked, we were down there making the most of any sunshine as Wales is not famous for it's Mediterranean climate and never will be.
I took a few cheesey shots of Dani and a few of her parents for the wall. For the first time in ages, I've been able to almost disconnect myself from work and relax abit, even whilst receiving texts from the occasional person "I WANT TO BOOK A SHOOT" (repeat x1090827) - all of which have been ignored untill I have just sat down at my desk.
We woke up on the first day and took a walk to nearby town, New Quay, not NewQuay.

This place is your typical sea side town with a lovely little harbour, colourful houses and lots of seaside souvenir/food shops, oh and ofcourse, atleast a 100 chip shops. But! Anyone who knows me will know I'm quite proud of where I've grown up etc and the entire chip shop gave me the funniest look when I started pointing at the salt and vinegar bottles, getting all excited like a child that can't hold their bladder. "Dani Dani Dani!!!" I shouted whilst trying to speak to her with a hot chip and a fork in my mouth. I noticed that "Halesowen" (my home town) is actually a supplier and manaufacturer of the Salt and vinegar bottles you get in Chip Shops! Seeing "Halesowen" on anything in such a little town in Wales was great, I shared the story with the guy that served us but he just gave a pittyful smile and carried on serving the freaked out customers next to us. I even took a photo (You can't see it's halesowen - you'll just have to believe me on that one)
On an unrelated note.. here's my special lady doing her impression of a shark. I was impressed.
Second full day, the rain started, only a drizzle, so we took a journey up the single most windiest, single laned, most narrow road in Wales and possible the world. It's bad news when your going up a road with decent size plants growing out of the middle of it. Well done SatNav.
Anyway we ended up at a Honey Farm, which was nice because we got to look at lots of bees...and stuff like that. I make it sound dead naff, but it was dead interesting and fairly busy considering it was set in the middle of nowhere. As the day went by, the weather got worse as we parked up at some town (I couldn't spell or pronounce the name - It was something like.... Abrywlvn haha no it wasn't really, I just know it started with "Ab" like every Welsh town).
We got out the car and walked to the end of the road, we both got soaked within 5 minutes of leaving the car and decided it was probably best to retreat to the caravan.
After pestering Dani like a child I got my own way and we went to the amusements. Where I spent my years wages on fruit machines (winning nothing) and 20p on a grabber machine (Which I won a strange duck/teddy thing for Dani. It wears sunglasses and looks like a spy?) I think that evening we also went "Crabbing" which actually invovles catching shrimp?? Eitherway, I filled the bucket with lots of crabs which sort of attacked the few shrimp Dani caught, but they were all eventually set free in a merry little rock pool near the sea :)
On the last day (I've totally got all these days mixed up so far I think, oops lol), we took a drive to a town I virtually grew up with as a child, with regular family holidays to Tenby atleast 3 -4 times a year, you'd think I'd be sick of the place. But no - I dragged Dani along (for the second time) as we drove about an hour and a half in the rain to go and have a walk round the town. As soon as we stepped into the town - the sun came out! However, the town seemed alot bigger when I was little and it didnt really take us too long to get round there, as lovely as the place is, it hasn't changed much, but that still gave us a good excuse to buy some chips and sit by the sea. If you've never been to Tenby - go there - it's a nice little place.

Forced chill out time...

2008-08-29T17:51:00.000+01:00

Following a stressful week from all angles I woke up this morning determined to not push myself particuarly hard. It sounds so easy but I really am work-a-holic, not just becuase I love doing what I do but because I always strive to be better.
Just looking - this is actually my 50th blog, which has got to be the longest I've kept a record of what i do. I suppose this gives me something to do on days like today.
Anyone that knows me will know that I love my own space and time on my own, and the last few days i've had just that and I've loved every minute of it, except, ofcourse missing my gorgeous girlfriend the whole time. Oh well, I have the week alone with her next week whilst we're on holiday so plenty of catching up to do, but for now - I'm just taking my time by wrapping up a few recent shoots. Due to numerous cancellations from the agency, I've actually had chance to get some editing done and get all the recent shoots finished before I go away on Monday.
I'm sat in the garden at the moment, theres some crazy lady 3 doors down screaming at her cats, im pretending I cant hear her but she's really going for it lol! the suns just going behind the houses next door so I can actually see what im typing now.
Only real news today is that I have found a second printing agent to deal with client prints at good prices. Which means that there will be a Chris Barber Media 2009 calendar for sale later this year, I'm gonna hold off designing it till I've got some more creative work done but it should be a great calendar. I'm not expecting anyone to actually want to buy it but it'll be nice to see my photos in printed format on the walls.
I don't think i've mentioned this before but me and Dani are finally moving in together. It's been a desision we've wanted to take for ages but the time seems right now, we've actually suprised ourselves on what we can afford, really looking forward to having my own place. We've already decided on the names of our cats for when we move in. That's another story though, there's the slightly more important obsticle of actually buying the house rather than worrying about our future cats names lol!
Anyway im going in - the suns gone in and now its cold.

Chris

Tom Brom Photoshoot!

2008-08-26T11:16:00.000+01:00

This was never going to be a quiet, uncreative and easy shoot.
I was so psyched about this shoot, it'd be my last with Emily Jane until late this year/early 09.
I personally know that I work best with Emily, she takes a massive amount of pressure off me during the shoot which allows me to really concentrate on the shot itself. I am totally in the zone when I work with her.
So it was Mr Brom who fell victim to our creative "last chance to make something amazing" frame of mind. "I look like a girl" was a frequent yelp from the poor lad.

We spent most of the day in the studio, which has suffered in appearence but boy... it's so much more efficient now. The opportunities to create amazing photos are there, and all I have to do is use it all correctly, which is an amazing a rewarding feeling when I've worked so hard to financially pull it off.

Tom wanted the photos for a portfolio, we wanted him to go away with as many looks as possible, I think we got through about 6 different looks - plus an extra 5 or so that we didn't get time for.
I'm extremely proud with some of these shots, especially as most of them are a result of good technical photography rather than post work.
Massive thank you to Tom for being so open to different ideas, as a result - your portfolio will show fantastic versatility (Which he has) as well as the more obvious attributes to anyones portfolio. All the best in future Tom, I think you'll go far in the right hands!
As for Emily.
Arh, I'm gonna miss ya sibling!
Have an amazing time over the next month!

