A few weeks ago we had a talk from Patrick Llewellyn, Assistant Picture Editor at the Sunday Times Magazine.
Patrick Llewellyn has worked on the picture desk for seven years and as an assistant picture editor for the past four years.

Patrick began by explaining the process of commissioning and choosing a photographer for a Sunday Times Magazine piece. He said that the words always come first, from there it is decided how best to illustrate this. Depending on the story it might require a portrait or maybe reportage photography.

The photographer is decided upon by their ability, then personality and finally, their style. Patrick said it is sometimes the case that it is difficult to find diverse and adaptable photographers. He went on to inform us that a photographer has to tailor what they do. Explaining further, that it was important that the photographs speak to the words. As the page is about interaction, Patrick stated that when the page is opened, it needs to have impact and be instantly described to the reader as to what the page is about.

Patrick also gave some other insights and tips into producing editorial photography. Composition regarding page layout and type should always be given consideration. There should be a minimum of three different set ups for each shoot to give the picture editor a good selection. Work should be delivered in the least amount of fuss, including model releases, contact numbers and any other details.

Payment for editorial photographers ranged from £250 per day plus expenses to £350 per day, all inclusive. Virtually all photographers were treated the same with regards to payment. Increasingly though, add ons such as post processing, were being charged extra by photographers. It was often the case that photographers chose their publications and remained loyal to them. This way a working trust developed and reliable work was produced.

When asked about getting into editorial photography, Patrick encouraged us to approach people at openings and other meetings, give them your business card and make yourself known. He said to always follow up emails with phone calls, to ensure you're not forgotten. Taking on work experience would be good to improve skills and to network. After all, sometimes it's not what you know, it's who you know.

Patrick said he had no real preference over how portfolios were presented. If anything he was more inclined to a digital portfolio as it could be emailed as a PDF and viewed quickly and easily. He suggested that photographer's websites be simple and easy to navigate. Social networking and photo sharing sites were often not easy to use and not professional.

Patrick's closing and significant advice was to always be eager and be diverse.

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Fujifilm have released details of an exhibition of images from the 2009 Fujifilm Student Awards.

The exhibition is on display at Bayeux pro lab on Newman Street, London, W1T 3EP from now until Friday 16th October.
Bayeux is open from 9am to 7pm, Monday to Friday, admission is free and no booking is required.

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My friend and mentor Alistair Kennedy has two pieces of work on show as part of the Art Below exhibition on the London Underground.

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As I was in London for a couple of days, not just for the gig, I chose to take my dSLR, a Canon 450D with a 50mm for taking pictures of my friends and a 55 to 250mm for band shots. The photos would genuinely be for my own use. I'd checked out the terms and conditions beforehand. Nothing was stated about cameras on the tickets and on the expanded terms it was the usual "you may not use equipment for recording or transmitting any audio, visual or audio-visual material."

I decided I should be safe with my consumer level dSLR. Everybody has them nowadays don't they? However, upon entering I was told it was a professional camera and wasn't allowed it. The security actually only saw the camera with the 50mm. But anything with a detachable lens was a no go from their viewpoint. Although nobody was able to provide anything in writing to that effect. Even after speaking with the person in charge of security, I was given two options; not to come in or to pay £6 and put my camera in a locker.

I opted for the latter and after a bit of grumbling about a lack of clarity in the terms and wishing I'd brought along my Canon G10, went and enjoyed a blinding set by Blur. Throughout the gig though, I noticed at least ten other people with dSLR's and one person with a high definition camcorder! I could only think that I (and a few others) had got the one person on the gate who was doing their job to the letter and beyond. I also thought the whole "put it in a locker for £6" was a con.

I used my cameraphone for the most part, but towards the end of the gig, I went back to the locker and retrieved my camera unchallenged. I managed to get a couple of shots during the band's last song. Which kind of made the whole camera confiscation a pointless exercise.

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A second installment of the 4am Project took place last weekend. This time it had a choice of theme; signs or shadows. The focus of having a theme was good and I solidly stuck to snapping signs of all kinds. Certainly in my half awake state it allowed me to operate on auto-pilot somewhat.

It's a strange experience, wandering around randomly taking photos of street signs in the early hours of a Sunday morning as the last of the Saturday night stragglers stumble home. One I'll no doubt do again.

You can see the full set of photos on my Flickr.

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Recently I was asked to do a press release photo for a construction company and a company that owns a group of care homes and schools for children with special educational needs. This would be my second go at something like this. The first press release photo I did was of staff I work with and got published in the company magazine.

This time it was more of a proper press release photo. The Head of Marketing set the brief as being a group shot. Simple enough I thought. I turned up on the day and set up. The site was essentially a level area of mud. I let them know which way I intended to shoot and where they should position themselves. Although to be honest the client pretty much already had a clear idea of how they wanted to be arranged and what they wanted in the picture. They moved an excavator and a dumper truck into shot, propped up the sign you can see in the bottom right of the picture and arranged themselves. I took a series of group shots, only playing slightly with the composition. After that, I took a couple of handheld portrait shots and finished up.

I thanked everyone and went off to look through and edit the photos. I did some basic editing and sent off some JPG's to the client. The day after some alterations were asked for by the client, most notably they wanted the company's logo placing in the image, it's the one you can see in the bottom left. I had to do this on the other submitted images, placing logos on hardhats and banners and so on.

Next time I need to communicate more to find out what the client really wants and direct more to gain a stronger image before needing to edit. Overall, I found it to be a good experience and something I've learnt from.

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