As a School Marketing Photographer I shoot a wide range of subject matter from classrooms, to sport, to music, drama, forest school and portraiture.
I am often asked about the different techniques I use to capture these different genres so I thought it might be useful to share a few ideas and tips.
Today I am going to talk about Drama & Dance Photography.
Read MoreAs a School Marketing Photographer I shoot a wide range of subject matter from classrooms, to sport, to music, drama, forest school and portraiture.
I am often asked about the different techniques I use to capture these different genres so I thought it might be useful to share a few ideas and tips.
Today I am going to talk about Sport Photography.
I love sport photography – freezing those moments of action feels almost magical to me. Sports photography gives me the chance to capture emotion, effort and skill in a way not possible on film or as a live spectator. Add in the mud, rain, sweat and tears and you have the perfect combination for really dramatic photos.
Every sport requires a different set of photography skills but I will try below to list some general tips that can be used across all sports.
Shoot Fast!
The golden rule for sports photography is to have a high shutter speed. I find that any speed under 1/500 of a second leaves me with too many blurred photos. Even if the conditions are dark I will shoot at a fast shutter speed. I may have to increase the ISO but with a good modern camera the photos are never very grainy.
Find the Best Viewpoint!
Knowing the sport I am shooting helps me to get in the right place, depending on what is happening in the match. I will move round the pitch depending on what is happening. I also always aware of which team is stronger because, if I am commissioned to shoot just one team and they are losing badly, I will move to the side of the pitch and shoot them in defence. But if they are dominating the game I will head to the end of the pitch and shoot them running towards me.
Stand, Sit or Lie?
I spend a lot of time lying on the ground when shooting sport, especially if I am shooting from the end of a pitch with players running towards me. The low angle adds real drama to the photo and eliminates distracting backgrounds. I will often include a little bit of the blurred foreground in the frame if I am lying down.
When shooting cricket matches I will bring along a monopod for the camera and a stool to sit on. I can end up being in one position for a long time which can get very tiring with a heavy camera so the extra support is really important.
When shooting fast moving sports like tennis and netball I stand up. With a relatively small playing area I find that standing up allows me to more easily and quickly react to the action moving from one end of the court to the other.
Shoot Lots!
My camera, the Sony A7iii, is always set to burst mode when shooting sport which means I shoot 10 frames per second. Whilst this leads to an awful lot of editing (!) it also means that I don’t miss a important moments and it guarantees that I will end up with lots of perfectly sharp photos.
Don’t Stop Shooting!
To capture the whole story of a match it’s good to photograph between the moments of action. I love capturing a face in full concentration or two players discussing what move to try next. It’s also of course good to continue shooting when the point is won or the goal or try is scored as some of the best sports photos are taken of celebrations.
Capture the Atmosphere
Before games, at half-time and after games are great times to capture those moments of preparation, relaxation, celebration and team bonding. It’s also always worth shooting photos of the cheering crowd.
Use the right lens
It is rare in sports photography to use a lens that is less than 200mm as it’s always important to get close to the action and to have a nice blurred background. I tend to use a 200-600mm lens which gives me the flexibility to shoot action at the other end of the pitch but also when players move closer. A 600mm lens is also vital for being close enough to able to shoot cricket. The only time I use a wider lens would be to shoot squash photos when I will stand at the front of the court during a practice session – this is not advised if you do not have insurance!)
Concentrate on Composition!
Generally it’s good to fill the frame when shooting sport as it gives the viewer the feeling of being in the action. But sometimes I will leave space around a subject, especially if there is a blue sky as this can be useful if the marketing team wants to add any text to the photo.
Focus on Focus!
It’s worth getting to know your camera’s different focus options as these will make a big difference with sports photography. Choosing the right focus mode will be the difference between capturing that full-length dive for the try line or focussing on a spectator in the background sipping their coffee!
I hope these tips are helpful to help you with your school sports photography. Shooting sport is so much fun and the photos can be some of the most spectacular you will ever take.
As a school marketing photographer I shoot a really wide range of subject matter from classrooms, to sport, to music, drama, forest school and portraiture. I am often asked about the different techniques I use to capture these different genres so I thought it might be useful to share a few ideas and tips.
Today I am going to talk about Classroom Photography.