Thanks for a great shoot!
P.S - It wouldnt be a great shoot without aweful behind the scenes shots of Emily (Y)

Early Start

2008-08-25T08:05:00.001+01:00

Sorted out the studio yesterday - it's less presentable now but a LOT more efficient and will provide us with more space to work which = GREAT SHOTS!
Bit gutted about the presentation of the studio - but atleast now it's far more organised and will makes my job alot easier.
Bank Holiday Monday and I'm up at 7am prepping an early shoot today, it's my last shoot with EmilyJane for a lonnnnnng time and my first shoot with a male model that is using a make up artist. Should be a great shoot, really psyched about it but I'd like to see the weather perk up abit.
Had my first night in weeks to sit down and do some work last night, I feel good about myself this morning for allowing some time to catch up on work, although I miss Dani like crazy - I know I can relax tonight knowing that I've got a fair bit of work off my shoulders.
Wish me luck today!
Chris

Mel's Photoshoot

2008-08-23T18:04:00.000+01:00

The weekend is here and following a fairly emotional fueled morning, I've snapped out of it and decided to knuckle down and get some work done.
Along came Mel, with friend and mum, ready to shoot. As with everyone, Mel was very nervous on the taxi to the studio but was a total natural infront of camera.

We started off with a few shots in the studio which just gave us abit of a chance to have a chat. The photos from the studio look great but were surpassed by the shots we got of Mel when we got outdoors and started shooting. The location we used was being used a wedding location (for the couples photographs) so I hope we didn't end up in the couples wedding photos as we seemed to have to work around them alot (Even though it's a public space).
Anywho I had a great shoot and was a nice addition to my weekend, you all brightened up my day after a miserable start this morning so thanks alot!
All the best at college Mel, good luck with your film course (It's NOT easy, mum! haha) and let me know when your able to teach me to read minds with your psychological powers :D

Difficult day

2008-08-23T11:49:00.000+01:00

Had my mum in tears.
Had my wonderful girlfriend by my side.

right now i'm sat on my own though.

I hope I make you all proud. That's it.

STOP!

2008-08-22T11:49:00.001+01:00

Woke up this morning with a plan.

Put EVERYTHING on a hault.

It seems crazy but I woke up a little earlier than Dani this morning, and realized that there is something a lot more important than a few of my plans.

To cut a long story short, I've decided to call off the refurbishing of my studio. Explanations will come, just not yet.

Slave to the Machines...

2008-08-21T12:40:00.000+01:00

Today I've managed to finish off a total of 4 photoshoots in one morning, which has to be a personal record. Most of them just needed to be burnt to Cd as they have just been waiting around whilst I get a chance to burn them off.
Even managed to get Matt's shoot finished from yesterday, I still have alot of catching up to with other shoots and planning needs to be done for the next 2 weeks worth of photoshoots.
Busy bee today so gotta get off here and finish off editing.

Chris

Matt's Shoot

2008-08-20T15:36:00.000+01:00

Just got in from a shoot with Matt Farley, a garage and house musician from near Wolverhampton. Wasn't exactly sure of what look to go for but was very happy with how they've turned out. We drove up to Dudley and went to an abandoned warehouse which has seen it's fair share of vandalism and abuse. I always categorized the place as "It's bark is worse than it's bite" - that was until we noticed 3 or 4 junkies passing through into a small part of the building and leaving about 10 minutes later.

I promise that's the first time that's happened, I knew the place was run down but this was pretty bad news. As I said to Matt - "It's bad news when there's "Pound Generator" bags everywhere" lol. The place gets used for alot of photoshoots, I'd personally advise anyone who goes to this location in Dudley to avoid it. The group saw us as they were leaving and said nothing (I was bricking it), I just kept thinking - "It's cool - I have a camera, i'll threaten to take their photo and give it in to the police" - then I thought - "Chris, they'll just steal or burn the camera." Once I'd finished talking to myself in my head I couldn't help but be nosy to see what they were doing. All that remained was a few dodgy containers, odd bits of foil and packs of matches, needless to say - we left straight after that.
Other than that it was a great shoot! Lots of new promo stills for Matt to use and hopefully help him to get to Ibiza for the closing parties this year! He also goes to Wolverhampton Uni - which is where I went for 3 days (Haha), so my support goes out to him. Go check him out now, www.myspace.com/djmattfarley

Marcus and Jess

2008-08-20T10:05:00.000+01:00

Arrived in Birmingham ridiculously early regardless of Dani telling me that I was leaving too early. I was expecting a major rush hour trip into Birmingham at about 8am, but by the time we got to central town - the roads were strangely quiet. I got to birmingham for about 9:30am which meant I was a good hour and a half early for the shoot. Anyway I managed to kill some time and grabbed some breakfast and a coffee and went location scouting so that passed the time.

Jess had the shoot booked as a present for Marcus. It was a for a portfolio that he wants to put together, so today was about building the foundations of that portfolio and get some shots of him and Jess later on. The agency were kind enough to lend us their studio for the afternoon so after we raided a few locations (*cough* without permission *cough*) - It was time to head back to base and get some studio shots.

The couple were lovely and I really enjoyed shooting with them. Although I was a little rushed and had to concentrate on making sure Marcus got the looks he needed for the portfolio, I had a really good day. Thanks guys!

Once we'd finished, I stuck around at the studio as I was meant to be there later to do some promotional stills for new marketing material. Dan couldn't make it so we now have the mission of photoshopping him in next to Ilona and Laura - who are two of the agencies recent fantastic models! Can't wait to work with you on your portfolio shoots!

Still having a few problems with people pinching ideas/marketing/logos etc, again (and I've said this a bajillion times already) - I'm just trying to focus on what I'm doing myself right now. It is bugging the hell out of me, but on the surface - I just want to let it all pass over. In my opinion, anyone who's looking to imitate what I do is no friend of mine and certainly not someone I'm happy to even acknowledge. I feel very strongly about this but refuse to let it effect my own work.

I have a creative shoot coming up at the end of the month, the first of many I hope. However, things are always too busy with paid work to get down and think of ideas. I have pages of ideas already scattered across my desk but no time to get it onto camera.

Today is Matt Farly's shoot, a local house and garage musician. Looking forward to todays shoot as always, although I need to get off here and get into the studio and make it remotely presentable. (We've started gutting the place out ready for the builders so it's a total mess).

Chris

Home from V Festival

2008-08-18T15:34:00.000+01:00

An eventful weekend at V Festival, arrived home at about 1am yesterday.
Rain, mud and alcohol fueled fun!
Highlights included dancing around like twats to Calvin Harris and Stereophonics and ofcourse seeing the Guillemots and getting their set list :D (I'll upload a photo of it when I get chance).
So back home now and I have a day to get my head together before another 2 weeks of solid shooting!
Tomorrow I have a shoot with Jess and her boyfriend in birmingham which'll be nice - It's been ages since I've done a couples shoot, which is a shame because I really love doing them.
My studio is finally on it's first steps of the refurb, we've cleared all the clutter out and removed the sofa to give us abit more space. Got new chairs on the way this week and the builders move in on September the 1st whilst i'm on holiday
There's alot more work happening than we originally intended - total predicted cost of the refurb so far is around £2000 and that's not including new technical equipment that I'll need to get sorted.
In other news, we're seeking a new make up artist! Emily's moving onto super duper massive things and we need someone to fill her boots whilst shes away. More on that soon!
Anyway, Need to get planning on the shoots for the next couple of weeks.

