Hip Photography - The Schindler's List

on Tuesday, 21 October 2008. Posted in Derek's Tips

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.

Working in extreme conditions hardens you and you can develop lots of tricks along that way that make the difficult task of capturing precious memories easier. Modern wedding photography is rammed up to the jowls with tasty trickery. Here’s one of my all time favourites.

You may have noticed that many top professional award winning husband and wife wedding photography businesses offer the Schindler's List photo as part of their imaginative packages. Now the Schindlers is one of the hardest shots to master for any photographer.

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.

Any Old Photo

Black and White

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%.

Shindlers 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.

Marketing tip: Start to refer to yourself as a Hip Photographer offering hip photography or funky photography. This is a great way of letting your clients know that you are very experienced or very old. Chuck up a couple of Schindlers on your site and you’re away.

A typical Hip Photographer yesterday

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Comments (24)

Anonymous

06 February 2013 at 16:21 | #

how hard are you Derek?

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Anonymous

06 February 2013 at 16:22 | #

Are you taking the mickey out of Barrett and Coe? We are hip!

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Anonymous

06 February 2013 at 16:22 | #

Is that you Derek

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Marge Wannabepye

06 February 2013 at 16:22 | #

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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- Derek
  
  06 February 2013 at 16:23 | #
  
  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
  
  reply
Nicola

06 February 2013 at 16:23 | #

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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- Derek
  
  06 February 2013 at 16:24 | #
  
  I know. The BJP is for engineers and is not read by real photographers
  
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Rob from Southampton

06 February 2013 at 16:24 | #

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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- Derek
  
  06 February 2013 at 16:24 | #
  
  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
  
  reply
  - Rob from Southampton
    
    06 February 2013 at 16:25 | #
    
    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
    
    reply
    - Derek
      
      06 February 2013 at 16:25 | #
      
      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
      
      reply
schlindering

06 February 2013 at 16:26 | #

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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Evolute Me

06 February 2013 at 16:26 | #

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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Jake D

06 February 2013 at 16:27 | #

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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Phootgraphy

06 February 2013 at 16:27 | #

i am disagree from the above comments
photography

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RobH

06 February 2013 at 16:27 | #

crying here ..................... i have always put up a tripod for a tree, now I learn from the master that I can take one through the sunroof at 35 mph, i feel stupid.

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Mmm, Pretzels!

06 February 2013 at 16:28 | #

Is this some sort of joke? These are terrible pictures!

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Canon Fascist

06 February 2013 at 16:28 | #

Schindlering is very subjective. An appreciation of the arts is an essential starting point.

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SpotColor ,

06 February 2013 at 16:29 | #

Got to be a joke this socalled spotcolouring is not relly done like this. I've seen such bad advice from someone claiming to be the best wedding photographer out there.

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CameraCrazy

06 February 2013 at 16:29 | #

I agree with the above I've seen a lot of Uncle Bobs recently trying to steel my work with sustandard wedding photography but your gallery is even below there levels. This kind of thing is driving me mad - poorly written tutorials by someone who hasn't even got the basic tog skills. You are the King Uncle Bob!

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Debbie

06 February 2013 at 16:29 | #

not too mention all the Digital Debbies and their smaltzy vintage rubbish

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Annoyed in Basingstoke

06 February 2013 at 16:30 | #

I am really annoyed about this tutorial. Many pro togs use this technique in a subtle and charming way - especially on things like confetti thawing shots - and clients love it! You should be ashamed and having had a look at your so-called work I am not surprised. An Amateur with only basic skills can capture better shots than you My Pye. Not sure who told you you are any good at photography but they must be as blind as you! Get a life!

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Richard P Walton

06 February 2013 at 16:30 | #

Great tutorial, thanks for sharing.

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Richard P Walton

06 February 2013 at 16:31 | #

can you do a tutorial on the 'vintage' look, I really wish I could imitate 1970s style photography

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Hip Photography - The Schindler's List

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Comments (24)

Anonymous

Anonymous

Anonymous

Marge Wannabepye

Derek

Nicola

Derek

Rob from Southampton

Derek

Rob from Southampton

Derek

schlindering

Evolute Me

Jake D

Phootgraphy

RobH

Mmm, Pretzels!

Canon Fascist

SpotColor ,

CameraCrazy

Debbie

Annoyed in Basingstoke

Richard P Walton

Richard P Walton

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