The Great Outdoors!

6/11/2021

The weather in the Uk at the moment is glorious, and Spring is upon us. With flowers blooming from every angle, now is a great time to grab your camera gear and venture outdoors!
Of course this presents its own set of challenges...
Outdoor shooting is a great opportunity for storytelling, so before you plunge in, decide what story you want to tell: an intimate romantic scene, a picnic, a party? All these ideas need careful planning. It doesn't have to be complicated, a basket of fruit, or a simple stand-out hero will work brilliantly too. Make it your own!
First find your location, think about backgrounds - are there likely to be people or traffic in the background; if you are relying on a tree, or shrub being in flower, make sure you have timed it right.
What props do you need? This can't be spontaneous! `How far must you carry everything and where do you leave your vehicle if transport is necessary.
Finally, consider the light conditions, and the weather. A bright day can be a challenge, so is it possible to shoot when there is light cloud, or even better early or late, during the golden hours, when the sun is lower and shadows longer. Your food could be over exposed and flat if you shoot during the middle of the day at this time of year. You may need diffusers. Are there trees to give shade without blocking the light completely. Here a reflector may help.
Your own garden qualifies as outside too, and can offer some great opportunities to practice your outdoor photography and create some wonderful scenes.
Above all, have fun.

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A Wedding Breakfast
It was my pleasure to photograph a wedding breakfast created by Colline Watt, owner of Colline's Kitchen recently. With a bubbly and nurturing nature, it's no suprise to me that this mother from Zimbabwe wants to feed us all with delicious, fresh and sustainable food, along with a decadent cake or two, and how typical that, on the first date that weddings were permitted in the UK after lockdown, she got the call and I found her in a pretty garden with spectacular views piling food and flowers on to a table in a high wind, and creating an edible work of art.
Colline's successful cafe business, set in the historic Town Hall in the market town of Newbury has been put on hold since Lockdown in March, but she maintains a service, delivering food as diverse as Afternoon Tea and Mongolian beef stir fry, sourcing fresh ingredients locally. Find her at www.collineskitchen.com

BUNTING
When Jo, owner of The Bunting Basket asked me to photograph her bunting, I read her bio, and discovered how the business began, and how it came to be named The Bunting Basket. After making bunting for a family christening, Jo was innundated with requests for it from her friends and aqaintances, and she soon began to sell it at craft fairs, carrying her stock in a wicker basket. When I read this, I knew a picnic basket had to feature in my photographs. I looked at the fabric designs, and thought about the premise for the business and then began to prepare my shoot. Find her at www.thebuntingbasket.co.uk

The Great Outdoors!

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