For many working photographers the most stable form of regular income is weddings, and that’s the area I’ve chosen as the basis of my business model as I prepare to become a full time pro. Let’s face it, people are always going to get married and with divorce rates increasing they’re probably going to do it at least twice! Ok, maybe that was a bit mercenary but you get the point: love them or hate them, weddings are here to stay and they will provide a valuable income stream to photographers who know their bouquets from their bombonieres.

And therein lies the challenge. The classic catch 22. How do you become a good wedding photographer if you haven’t shot a wedding? How do you persuade a newly engaged couple that they should entrust the documentation of one of the most important days of their lives to you? I know couples that would rather you take their first born than mess up their wedding photos. Hordes of bridezillas and even groomzillas are on the increase, stomping over perfectly manicured ceremonial gardens worldwide, and don’t forget about their mothers too! Think of it this way – bumble about like Hugh Grant in Four Weddings and it will be your funeral. So no pressure on the new guys then!

Ok, well every wedding photographer has to start somewhere and I’ve identified three solutions to get me into the market:

1 – Be a second shooter. This is a great way to get a feel for the frenzy and pressure of a wedding without too much risk. Shadow an established wedding photog (ideally one who shoots in the same style that you’re planning to use e.g. traditional, photojournalistic, contemporary) and take instruction on which shots they need you to cover while they focus on other people and locations. This provides invaluable experience not only behind the lens but also in terms of logistics such as changing memory cards mid-shoot and remembering which ones are full and which ones aren’t – in other words stuff you really don’t want to mess up! I’ve become friends with a few local wedding photogs and when the season starts to heat up again I’ll be offering my services. An alternative option, if you know the bride and groom, is to offer to be a second shooter for practice. This is pretty much a no-brainer for the couple as they get another set of photos for free and the official photographer will normally be cool with the idea as long as you don’t stray into their shots! I’ve had the opportunity to second shoot a couple of weddings and the shots turned out really well. In fact one of the couples printed and framed one of my shots for their wall!

2 – Friends and family. Pretty logical, but friends and family know you and your ability better than anyone. They also probably see more of your work than anyone else. So if they know you’re good then they’ll trust that you’ll do a good job for them and in return you will obviously charge mates rates, so a win-win situation. Risk is also reduced slightly as they probably won’t be so harsh if the shots don’t turn out quite as well as you or they expected. Well, at least not to your face! It goes without saying that social media is crucial for building up that pool of friends and knowing when engagements are occurring.

3 – Stage a shoot. Having been on modelmayhem for a while I’ve got used to staging shoots i.e. working up concepts, finding locations and directing models. So I thought I’d apply that to experience to a wedding. Fortunately my friends Katrina and Hayden (a very happily married couple I might add) offered to don the special garments again so I can bring to life some of the concepts I’d like to offer clients. We found a couple of amazing locations which would be perfect for weddings (albeit they were actually an adolescent unit and a mental hospital!) and got a whole heap of great shots within a couple of hours. The couple were very happy with them, and a poll of the girls in the office told me they were of the quality they would expect and pay for. And as an added bonus I’ve had several referrals from them to their engaged girlfriends!

My full set of photos from the shoot with Katrina and Hayden can be see here

So I’m taking a three pronged approach which has already given me a wealth of experience as I head towards my first wedding as lead photographer. I already have a booking for early 2011 but I know I’m ready if another comes in sooner.

Do you shoot weddings or are you already married and have tips for any would-be wedding photographers? If so I’d love to hear your comments!

Last week was particularly busy as I started shooting as a contributing photographer to Sydney fashion blog http://www.2threads.com/. I probably couldn’t have picked a busier time to start as RAFW (Rosemount Australian Fashion Week) is on next week and so lots of other designers and fashion accessory companies piggyback this time of heightened style awareness to make their presence known. And hence I had three events to shoot in three days.

The first shoot was a cocktail party for the holy grail of hair straighteners, ghd.

20th Apr: ghd cocktails and canapes

They have strong associations with some of the leading stylists who will be bringing RAFW to life and so were throwing a pre-event to wish them well. It was a small and intimate affair, “select” some would say, held at the dark and moody Eau de Vie bar in the stylish Kirketon boutique hotel. Cocktails were mixed and canapé trays waltzed their way around the fashionista crowd. The MD of ghd was also there to give a short speech.

