Behind the Scenes / 01

I always love getting to know bloggers a bit more, and hearing about what they do outside of work, or learning about things they do which you usually don’t get to see on the blog.
So, I thought I’d give you an insight into my life. This won’t necessarily be super interesting, it’s just something to give you a little glance into my life - which can be boring and ugly, just as it can be nice and beautiful. The point is that as bloggers we intend to share the pretty and positive things of life - no matter whether we’re sharing some big fact or something more personal, I believe that even ordinary things can be presented in a lovely way, without being pretentious.

You’ve probably seen pictures of this magazine before. That was when it only existed in virtual form. Now I got it printed, which makes me so happy. It was great actually holding it in my hands, and being able to flick through it. I got three copies for now - printing the first one last week really put me out of my comfort zone. I had absolutely no knowledge about the printing and binding process, and felt like a complete noob at times. But the people at uni were nice and helped me out, and when I went back a few days ago to get the other two copies done I already felt more confident with what I was doing.

It’s so exciting being involved in printing your own magazine. Actually being able to ‘use my hands’ makes me really happy. I think I miss the manual/’getting my hands dirty-work’ sometimes, since working as a photographer (in the digital age) means a lot of work in front of the screen. 

Anyway, I got my magazine and I’m happy.

On another note: I'm guest posting over on Hanna's blog today as part of a regular column called ' appreciate it'. You can find last week's post here.

New Project: Exploring London

I’ve set out to a new challenge as part of a personal project as well as my final uni project. I want to explore London, and discover new places & spaces.

The main idea is to document different creatives across London, creative freelancers, or small businesses - anything ranging from artists (e.g. painter) to florists, independent cafe owners, fashion designers, etc.

I recently brainstormed some ideas on how to find people who would want their work/business documented, did a google search, and then suddenly realised that I’m in LONDON. What better way could there be than to actually go out and explore the city, and find places myself. I’m sure I’ll come across a ton of cool new places and areas that I didn’t know about yet. So exciting.
I could even create a little ‘guide to exploring London’ or a ‘London city guide’ - something like that.

What I love about the idea is that I actually challenge myself to go out and explore, AND make myself take my camera with me.
It’s easy to just get stuck in your daily routine, visit the same places over and over again, see the same areas, think you’ve already seen everything. But London is huge. There will be so much more to see.

If you’ve got a favourite place in London, I’d love to hear. It could be anything - cafe, shop, or just a certain area. And if you know creative people that wouldn’t mind being photographed, please do share as well. It would be a big help. :)

And if you want to join me on one of my ‘tours’ at some point, shoot me an email.

The photos above are from a lovely day yesterday spent at Brick Lane, Sunday Up Market, Columbia Rd Flower Market, ...

Photo Essay: Farmer

As I said, here's my photo essay. Not much to add, really. I talked about most of the info in my last post, including why I decided to document a farmer's working life. The pictures in that other post are some of my outtakes.

How to take pictures of people

Over the next few weeks I’ll be writing a series of posts on ‘how to take pictures of...’
I’ve been asked to cover the topic of taking photos of products, and thought I could expand this a bit. Let's start with ‘people’ today.

In a few days I’ll show you a photo essay I produced a few months ago (the pictures above are a little sneak peek) - today I want to talk about tips that will make it easier for you to take pictures of other people, and how to overcome difficulties you might face when shooting a long-term project.

For the photo essay I photographed my brother. He’s a farmer, which I find is a really cool profession, and I knew I could get visually interesting pictures. It also allowed me open access.
I liked the idea of photographing something that’s so different from all the stuff I’m surrounded by every day.
Anyway, the fact that I took pictures of my brother at work meant that I inevitably had to deal with some tough situations. He would get annoyed at me being around all the time, and would just keep doing his work - which is fine in a way, but made it hard for me to get some of the pictures I wanted.

- In a situation like that you have to be persistent, keep going, and overall you have to be confident. Don’t let someone else’s mood affect you. Basically it all comes down to professionalism - I thought of it as my job that I had to get done. Although it was hard I still had to get my pictures.

- If you’re planning to do something like a photo story or essay (or a project that you will be working on for a longer period of time) I suggest you plan well ahead. I went back to the farm a few times, just because you can’t get all the shots you need in one day.
Before you go out and shoot, know what kind of pictures you’re looking for, know what you want to shoot. This will make it easier once you’re there, as you can go through the pictures you already took in your head, and make sure you get the ones that are still missing.

- Be aware of weather conditions. When I took the pictures for my photo essay it was winter. That meant snow, sometimes rain, freezing hands, and also limited activities going on at the farm (e.g. they can’t sow as the ground is frozen).
Just make sure you’re prepared for different weather situations when you’re working outside. I always had a plastic bag with me with one corner cut off - I can cover the camera with it, and the end of the lens goes through the hole in the corner of the bag.

I hope this will be helpful for you in certain situations - most of it applies to any kind of photography, really. Be confident, and prepared.

What situations have you been in when shooting (anything), and what difficulties did you have to overcome?

