| Hip Photography - The Schindler's List |
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| Written by Derek Pye | |||
| Tuesday, 21 October 2008 18:15 | |||
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Wedding photography is not for the faint hearted. I first got into the business shooting war weddings in Vietnam and even spent a spell in Afghanistan shooting weddings. I gave that up as they always seemed to get accidentally bombed by the Americans. Fortunately it was only the women and children that died in these tragic accidents so I was able to make it back to Penge safely. If I get bookings in war zones now then I prefer to send my assistant Muktar. Then again if I get a booking in Essex I prefer to send Muktar. The first time you see a Schindlers is a moment you’ll remember for the rest of your life. Just how do they do that? The flowers are in colour but the rest of the photo is in black an white! Amazing. The shot is a poignant reminder of all the poor people in WWII that didn’t get to have their weddings photographed in a contemporary style by a hip photographer. So here’s how its done. Step 1: Take any old photo of any old wedding.
Step 2: Turn it into black and white. Step 3: At this point you may feel like launching Photoshop Elements and doing some fancy retouching. Stop! have bit o f booze. Now find a picture of something you want to add. I quite often use a dartboard as it has a range of nice colours like red and yellow. Cut out the photo and drag it to the black and white shot. Abraca*censormode*indabra!! A Schindlers in less than a minute. Once you’ve mastered this you can rack up your prices by 30%.
If you’re thinking of booking a wedding photographer and you see an example of this on their site then you know he is a top professional. In fact I’d advise you to steer well clear of any photographer who hasn’t got at least 3 Schindlers in his portfolio.
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Hits: 7747 Trackback(0)TrackBack URI for this entryComments (16)Subscribe to this comment's feed...
I aspire to be just like you Derek, although as a woman I can never ever be as talented as you. Im thinking of calling my wedding business 'Photohipgrafunky' What do you think ?
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January 08, 2009
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Hello Love - unfortunately birds make terrible photographers and there is something obscene about a lady with a 300mm. Your best bet is to find an wedding photographer to marry. After a few years you might get to tag along as second fiddle as part or a Husband and Wife Wedding Photography™ team. Please be aware that this is just a marketing term and your photos will rarely be used. Stick to looking pretty.
All the best Derek Pye
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January 09, 2009
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Congratulations Derek! The big players are finally taking notice of you. I was so pleased to your name in print alongside excerpts of this fantastic post on hip photography in this week's "British Journal of Photography."
Seriously well done, Derek. Your vision is being heard and I can only imagine that this is a sign of things to come. You're a rock star.
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January 29, 2009
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Hi Derek,
Inspired by your good self I'm thinking of becoming a hip photographer and desperately desire to master the shindler technique. I've offered my services at a number of NHS and private hospitals but I just can't gain their interest. I was thinking that if I shindlered the patients underwear against the hip area both pre and post operation I'd have twice as much opportunity for sales ... but as yet haven't been able to convince the matron to let me into the operating room. Any suggestions? Thanks, Rob Pentax Z230D 18-400 f6.4/22
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February 11, 2009
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Concentrate on photographing trees. Once you have mastered this you can move on to cats and ropey old birds that will never be models. Eventually you might be good enough to switch from amateur to full time hobbyist.
Good luck All the best Derek
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February 26, 2009
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Thanks for the tree advice Derek. In your opinion, should I print the photos of the trees onsite and sell them to the forresters and farmers or just sell them via the web?
Also, from your experience what sort of shutter speed do you think is best suited to a tree? Thanks, Rob Pentax Z230D 18-400 f6.4/22 x2.4 converter Slik 22L
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February 26, 2009
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Shutter speed depends on the direction and speed of the tree. If it's coming straight towards you then go for a slower speed and more DOF. Personally I prefer to stop the car and use a tripod but that depends how close the cops are. Photography is all about decisions.
All the best Derek PS. it's not possible to sell photos of trees because nobody cares
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February 26, 2009
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Derek,
I think I've got the hang of the schindler ... http://www.flickr.com/photos/3...417532419/ I just need to get the hand of the reverse makeover technique and I think I'll be ready for the SWPP
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April 06, 2009
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Derek,
Since you're giving out advice here for free, I'm already the best tree photographer in my camera club (and have five Tree Of The Month Photo Awards to prove it). What's the next step in my evolution? I've tried to master shooting cats, but the competition is just so fierce, everyone I meet is better at this than me, and I just don't need any more trouble from the RSPCA. Can I skip this step completely and move straight to weddings? (BTW, are you hiring?)
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April 13, 2009
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I like the idea of a dartboard, but it might be too inappropiate in a church interior shot, I favour an unobtrusive baby belle cheese snack or one of those very colourful 'Bop-It!' games (christ I can't stand those!). You might get really lucky if the bride gets hit during a drive shooting where the red looks after itself, but in my career that's only happened four or five times - and if I'm honest I did two of the shootings myself (the other churches had doors too narrow to get my Hillman Avenger through)
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April 16, 2009
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| Last Updated on Tuesday, 13 October 2009 08:26 |
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