EP156 Creating Light At The End Of The Tunnel

The Mastering Portrait Photography Podcast

Well, this hasn't been the easiest of years with inflation, geographical tensions and all-out confrontations, terrible weather and political transitions. And last night the trusty Land Rover Defender broke down one more time. Possibly one LAST time.

But through all of that, we have to look for the possibles - the light at the end of the tunnel. But maybe it's us that has to create, rather than simply walk toward, the light.

Enjoy!

Cheers
P.

If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portrait Photography, for more articles and videos about this beautiful industry. You can also read a full transcript of this episode.

PLEASE also subscribe and leave us a review - we'd love to hear what you think!

If there are any topics, you would like to hear, have questions we could answer or would like to come and be interviewed on the podcast, please contact me at [e-mail].

Transcript

EP156 - Creating Light At The End Of The Tunnel

[00:00:00] Paul - Studio Rode Broadcaster V3: It's Sunday afternoon. It's late. It's getting dark. It's getting dark so early now. Um, Sarah finds it really depressing, but I love this time of year. I love the colors. I love the cool of the air. Though that said this has been well, a weekend of ups and downs. Uh, yesterday we photographed a beautiful wedding. Uh, Hannah and Tom, one of our clients, just the most stunning. Stunning day.

[00:00:25] Sarah came with me because it was a bit of a handful. It was a lot of photography to get through far more far, far more. In fact, Then I would have liked to have agreed to. But in the end, it was one of those very complicated weddings where there was family from all over the world. And they wanted lots of different combinations of groups to be photographed in a very small space of time.

[00:00:46] But they were the. The most incredible couple, the weather was beautiful. The venue were fantastic. The people there were amazing. And it was just, well, it was just a thrill to have Sarah at working alongside me, which made everything. Okay. Uh, the day before we'd spent with Jake, where. So we've gone up to Nottingham, stayed there for the night, had a wonderful night out and discovered amongst many other things, the magic of a wine bar that has vending machines, kid you not. So you put your card in. Uh, you can get a glass from any bottle of wine you like. And it was all just really, really lovely bit expensive, but really lovely. I also discovered the magic. Now I've not experienced these before I am 55 years old. And have never needed to use them.

[00:01:29] Blister plasters. Yep. Blister plasters. So I bought a pair of Converse, uh, decided for a change to have a different style. And it turns out to be a style that cuts the hell out of the back of my feet. Uh, but didn't discover that until two hours into walking around Nottingham. So Sarah, obviously, a bit more used to these things than me having worn heels, um, showed me the glory that is a blister plastic. I'm still wearing them. They're great.

[00:01:54] Anyway, an amazing day, a beautiful wedding, the following day. And then driving home. Last night, congratulating ourselves on having done a really good day's work, beautiful photographs, uh, into, uh, on the memory cards. Land Rover all packed up, um, and then proceeded to have a whole series of really irritating road closures, motorway closures queues, culminating in one

[00:02:21] that turned out to be well, possibly the end of the Land Rover we're queuing and have been queuing for about half an hour. But by queuing. I mean, we're essentially stationary, just stop starting. And then I went to put it into first gear. Nothing. Absolutely no way of getting it into first gear. I've got my foot on the clutch, lift the clutch, nothing. Put my foot down, the pedal is staying stuck to the floor.

[00:02:47] So I've got a couple of tons of land Rover in a single lane queue that no one can get round me. And it's not moving.

[00:02:55] Now. I remember an old trick. My dad taught me. And I don't know why. Why this was a tricky taught me because we don't have, or didn't have at that time. Anywhere near where I lived level crossings with no gates, but he said, if you ever get stuck on a level crossing and you can't for some reason, get your car to start, or it's just stalled, put it into first gear. Turn over the starter motor and it will give you just enough power to get yourself out of that situation.

[00:03:24] So I just very quickly thought, well, I'm blocking an already irate queue, cause we've all been stuck there for, for hours. Um, I can maybe get it over to the side of the road where I can call recovery. So I turned the engine off, wedged the gear stick into first where the engine, uh, stationary turned it over on the starter motor, which of course with the clutch being permanently engaged now. Uh, rolled the wheels and got me just enough movement to get out of the way of the barely moving traffic and onto the hard shoulder, up to the embankment, where Sarah and I proceeded to look like for the next five hours.

[00:04:04] I kid you not it's cold. It's dark. Thankfully, this time. I'm like the last time I broke down like this. It isn't snowing. Uh, but we lay with as many layers on as we could and a high vis vest over the top with our feet. Um, strapped into boots, but also now in polythene bags to try and keep the cold at bay, because it was absolutely freezing.