It goes without saying that my primary objective when taking photos of kids in a classroom is to produce images that grab the viewer’s attention. I want the viewer to look twice, three times at the photo and feel a connection with the subject. I try to achieve this in several ways:
Get Down! I make sure I am at the level of the subject. If they are on the floor I get on the floor. If they are sitting at a desk I kneel down to be at their eye level. A photo taken by an adult standing up with the camera pointed down at children is always going to feel like a photo taken by an adult looking down at children. Whereas if you shoot from a child’s eye level, as if from another child’s viewpoint, then you enter their world, feel closer to them and are more likely to make an emotional connection with them.
On a similar note, if I introduce a teacher to the photo I always ask them to get their head on the similar level to the children, allowing me to shoot them eye-to-eye. This creates an intimacy not possible if the teacher is standing up, and it often leads to plenty of smiles and giggles!
Use the Right Lens! I use a pretty long lens to shoot in classrooms, usually a 70-200mm. The long focal length, combined with a wide aperture of f2.8, blurs the background and foreground. Classrooms are often quite busy and cluttered so this technique helps to isolate the subject and make them stand out from the background.
My other go-to lens in a classroom situation is a super wide-angle lens. This allows me to be almost on top of the action and brings a really different perspective. I might use this lens is during a science experiment where there’s a line of test tubes or beakers in the foreground that will add nice colour to the photo. It’s not as effective as long lens but it does give a different perspective/feel to the photo.
Fill the Frame! I like to fill the frame with the subject, especially in classrooms. If I were shooting against a blue sky or green field I might compose the photo and leave space around the subject which can be useful if text needs to be added. But in a classroom it’s usually best to zoom in on the subject so that they fill the whole frame and any possible distractions are cropped out of the frame.
Use the Background! As you will have gathered I am keen on avoiding distracting backgrounds! But equally I am always on the lookout for interesting backgrounds that might add to the photo. These could be a lights or wall designs or photos. It's rare that they work but when they do they can add a lot to a photo.
Be Patient! I always have an idea of what I want each photo to look like but often have to be patient, waiting for the perfect, natural moment. And when it happens I shoot a lot of photos very quickly to ensure I capture exactly what I had in mind. I might sometimes ask a pupil to redo an action they had just done, but mostly I try to shoot without any interference.
I hope that these tips are useful to anyone working in school marketing departments. Hopefully you can adopt them and create some lovely images in the classrooms at your school.
In the summer of 2021 I was commissioned by Greene King to shoot a series of 30 portraits around the UK.
The portraits became part of a book which tells the story of Greene King during the pandemic through the eyes of their employees. Covid had a devastating effect on the hospitality industry and there was plenty of emotion among those I met, especially as they were slowly, finally, being allowed back to work.
Whatever their personal experience, they all, without exception, were hugely praising of Greene King and the way the company had looked after them during the pandemic.
The project also felt like a kind of release from Covid for me - I was finally able to shoot portraits again, be creative and meet interesting people, which is always the best part of my job.
#marketingphotography #portraitphotography #editorialphotography
One of the photo requests that I often receive when shooting for schools is for a group photo showing the age range and different ethnic backgrounds of the pupils at that school. It’s a really important photo for every school to have and is on most school websites and in their prospectuses.
If done badly these photos can easily looked clichéd. So here are my top 10 tips for shooting bright, lively, original group photos in a school setting:
1) Location, Location, Location: It is very worthwhile scouting out a good location in advance. You need to consider the background and the available natural light. It is worth choosing a location where pupils can sit, stand and lean – walls, fences and archways work well.
2) Setting the Scene: You need to start the session by getting everyone quiet, introducing yourself and then explaining how the shoot is going to work. Although you might be speaking to the pupils, this information is equally important for the teachers so that they know what is happening and can help out. You need to be loud, clear and authoritative so that the pupils know you are in charge!
3) More is Less: Ask the school to bring along a group of around 15 pupils. The school will research who they want in the photo before the shoot. 15 is really too many for one photo but having them all there will give you a lot of variety for the smaller groups. The maximum number I think that works for a group photo is eight.