Chris

Early to bed tonight...

2008-08-14T23:10:00.000+01:00

V Festival!
Travelling out at 6am - not that it's going to make any difference.
Still gonna end up waiting around in the rain.
For everyone who went today (Thursday) I hope you had fun putting your tent up in the rain! Haha.
Anyway i'm off to bed and gonna get ready to chill out and enjoy/endure another year of THE MUD.

Late night...

2008-08-13T23:43:00.000+01:00

With the recent constant supply of photoshoots (which is set to last now till mid-September) I figured that I need to find time to edit - which sadly, is late at night.
I'm so tired already and I'm less than 3 days into my month and a half photoshoot marathon lol. There's a few breaks in there though so that's whats keeping me going.
Just got round to editing a few photos from a recent shoot with emily and leila. Despite constant threats of rain whilst make up and hair was being done - we were really really really lucky with the weather, graced with glorious sunshine. Which is good - because I woke up at 4:30am before the shoot thinking "Shit! No ideas if it's raining. I jumped out of bed and started thinking of places to ring in the morning if the rain hadn't cleared up".
We finished the most important part of the shoot at Himley Hall and decided to head towards an industrial part of town to get some high fashion contrasting shots. As Emily was working her magic - I was making myself useful by watching the clouds (I do this alot) - I felt a drop of rain and had a bit of a Peter Kay (Dinner Ladies) moment - "EMILY - ITS RAINING - EVERYONE IN THE CAR!" - We quickly seeked shelter in Emilys "porta-make up-o-magic" and watched the rain pelt down. I mean like - real rain, constant thunder and lightning - we got the idea
- It wasn't to be - so we headed back to the studio. At this point we were all pretty knackered and just wanted to get studio stuff out of the way and chill out back home with some dinner.
However, a coffee or two later (I made one of my specialty shitty tea's/hot chocolate for emily - she LOVES them really, the way I make tea or hot chocolate COMPLETELY wrong makes it taste a bajillion times better - right bready?)

Leave you with this little treat.

Anyhow - Emily cracked on with making Leila look like she'd been struck by the lighting outside and eventually we got some lovely studio fashion shots.
I rarely do much full length work. I find it more challenging to pose a model in full length and to make the photo look top notch. But everything came together and the full length stuff looked great. Will be far better when the studio is refurbished and then the worlds our oyster :)
Finally got a date from our half drunk builder after he spent a while mumbling on about why he doesn't keep a diary - not very reassuring when you expect to come home from Holidays to have the work done.... But I have every faith in him and i'm sure the studio will be amazing come the winter months.

Moving Around...

2008-08-13T10:16:00.001+01:00

Spent a whole 30 minutes at home in the last 48 hours, managed to shower, get ready and charge a battery then head straight back out again for todays shoot.
Yesterdays shoot was alot of fun, went out to Himley Hall with our model and emily and got some funky shots which I'll upload when I get a chance to edit them and get them online. We've got some lovely behind the scenes photos as well which i'll upload when the edits are ready.
I'm really behind with my work at the moment, trying to juggle being fully booked with shoots everyday with actually editing the photos from the shoots which is proving difficult.
Finally taken a stand against a couple of photographers whos clearly mimmicking my business ideas/marketing/logos etc like i mentioned in the last blog.
Decided to just move on and concentrate on my own work than wasting my time arguing and complaining over it. I've figured it looks hilarious for him because i've had so many emails saying "look at this guys profile! hes totally copied your ideas and design, how pathetic" (actual quote).

You know who you are. Be original and bold, I'm not gonna ask you to stop it because it 's your own choice and I respect that, but, jeez, come on, your in a creative business - represent yourself like it.

Sitting in my studio

2008-08-12T10:58:00.000+01:00

Bored and thinking about how I wanna knock it all apart.
Woke up this morning at 4:30am to the sound of really bad rain, not good when you have some great ideas for an outdoor shoot today.
I've been frantically ringing around remotely interesting locations all morning trying to sort out a good place to go as the rain has scuppered my plans.
As I'm typing the suns coming out :D So maybe if i try....
I wish i was a millionaire.....

No that didn't work - and now the suns gone in. Jeez.
Also had enough with people blatently stealing my ideas/logos/marketing ideas and pretty much anything that's available for them to look. I bet they'll copy this blog lol.
Anyway fuck them I've actually had enough of this person and now I'm just gonna get on with my job, which is to take great photos.
Emilys just pulled up at the studio so time to say goodbye now and get on with my work.

Ciao!

I'm sending this with no wires at all

2008-08-11T14:28:00.001+01:00

Whereas most people caught onto the whole wireless thing about 5 years ago. Here I am, going on about how great wireless is. I'm so slow it's pittyful.

Just come home from

2008-08-09T20:50:00.000+01:00

Resurrecting my girlfriends Mini.
It sadly died (again) on the way out shopping today. The clutch stopped working as we were going up a hill which was mildly entertaining until we began driving backwards down the hill :D
Also just got in from a photoshoot. The guy who was meant to be having a shoot never showed up (thanks for that...) and I had a call a few days back from an insurance company asking to me get some shots for a claim.
As I was representing the insurance firm, I had to wear something not-casual. I hate wearing suits these days and felt very odd going to a shoot wearing a shirt and smart jacket. Anyhow, it was something different I suppose.
So I've just been down there, nice lady with a poorly finger. Had a chat about family etc and hopefully shooting her son and fiance in a couple of weeks.
Had a great day at the agency yesterday working on some test shoots for new models. Some great people applying, can't wait to get working on some portfolios for these applicants :D
On the studio front - I've finally brought my backdrop this afternoon which has left my wallet feeling considerably lighter. Can't wait to receive them :)
Anyway, im off out to tie up some odd bits of work etc.

Quick rant.

2008-08-09T11:13:00.001+01:00

There's a girl who's meant to be having a shoot with us over the next couple of days. She's never done a shoot in her life and seems to have no previous experience in modeling. All over her page she has "Hollywood material"/"I enjoy Moddelling" (yes like that).

I have no problem for this but this individual can't even show up to a photoshoot. That annoys me. Please don't claim "Super model" status on your own profile if you don't show up to your first shoot. Wannabe. Stop watching TV.

Also, I hate people that pose with slr cameras. Noticed recently alot of really forced behind the scenes photos, a couple which are literally just posing with new bits of kit. It's very funny. Quit taking geeky gay photos of yourself and get some proper photos shot.

/Rant.

Plans and Problems....