[00:04:23] We're laying on the embankment, up to the rear and above the Land Rover. And anyone who must have seen us and they all must have seen us. Cause we're wearing, high-vis looked like a pair of corpses. Just lying there in the Moonlight. It must've been a strain site, but given the RAC who came to recover us, took five hours and they took five hours, because all of the recovery vehicles were involved in re in, sorting out the crash that caused the motorway to close, which is the reason I was in a queue. So it's one of those very complicated things. But in the end. It culminated in Sarah and I lying side by side, like two corpses in a crime drama. Uh, it must've been a dump site, you know, the kind of thing the police say, wow, this isn't where they died, this must be the dumpsite. Um, and they've left them laying here on the embankment in homage to the Land Rover. I've no idea. I was very glad Sarah was there. Um, so in fits and starts, we slept eventually we got picked up at about, uh, I think it was about four o'clock in the morning, maybe half past four in the morning, um, and then, uh, took the recovery vehicle. The Landrover is right now sitting outside the garage that did the work on the engine earlier in the year. They're going to know the minute they turn up that something is wrong. My suspicion and I hope I'm wrong. Is that the slave cylinder on the clutch has failed because if it has, it means the whole transmission and gearbox has got to come out. And that's a proper, yet another expensive job.

[00:05:52] And. I think maybe, maybe this will be the one that says the end of the Land Rover. I'm Paul. And this is the masteringportraitphotography.com podcast.

[00:06:03] Well, hello again. We are back recording the podcast. And once again, it's a tale of woe and drama. Sarah said to me, as I left, she said, you need to record a podcast because you haven't done it for ages. She said, it's all right. It's all right. To feel a little less upbeat than you do normally. And that's just as well this year. I think this year is a year that I'll be happy to get to the end of, we started this year with such energy and enthusiasm.

[00:06:50] We thought that. You know, we're getting to the end of the backwash from COVID, everything would pick up, but of course, inflation hit the roof. We've had in terms of weather, just awful weather, which always deflates the mood. We've had a general election In this country, as well as in the states that you're about to have yours and we've already had ours. Which I thought would , would Herald in good news and optimism. Um, you know, I think it was time we had to change. There's no question about that. And no matter which side of the politic line, uh, you prefer, there's no question at all that we needed to change, but that changed that the good news side of that hasn't lasted particularly long. Um, Inflation is still high.

[00:07:28] The weather is still crappy. Seriously, we've had nothing but rain. I was so blessed with the wedding on Saturday. Um, the sun shone, and it was glorious. It was dry. It was warm enough. Um, it was just beautiful light. But that has not been the story of this year. The amount of water around us, just at the moment.

[00:07:48] And nobody's thinking when they wake up and read the news about the terrible weather, the terrible economy. They're politicians causing just all, just doing stupid things. You know, inflation, um, the stuff going on in the middle east or stuff going on in, on the Russian borders. You know, very few people are gonna wake up and think, oh, with all of that news do you know what I need what I need is a photographer. It's uh, there's work around, but it's just not the year we thought it would be, this is not been. A vintage year for photographers.

[00:08:18] And he really don't have to ask very far to find that out. Now we've done. All right. If I'm honest we're probably bucking the trend, but we have had to work, ah, back-breaking hours to do it far harder then we've had to work any of the year. It won't be a record breaking year, that's for that's for sure. But it will be good enough somewhere in the middle of our regular numbers, but we have worked tirelessly to do it. Backbreakingly tirelessly.

[00:08:47] I cannot remember feeling this tired though, having said that. I've just spent the night laying on an embankment in the freezing cold, trying to get some sleep. Maybe that's why I'm feeling. I quite so tired, but even talking to the videographer. Uh, on at the wedding on Saturday, he was talking about the bits of the industry in his region because we were working out of region and he was saying the same thing.

[00:09:10] There's just. It's just been a tough year. There. Aren't the number of weddings. For instance, if you're a wedding photographer. Um, and there isn't the money sloshing around at the has been, um, Sort of in the industry with our clients because our clients are under the same pressure as we are. I was trying to work out our operating costs. Um, on things like, you know, albums and frames.

[00:09:32] And I think on average, somewhere in the region of 15 to 25% increase, over two years. And if you put that into the context of running a business, And, and also assume that your clients are having exactly the same problems with their day-to-day expenditure. It means that we're running a business that's less profitable than it would be if we don't change our prices, but at a time when people have less money to spend. If we did increase all of our prices and of course we're all juggling that particular set of requirements.