4) Mix it Up: Start with small groups of 4 or 5. And then keep changing the group - add more in, take some out, swop pupils in and out, always keeping in mind that you need to include a number of photos with a mix ethnic backgrounds included. You’ll have to take a few photos with each pupil so that no one feels left out but make sure you concentrate on those who are best in front of the camera. If you find a combination is working really well then stick with it for a while. Some groups just have great chemistry.
5) Large Groups: You might be asked to take a photo with a larger group – i.e. all 15 pupils. This will take some planning and thought. I have shot large groups sitting, spread out around steps and also running towards the camera. It’s a tricky proposition but possible if you find the right location.
6) Composition. Think carefully about the composition of the group. Ideally you want everyone’s heads to be at a pretty similar level. It’s obviously good to mix up the ages so you don’t have all the big pupils on one side and all the small pupils on the other.
7) Crazy Faces: I can guarantee that in a group of 15 at least two pupils will make odd faces in front of the camera. They might look perfectly normal away from the camera, but point a camera at them, and they do some curious crazy grin or pull a weird face (I know because my 4-year-old son does this ALL THE TIME!). It might feel harsh but, once you have identified these pupils, leave them out altogether. You have limited time and you can’t afford to waste it. Of course if you have to have these crazy face pupils in the photos then try Point 8…..
8) Eyes off the Camera: You always need to shoot some photos with the pupils looking down the lens, straight at the camera. But often the most effective images are when the group all look away from the camera, to one side. Amongst the group of 15 there will usually be one pupil who is a bit sparky and fun. Use that pupil as your off-camera jester, to stand off to one side of the camera and make funny faces or tell jokes. The group you are shooting will then look at that pupil and smile and laugh. If you don’t have a fun pupil then a teacher might help you out. As a last resort (and assuming your camera is on a tripod) you can use a remote release and stand to one side yourself and make funny faces! Alternatively, you can ask them to look for birds or planes in the sky.
9) Chat to your neighbour: With older pupils (or groups with teachers and pupils) you can ask them to chat to each other. But make sure everyone looks interested in the conversation. If one person is looking like they are not included then the photo won’t work.
10) Under Pressure: These group shoots are always time pressured. Pupils are busy during their school day and often have other commitments to dash off to like lessons, music practice or sport. So it’s vital that you work fast and get some good photos in the bag at that start of the session. If you find that some of the most photogenic pupils cannot stay for the whole session then make sure you shoot them at the start.
I hope that’s helpful. It’s a tricky task taking group photos of school pupils but hopefully these tips will give you some good pointers.
Now that the kids have finally gone back to school and they can be taught by professionals, instead of my bungling attempts at home schooling, I have finally been able to settle down to work.
One of the main areas of my job is shooting marketing photos for independent schools. The kind of photos that feature on websites, prospectuses and social media. It’s a part of the job that I love for two reasons: firstly, most kids tend to smile easily. Younger kids just smile because, well, life is fun! With older kids its more of an embarrassed smile because of having their photo taken in front of their friends. Either way, it makes for some great results; secondly because of the variety of photos I take in a school - sport, classrooms, theatre, music, portraits - all require slightly different skills which I have developed over the years and I think I can safely say, without hopefully sounds too arrogant, that I do them all very well.
This week I have been sending out a small brochure of my school photography to Marketing teams at schools. It requires a bit of research to find the right person, address etc, but the process has been interesting because I have visited a lot of school websites. It’s fascinating to see the variety of styles as well as the huge difference in the quality of photography. I can notice pretty quickly if schools have used a professional photographer and it’s been very useful to see the work of some other good photographers. More often than not though, the photos on school websites are not very strong. School website designs these days are very reliant on photos. The photos are large and dominate the page which is great. But it’s a bit depressing to see so many out of focus, flat, dull, underexposed, unsharp, poorly composed photos being used.
Now of course you might think I’m being cynical because I am touting for business! Well I am touting for business, but I am also being truthful. There are a lot of substandard images out there!
Of course, as a photographer, I am bound to notice weak photos and you might argue that most people who visit the site won’t notice if a photo is slightly out of focus. Well, I believe that even if they don’t notice it consciously, I am sure their subconscious will pick up on the webpage being not quite right. Secondly, I am certain that they would notice immediately if that page had an incredibly strong photo - they would stop and look and be impressed, lingering on the page for longer and their opinion of the school would improve.