2008-08-07T09:59:00.001+01:00

As I've mentioned once or twice, I've been very quiet on here the last few weeks. Partly because of some slight technical difficulties as we re-arrange the way we work.
I've purchased a lovely new laptop as I've started to notice the need for it the last few weeks. I'm traveling around alot more now so being able to do my work on the move is really speeding things up.
My desk is currently filled with bits of paper EVERYWHERE, endless empty coffee mugs, not to mention 3 computers and various bits of kit. It's a total mess so I need some time to sort everything out, I don't like working in a mess.
Our studio has still not began building work. We have finally concluded what's happening though, it's a big job and our builder isn't being very co-operative. Should be completed by the end of the summer as we hit the winter months (handy - well organised for a change). Although I'm not a fan of studio work, it certainly helps when you live in Britain.
Bit of exciting news, I've been registered to another agency sort of out the blue which is great. I've been speaking with these guys since the start of this year and never really saw it heading anywhere. They're very different to the other agency I work for - they specialise in music artist/entertainers/dancer promotion so it's a fresh challenge.
Going on abit of a mega spend over the next few weeks whilst I refurb the studio - buying lots of new kit and essentials, when I really need to be saving for other endeavors right now.
Got a shoot with Emily on Tuesday - Finally! It's been ages, she's been away on hols and I have like a million ideas I need to get off my chest - then she's leaving us again till September - I'm gonna collapse - she normally does all the work for me - I'm just there to press the shutter - but shh.
Which reminds me, I have some big news (photos-wise) coming up for 2009. It's going to be quite large. Every year I set myself a bit of a mammoth task - 2008 was Departures (Which still isn't finished - Damn work!!!) and I'm just in the process of preparing 2009's "Big thing!"
I'm also in the process of planning a calendar for a local tshirt company. We're "touring" over the Black Country and Birmingham area over two days sometime this summer in my girlfriends little red mini - So if you see us by a landmark near you, come and say hello and I'll take a snapshot for you haha.
Finally, as if there isn't enough going on with work etc. I've made a pretty big decision over the last couple of weeks and can't wait to share it all with you. I'm honestly not trying to hold you in suspense, I just can't say what it is yet.
Anyhow - just to let you know that I'm still here - just working very hard behind the scenes at the moment :)

Chris!

Woweeee

2008-08-05T10:54:00.000+01:00

Something wicked this way comes...

2008-08-04T08:26:00.000+01:00

Had some time to chill out recently, and anyone who knows me will know this - A day to me simply means a day when I'm not actually out there shooting something. I'm still here working away at the computer, editing and planning shoots etc.
Anyhow, I have some fairly big news on it's in the next few days which boils down to how tonight goes. It's major but won't have any effect on my work.
Last shoot was with Steph, which was just an all-out "lets just have fun" shoot. After throwing paint around fields we decided to drench her with some make shift rain.
Photos look great though can't wait to share some more with you.
Had a meeting with the Tshirt company about producing this calendar, it's going to be alot of hard work but hopefully it'll all be worth it. Lots to organize though! Anyway busy man here so I'll be dropping a more in-depth blog soon. Chris

Hello hello.

2008-08-01T09:49:00.000+01:00

Not alot has happened recently hence the quietness on the blogs.
Things are very great right now.
I can't wait to say why :D

I'm not dead!

2008-07-26T18:02:00.000+01:00

Still working my legs into the ground at the moment.
Spent my first day off in months with Dani today at West Midlands Safari Park. Armed with my lens, Dani acted as the stunt driver and me as .... quite obviously... the photographer.
Also the hottest day we've had all year - so got pretty lucky to have my day off today. The day included getting mobbed by zebras and getting so close to tigers that you can hear them lick the remains of whatever it was eating.
In terms of work - I've had a lot of shoots to edit and shoot over the last week, been shooting everyday which is fun. ALOT of agency work coming up soon which is great, including my first agency portfolio shoot tomorrow which starts at 12.
Spent Friday evening at the office trying to sort out bits and bobs for the shoot, I basically came up with ideas then poor old xenia had to make it happen by arranging the location for us. Working to a crazy schedule tomorrow which will involve alot of transporting, travelling fast paced work flow. I love a challenge and can't wait to see the final results.
Anyway, going to go and make me some food.
Chris

Alwight Allbright?

2008-07-21T15:21:00.000+01:00

Allbright (formally Frontline) were one of the first bands I ever shot. Back when I was at college, I was filming another band and shot alittle bit from Frontlines set in Stourbridge on a college HD camera on HDV tapes. How times change!?
Gone is the HD video camera, infact - gone is film all together, I find myself stood with the guys about year and half - 2 years on outside Sams house with a coffee (Thanks for the coffee, really needed it that morning) waiting for the models to show up for todays shoot with the band.
Due to meet at 10:30 - I text our male model, "Dan" to ask where he is (It's about 10:35 if your interested)....The reply.... "not good, been at police station all night".
Imagine our faces? Then times it by about 9 or 10. But it's ok! Yes really... they were giving away McFly albums in the Daily Mail! Sams house was carpeted with pages from the paper to say the least.
Anyway, after some frantic calling around - we got hold of a model, Jake. (THANKS JAKE!) Phew. We set off to Kinver, set up a little rope swing whilst the kids got ready for their shot. The kids are also part of the CD cover, got some amazing shots of these as they did a literally perfect job of modeling for us, big well done, your both gonna be little stars.

After a few tricky angles for the grown up versions of the photos, and an ice cream - we moved onto going to this house Liam and Jay had been raving about since they contact me two weeks ago. And Rightly so... Wow. Amazing home, right in the middle of no-where, it's exactly where I want to picture living when I've made my first trillion (haha! council flat in blackheath... not that there's anything wrong with council flats or Blackheath...)

Really had to rush around the house getting shots as we were really pushing time, which was a shame because the lights needed abit of time to be perfected but I think I'm happy with how the shots came out. We finished at about 6:30pm which was actually one of the longest shoots I've ever done and the first time I've nearly ran my memory card dry. Not quite though ;)
So now I have the mission of getting through all the pictures, and ofcourse finishing off Ricky's shoot from the other day :)
Back to work!