[00:10:04] Uh, and on top of that, of course, one of the reasons we're also feeling tired. Is we're still running workshops. Uh, I'm still at the moment, the, uh, Chair of awards and qualifications for the British Institute of Professional Photography.

[00:10:17] But. Um, I mean, big news on that one is I am stepping down from that role at the end of this year. Now I've loved every single second of the past three or so years I've been in this seat.

[00:10:29] Uh, I've done everything that I wanted to do. We've organized it. We've got the standards where I wanted them to be, so that they're rock solid. You can trust if somebody got the letters after their name from. The BIPP then they've earned them. Um, and that means that we have real cute OSS in the industry. It means it's something that people really want to attain.

[00:10:49] And that's, I guess what I wanted to be able to do. But I also loved being a mentor. And while I was chair of one of the qualifications bodies, it's very hard. To be a mentor because it can be really easily accused that I might be, um, swaying results or influencing the outcome of judging.

[00:11:08] So I took the decision when I accepted . The chair of judge's role that I would not to do any mentoring towards qualifications or anything involved with people wanting to enter the competitions and things, because it just, it didn't look great,

[00:11:21] But it's something I've always. Really enjoyed doing so it's something I can return to. I'll get a chance now to actually enjoy looking at other people's work, um, guiding, nurturing, you know, also spending some time developing our own work because you need at the same time, I need the time to dedicate to our own businesses for a little bit.

[00:11:41] So I'm stepping back. At least, you know, in a frontline role. Uh, from, um, the chairing side of the BIPP. Hopefully I'll still get to judge, but I certainly won't be chairing it. Uh, we're still running the workshops, of course, on that note, uh, I think we have just two left this year. .

[00:11:58] So the thing without podcast is our podcasts have a very long lifespan.

[00:12:03] People are listening to podcasts from sort of six or seven years ago. Uh, but as of right now, which is the 28th of September, I think. Hang on a minute. Which I can't believe I had to go look that up on my screen, the 29th of September. Uh, 2024, we have two remaining workshops in our diary. I think there's one space left on each off the top of my head.

[00:12:26] Uh, on the 4th of November, we have Mastering Advanced Studio Lighting, which is, I might actually have become my favorite workshop to run because we just play: we play with lights.

[00:12:40] We play with ideas with form. Uh, we play with shape and color. We play with the smoke machines that people want to, we play with continuous light if people want to. Um, of course, as an Elinchrom Ambassador, that nearly all of it is geared around strobes. You name it? If it's in the studio, we can do it. And I absolutely adore this workshop.

[00:12:59] I think there's a space left on that last, the 4th of November. It's an all day course. Uh, all day workshop, sorry. Uh, and then the second one we have, which is a brand new workshop. We've never tried this before and we'll see how this goes. Having spent the night lying on an embankment last night, I'm not so certain. I want to be outside at night for a while. However, it's at the end of November 25th. Of November. We have a mastering day and night workshop. Now this workshop. Is one, uh, I think it might've been Sarah's idea. Uh, If it's successful. It was my idea. If it doesn't work, definitely Sarah's idea.

[00:13:36] No, I think it was Sarah's idea and I think it's a great idea. Uh, Mastering Day and Night. So we start unlike most of our workshops where we start at sort of 9, 9 30 in the morning. That this one. We're going to start straight after lunch. We're going to spend the afternoon working with daylight and then as dusk falls. We're going to work with a nighttime scene.

[00:13:55] So it's not really a, it's not studio lighting, but we might use some lighting. Depending on what the delegates want. So we're going to mix it up a little bit. We're going to spend a half the workshop working with available daylight and half the workshop working with a combination. Um, of available light, which of course won't be daylight, but it might be street lighting. Um, or light coming from people's porches and those kinds of things working around the village.

[00:14:21] We'll also have some lights with us. Just as I did at the wedding yesterday, I see. In this slide. Here's an aside. Uh, yesterday working with the videographer I had in the land Rover. Uh, I had to Elinchrom threes, which I thought we would work with. Cause I love them. Absolutely amazing lights. And I thought we'd do some stroke work. Um, but I also had a pair of aperture. Uh, continuous focusing, uh, spots, focusing spotlights led spotlights.

[00:14:47] They really quite chunky. Um, and they throw off who wrote the most beautiful light as well. Um, and so I said to the videographer, um, we might do some nighttime photography and he looked a little bit glum and he said, yeah, you mean with strobes? Don't you? And I said, well, do you want to do anything with it?

[00:15:02] So, yeah, I'd really, I'd really like to be able to capture some of that. So I'll tell you what, why don't we run the two spotlights were run continuous lighting for this one. Because working with a videographer, it makes it a little bit easier for you. Um, and while I'd still prefer to be using my Elinchrom Threes, there's no reason why we can't do something at least similar. Um, with continuous light, so threw a spotlight and had a play at night.

