Digital Photographer - UK (2020-06)

Procasestudy

Photographicauthor

PhilipNixononshooting

forpublications

I’vebeenaprofessionalphotographersince

1978.Istartedmyphotographicbusiness

inpartnershipwithmywifein1980,and

myfirstbigbreakthroughwasintourism

photography.Ibeganbygivingillustrated

talksandpresentationstogroups,including

largepartieswhovisitedmyhomecity,

Durham,onholiday.Thiscreatedademand

formyimages,andmanywerepublishedby

localtourismauthorities,likeDurhamCounty

CouncilTourismandtheNorthumbriaTourist

Board.Iwentontosupplytextandphotosfor

magazinesandsupplements,towritemore

than 20 books,andtoexpandintopressand

PRwork,socialandstockphotography.

EarlyinmycareerIidentifiedthekind

ofpicturesthatwouldbeofinteresttothe

peopleIwastryingtosellto,andtomake

myselfawareoftheirtargetaudiencefor

pictures.Thisisakeysuccessfulcomponent

insellingimages–youreallyhavetopay

closeattentiontoyourclient’sneedsand

fulfiltheirwishesnomatterwhat.Ifaclient

doesfindanythingwrong,takeresponsibility

andputitrightasquicklyandefficientlyas

possible.Ihadalotofclientswhowouldlet

meshootwhatIthoughtwasbestbecause

theytrustedandvaluedmyexperience.

Regardingequipment,Idon’tthinkthekind

ofcameragearyouhavereallymattersas

longasyourlensesareofgoodqualityand

youhaveagoodtripod.However,youhaveto

betotallyfamiliarwithyourcameraandbe

abletouseitassecondnature.

Preparationisanotherthingthatisvitally

importanttoaphotographer–themore

preparedyouare,thebetterpicturesyou

get.Theotherthingisgettingyourworkright

inthecamera–Ican’tplacetoohighan

emphasisonthistoimproveyourshots.

Nowadaysit’scompetitive,butit’smuch

easiertoputyourworkoutwithsocialmedia

andwebsites.Havingagoodwebsitemakes

yourselfeasytocontact.

Philip’stoptipsfor

successfulsales

Belowleft

StCuthbert’stomb,

DurhamCathedral

Byshootingtoabrief,Philip

capturesthekindofimages

aprospectiveclientrequires

Below

WesternTowers,

DurhamCathedral

Philipisanexpertincapturing

northernEnglandandatop

choiceformultiplepublishers

WorkonpresentationEnsurethat

thepresentationofyourimages

isgoodtolookat.Makesureyour

nameandcontactdetailsareeasily

availableandvisible.

ConductresearchFindoutwhat

kindofpicturesyourclientlikes.

ConsiderimagestogetherMake

sureshotsareappealingasagroup.

HaveaclearmessageMake

surethemessageinyourpicture

isbelievableandisapparenttothe

clientimmediately.Youshouldn’thave

toexplain–it’savisualmedium!

Don’trelyoneditingI can’t

emphasise enough how important it

is to get it right in the camera – don’t

overdo digital imaging later on.

You really have to pay close attention to your client’s needs x2 © Philip Nixon

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