Update

2008-07-18T13:54:00.001+01:00

I've been quite busy working on a few shoots over the last few days.
Wednesday was my first agency photoshoot which I was little nervous about. The guys that run the agency are great and have made me feel really welcome since I first started, did 4 test shoots for the applicants. Had a few troubles with lighting (using continuous lighting instead of strobes?) but other than that it went well. I need to buy myself a laptop now as I seem to be doing alot of travelling and working away from home and need to keep on top of my work load whilst im out on my travels or shooting at the agencies studio.
Got a call Thursday morning from the agency, just to sort out a few bits and bobs with my new contract and for my opinions on the models. Just got to sort out a few issues regarding copyright etc and then I'll official be the agencies "in-house/resident" photographer which is great. I'll be shooting all the portfolios for the models already on the books over the coming weeks - so even more work! Can't wait!
Everyone I work with (under Chris Barber Media) will now have a direct link towards a modeling agency and can really start a career in modeling if they so choose.
Start work on my home studio this weekend and have the builders coming in over the next few weeks, really excited about that- will post a few demolishion photos over the coming weeks. Chris

Taking it Steady

2008-07-15T09:22:00.000+01:00

Perhaps a little too steady. Feeling fairly relaxed today, I have a lot to do and I don't really feel on top of it all at the moment. We've had a few problems with booking shoots, everyones availability is going abit crazy with holidays which is messing me about a little, tad frustrating.
But anyway, that didn't stop me getting my hands dirty on Sunday and Monday, firstly for a second shoot with Shola who's trying to build a portfolio for agencies he's applying for. Monday was Jasons turn, I had been speaking to him for the last couple of months over the internet but this was the first time we'd met face to face. Had a great shoot, and although the horrible white clouds wouldn't shift all day - we still managed to get some great shots.
On a personal note - I really am starting to think that I'm finally getting to grips with studio lighting, I've been working with studio lights since I first started but have always had problems and complications - often thinking it was because of my lights (wrong!) - Infact all I need now is a little more space as my studio is tiny and could do with a bit more space for certain poses and more technically complicated shots.
Currently in the process of refurbishing the studio to give us abit more space and to make it more presentable. Should be completed by the end of next month depending on our builders availability :( We're knocking out parts of walls/ceilings, adding doors, new backdrop systems, new lighting kit, not to mention all the new props and extra bits and bobs to make it more presentable. Can't wait!

Marvelous!!

2008-07-12T10:30:00.000+01:00

Great day yesterday!
I had my interview with the agency who totally loved what I do and i'm now part of their team of photographers which i'm really chuffed about. This means that when I'm not shooting something as "Chris Barber Media" (I do get the rare day off at the moment) then i'll be working at the agency. So officially - I don't get days off anymore, but it's a great opportunity and I never -ever-ever expected to be so busy in my first 6 months of starting in business.
Busy week next week, shoot with Shola again tomorrow, Monday is Jason (Long time friend which i've never met), Kirsty and Ricky during the rest of the week - and finally - sunday is FRONTLINE. Which i'm looking forward to! Been trying to shoot these guys since Summer 2007 so it's been a long time coming. Oh and Wednesday I'll have my first test shoot with a girl at the agencies studio, which i'll probably be dead nervous about...
Last night was also a laugh - decided to have a little private celebration with myself so I doubled my drinking budget for the evening as a "tap on the back" gift to myself. Was lovely catching up with everyone again.

I have a massive addiction to Flight Of The Conchords, I know all the words :)

Lets Get Nervous!

2008-07-10T23:04:00.000+01:00

I am sooo excited about tomorrow for alot of reasons.
I'm dead excited to see a few pals from college days which I haven't seen properly since around last year sometime. But first of all - I have a bit of a hurdle to jump before I chill out and sit back in my local with old pals.

Unfortunately this hurdle is more of a small moutain. Or atleast a hill. I hate interviews, I hate them even more when they call them "meetings" or a "chat" or even worse - "casual chats".
I'm meeting with a Birmingham/London based modelling agency which already work with some AMAZING photographers, it would be brilliant to get a chance to work with them and even better to be part of the agency.

Anyway - I'll keep you posted on how it all goes.
NERRRVVEEESS

:)

Alice has been shot

2008-07-09T14:11:00.001+01:00

We shot her :)
Alice popped down to my studio yesterday armed with armfulls of exciting props and clothing - thinking back to all the things she brought - we never got to use half of it which is so disappointing, needless to say - the shoot was still crammed with LOADS of great shots, and for the first time in weeks - a new location which we stumbled across whilst out hunting for a place. Alice came with Nathan who was a massive help throughout the shoot and I really look forward to him popping down again for a shoot with his girlfriend.

But today was Alices turn - we started off at the studio getting a few headshots once Emily had worked her magic. We're currently in the process of re-building/designing our studio, so we were working in total chaos for most of it, regardless- we still got some nice headshots, including a few classic smiley ones :D

After I pratted around pointing at charcoal in tesco - We soon got out on location at a local park which was lovely jubbly - we then moved down the road to a small quarry where me and Nath stumbled upon a great location which included open manholes down to the sewage system - which I want to go back and check out sometime if I feel brave enough.
We returned the car where emily was applying hair and make up - we were both shocked to say the least - so were people driving past haha. Following some of my favourite make up shots ever at the location, we decided to call it a day as the sun set over the trees that surrounded the place. However, I decided it would be great to get a shot of Alice in a puddle with the sun creating a great reflection towards the camera. BIG MISTAKE! I detached me 70-200 to use my standard lens and my lubricated sausage fingers managed to drop the 70-200mm lens. Now it wont attach to the camera, so my dad is now sat next to me trying to fix the problem himself before we risk blowing my life savings on getting it repaired by canon.
Wish me luck! Thanks to alice, Nath and ofcourse emily for a great, and totally exhausting and rewarding shoot!

Home!

2008-07-07T18:32:00.000+01:00

Back home from mine and Dani's week away in Spain, which was great.
Unbearably hot though, we got off the plain at 1am, in the rain, everyone was running to get inside but for me it was just such a relief to be back in cold, fresh air under the gloomy skies of England.
During the week away, I've tried to just keep work as far out of my mind as possible, I arrived home at about 3am and I was straight back at my desk for 8am. I'm so eager to get back to work, lots of new ideas, tonne of things to catch up on and alot of shoot plans to be conjured up.
Including tomorrows shoot with Alice which promises to be full of great photos. It's great when a client comes to you knowing exactly what they want but leaving you room to be creative and make it your own, people like that are great to work with.
Anyway, just letting you know all is well, probably write here tomorrow!
Chris

Done!

2008-06-27T21:48:00.000+01:00

Finished my final shoot for a while now! Chance to catch up on some editing etc!
After a few weeks of organising todays shoot, we finally got Shola's shoot out and ready to go.
Went for a cliched "street" look at a local basketball court. Not really alot to shoot there but thankfully Shola brought a few of his mates along to join the fun haha.
Lots of swinging from Basketball nets and avoiding the occasional downpour. A short but high quality shoot with some great looking portrait photos for Shola to look through.
Thanks to everyone today for making me feel welcome. Last blog for a very long time now so lots to catch up on with editing! chris

Quiet as ever...

