Recently, I had the pleasure to meet David Kirkpatrick in my studio and I took a range of images for his new book. He is a New York Times writer based in London and used to be the New York Times bureau chief in Egypt. His book has just been published which is about the politics in the Middle East.
Here a few samples from the photo shoot which was very enjoyable!
The traditional studio headshot is classic and still a great way to represent ourselves. Still a powerful tool for marketing individuals and companies on websites or social media.
Business portraits tend to say a bit more about us as they are mostly taken in our natural environment, office or workspace.
Creating an online identity is very important for us all without a doubt. I believe a business portrait is a stronger tool to market ourselves as we can say a bit more about who we are, what we are doing and how we are doing. Our body language, office space, the tools we use are part of our branding and communicate our vision more effectively with business portraits.
We all have different needs and there is no solution will fit all. I’m a strong believer in branding and I like to reflect on every commission beforehand, which would be a better fit for each individual’s need, a traditional headshot or a business portrait.
Let me know which one fits your business model and feel free to get in touch to discuss your online identity.
A dream came true! Pepe Romero is one of the most respected classical artists of our age. His recordings and masterclasses have been an inspiration to many players and still continuing to be. Without getting too Wikipedia I better tell you the little story behind the photoshoot which is very special for me.
As a former Classical guitarist (a hobbyist now) I’ve always been an admirer to Pepe Romero’s artistry and musicianship.
The photoshoot took place in Antwerp – Belgium and literally 5 minutes including the setup as Pepe is very busy and his time is valuable.
I was very excited to set up very quickly in very difficult lighting conditions. The concert saloon had almost no ambient light. I used my trusty Elinchrom Quadra with a big umbrella to light him and the saloon as much as possible in limited time. Did my measurements and I had a few minutes to shoot the images. He was very friendly and nice to work with even though he was a bit tired as he had just finished a concert.
Here are some of the results I sent him today and his website if you like to explore more of his excellent music: https://peperomero.com/
I love location shots and this one was particularly a lot of fun. The shoot took place on Trinity Lane and I used strobes as the daylight wasn’t great. Thanks to my trusty battery powered lights which helped me a lot to make sure the team looks awesome!
We started early morning and the whole shoot took almost a full day. This is only the location part of the shoot and we also took some indoor office shots and some groups shots for their online presence, even some fun shots for their social media use.
Location shots are not only a bit of fresh air, it might also add a lot of character and personality to your images. They can change the whole mood of the images and make them look more distinctive and personable. Cambridge Family Law practice obviously a Cambridge Based company and having their images taken on this very classic Cambridge background is a great branding move which I admire.
Here are some of the example images from the shoot:
Overall, It was great to work with such a fun and creative team as they are very easy to work with and I’m very happy with the results as a professional photographer!
Please get in touch if you need some professional corporate headshots in Cambridge. I would love to hear from you!
Professional headshots are great if you:
· Already have a business or are about to start one. Headshots can be used on your website, business cards, in email signatures, newsletters, banners. They can help you to create your branding. After all, people always prefer to know who they are doing business with.
· Are looking for a job and want to use it on social media;
· Are interested in online dating and want to impress;
· Need an update of an existing headshot. Faces and hairstyles change, so it is worth updating your headshots every few years to reflect this.
You don’t get a second chance to make a first impression. A photo that you have taken yourself will, quite simply, look like you’ve taken it yourself. Using your own camera, even if it’s a high-quality one, won’t allow you to capture that moment just before you laugh, or that glint in your eye as you talk about your passions.
The same goes for photographs that your friends take of you. Unless they are experienced photographers themselves, they will likely lack the skills and expertise that are necessary in order to convey your message.
A professional photographer, on the other hand, will use their expertise to capture your personality. They do this in the way they position you, and in what they say to you in order to evoke those warm, spontaneous expressions that make you look approachable and professional.
Their in-depth knowledge of lighting and composition, combined with high-quality equipment, that can be adjusted and controlled as the need arises, will capture you at your very best. These things just cannot be replaced by a home-made photo.
“Onur is very personable and professional and the session was fun. I loved that I received the photos the same day and I now have a much more confident online presence” Alexandre Winkels – Cambridge University Lecturer
If you’re thinking about a headshot, you might want to consider a professional to do it for you. Why not having a look at my headshot gallery or Contact me for a free consultation.
You don’t really need to invest in a very expensive camera to take great pictures! Here are my top tips on how to take better pictures with your mobile.
I want to start my article with a quote by American Photographer Chase Jarvis. “the best camera is the one that’s with you”
Photographers (including myself) love to upgrade gear as much as they can. Buying a lens which is sharper, with a wider aperture, lighter, longer reach etc. But usually, professional camera equipment is heavier than compact or mirrorless cameras. Nowadays there are even full frame mirrorless cameras which are lighter than most of the DSLR’s. No surprises here they are rather expensive.