The next night was a lot more buzzy for the launch of Smashbox Cosmetics in Australia.

21st Apr: Smashbox Cosmetics launch

The brand, started by Dean and Davis Factor (grandsons of none other than make up legend Max Factor), has been established for the good part of 20 years in the US but is only just arriving Down Under where it is being distributed through Kit Cosmetics stores. So this launch event was held at Kit’s bright and white Paddington store on Oxford Street. Davis Factor, who is also an established celebrity fashion photographer, was in store to give a speech and chat with the loyal Kit customers who had been specially invited a whole day ahead of the media launch. There was a good, fun vibe in the store, created by the customers, staff and PR girls, who insisted I partake in the champagne that was being flowing like it was going out of fashion (god forbid).

Night three escalated in scale dramatically as I was covering the Being Born Again couture fashion show at the Cell Block Theatre in Darlinghurst.

22nd Apr: Being Born Again couture

This event was created by the two girls behind a new fashion label, D&Em, Davina Reichman and Emily Fitzgerald. They had forged a collection of ten unique outfits by pairing ten leading Australian fashion designers with ten Australian artists to collaborate on ways to express their art. The resulting catwalk show was amazing, and enhanced further by the dramatic surroundings of the sandstone theatre.

Luckily I managed to find myself a great spot for shooting. The traditional end of the catwalk was full of photographers who had staked their spots since the doors opened, and as I turned up a bit later and was also moving around taking my usual event documentary shots, I found myself at the back of the pack struggling to see over the four deep crowd of photogs in front of me. Then I realised I could simply position myself at the other end of the catwalk, which was completely empty, and shoot the models on their way back! Lateral thinking worked a treat and I was really happy with the results. And so was Davina who has since circulated my shots around the media and invited me to shoot her next show!

So three evenings on the trot equals a whole heap of post processing! The events themselves probably only took up 6 hours of shooting, but my ancient MacBook kept me indoors all weekend, just doing simple adjustments! This meant I missed the ANZAC Day celebrations of beer and 2 Up, but the resulting photos are great additions for my portfolio!

A year goes by pretty quickly these days (is that another effect of climate change?) and at first I thought I’d struggle to find ten images that I’d proudly mount on pedestals. But a trawl through my library reminded me just how many shoots, jobs and photos came out of those 12 months! So the problem was then drawing up a shortlist of the best ten.

And then there’s the subjective part: what defines a top photo? Should it be a personal favourite of mine or others? Should it feature a person or place that’s dear to me? Should it have captured a unique event or moment in time? Should it be technically well executed? Or all/some/none of the above?

Well after careful consideration I’ve selected my top ten images. Some of them I honestly didn’t expect to make the final cut, but for some of the reasons mentioned above, I felt that they deserved a place. Please have a browse and let me know which is your favourite.

Here we go, in no particular order (as that would take another three months!):

Disco Condo

This is one of my all time favourite shots and it’s also by far the standout favourite amongst my friends and those who have looked through my work and given me feedback. I suppose the thing that surprises people most about this photo is the fact that it was spontaneous. I just walked out onto my hotel balcony in Waikiki and this is what the building opposite looked like. No scouting for a location and no waiting for hours for the lights to come on. And that’s the magic of photography: the ability to make the everyday things around us look amazing. Read more about Disco Condo.

Lake Taupo Trance

On many photographers “to do” lists is a long exposure of a jetty leading out into the water, and it was certainly high up on mine for quite a while. But a trip to Lake Taupo in NZ finally gave me the opportunity to cross it off. This was taken at sunset after a day of unsettled weather. My west facing position gave me a nice golden glow on the horizon, while my ND grad filters blurred out the water, gave the clouds movement, and saved the sun’s highlights from blowing out. The ghostly blur of the swaying boat adds extra atmosphere. Read more about Lake Taupo Trance.