2008-06-25T17:35:00.000+01:00

Sorry for the lack of bloggy-ness over the last few days. Since Saturday my schedule has consisted of sleep/shoot/shoot/shoot/sleep/shoot/shoot....shoot. And today - Edit. Edit. Coffee. Edit.
Worked on a shoot for a great character on Sunday, Laura and her carers. We had an hour to shoot everything so were busy running round my local park and then back to the studio for a few more posed shots. The photos look amazing, everything about them is so natural, I can't wait to show Laura and her carers.
Monday was Holly, another character in front of camera. Lots of genuine smiles and giggles on this shoot which was mainly studio based, trying to get a few shots together for a portfolio before setting off to bigger studio shoots over the coming weeks.

Yesterday we did a portrait photoshoot for Amy who was sooo nervous. Thankfully she settled into it and despite her nerves, her photos are looking great. My apologies (on behalf of me and emily) to Amy for ONCE AGAIN getting distracted by a squirrel on a shoot. It was one heck of a squirrel though, he came so close to the camera that I lost focus on him but refused to move incase I scared him off. Anyway, I the little fella didnt die from the chocolate cookie emily insisted on force feeding him. Lots of fun on this shoot, including emily falling down the smallest hill in the world and discovering an extra location to shoot at whilst out and about. Great shoot! However, now I face the mammoth task of editing everything from the last week or so, which is slightly daunting but it's gonna be worth it! More to come soon!

My Work On Exhibition

2008-06-20T15:08:00.001+01:00

Just a quick blog to mention that my work has been on Exhibition this week at Birmingham University. I've worked with Sas twice, she's a fantastic stylist and together we've got some great shots over the last few months. As part of her final project at Uni, her work has been exhibitioned and features a collection of my photos for all to see.

Sadly I haven't been able to get down there this week because I've been shooting everyday but Sas kindly modeled a few of the prints at the exhibition, most of which were also printed by us.
Thanks Sas!

Rest! (ish)

2008-06-18T09:28:00.000+01:00

Finally a day off! Feel like I havent stopped in weeks so it's great to wake up and just be sat here editing and what not. I know i'll be sick of it by the end of the day though haha.
So yesterday I shot Dylan, a local close up magician. I was suffering from fatigue most of the day so it was very difficult for me to sort of focus and keep every shot creative. However, we still managed to get some cracking shots and it was very interesting to talk to Dylan about what he does, magic/performance has always interested me - partly because the thought of performing infront of large groups of people scares the living day lights out of me. Regardless it was great to hear what it's like being on stage in front of people and performing. It sounds very different to how bands/musicians feel when their on stage, not being biased but being an entertainer and performing infront of people sounds alot more terrifying.
So we started with a few studio shots and then went over to some local woods to shoot a few unusual shots. This eventually turned into a total hike, poor dylan was walking through woods (not just woods - this was like a jungle) in a full suit so I want to openly apologize for that. However, we found a nice little place to shoot - it wasn't exactly where I had in mind, but it certainly worked and in some shots - I think it worked out better than my original ideas.
As for my home studio - it's getting a revamp over the coming weeks. We're investing ALOT of money on doing it up so it's all nice and shiney and looks abit more professional, also trying to get some new kit for the studio but I'm not sure if the budget will allow for that yet so we'll wait and see.
Anyway - there's work to be done, doubt I'll update here for a few days as there's not much to talk about as the next few days are mainly just editing. Stay tuned for some updates on the portfolio though, definitely have a lot of shots I wanna upload and share with everyone!

Shoot with Paige..

2008-06-17T10:29:00.001+01:00

So yesterday was the turn of Paige infront of camera.
She came to my home studio with her mum who was so enthusiastic about the whole shoot and really wanted to get as many shots as possible for Paige, as did me and EmJ.
We ransacked the bags of clothes she brought with her and picked out the stuff we wanted to use. Although we knew this was going to be a Glamour/Beauty shoot, Paige wanted the shots to use for her portfolio, and shes only really done one shoot previously, it was important to really mix it up for her.
I'm a massive fan of David LaChappelle, not necessarily his ability to take photos but the surrealism in his ideas are perfect. In this shoot, we decided to ruin one of shots but attempting to recreate a shot of Angelina Jolie with a horse in the countryside.
Which is what we did and I was actually quite suprised how they turned out, the photos have an amazing natural feel to them, I love the simplicity of the shots. And although they may not be the most fantastic technical shots I have ever taken - there's something about them which I'm quite proud of. The shot on the left shows how we spread out across the field approaching different horses from different angles haha! This is a rare moment where Emily is saying "Chris I don't think we can do this" and me saying "Ofcourse we can!" - That is a very rare moment. Normally its the total opposite way round haha.
Following a few studio shots we went out towards Dudley to some place I can't remember what it was called but it was a nice little place to shoot, plenty of ponds and a little old building we could use.
The only problem we noticed was a few chavs that haven't encountered the female race yet, armed with camera phones and there elegant use of the English language. "Get yur tits out" and "I wanna see her naked" were amongst some of the compliments.
After Emily threatened to throw our "steel" reflector (lmao) at them - I decided to take the Hug a hoodie approach and offered them a photo if they'd leave us be. They had there photo taken and left straight away. Fools. I have Producers Forum and my three week course at UCE to thank for getting rid of them, I wouldn't have a clue what to do otherwise. It was nice to put something I learned so long ago into practice in a real situation.
On a far more personal note, I got a call from Dani half way through the shoot with the worse possible news. I obviously don't wanna go on about it here but right now Dani, me and ofcourse her family are totally devastated. You'll probably hear alot less of me from now on, I need to devote more time to being with Dani and her family.
Without ending the blog on a low note, I am really looking forward to the shoot today with Dylan, whos a local close up street magician. I've also enjoyed and been inspired by magic so today will be more fun than work for sure. I'm trying my very best to avoid any cheesy magician shots today but I just know I'll probably take atleast one lol.
I'll do my best to keep this updated over the coming weeks.
Chris

No time for your drivvle...

2008-06-15T12:54:00.000+01:00

I'm so sick and tired of people being so ungrateful.
You know who you are and I hope you've read this.
I work so pissing hard trying to juggle all my work at the moment and it seems there's a small group of people that seem to think I devote my life to them once I've worked with them. I like to maintain a friendship with the people I've work with, but when your breathing down my neck and pick out faults at every available moment - You put pressure on me that I really don't want or need at the moment.

It's Fathers Day and I've delibrately left the day free from work to spend some much needed time with my family. Yet I find myself back here slaving away trying to rectify minor problems your not happy about. This is the first day in months Ive had to spend with my family, I hope your proud of yourself.

Just hit a thought. I'm going to just leave this CD burning and go out with them, I aint spending my only day off slaving over minor problems which can simply wait.

To the 99% of people I work with - you are fantastic people.

Even as I'm typing this I get another 2 texts from this person demanding more photos. I'm turning the phone off and going out to spend time with my family and enjoy MY DAY OFF. As I should be...

Aston Martin!!

