Now, I’m not going to lie, Rizzle Kicks were not my ideal choice of act to shoot – and that’s OK, I’m not their demographic; in fact, I felt….old. Old enough to be a lot of those kids’ dad. My ideal line up to shoot would probably read like a history book. Let’s remember though, I don’t do this job to listen to the music. I’m there to capture the essence of what music is in a picture.

What mainstream pop does have going for it though is production. Rock take note, when you shoot pop, you know you are going to get some decent light to shoot with – and somewhere as horrible as the UEA in Norwich, good lights make all the difference.

So despite getting there at 7:30 (it was a Sunday, I thought the stage times would be earlier) and sitting in Tesco car park nursing a Diet Coke and a Drifter for two hours in the freezing cold – it turned out to be one of the best shoots I can remember. The best for so many reasons.

As predicted, the lights were lovely to shoot in, lots of white and front light so you could actually make the faces out – I even got up to f4 with a speed of 200 (mind you that was with an ISO of 1600 but still…pretty rare for concert photograhy!).

They exude more energy than the Duracell Bunny and jumped around the stage throwing all kinds of shapes. Luckily there were only three of us in the pit, but we were running around trying to keep up.

Most of the time when we are pushing our way through the crowd to get out, I am not sure whether I got anything good. For Rizzle Kicks, I knew that I had got a good set and hopefully, you agree. I love doing the pop stuff, especially round here. A lot of the photographers only show for the rock, leaving two or three of us to mop up the arguably more profitable work that other snappers don’t want to shoot because they don’t like the band. Personally, I don’t care, and actually – their enthusiasm is infectious and they are damned good live. There. I would never have said that if I hadn’t seen them. Old dog. New tricks. I am street, innit?

Rizzle Kicks - Copyright Stuart Hogben

Rizzle Kicks - Copyright Stuart Hogben

More at www.flickr.com/stuarthogbenphotography

www.stuarthogbenphotography.co.uk

Anyway, I received a call from Tim the Aussie actor needing some headshots done so he can go on to superstardom or something – and always up for a challenge and harking back to a time when I had to go through the yearly ritual of updating my own mugshot, booked him in for the only day of the winter that actually resembled winter and braved the London blizzard.

Anyway, after the shoot - we had the after party (oh showbiz, any excuse…)  got very drunk and ended up being sick in a toilet in Greenwich. Up The Creek – I’m very sorry.

I digress – here are a couple of shots from the day – and if you need acting headshots, contact me for a great deal!

Tim Rapp - An Actor Prepares...Copyright Stuart Hogben

Tim Rapp - Copyright Stuart Hogben

That’s your lot for now! I have gigs coming up soon – so the blog action will be hotting up…

Catcha later

Stu

www.stuarthogbenphotography.co.uk

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I’m a level headed kind of guy, I’m calm, collected (and fun!) but while I’m working, I can always see another photo opportunity on the other side of the room, or just outside. Weddings are fantastic for the sheer abundance of photo opportunities – but alone, many are missed.

It’s a luxury to have the helping hands of someone who knows what they are doing – and guess what?

I now have that luxury!

Allow me to introduce my new right hand gal – Ellie Mitchell. (should have got a photo, really).

I often get emails from youngsters eager for work experience, and most of the time, as much as I’d love to take someone on – I simply can’t. Though this particular email resonated. She’s studying A Level photography (but in all honesty, is way beyond that already) and is amazingly good. That’s why I’ve taken her on to learn the tricks of the wedding trade. I believe in helping the next generation of talent. There is absolutely no use in doing this kind of work if you can’t share a little.

So, for this year at least, when you book me, you also get a free Ellie thrown in. No extra charge! How can you resist that?

Check her out at www.flickr.com/photos/62532707@N04

I still have dates left for this year – and have a special offer on all 2012 bookings

More details at www.stuarthogbenphotography.co.uk

I was incredibly fortunate to find a place I will forever call home in my heart. A place that instantly reached out for me, and where, half the time, my head still is.

Sydney, Australia.

The people I met that I now class as lifelong friends, the nooks and crannies of a place of the tourist trail that I fell in love with. What better place to spend the rest of your life.

I know plenty of friends that have travelled in the opposite direction and have found that sense of belonging here, and the only thing we can all agree on is the question: ‘Why do you love it? It’s a hole’ of our respective home towns.

It’s a question I’ve often thought about – and I guess the only conclusion I’ve been able to reach is that somewhere can only be truly appreciated through a visitors eye. I don’t think, as an outsider, anyone can ever tire of going to work everyday over the Sydney Harbour Bridge – always in awe of the beauty of what lies beneath it. I don’t think anyone can ever tire of catching the ferry across the harbour, soaking up the morning and evening sun while going to work and back. What nicer way to start a day?

In the twenty six years I grew up in London, I never once felt privileged or lucky to be there. Twenty five grand of debt can attest to that. Though there is no denying the sheer majesty of many of London’s buildings and the weight of its history.