Sydney Dust Storm: Centrepoint Shroud

The Sydney dust storm was memorable for anyone in the city that morning and especially those, like me, who woke up at dawn to find they had relocated to Mars overnight. I took a heap of shots to commemorate this special event (and put the 5D Mk II’s dust proof claims to the test!) but this one is my favourite. It was taken in the CBD as I made my way to work. The dust was starting to clear but there was still an eerie silence as the city’s commuters tried as best they could to go about their daily routine as if everything was normal, despite this golden mist cloaking them! I like the perspective in this shot and how the silhouetted Centrepoint Tower in the distance gives a sense of how widespread the dust is. Read more about Sydney Dust Storm: Centrepoint Shroud

Sculptured Sunrise

Every year Sculpture By The Sea is one of the most popular events in Bondi, with amazing works of art adorning the beautiful Bondi to Tamarama coastal walk. There are opportunities galore for photographers, but if you want a nice clean composition you need to get there early, as in dawn early. And for that effort you may be rewarded with a shot to remember. Read more about Sculptured Sunrise.

Balance Beam

I spent quite a few mornings during the summer weekends at Cooper Park in Bondi. It was a haven for dragonflies and damselflies, and after the first morning of using my macro lens to get up close and personal with them, I was addicted and couldn’t wait to go back and take more! Most of the inhabitants were these Sydney Flatwing damselflies. They were amazing models! Very photogenic and totally unfazed by the camera despite the lens being just millimetres from their tiny faces! One of my shots (Red 5 Standing By) became an instant hit on my RedBubble web gallery, but my favourite is this one. I’d identified a broken stalk which I thought would be make a great perch and staked it out. Several hours and meat pies later (kidding) and this little fella decided to drop by and pose.

Red Vent

I’m a big fan of photo genres based around buildings, from clean architectural photography and lifestyle interior shots to eerie derelict warehouses and gritty urban cityscapes. Sydney offers a whole host of these opportunities and I try to make the most of them. This shot was taken very close to where I work. It’s a composition that called out to me as I was walking past, so I duly obliged. I like this for the vent’s splash of colour against a neutral canvas, and also because my decision to position it off-centre paid off and resulted in a more interesting image.

Opera House Streakers

This was one of the first images I shot with my 5D MkII. It was taken on the opening night of Vivid Sydney, a festival of light. Amazing installations had been set up all over the CBD but the centrepiece was the Opera House as a canvas for a series of light projections created by Brian Eno. I was taking long exposures to flatten out the water and enhance the ambient light, but as a working harbour there were boats constantly going through the shots, causing ghost images and light trails. I decided to use this to my advantage and waited for a small sailboat to approach, then I hit the shutter and soaked up its light trails as it bobbed past, adding extra colour interest to the shot.

Nintendo Launch Party

This shoot was memorable for me as there was a lot of pressure to perform (ahem). It was my first corporate event, there was decent money involved, and clients and celebs were present. Nintendo were releasing four new games at the trendy Oxford Arts Factory and had divided the venue into zones with each one set decorated to reflect one of the games. The zone for Style Boutique resembled a star’s dressing room with big mirrors surrounded by lightbulbs. I like this shot for two reasons. Firstly it was technically well executed given the cramped conditions. I needed to avoid catching myself or the flash in the mirrors and so I ended up in a corner on tip toes with elbows all over the place. But the resulting composition is strong, and the exposure and bounced flash balanced out nicely. Secondly I like this because it was taken just at the right moment when the main subject looked up and realised she was in my crosshairs! Plus the all important products are in clear view.  There’s a lovely natural energy to the shot and most importantly the client was very happy with the results! Read more about Nintendo Launch Party.

Renny

Renny is an agency model with Platform Models and she was my first proper model shoot. I met her when I was shooting the NSW finals of the fashion tv Diamond model search and soon afterwards organised a shoot with her in a few locations around Bondi. Renny is an absolute star and a true professional; very easy going off camera, but when she’s in front of the lens she really knows how to work it! I’d scouted a few locations around Bondi that I wanted to use and this is my favourite – the entrance to an art deco apartment block at North Bondi. It has a very Miami feel to it and the outfit my stylist Ali picked out for Renny suited it perfectly. Another of the photos I took during the shoot is now featuring in Renny’s portfolio and the Platform Models website gallery. I’m really happy that the preparation that went into my first model shoot paid off and resulted in some great photos for both myself and the model. Read more about Renny.