[00:15:23] And the reaction from Richard, the videographer. It was just brilliant. He took one for, oh, it's not a photo who's doing. Slow-mo. High-speed video. And he just went. Wow.

[00:15:36] And then everything I set up, he wanted. Like sort of five seconds of slow motion video of it. Um, moving around cause you get lens flan, all of those things. So we were creating very similar vibes that you can do with stills and a strobe, uh, with continuous light and uh, in his case with video. So it was quite exciting to do that. Um, anyway, back to Mastering Day Night, we will be using a mix of different lighting, maybe a bit of off-camera flash, depending on what people ask for.

[00:16:00] Um, Now. On the topic of workshops next year, we're looking at. Um, some new ideas and that if there's anything you'd like to, uh, like us to host, so you think would be fun, then please do drop us a line. You can always get ahold of me on [e-mail] dot code at UK. That's [e-mail] .

[00:16:22] If there's something you can think of that, do you know what it'd be great. If you could run a day on whatever it is. As long as it's photographic people, not animals. And not buildings, not landscapes. I'm not good at all of those things, but it's photographing people. Uh, understanding light then of course, why not drop us a line?

[00:16:41] Um, one of the ones we're already looking at, and this I'd be curious if anyone's interested. Um, we haven't got dates for these yet, but we are looking to do. A two day workshop. That's a back-to-back workshop. Um, Now I don't yet. So we haven't quite worked out yet. What will go into those two days, but we know, we know it's just going to be. Uh, blast. And of course, with it being over two days in the interim evening, we get to sit. Have a meal, maybe have a few drinks. And chat about photography and not quite sure. Um, what the format will be.

[00:17:16] My guess at this stage is, uh, the very least. A day and a half of photography and then half a day may be. On workflow or maybe on Photoshop or maybe on Lightroom. Uh, maybe the use of AI tools, which of course are now a considerable part of all of our workflow. I don't know. I honestly don't know. We're still working it out um, for those of you who are part of our workshop community people who've been on our workshops. We've sent you a quick survey. Um, which we'd love to hear your thoughts on for those of you who listened to podcast, but never been on one of our workshops. Again, if you have an idea, and you think that might be fun to come along to, uh, please do drop me a [e-mail] . Uh, of course alongside all of this. And another reason why you might hear the fatigue in my voice. I think today I can be excused. All right. I think today. I'm allowed to sound a little bit weary because having laid for five hours on an embankment next to a slow moving motorway. Um, until like four or five in the morning. I think I'm all right to feel to, to justifiably sound a little bit fatigued, but we're also running a couple of different businesses and one of the things we're still working on and I'm still reworking is the mastering portrait photography website, still a few bits to sort out.

[00:18:36] So those of you. Who do go on and off the website, apologies for things moving around as we're doing this. , I had an email the other day that said, do you know your shops down? Um, and for every user that I tested on the shop was just fine. Uh, but for just one or two uses, not so much. Um, I had to go digging around in some code. Uh, to find a one-line and do you know what it turned out to be?

[00:18:57] It was a line I'd put in to debug the rest of it. The rest of it was fine, but the line of debug code was glitching. It's just. Oh, I hate it when that happens. It's an old school. Uh, cockup . When you put in test code and it's the test code that causes the problem. Uh, so never mind apologies for that.

[00:19:16] Uh, so. But we will keep you posted. There's lots of new articles and there's going to be regular videos and all sorts of. Uh, features on their rolling forwards. Uh, sad news this past couple of weeks, is that the incredible NPhoto magazine, which I just loved writing for has stopped publishing. What a shame I'm gutted about it.

[00:19:37] I've loved every time they've asked me to write for them. And so it's just been, um, I dunno, it's just been part of my monthly activities is to sit down. Tapping the, uh, figurative pen on my teeth and wondering what to write. And of course it being about Nikon and my love of Nikon. It's been a real pleasure to do, however, as with all of these things, when doors close, other doors open and it looks like there's a chance, at least that I'll be writing for an even bigger online title. Um, They approached me. Um, some of the same editors were involved in the new, well, not a new sites and established site, but they've moved over from their role at NPhoto, into new roles. Um, and they reached out to see if I'd be interested. In putting together some ideas to write for that.

[00:20:25] So. Um, like I said, you know, some doors close and while I'm really sad and photo has gone. Um, then, uh, maybe just maybe another door is, uh, opening. I've just got to figure out what angle to take on it, because it's a really open, brief, as long as it's interesting. Um, then he said, I can pretty much talk about anything.