Never, in all my time in London did I take my camera to work to capture the city around me like I did in Sydney. For a city that is so comparitively young, it offers so much more for the photographic eye. Of xourse you have the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, but there is so much more. Sydney is unique, I think, in its attitude and culture. It’s not just a city built for work – it’s one of the playgrounds of the world – a place that is so warm in every sense of the word that you cannot fail to fall in love in and with it.

My favourite photo, not only from Sydney, but possibly in my whole collection is this one:

This was shot almost fresh off the plane in September 2009. Claire and I were staying at friends in Neutral Bay until we had a place of our own sorted. If you’ve never been to or heard of Neutral Bay, it’s where I would love to call home. Right on the harbour, ten minutes from the city and stunningly beautiful.

I was rudely awoken at about 5 AM by our friend and way too generous host Rachel, who said it was like nothing that had been seen before, and I should get outside pronto.

What I saw was exactly as the picture tells it. A mist of bright orange. Wherever you looked. The whole city was engulfed in this cloud. Eery on the verge of being apocalyptic – it certainly awoke me from my slumber. I went outside to the street, and it was choking. I could feel the dust at the back of my throat. If I could imagine the end time, it would probably look something like this.

Top tip folks: When faced with something like this, don’t try and change your lens. ‘No you didn’t’ I hear you shout – well, actually…yes. Yes I did. I am dumb, and did I mention it was an ungodly hour? Anyway, I was excited – I wanted to get some images filed for the papers back home. Thanks ERROR 99.

Rubbish.

Luckily, Matt, the other guy that put up with us eating his food, is also a Canon man, so let me borrow his 550D – now, being used to the 1D, I didn’t have a clue about how to use it, I just put on my trusty 24-70, and walked very quickly for ten minutes down to the bridge.

I have seen some amazing shots of the storm taken from teh bridge, up through the girders and such like, and most are much better than mine technically – but I needed something iconic, something with the whole bridge in. so it was lucky that the first position I found was the shot I liked best. It was shot at f10 1/20 wide open at 24mm with very little done in Photoshop, save from a bit of sharpening and darkening the blacks to get some kind of clarity in amongst all that dust!

So there you have it. A days work that was done before breakfast, and some nice cheques from the usage! One of my enduring memories from the Land of Oz. The place I call home.

www.stuarthogbenphotography.co.uk

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You can’t beat that pressure. We rock photographers thrive on it. We have three songs to nail it. Very occasionally we do – most of the time we come away vaguely disappointed with ourselves. Sure, we get ‘nice’ pictures all the time and they do the job, they get published in the NME or some other paper or magazine - but that killer photo? Just doesn’t happen. That’s what we’re addicted to. The quest.

So, after years of saying I’d never do weddings, it came as a massive surprise to those who know me when I proclaimed one day ‘I’m going to do weddngs!’

It came after I did a friend’s wedding. All my preconcieved ideas about wedding photography (it’s boring, unchallenging etc) were thrown out the window.

What I learned was that far from being unchallenging, it was the hardest thing I had ever done. With music photography, you have your ten minutes and you’re done. You have no time to think - it’s literally wham bam thank you mam – and as much as I love that, there is little reward in filing your shots with never any feedback or emotional involvement.

Weddings are a totally different kettle of fish. They are as emotionally involved as music photography isn’t. Everything needs to be planned. People need to be made to feel special. Shots need to be thought through, camera settings need to be changed constantly. It’s a never ending battle with the mind. So many things to remember and so much on the line. Every time you get a gig, you have to stop and remind yourself that you have been entrusted to capture memories that will last a lifetime. That’s pressure!

My first ever wedding made me learn my craft very quickly. With shows, you use the one setting and away you go. I learned so much about how my camera behaves, what lenses to use in what situation and how to deal with people. That’s my favourite thing.

I have always been complimented on my ability to relate with guests – and that is half the battle right there. Luckily, I love talking and love hearing stories. My job then is to capture that. If I come away from a wedding having very few posed shots of people grinning at me, I have done well. I believe the best wedding photos are those of people cutting loose, enjoying the company of others and forgetting I’m even there. That, for me is a win win situation – and couples love that, for that is what they remember – people having fun and being happy – not gurning away at some bloke with a camera in their face!

I am no master, not by a long shot – there are plenty of auteurs out there that can create works of art with their camera, and I would dearly love to be able to create images like that - but I am comfortable in my own skin. You can be the proud owner of a work of art that was shot by an artist who may have their set agenda worked out in their head, and ends up being an arse to anyone or everyone. That ruins your memories form the off – or you can go on personality, choose someone who puts everyone at ease and gives an honest account of the biggest of big days.

