The Mastering Portrait Photography Podcast

Things are definitely looking up! Today, I had my vaccine, and I cannot help but think things are (gradually) appearing more positive.  At the end of the day, vaccines are the only way out of the pandemic, so it feels good to not only have done my bit but also to see what an amazing job the NHS and all those volunteers are doing getting it out there - and it's all being done with huge smiles and a...

Photographers - or, more precisely, photography trainers -  talk about muscle memory - creating habit and comfort in what you do.  But have you ever thought it might hold you back? In this caffeine-fueled, bleary-eyed podcast recorded early on a Friday morning,  I ponder on how to break out of your self-imposed limitation - one that we constantly refer to as a necessary thing: your muscle memory. ...

In this interview, I get a chance to talk with the incredible photographer, Sanjay Jogia.   To quote from Canon's website (he is a Canon Ambassador): Sanjay Jogia is one of the world's most decorated wedding photographers, with a clutch of awards from both the Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers (SWPP) and Wedding & Portrait Photographers International (WPPI). The Briton is known for cap...

Ever wondered if you're your own worst enemy? Your very own, personal, TROLL?  Well, stop it at once!  It really isn't helping!   I mention a couple of things in this podcast - here are the links for the curious: The camera I am talking about is the Nikon Z7ii - you can read about it on Nikon's site .  The focus checker is the Datacolor SpyderLensCal Of course, remember that my book Mastering Port...

So why do people think it's OK to criticise HOW you do something?  In this episode, I am more or less muttering about something that is prevalent in our industry: snobbishness about how you create your images rather than the celebration of what you've created. I may have uttered an expletive during the recording of this podcast.  Sorry - don't judge me.  I've left it in because I think a little pa...

In a podcast last year, I lamented that I had lost a little mojo - the penalty for having a massively busy season prior to that.  This triggered a couple of threads of conversation, one of which is this interview with Trevor Long PhD. To quote from his bio: "Trevor brings an extensive experience in education and consultancy to this work, from many different countries and cultures, with a primary i...

I think I recorded the previous episode on a cold, crisp day.  Well, the cold has remained, but instead of 'crisp' it is now grey, gloomy and damp (though quite how it is still damp when the temperature is hovering around freezing, I have no idea!) We're closing 2020 and opening a whole new chapter, bright and clean, as yet unsullied by Covid, Brexit, politicians or social media.  I doubt it'll st...

This question was asked by our model on a recent masterclass: "Why do you take pictures?" she enquired of me and our attendee.  I suspect a pro, and an amateur may give slightly different answers but it's a simple and yet profound question: indeed, what on earth fuels our desire to create images? In this episode, recorded on a cold, crisp Christmas Eve, I ponder on that and look forward to a coupl...

Well, it's only gone and happened again: we're back in lockdown from this Thursday.  Finding out on a Saturday night that you have five working days left in what is normally the busiest month of the year, is not ideal, to put it mildly.  Still, we have to find ways of coping, ways of staying positive.   This is a quick podcast I recorded to talk about the things we're doing here to stay in the rig...

In this episode we look at ways of seeing your images as your clients will.  When I used to work in recording studios, we would dump a copy of the music track onto cassette (yes I am that old) and walk it out into the car park and sit in a band member's car, listening to the audio.  It was the best way to make sure it sounded good somewhere other than in a sophisticated mixing room!  Making sure y...

Well this is one of those catchup episodes (I have discovered that our studio microwave has a grill!) but it also deals with one of those odd bits of human nature: that as you develop your talents and knowledge, the insecurity never seems to leave you. Funny ol' world isn't it?! Enjoy! If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to  Mastering Portrait Photography , where there are articles and vid...

I don't know quite what inspired me for this podcast, but I thought it would be interesting (and so it proved to be) to invite someone onto the podcast that really does understand relationships and the language that people use. Every day in a portrait photography business, we're facing families and couples, watching their behaviour, listening to their conversations and creating beautiful images of...