So, what we want is a lightweight camera, which takes good enough pictures and not too expensive! it sounds like our mobile phone camera would do the job if we know what we are doing and what we expect from it. Nowadays mobile phone cameras are extremely capable. Especially a lot of Apple iPhone and some high-end Android phones take fantastic pictures.
The composition is the key I love to see National Geographic photographers posting pictures taken by their mobiles. They never cease to amaze me indeed. At the end of the day, we need to remember camera is just a tool to capture what we see and helping us to tell our stories.
Get closer Mobile phone cameras take very good macro shots. If you want to capture a flower or a subject you are at the right place. Don’t think it will not be good enough quality. They let you get closer to subjects more than our expensive lenses unless you have a macro lens.
Mobile cameras are fast My favorite street photography tool is my iPhone. It is small, fast, invisible and always with me. You can frame and take your shot in less than a second. No camera can do that unless you are using like f11 and pre-focus!
Don’t zoom, don’t add a filter and don’t add fake blur Mobile phone cameras are great but it is good not to expect miracles. When you zoom you will have a horrible picture quality. It is a better idea to crop if you need closer pictures. You can edit your pictures instead of adding filters. Filters add too much grain, saturation, and colour to your images. Adjusting shadows, highlights, contrast, and brightness will make your pictures look great.
Why don’t you post your favourite photos taken by your mobile camera below and get my critique!
Which colours look good together? Life is colourful. We see colours every day in nature, we use them while choosing our outfit, painting our houses, are affected by them when buying products, looking at art, photographs, movies.
But which colours actually look good together?
When white light is bent or refracted by a prism, or by water droplets to create a rainbow, it separates into a continuous gradation of colours. By making these colours into a circle, we get a colour wheel, which artists use as kind of map of the colour universe.
The first thing to notice is that the colour wheel can be sliced in half, separating warm and cool colours. Warm colours often remind us of energy and joy, while cool colours convey calmness and peace.
As we work our way in towards the centre of the wheel, we explore different tones of the same colour. (Any colour that is “greyed down” is considered a tone.) A mixture of tones can be used to convey complexity, subtlety, sophistication.
What the wheel misses is the addition of black and white:
Tints are colours with white added. Using a variety of tints often conveys a soft, youthful and soothing effect.
A shade is any colour with black added. Shades can be deep, powerful and mysterious.
It can be fun to play around with tones, tints and shades of the same colour. If you want to involve more colours, here are a few more ideas to match colours, based on the colour wheel.
Complementary colours are any two colours opposite each other on the wheel. (For example, blue and orange.) Such combinations create high contrast, so are best used when you want something to stand out. You might like to try one of the colours as the main background (or main part of your outfit) and add small accents of the other colour. You might also like to play around with different shades and tints of both of these colours.
Split complementary colours use three colours. The scheme takes one colour and matches it with the two colours adjacent to its complementary colour. (For example, blue, yellow-orange and red-orange.) This is often a nice scheme to use because there is a good contrast of colours, without the clash of the complementary colour.
Analogous colours are any three colours next to each other on the wheel. (For example, orange, yellow-orange, and yellow.) Try to focus on tints of analogous colours and avoid combining warm and cool colours in this scheme.
Triadic colours are any three colours that are equally apart on the colour wheel. For example, red, yellow and blue. The triadic scheme is high-contrast, but slightly more balanced than direct complementary colours. With this scheme, and schemes involving, even more, colours, it is best to let one colour dominate, and just have small accents of the other colours dotted around.
You may already have a sense of the colours you want to use, depending on your mood, or the emotion you would like to convey. For example, you might pick bright colours if you’re feeling cheerful, or darker ones if you’re feeling sad. Or perhaps you might like to play around with the colour wheel or find inspiration in nature.
Most of all, when choosing colours, try not to overthink it. Just wear and surround yourself with the colours that you like.
Recently, Anthony Lane contacted me for some headshots for his publicity. It was a real pleasure to work with him. He is a great film critic and he is well known for his photography articles. I really enjoyed having chat with him as a photographer.
Please get in touch for enquiries or free consultation!
Last month, I have been to Istanbul to collect my prize for the International award that I won. 10000 people have submitted an Istanbul image and my picture has won the competition!I feel very proud and here is a picture of me with my print at the gallery.
I have been asked many times to write an article about professional photography tips. Now I found some time to share with you some important tips which I think will help you to be a better photographer.
I won’t give you too many technical details. We all know they are not everyone’s cup of tea and might be a bit boring. So here are some practical tips that you can put to use immediately. Enjoy!