Mitchell’s Christmas Party

It’s probably fitting that we finish on this image as it’s from a Christmas party. The setting was Luna Park and the company is Mitchell’s, the highest billing media agency in Australia (and one of the main rivals to the agency that I work at!). Everyone was up for a top night so I went full throttle and took a great collection of images. This one in particular stands out for me. It’s one of those shots where you see something new every time you look at it as there’s so much going on, such as the main subject spinning around while balancing her glass, the trumpet player in action on the stage, and the girl off to the right posing with her friend in front of her own camera. A nice amount of ambient light has been soaked up, giving the image a lovely range of colours, the flash has frozen the moment perfectly, and the angled camera position delivers a very dynamic (and almost dizzying)  feel. A nice event to end the year with! Read more about Mitchell’s Christmas Party.

So that’s my top 10 of 2009. Would love to know which one was your favourite?

Likewise in fashion it’s a hard road to the top, especially if you’re trying to bypass the hard graft of assisting that most of the top professionals did for many thankless years.

As you may know I joined ModelMayhem.com to build up my experience of photographing models and collaborating with the other members of the photoshoot tool kit: the wardrobe stylist, make up artist, hair stylist, designers etc. The fallout of this massive online community (coupled with the accessibility and affordability of DSLR cameras) is that there’s a huge amount of wannabe fashion photogs snapping any model that will give them 5 mins so they can build up their portfolio. Likewise there are girls galore believing that their 32Cs will propel them to supermodel status if they can show them off in as many skimpy swimsuits shots as possible and post them to Zoo, Ralph and FHM. In summary: chaos, and a harder job for photogs and models who are seriously trying to develop their skills.

Ron Davis

Shawna Rencher

Enter Ron Davis and Shawna Rencher. Ron is a successful studio photographer and Shawna a model, actress and film director. They are both active on ModelMayhem and based in Houston, Texas and their regular collaborating led them in a new direction – to create a podcast aimed at amateur photographers and models who are trying to break into the fashion and beauty industry. The result is The Photographer & Model Podcast.

Each week they interview a guest photographer or a model for around 30 mins, virtually all of whom are active on ModelMayhem. The interviews are very chatty, open and lighthearted and so make for easy listening. Content covers a range of topics including the guest’s background, current activity and future ambitions; what they think makes a good photographer and model (from turning up on time to being prepared to step outside comfort zones); horror stories and moments of controversy (some great “Guy With Camera” situations!); and their personal definitions of industry terms such as art, beauty, glamour, erotica and fetish. Plus there are insights into each guest’s particular field of interest e.g. fine art photography, pin-up photography, conceptual art, use of Photoshop etc.

It’s a format that is simple and very effective as each week brings a slice of life of fellow photographers and models who are on ModelMayhem to do essentially the same thing as me but with their own particular slant or objective. I love the fact that if I listen to someone that sounds interesting, I can then check out their profile and portfolio on ModelMayhem, send them a message and add them as a friend. It brings the site to life, giving it a much more human dimension than just a collection of avatars and faceless profiles. After all we’re people not numbers right?

The podcast is available on iTunes and on the photographerandmodel.com website. I encourage you to subscribe even if you’re not interested in fashion and beauty photography as the interviews, stories and insights make great listening!

I recently joined ModelMayhem, the world’s largest social networking site for models, photographers, stylists and make-up artists.

“Joining the Mayhem” is something you really need to be do if you’re starting out in fashion photography as I am. You get to work with professionals of varying levels of experience who are striving to hit the big time, and therefore often offer their services for free in return for hi-res photos to add to their portfolios.

The name ModelMayhem itself is definitely appropriate for the site! The guidelines say that a new member’s profile can take up to two days to approve. So after nearly a week of constantly checking my inbox for confirmation, all I could do was assume that the moderators were spending a lot of time scrutinising the four initial photos I had to supply with my profile. Or were all lording it up at a fashion show somewhere, which I thought was more likely. But I can’t lie: I was nervous. I really want to break into fashion and this seemed to be the main conduit into it. If I didn’t get approved, what was I going to do? Sure I had met a dozen models at a recent model search and become facebook friends with most of them but those things only happen a few times a year. Plus a few of the models and stylists from the event had recommended that I join ModelMayhem so I was really keen to get on board and get shooting.