2008-06-13T17:08:00.000+01:00

So I've brought a new car. Only joking...
Today was my shoot with Lucy who just wanted a few simple outdoor bikini shots with this car for her portfolio.
We did the shoot at Cannon Hill Park where I havent been since I was very little, whilst there I bumped into a few old faces - The crew from Doctors - which I worked on a few months back. I didnt think anyone would recognise me so avoided looking stupid and saying hello.
I got there early to check the place out, shot the odd squirrel (photos) and a Herron that was IMPOSSIBLE to shoot.
Shoot didn't last long but it was nice meeting new people that seemed to have an interest in what I do, they were local too and Lucys mum actually works at my old primary school which is a coincidence.
Anyway, our Scotish friends are down for the weekend - they've just stumbled in drunk at 5pm so nows a good time to ask for a freebie...
Talkie of money spending - I brought a nice new filter today for my new lens. It's so nice to have the money to spend on this kit, It's becoming quite an arsenal. Still in total awe of my new lens - I will try and upload a few behind the scenes pics if I can get them from Lucys mum :)
Nice day! Weekend!
Chris x

This is quite private...

2008-06-12T23:15:00.000+01:00

Its only a short lyric but it means alot to me.

"You Are My Friend, Don't Die Too Soon,
I look to you, I look to you
I've got the blues, someone stole the laces from my shoes
Oh, let your white light be my pillow"

Only posted it here because its the place where people are least likely to read it and I really want a place to write how I feel at the moment.
Please don't leave us all. God...

A Very Quick Rant

2008-06-10T14:35:00.001+01:00

I have alot I need to update on but this is just a quick short rant in the meantime.
Why is it that when people cancel - they always have to make up that
a) their house has been burgled (This excuse was total BS)
b) A relative has passed away
c) They had a car crash 2 weeks before the shoot (Not even an excuse surely??)

Fair enough - If (b) is true, then I totally understand, but I know some people blatantly just lie about things like that as an excuse. Why do people book and then cancel so close to a shoot? What pleasure could they possibly get out of booking a shoot then not actually having it? I run my business as a full time thing - imagine losing a days pay every week because your bosses cat has the flu - that's how frustrating it is.
Anyhow...

Excited!

2008-06-06T09:38:00.000+01:00

I feel like a kid on Christmas eve! I get my new lens tomorrow which I've just forked out nearly £1k for but I know it's going to be worth it. It'll get straight to work the following day as I have a christening on the Sunday so can't wait to push it this weekend.
I've spent most the week at Danis this week looking after the house/cats/plants - well she has - I've spent most my time twiddling my thumbs but rest assured that I will get back to doing some work next after a nice peaceful week "off" - I say week off, but it isn't - If i'm not shooting - I'm editing - but family recon that's a day off - infact - they think because I'm not a don't work 9-5 shifts or come home going "I HATE MY JOB" every evening - this means I'm "unemployed" - yet, demanding rent is still a priority. Only joking - there very supportive!
Anyway, im gonna crack on with this editing and finalise plans for collecting the lens tomorrow - I'll post a picture of it because I'm a total freak.

Bored...Should be busy

2008-06-04T19:45:00.000+01:00

Hello, I've had a nice handfull of quiet days this week following weeks of constant shooting. Don't get me wrong - I love shooting, but I need to use this time to chill out and plan upcoming shoots. I've spent today planning shoots for the next coming weeks whilst chasing up the usual things that have to be dealt with seen as I run this as a business.
There's so many photographers out there that earn money from their photoshoots - I bet hardly any of them are registered as an actual business. I thought "it's best to be nice to revenue and customs and tell them i am a business - that way I risk getting in any trouble months down the line". No... Instead they're just constantly on my back about things I thought I sorted back in like February, jeeez, go chase those you aren't paying theyre way and quit faffing around with unimportant minor details.
Rant over (I have alot of ranting to get off my chest but here isnt really the place for it). I'm currently sat at my girlfriends, on her laptop - which is becoming strangely more and more accessible - normally I cant stand laptops, but the busier I get - the more I myself HAVING to use it. However this one is slow and coco the cat has secured a place on my lap so I think it's time to go.
Just dropping by and showing that I haven't forgot to write this little thing.
Chris

Calm after the storm

2008-06-02T09:40:00.000+01:00

After perhaps one of the busiest weeks since I started working for myself - I finally have a chance to sit down and enjoy a coffee. Which is very different to working and drinking coffee, I can't explain how.
Been shooting constantly all week (except Sunday - but that was only because the girl rescheduled lol). Worked with Char who was just looking for some nice general portraits - heres one we made earlier. Back into the fields again now the suns out (every now and again)!

Either way - I'm currently sat staring at the monitor blankly terrified of all the editing I have to complete by next week. Today I'm shooting a girl called Nicki, it's only studio shots but I'm really looking to try a few new things today - Just to make my editing abit more exciting haha.
I'm thinking of doing some TFP shoots soon, With lots of crazy make up and high fashion models/stylists etc. I feel like my portfolio needs some killer fashion shots, it all seems to be looking too standard portrait-ish at the moment. When I first started - every shoot had a theme, something unique - and I hate how it's become a day job in some ways, I presume it's the same in any creative job. It's one of the things that puts me off working for the BBC, I don't want everyday to be the same, which is exactly what TV offers.
So yeah - I'm determined to try a few wacky ideas today, I'm getting the hang of the lighting lark but still think I'm a bazillion miles away from achieving anything of any quality. Don't get me wrong - I'm happy with my portfolio but I think it needs some more kick somewhere.
Once i'm finished at the shoot - it's straight back to Danis where I'm currently staying for the week - trying to juggle my editing amoungst that is proving a tad difficult.
However - all my hard work is paying off in terms of the old cash flow - My first year profits are all being pumped back into the business which means I get to buy lots of fancy new kit. I only paid off my new camera last week and already have my eyes on a new beasty lens which should sort us out for weddings and the bigger live gigs I have towards the end of the year (The Hoosiers, The Courteeners and Katie Melua).
Anyway - going to plan some ideas for todays shoot! Speak soon!