In this episode, I get a chance to talk to the team of qualification judges that I am privileged to be a part of for the British Institue of Professional Photography. I thought it would be interesting (and so it proved to be) to ask each of them before and after the judging, what they would love to see, what (after the fact) was a highlight and what they would say to anyone thinking of getting the...

Another Land Rover based podcast I'm afraid (at one point it sounds like I am being shaken to pieces!) but this time I have a little help with the noise reduction and sound quality.  Hopefully, it'll take the edge off it! In this (bumpy) episode, I wanted to mull on the value of critiques, competitions, and qualifications and how judges, such as me, evaluate images across all genres irrespective o...

You'll be happy to hear that this episode is recorded in the peace and quiet of our studio - actually, I had intended to record it in the studio garden as the cool and the smells of late summer and early autumn are so seductive.  Sadly, about a million drills, chainsaws, strimmers, lawnmowers and jackhammers ruined that for me.  It wasn't nearly as peaceful as I'd hoped!  Goodness knows what our n...

Today's podcast was recorded as I travelled to photograph a wedding.  Given this is August 2020 (the year of Covid-19) that is not a particularly common occurrence, with most of our weddings being postponed to 2021 / 2022 so I am probably sounding a little giddy! As usual, there is an update on what's been happening and then the main topic is all about understanding 'stops' - or, more precisely, w...

Today I am musing (and, additionally, interrupting myself - not once but twice!) on being beholden to my diary.  It is, of course, completely to be expected when you run a successful portrait photography business but that doesn't make it easy.  Instead, you have to find strategies for keeping motivated, keeping the excitement and keeping up the creativity. PS. there is a slight irony in today's re...

Along with thousands of other students, Jake, our son, has just had his 'A' level results. An interesting time to put it mildly.  However, it did get me thinking about how incredibly hard he worked for his mock exams (it's lucky he worked as hard as he did as it has meant he HAS been given a place on the university course that he desperately wanted!) and the parallels with our industry. It is alwa...

Life as a photographer can feel like you're working on your own - all those hours with the camera, lights, with Photoshop and the complexities of your own business.  But, of course, the truth is a little more nuanced than that: we may be here in our studio on our own, but we have a wealth of talent around us - our suppliers.  Every day, I sell their products, their talents, their ideas to our clie...

This episode was recorded from the cab of my Land Rover Defender as I head to (and come back from) the wedding that held on in the diary despite of the risk of cancellation due to Covid-19 restrictions.  You have to admire their bravery and it was, in the end, a perfect day for them and for the team working with them! After everything that has happened, it wasn't obvious just how easy the day woul...

With everything going on at the moment it's all too easy to lose sight of the joy that this job brings to so many.  This podcast is about that and a bag of cooking apples. Enjoy!  If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to  Mastering Portrait Photography  where there are articles and videos about this wonderful industry.  PLEASE also subscribe and leave us a review - we'd love to hear what you...

In this episode, I get to chat with the guy behind the software behind the business - Light Blue Software.  We've used this software for over a decade and it is the one application that each of us here is guaranteed to log into every single day. Tom asked if I would help spread the word about an offer that Light Blue extending to all of their customers (new and old) to help through these difficult...

So, how are things with you?  Still in lockdown?  Well we are here - just trying to make the best of things. Anyway, good news (for me at least!): we've been listed as the top Portrait Photography Podcast on Feedspot ( https://blog.feedspot.com/portrait_photography_podcasts/ ) which is lovely!  I only started this podcast for fun (and because I simply love audio nearly as much as I love photograph...

Still here, still in lockdown, still working like crazy to make sure we're ready for when things eventually open up again, as they must, inevitably do. Right now, things are busy: we're re-designing our website and rebuilding a platform for our portfolio - a wonderful opportunity to go through images old and new and to decide which images we'll use for the next year or two in all of our literature...

How is everyone doing?  I have to be honest, I am finding it all a little surreal - if it weren't so catastrophic it would be fascinating: from the chaotic economy to the psychology of being interned in your own home, I would love to be reading about this in the history books rather than living through it. However, life continues and I am naturally a pretty positive kind of person so we crack on a...