Apple Cake with Cinnamon

So, I love baking. I even thought about making a cookbook a while ago, then realised that a baking book would be more suitable. For now I’m focusing on other things, but I still love the idea and will keep thinking about it. Anyway, let’s start by adding a bit more of a foodie feeling to this space every now and then - starting with this apple cake today. I can tell you it’s delicious! It’s super easy, simple and quick to make, and it really does taste awesome - no matter whether you eat it while it’s still warm (with vanilla ice cream - yum), the next day or even a couple of days later. It will stay moist, with just the right kind of sweetness. Here’s to the simple things in life.

(I’ve used this recipe as a guideline.)

Ingredients:
85 g butter (about 8 tbsp)
190 g flour (1 ½ cups)
1 ½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon (or more if you like)
½ tsp salt
175 g sugar (a bit less than a cup)
1 large egg
120 ml milk (½ cup)
1 ½ tsp real vanilla sugar
4-5 apples (peeled and sliced)

2 tbsp sugar (depends on how much sugar & cinnamon you want to sprinkle on top)
1 ½ tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 175°C (350°F), and butter a 20-25 cm pie or cake pan.
In a small bowl whisk together flour, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder.
In a larger bowl beat butter and sugar until fluffy. Mix in the egg, milk, and vanilla sugar until just combined.
Add dry mixture gradually, mixing until just smooth. Pour into pan.
Arrange apple slices on top, mixing some into the batter, or layering them on top of each other.
Mix sugar and cinnamon together, and sprinkle over the cake - as much as you like. Bake for 10 minutes, then reduce oven temperature to 150°C (325°F) and bake until golden brown, for about 45-55 minutes. If a tester comes out with a few crumbs that’s fine, as it means the cake will be moist and not too dry. Let cool in pan, and enjoy with some vanilla ice cream while the cake is still warm.

5 steps to taking better portraits

The other day we had a guest speaker come in and talk to us about portraiture, which made me think I’d share some of my knowledge and his knowledge about the topic with you. Now, I don’t just want to repeat what he told us, but tell you what I think makes a good portrait.

1) First of all, what is a portrait?
It’s defined as an impression, or representation of someone. That already means it’s more than simply showing someone’s face. It’s about representing them. And that can include all aspects of their personality.
So for me a good portrait tells the person’s story.

2) How do you get to see & capture someone’s personality?
People skills - that’s the most important key word here. You have to be sociable, get along with people, be a bit of a psychologist, read their body language, appear interested, and be interesting and open yourself. In order to get the chance to take a good portrait you have to collaborate. It all depends on the atmosphere that’s between you two.

3) So, what does that mean in practice?
Before you go and take pictures of someone do your research. Learn as much as you can about them beforehand, so you get a good idea of who they are, what they stand for, what makes them tick, etc.

It also matters where you’re taking their pictures. Is the environment related to them? E.g. if it’s the person’s home it will say so much about them! You want to capture that. It all adds to their personality.

In order to ‘break the ice’ you might want to tell a joke (if you’re good at that), or think of some other story that fits the situation. I believe that if you are relaxed and open-minded about the situation it will reflect back, and automatically put the other person at ease (unless you’re just two completely different characters).
There’s so much psychology involved.

4) How do you technically take a good portrait?
The eyes are the most important factor in a portrait. Make sure they’re sharp. Fine if their mouth or cheeks end up a bit soft, but really focus on the eyes. They are the part of the face that communicates most, and therefore makes the picture interesting and strong.

Also be aware of the fact, that people can only look into the camera for so long (if you want them to look into the camera). After a few seconds their eyes will get tired and start to look teary. Make them look out of the window or just away from the camera, and be ready to take that picture as soon as they look back at you, as their gaze will still be ‘fresh’ then.

Light is important. Another super important point to consider! I love natural light, not too harsh, maybe some interesting shapes and patterns created by shade. It all depends where you are, what environment you’re in, what time of the day it is, etc.

Make sure the background isn’t too distracting. You want the viewer to look at the person, and totally engage with them.
What’s most distracting in the background for me are strong bright neon lights and colours, and things ‘sticking’ out of the person’s head (e.g. a lamp in the background that’s right behind their face - it will seem to come out of their head in the final photo ;) )
After all make sure the background adds to the picture and the personality of the person you’re photographing. Which relates to the next point...

5) Create a feel.
What are you trying to say? What is the point of showing the person’s character in the picture? And how can you capture that?

You’ll get to see some more examples of portraits I took as part of a photo essay in a different post in a few days.

For more technical help with your photos have a look at the posts in the ‘advice’ category.

April on Instagram / Part three

Last part of my Instagram April photos -

01 Another scarf I made.

02 Some interesting looking pasta. Simple dinners can be good!

03 More yummy food. ;)

04 Well, no food this time, but a drink I love - Chai Latte.

I hope you're all enjoying the sun and have a lovely weekend! :)

April on Instagram / Part two

01 New Converse Chucks. I think it takes a while for them to get comfortable...

02 Doing some painting, so I could use the wood as a photo backdrop.

03 A lovely Sunday spent at Columbia Rd Flower Market with Charlotte. Part of the photography lessons I'm offering.

04 Spring arrived after all. And it's so good. :)