Eventually the wait was over. The confirmation email arrived after a week, welcoming me to the Mayhem. This was it – my chance to break into the big time and maybe eventually star in a Zoolander sequel! And then the site went down. Yes, the chaos of the fashion world had infected the online space. No not really, it was a hacker bringing down the site’s security, causing it to shut down for a few days while they bought a few more digital Dobermans.

Fortunately I hadn’t yet put all my hope and dreams in ModelMayhem and had arranged a shoot in Bondi with Renny, one of the model search finalists. Renny is a part time model with Platform Models and aspires to go full time. Until that happens she’s loving her role as a chemical engineer, designing drilling equipment for mines! What was all that talk about models being airheads?!

Renny came all the way down from Newcastle on a sunny Sunday and together with my stylist friend Ali, we spent four hours having fun shooting at a handful of locations that I had already scouted. Renny was a true professional and needed little direction, effortlessly moving from pose to pose. At the end of the shoot I advised Renny to get onto ModelMayhem as well. But to wait a few days first!

If you’re on ModelMayhem look me up at www.modelmayhem.com/miltongan

Friday 23^rd Oct was a big night for ten young ladies who had made it through to the NSW final of fashiontv’s Diamond Model Awards, one of the biggest model search competitions in Australia. The venue: Sydney’s Favela nightclub in Pott’s Point, which had also hosted three of the qualifying rounds.

As a regular photographer for Favela I snapped up the opportunity to shoot the final. Although it meant I’d had to leave my good friend Naomi’s birthday celebrations to do so (something I’m sure I may never be forgiven for). However, I also had a personal interest in attending the event as another Naomi (my mate Naomi Fitzgerald De Grave) was one of the finalists.

The final had been hyped up by the media as well as, of course, the models so the club was packed well before the competition started. A judging panel of leading names in fashion and styling, plus performances from previous finalists on So You Think You Can Dance added extra punch to the occasion.

The crowd was stylish and good looking as you’d expect; girls were in their best frocks and guys in their most fitted shirts. Plus there was a heap of photographers present which created a real fashion show buzz. Luckily as I was on home turf I was able not only to command the best shooting location but crucially also had backstage access to the dressing room.

Now for those who really want to know (i.e. most of my male mates), yes the dressing room is just how you’d imagine: a frenzied hive of activity with semi-clad girls scurrying between having their hair styled, their eyes shadowed, and their outfits fitted. And it was fascinating! The intensity and professionalism of the styling teams from Christopher Hanna and Gorgeous Cosmetics was mesmerising and I found myself constantly dodging and weaving to stay out of their way in the cramped and suffocating room, whilst also trying to shoot them at work from the best angles.

Back to the cooler climates of the club and the competition was about to start. The swimwear round (supplied by Jets) would be followed by eveningwear (by Nicola Finetti) before the judges decided on their winner. A “catwalk” had been marked out around the club using light ropes, guiding the girls towards the judges’ sofa before turning and heading back to the dressing room.

After a scout of potential locations I found a good spot next to the judges at the foot of a small stairway. This meant I would catch the girls walking towards me and stopping to pose at the top of the stairs, and then again as they headed back and did a final turn to the judges. Double opportunity meant double the shots and therefore double the selection for my final cut. This might sound a bit hit and miss but in a situation where there are no second chances, more is better. Because as good as a model looks, you need to catch her with head, arms, hips, and legs all in the right position to bring her to life.

And boy did I make a good decision! Once the show, the music, and the crowd started pumping it was a full on exercise in self control and preservation! Trying to keep your adrenalin down while gorgeous girls in swimsuits are walking past you is hard enough, let along when you’re trying to take flattering photos of them in manual mode and fighting against the surging crowd!

Round one over and while the punters flocked to the bar I was shuttling between the dressing room for the eveningwear prep and the club to get crowd shots for the promoters and sponsors. Then came an equally frantic session of shooting for eveningwear and I just about made it through to the winner’s announcement without needing to reach for another memory card.

As my first foray into the fashion world it was a fantastic evening. I was exhausted but exhilarated after going through four hours of shooting, over four hundred photos, two batteries, and just one bottle of water! But the crowning glory was that despite leaving one celebration I was able to join another as Naomi, the clear crowd favourite, won the final and will now go on to represent NSW in the grand final in Melbourne next weekend. So GO NOMES!