If you’re going to go to the expense of employing a marketing team and developing a really funky website, it seems crazy not to spend a few hundred pounds more to get some really decent photos as well. These photos can then be used across all your marketing platforms both digital and physical. Despite the rise of smart phone photography there is still a place for true professionals who can deliver eye-catching imagery consistently and under time pressure. Hopefully plenty of schools will receive my little brochure and agree!
https://www.tomsoperphotography.com/#/education/
Well, the answer is……yes. A monkey can certainly take a good photograph. In fact any animal that can press the shutter on a camera can take a good photograph. If they get lucky.
The bigger question is….Can a monkey take good photographs consistently? And of course the answer is a resounding…NO.
Consistent delivery of quality photographs is one of the ways that professional photographers stand out from amateurs.
The other day a client said when I showed her her photo: “And that’s why they say photography is easy”. To be honest, I’m not really sure what she meant, but it got me thinking about why photographers have to work hard to justify the fees we charge.
Some people do seem to think that photography is easy. After all, most people have taken a decent photo in their time. Even more so these days with the incredible cameras we have in our smart phones.
“Unlce John knows his way round a camera. Let’s ask him to take our wedding photos.” That’s all very well, but can Uncle John produce the results you want in any and all circumstances?
Uncle John (or a monkey) can definitely take a decent photo if they are really lucky. If all the many, many, many elements that are needed to create a great image fall into place at the right time, then they might capture a top quality photo.
But can they do it time and again? Can they consistently take good quality photos under pressure? Can they produce perfect results when the weather is terrible, the light levels are all over the place, time is limited and the client is looking over their shoulder?
I do occasionally have prospective clients that baulk at my fee. They can’t understand why me pressing a little button on a camera will cost them so much. Fortunately, most clients do understand the skills and experience involved, the post-production work, the equipment costs and the other overheads I have to cover.
So, next time you need photographs please remember that it takes more than a camera and finger to capture great images consistently. We photographers have worked hard over many years to make sure we can get the best results in any conditions. So, if you can afford it, don’t monkey around, please hire a professional. You won’t regret it.
Another great example of how to use photography in school marketing. I was really pleased with this shot for @orwellparkschool and how they have used it. If your school needs a strong set of marketing photos in the future please contact me at tom@tomsoperphotography.com #educationphotography #educationalphotography #groupphotography #schoolmarketing #marketingphotography #schoolphotographer #schoolphotography #suffolkphotographer #burystedmunds #locationphotography #portraitphotography #essexphotographer #schoolmarketing #suffolk #essex #independentschools #independentschool #norwich #cambridge #ipswich #cambridgeshire #cambridgeshirephotographer
Lockdown Portrait #33. Becky, Paul, Oscar & Izzy Woodward. I was pleased to have a late request to join my Lockdown Doorstep Portrait project. A lovely family who have lived on the street for 20 years. These are Becky’s thoughts about lockdown…
“All being home 24 hours a day 7 days a week has been extremely strange, we are normally like ships in the night. Working from home, temporary offices set up in whatever space is available, homeschooling it's all a little stressful. No exams, no prom, no holiday, not seeing friends and family has been extremely sad but feel lucky that we have had the time for baking, jigsaws, reading books and watching films together. We have loved listening to the birds singing in the morning, families spending time together in their gardens and neighbours checking in on each other.”
I am shooting a series of portraits of residents of Victoria St in #burystedmunds to put together a small local record of this challenging time.
#suffolkphotographer
#cambridgeshirephotographer
#essexphotographer
#norfolkphotogrpaher
#burystedmunds
#locationphotography
#portraitphotography
#suffolk
#essex
#norwich
#cambridge
#ipswich
#cambridgeshire
#lockdown
#familyportraits
#lifeinlockdown
#sonyA7iii
#sony
#profotoA1
#profoto
Shot with @sonyalpha A7iii & @profotoglobal A1
Chef portraits commissioned for the new series of @readysteadycook
#portraitphotography
#portraits
#london
#eastanglia
#eastangliaportraits
#suffolkphotographer
#burystedmunds
#locationphotography
#essexphotographer
#norfolkphotographer
#businessportraits
#corporateportraits
#headshots
#cambridgeportraitphotography
#cambridgeportraits
#cambridgephotographer
#londonportraits
#chefportrait