A Mixed Day

2008-05-27T22:04:00.000+01:00

There's reason why today should have been a "mixed" day - there's no real reason why I shouldn't be 100% happy. I think a mixture of tiredness/exhaustion and small levels of stress are starting to creep up on me. I've been shooting non-stop since Friday and I have a shoot tomorrow, working Thursday, shooting Friday...SATURDAY = DAY OFF and possibly Sunday, although I might be shooting, and I'm definitely shooting the Monday after. So it's hectic here at HQ to say the least. I have no time for editing - If i'm not out shooting it - I'm on here writing about it when really I should focus my time on editing.
Natasha rang me this morning and offered me some preproduction work on Thursday which I couldn't do - I suppose the "mixed day" thing revolves around that. Dealing with a full high budget feature length on top of all this other work really pushes me beyond a physical limit. I'm concerned that I might have to withdraw from working on the film, which is a real shame but I can't put my own business on hold to work for someone elses - Well I can, but frankly I'd rather not. I totally love doing what I do, I get to work with some great people and have fun doing my job, although I'm trained in Film - I feel very strange working for someone else- it's strange going from being your own boss to being surrounded by people who have more BAFTAs and awards than I have years to my life (exageration) is not only daunting - but just demoralising.
Anywhoooo, today! After all - that is what blogs are about! Did a shoot with two hilarious girls, Claire and Natt. Our mammoth 7 hour shoot consisted of studio work, Selfridges car park, custard factory, millenium point and a train station. Whilst I was at Custard Factory I couldnt resist a sneak peak at Steve Gerrards new business location which I admire and live in total jealousy of.
Todays shoot seemed more about just getting some genuine fun/flattering shots of the girls without having to think "They are using this for a portfolio..." - so without thinking about the constraints of portfolio work - the girls went ahead and posed with lollypops, swang from train station posts and generally enjoyed the shoot.
So now I'm miles behind on all my editing work - I need to go and get cracking, sit down with a pint and work like a crazy man. speak soon!
Chris

I'm abit concerned that...

2008-05-26T07:57:00.000+01:00

I no longer have time to edit photos. I spend all day taking them, on the night I am tired or spending time with Dani. I don't want to have to employ someone to come and edit for me so I'm up at 7:30am on my bank holiday Monday - Editing (and writing this...)
Spent a great day yesterday with Synopsis, forgot how I missed the fun element to photoshoots with bands. The photoshoot became a sort of photographic documentary about them going about their everyday lives. Hanging out in derelict warehouses, pointing out rats, climbing bits of broken wall and avoiding the really bad weather we seemed to have all day. But the great thing was - It was on Location! Away from the studio! I think of this like a racing driver. If your a racing driver - you want to be out on the race track - not in a simulator. That's exactly what working in the studio feels like to me. I like the challenge of using natural light, I like the sense of exploration when you first enter a location - I'm like a kid at the wacky warehouse - I just wanna go look in every nook and cranny. Often finding a rat or syringes, which is very different to wacky warehouse...
However, the photos that came out best were from the rest of the day - we went straight to the pub after shooting and I did a few snaps of the guys (and girl!) there, Dan even taught me how to play a new darts game (I suck at darts) but it was a great, that was until Kev (our driver) decided to blow me out of the game. That game is so bitter and full of revenge it's hilarious.
So many highlights from the day - one being timing how long it would take Dan to run in his house and pick up some money. Apparently he's notorious for taking his time at these things, everyone guessed about 10-15 minutes apart from Kev, who we laughed at because he said only 4 minutes. However, Dan came running back from his house at lightning speed and made it back to the car with 3 seconds to spare for the 4 minute mark. So Kev won that.
After the pub and a short stay at McDonalds, we went off to the venue to shoot some live photos. The venue was the newish Roadhouse at waterfront. It wasn't the perfect venue from a photographers point of view - the mic casted a constant shadow over the vocalists face. The one angle was slightly better but you still had to wait for the vocalist to move away from the mic before shooting. However!! This was the first time I had pushed my new 1.8 and camera to the limit, bumping it up to 200/1 and 1600 ISO at 1.8. The result? Sharp (not noisy), movement stopping live action. Not to mention pushing the 6fps, my kit made my job perhaps to easy but far more enjoyable. Can't wait till Glastonbury. 70-200, 2.8? Yes, I think so.
Thanks Synopsis for a great day!

Overdrive

2008-05-25T08:42:00.000+01:00

I don't actually know why/how I have found the time to write this. Things are fantastically hectic here at the moment - anyone that knows me well will know that I love to be busy doing what I enjoy, and right now I barely have time to stop and eat (And food is worth stopping for).
So Friday was Lenny's shoot - we got some great photos from that. What I like about what I do is that you get to meet some really interesting people. Occasionally - you find someone who has a real interesting story to tell. In this case Lenny spoke casually about he got into working security and totally changed my perception of bouncers/security guards etc. I wish I had known about his stories earlier and then we could have portrayed that in the photos- maybe another time. Yesterday (Saturday) was the wedding. It was the first wedding gig I have done so I was proper nervous throughout the main ceremony. The fact that you really need to get things right first everytime is a real challenge for photographers that set out to do more than just "get the photo" - I realise now theres so many "Boring" wedding photographers - it's as easy as it looks. But I really enjoyed it, and I want to say a massive thank you to Gemma, Paul and both their families for inviting me along and for treating me to a my chip shop dinner :D haha.
Today is Synopsis's turn in front of the camera. It's currently raining so I really should be working on some new plans. One of my studio lights has packed up so we might hit a few problems today. I'm also meant to be picking up my battery grip before 11am - I doubt that will happen now. Sorry this is fairly short and sweet I will do my best to keep this updated as best I can when I get spare moments.

Chris

Confirmed: Glastonbury 2008

2008-05-22T22:19:00.000+01:00

I can't believe it. I will be SUBvert magazines official photographer and reporter for Glastonbury 2008. I don't know what to think right now. There's so much to sort out, I am so lucky. I want to thank SUBvert for such a fantastic opportunity, never even considered i'd find myself in the photo pit of the UK's biggest festival as my first festival job.
Gosh. I'll probably write more later when it's had chance to sink in.

My Camera...

2008-05-22T10:18:00.000+01:00

Is now paid off! Woo! I'm sort of proud of myself - all the money used to fund my equipment is made from my photoshoots and from odd bits of TV freelancing so it's nice to own a high value item which I can actually is mine.
Only lenses, lights, and accessories left and I'm ready to roll. Want all my new shiny kit in time for the summer :)
Still no news on the Glastonbury job - should hear by this evening.
Wish me luck, I'll leave you with this image I've just edited from the Wedding shoot the other day.

GLASTONBURY!

2008-05-22T00:17:00.000+01:00

After a depressing and frankly bad day - I receive an email in the middle of the night.

"Chris, can you cover glastonbury festival for us?"

I love love love love my job. Photographer at the biggest UK festival? I suppose I'll give it abit of my time...DUH! I'll snatch it quicker than a thief in an unalarmed jewelery store.
I'll do ANYTHING to make this happen, I aint throwing this opportunity away. A production company rang this morning and asked me to work as runner from Saturday - Monday - and I had to turn it down because I have a wedding Saturday and my morals tell me I can't cancel that under any circumstances.
So pretty down hearted untill I got this email. Erh I'll be so gutted now if I cant get this. I will actually blame my internet connection because I share it between the two macs at my home studio which is a pain and I only bothered to set up my email on the one mac and I havent checked it for hours.
I'll keep you posted!