[00:20:44] I like. So, whether it's business or techniques may be creative ideas, I don't know. Um, the state of the industry, AI post-processing. I honestly don't know, but one thing they have said. Is I could do with writing some things that are slightly contentious, at least in the sense that they can create a little quote that, uh, will get people out of bed and engaged . There's some ways, many of the things, um, I'm not that good acts.

[00:21:11] I don't know. That I'm particularly contentious. I did get in a, it was a wonderful review. We had at one of our workshops through the day. Um, and the review said. It's just great. And he said he really appreciated the fact that I was ever so slightly irreverent sometimes. Uh, which I think is about as far as I would get, I don't know. That I'm known for being particularly contentious, but it might be something I have to get my head round.

[00:21:37] They also said I'm going to need. Good headlines now, for those of you who are regulars with the podcast, you'll know that one of my weak spots is I'm not very good at writing. Headlines. That's just not my scale. Just definitely not good at it. I try I've even tried just one of the few things that I've tried, getting chat, GPT input on.

[00:21:56] So dear Chat, GPT. Uh, please give me some, uh, I dunno, punchy headlines for this article. And when it comes back with just they're even worse than the ones that I write. So I've come back to writing my own. Um, that's definitely not my skill and the editors I've been working with whenever they've taken my articles, they've written far, far better headlines than I ever have.

[00:22:19] So hopefully they'll look after that, but it was there. In the brief. Um, so, you know, I'm gonna have to learn some new skills, enough to be a bit contentious. I want to write some better headlines. I'm just gonna have to get my head down and, learned some new stuff, but here's the point. No matter just how rough this year has been.

[00:22:37] And I think in some ways, at least psychologically, this has been a tougher year than some of the ones we've been through recently COVID well, that was out of our control. Um, coming out of COVID. Well, everybody knew it was going to be tricky. But now, with so little reason for it to be quite so tough.

[00:22:59] At least there's no. I mean, I know there are reasons for it. I'm not saying there aren't. But it just feels like there should have been a better year. But at the end of the day, there's only so long people can be depressed, whether it's me, whether it's my team, whether it's our clients or whether it's the bigger world, the greater world. In general, there always has to be. Light at the end of the tunnel, but here's the but, weirdly. I suspect that light at the end of the tunnel is the light that we put there ourselves. It's almost like a mirror being held up. So that it reflects back the light that you have to generate, and that's not an easy trick, particularly when you know, I'm facing yet another land Rover breakdown and possibly the Last land Rover Defender breakdown.

[00:23:50] I'm not entirely certain that at the end of this year, we'll still have a Defender. I don't know how I can have a car, that I'm worried is going to break down every time I head out on to a gig. Um, But it is the trick that I'm going to have to master, to be, to have light at the end of the tunnel. It will be me that has to create it.

[00:24:09] And it has to be reflected back at me. I have a suspicion. That's just the only way to do it. If you can't create the light, there's nothing out there to run to. And I intend to run towards the light. So in spite of the rain, the time pressures, rather buggered, Land Rover Defender. Ultimately it's down to me. To shine, a light that I am running towards, and I'm going to choose that light.

[00:24:36] I'm going to make that light. I am gonna look for the new opportunities. I'm gonna. put, together new workshops. I'm going to focus on all of the new opportunities that are thrown up over the past couple of weeks. Um, I am loving running the workshops and they are going to get bigger and stronger and more exciting.

[00:24:52] I'm loving making the website changes. To Mastering Portrait Photography, the videos that Sarah, myself and Katie are creating. Um, the time I've had to spend with the kids. And of course the incredible clients that we've been able to work with and the images that we've created so far this year, and the many more. There are to come.

[00:25:12] That's the light at the end of the tunnel and that's what we're creating.

[00:25:17] The team around me are well, frankly, fantastic. And one thing from last night is unexpectedly lying under the stars. I was lying under the stars with my wife, Sarah, who is to me. my savior. It was just not lovely. I'm not going to say it was lovely because it was so cold. Um, and so slightly depressing. Um, however, if I was going to be there with anybody, it would be there with Sarah. And so for me, that's a little high spot in what was otherwise quite a dark. Uh, at cold night,

[00:25:46] On that note, I need an early night now as I haven't had any sleep. And I have to be up early yet again. To go and explain why yet again, I'm not really happy that my clutch has failed. Less than eight months after having the entire engine and transmission, replaced. But whatever else you're doing. In this cold weather. Shine a light and be kind to yourself.

[00:26:10] Take care.