And with that, I present Phil & Kirsty Catchpole – both West End performers and lovely to boot…

Copyright Stuart Hogben

Copyright Stuart Hogben

Special offer on 2012 wedding photography at http://www.stuarthogbenphotography.co.uk/weddings.htm

We’ve all been at gigs at some point in our lives, before we sold our souls to steal others with a picture – and noticed those guys at the front. Those that stand between you and the band that seem really cool. The photographers. It’s OK to be shameless in wanting to be there, it IS cool, I won’t lie, but it is only cool for the first three songs before we are unceremoniously booted out of the pit and into the cold for the drive home for an hour or two of editing to get the shots filed out to the agencies, hoping they’ll be used the next day, the next week, or, more often than not, never used at all. Full sets just floating around in cyberspace, with no public access and left to ruin.

Still want to devote your time and effort to shooting bands?!

First things first, before you take your new DSLR and kit lens to your local venue hoping to get some pictures of Coldplay or whatever – don’t bother. It will be confiscated on the door – so how do you shoot bands?

There is no real quick way of getting the top shows and festivals (hell, even I’m still trying) – I wish that it wasn’t so, but you have to learn your craft first.

Top tip number one: Get hold of a fast lens with an aperture of 2.8 or faster. The lens you get with your camera won’t be very good at all in low light, you need something fast. If you are just starting out and don’t have much cash, these 50mm lenses are perfect

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-EF-50-1-8-Lens/dp/B00005K47X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1325874493&sr=8-1 - Canon

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Nikon-50mm-F1-8D-Nikkor-Lens/dp/B00005LEN4/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1325874568&sr=1-1 - Nikon

I shoot gigs primarily with a 24-70mm 2.8 or a 70-200mm 2.8 these days, but have just rediscovered the joy of the 50mm prime. Sharp as a razor and lovely to shoot with.

Both of these were shot with my 50mm:

Copyright Stuart Hogben

Right, so first off – don’t run before you can walk. Check out local unsigned bands, ask them if they would like some live shots. That’s how we all started. Mine was slightly different as I was in a band for most of my 20′s, and started snapping away at our own gigs – but the principle is the same. You are building a portfolio. Learn how to use your camera away from the auto settings. I’ll probably post more about settings in another post.

Once you have a portfolio of good shots – offer your services to review sites and blogs. Chances are, if you are good enough, they’ll give you a shot. If they are half decent, they will sort you out with some gigs and you’re on the way to your first proper photo pass!

It’s all about maintaining good relationships with the PRs. Yes they may be annoying and not get back to you – but it’s the nature of the beast. Be polite, write an email, say who you are and who you are shooting for and what kind of coverage they are offering. They need you as well as you need them – it’s a two way relationship. If you are shooting for no one, and you still want to try your luck, go for it. I did. Get a Flickr page, post up your best photos of bands you have shot in pubs or wherever, and send the PRs a link in your email. Say that you are looking to build your portfolio and you could maybe offer a few shots in return. My first ever pass was scored that way – I think it was Idlewild back in the day. If the PR / Management are kind enough, then they will look after you.

Now, that’s all well and good I hear you say – but how do you find contacts? Well my ambitious friend – that’s where your old pal Google comes in handy. eight times out of ten, it will have the answer. If not, Facebook. Every band has a Facebook page these days – check out the info page on their profile – it usually works a charm. Sometimes the band’s contact details can be found on their website, sometimes a little digging must be done – but perseverence is the key. Once you’re in, you’re in.

I hope that helps some way to getting you your first pass. If you are getting into concert photography to be paid, don’t bother – that’s why we take on other photography work, but if you love music and love creating something that makes music look cool as hell, then you’ll fit in just fine.

If you are looking for some inspirational concert photography – look no further than this Flickr group right here: http://www.flickr.com/groups/concertshots/ with some top pro’s regularly chipping in and posting their latest masterpiece.

I’ll finish with a recently refound image of Matt Bellamy from Muse, playing Sydney’s Big Day Out in 2010.

Enjoy!

Stu

Copyright Stuart Hogben

Here we are. How exciting and very 2010. As always, I’m last on the bandwagon, so expect this thing to be as dated as reruns of Mock The Week on Dave by next Saturday.

In my youth, back in the day – I abused the blog. A lot. I was stupid and controversial and much of what I ranted (for that is all I knew ladies and gentlemen) was lambasted and scorned upon.

I’ve grown up now, so I am mostly done with the rant. Gone are my rock n roll days when I was a good four stone lighter; gone are the carefree libelous outpourings of hate. I am a respectable photographer now, and this is where I will aim my 30-something bile!

I will, from time to time, showcase the best of what I have to offer, everything from music to weddings via my implausibly beautiful boy who seems to love the camera.

Awww….

Anyway, I digress.

I shall begin as I mean to go on, with a wee look back on my favourite photograph of 2011 – Ralph Fiennes, the most actorly of actors – who partook in a BAFTA Q&A session at the Latitude Festival in Suffolk. It was pouring with rain, and there wre only two of us snappers that bothered to turn up. The lighting was perfect for this too – and I simply love it.

Happy 2012!