Latest newspaper photos

You've probaby noticed that I've not been updating my blog as often as usual since getting my car, and no doubt you'll have guessed that it's because I've been off on lots of exciting adventures. Well, actually it's been work work work, but that's my idea of an exciting adventure. Here's a round-up of the latest pics I've done for newspapers. Only the published ones, not the ones that are still on file.

These two photos from Halloween parties at pubs in Tain were both commissioned by the North Star but I never expected both of them to be used, and it was no surprise that the first one, from the Railway Hotel, was the one that made it into the paper. I was able to take these three staff members downstairs to a quiet area and spend some time working on the composition and lighting…

…whereas this one from Maitlands Bar had to be done in a crowded area where the music was so loud that I could only set-up the group by miming what I wanted them to do and then physically moving their hands into position. I think it turned out okay but it's a bit too snapshotty so no surprise that the Railway pic was used.

The new minister at the United Free Church in Balintore. Another frame from this shoot, with his wife and daughter, was used in the Ross-shire Journal (here) and this one appeared very small and in black and white in the North Star.

This photo of David Stewart MSP with Lorna Benson and her horse Shula was ordered by the Ross-shire Journal but was never used, so I'll post it here now as the story has been well-covered elsewhere so it will probably never be used. I was really starting to get the hang of layered compositions when I did this job and it was the perfect technique to bring the politician to the foreground while still keeping Lorna and Shula prominent in the frame.

Alternative frames with just Lorna and Shula. I understand that the candid photo with the kiss was the one that would have been used, which shows that clever composition and lighting can't beat a bit of natural sentiment.

These photos from Alness Academy both had strengths and weakness, but in my opinion were equally good and I expected one of them to make it to the front page. And that's exactly where the first one landed on this week's Ross-shire Journal.

I've never tried a composition like this before, but this story was crying out for it so I gave it a go. Worked very well, I think. I can see things about the photo that could be improved but there's nothing that I would say is 'wrong' with it so I consider it a success. And it was lit from front to back with a single on-camera flash, bounced off the low ceiling at precisely the right angle, which was an achievement in itself.

This next photo goes straight to the top of the list as my best composition to date. If you think it's no big deal then ask yourself: Given the specific task of photographing two boys holding magazines, how would you make the picture interesting?

Both of those Dingwall Academy photos appeared in this week's Ross-shire Journal. Alternative frames from each job: 

Each year a different structure mysteriously appears in a field near Tain to advertise a ploughing competition. This photo was for the Press & Journal:

The photo editor requested pics of the tractor with and without the two men. These are the alternative frames:

It seems that I'm the only person who doesn't like this next photo. Well no, more accurate to say that I do like it, but other people like it more than I do. It's nicely lit, it grabs your attention and it's a nice photo of the woman, but there's something about it that doesn't quite work for me. 

That photo was actually a lighting test shot. I only had about 10 minutes with the subject so when I saw that the idea wasn't working I quickly tried another set-up and that didn't work either. Because we'd run out of time I ended up doing a totally different photo with a different person at a different location, but when I sorted through the pics I realised that the one above had something good about it, even if it wasn't exactly what I wanted. That photo ended up in the Ross-shire Journal and the photo below was in the Press & Journal.

This photo of baby Morgan with parents Rebecca and Roderick was my first front page photo for the Press & Journal, albeit very small at the bottom of the page.

As you can see from these alternative frames, I really struggled with this job and it was nothing to do with composition or lighting. I just wasn't sure how to photograph a baby with his parents in a 'newsy' way. I did NOT want to produce a cute family photo, but I did want to use soft lighting and I wanted a photo with an edge to it to reflect the slightly downbeat tone of the story. To be fair I'd give myself the usual 10 out of 10 for effort but I think 6 out of 10 for quality of work would be about right. Probably the poorest job I've done in the last few months, despite great co-operation from Morgan and both parents.