My new photography showcase website went live recently. You can check it out at: www.oliver-rankin.com It will showcase some of my personal favourite work.

Band Bio: ‘Combining bruising breakdowns and hook-laden choruses influenced by the likes of Unearth and As I Lay Dying, Bloodloss’s neck breaking assault simultaneously draws influence from the grooves and raw attitude of early Machine Head and Pantera. Having already racked up some impressive high profile shows including dates with TRC, Polar, breed 77 and Ill Nino, they’re set to destroy the UK metal scene in 2012 with their crushing debut mini album “The Struggle”, out on 5th March 2012′

Direction: Oliver Rankin, Rick Hicks, Mark Browell.

Lights: Rick Hicks (Frantic Promotions)
Videographer: Oliver Rankin
Playback/Sound: Geraldine Gunning
Editor: Mark Browell
Catering: Chris Boon

Bloodloss are:

Vocals – Matt Hobbs
Guitar – Rob Ironmonger
Guitar – Mark Browell
Bass – Dave Smith
Drums – Dan Kelly

Burnthecanvas.com
bloodlossuk.com
franticpromotions.co.uk

Thanks to Dave & Hilary for letting us use the their land.

Also big thanks go’s out to everyone involved on the day, without your help we could never have made it happen!

I shot some live photos of Exit Ten supported by Press to Meco and Bad Sign recently @ Scream Lounge, Croydon. Excellent show…

Check out more from Exit Ten here.

Press To Meco and Bad Sign Photos coming up next!

Photo of the Day by Scott Denny

3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage… all to turn 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food ….into 3 beautiful and hopefully compelling short films…..

= a trip of a lifetime.

move, eat, learn

Cinderella by Elena Kalis

10 of my personal favourite landscape photos from across the globe. Enjoy…!

And BTC’s personal favourite:

Fstoppers 2011 Behind the Scenes Contest from FStoppers on Vimeo.

FStoppers have launched a huge competition for photographers and videographers… The competition is worldwide, the prize? $20,000 worth of equipment! Click here on how to enter and what’s involved!

Basic Theory and Technical Info:

10 Top Photography Composition Rules

“There are many composition guidelines which can be applied in almost any situation, to enhance the impact of a scene. Below are ten of the most popular and most widely respected composition rules.”

RAW vs. JPEG – the real story

“Graphic illustrations [and explanations] of the difference between RAW and JPEG (also called JPG). Understanding this will help with an understanding of why correct exposure and white balance in the camera are important.”

Understanding White Balance

A basic discussion of white balance and how to respond to different lighting situations.

White Balance

“Use a simple device to get perfect color in all of your shots”

Four Facts About High ISOs

“What you need to know to get the most from today’s amazing high-ISO settings”

Focal Length Facts

“A beginner’s guide to focal lengths and how they affect photographs”

Wedding Photography; Two “Camps” Of Style And Vision

“Today, when describing their photographic style, wedding photographers typically label themselves as either photojournalists or traditionalists. “

Film Vs. Digital

“A look at some of the differences between shooting in Ansel Adams’ era versus today”

Missing Pages: Aperture and Shutter Priority

“Shutter Priority is an auto exposure system in which the camera achieves correct exposure by selecting the aperture after the user has selected the shutter speed.”

Photography Basics

“Ever wonder what it is that actually makes a camera work? This tutorial will cover the inner workings of a camera, and introduce you into photography basics and the expansive world of taking better photographs.”

Lighting

7 Tips for Great Photos in the Dark

“Follow these seven helpful tips to improve your night photographs.”

How to Create Sunshine Effect in Studio with Artificial Sunlight

“In this tutorial video we’ll give you tips on how to cheat Mother Nature and show you How to Create Your Own Sunshine in the Studio. “

Professional Lighting in Model Photography

“This case study shows how lighting was manipulated to create the perfect environment for a fashion photoshoot.”

Portable Lighting for the Studio and on Location

“In this lesson, we decided to keep things very simple and just illustrate some uses of this one simple shoe mount flash lighting kit, the XS OctoDome nxt Basic Kit with Grids, for both indoor and outdoor portraits.”

A Photography Lighting Tutorial

A brief discussion on understanding the quality and directionality of light as it pertains to photography.

Lighting Tutorial: Fashion Lighting Made Easy

A basic fashion lighting setup with diagrams and examples.

Photography Tutorial: Get the Right Light

“When shooting portraits, good lighting is all-important. To make sure you have it, you can buy expensive lighting rigs and multiple flash units. Or you can spend a few bucks and carry just the right mix of sun and clouds in your pack.”

10 DIY Lighting Hacks for Digital Photographers

“Most of us can’t afford a full lighting rig – however what if there was a way to experiment with the type of lighting gear that pro photographers use without spending too much money? What if you could make it yourself?”

Low Key Portrait Lighting Tutorial

“You’re perfectly outfitted to do a beautiful, classic low-key lighting setup. Your camera’s dedicated flash unit could even be set up off-camera to achieve this result.”

Portrait Lighting Tutorial: Character Study

“Every man has a unique personality and a story all his own. A portrait should honor the man and the life that’s made him who he is.”

Take Low Light Photos Like a Professional

“Low light photography can be a lot of fun. And you don’t need to trade your soul for an expensive camera to do it. You just need to have one that has some manual setting options. I’m focusing on digital here, but I think most of what I’m going to talk about will apply to film cameras too.”

Understanding Digital Camera Histograms: Tones and Contrast

“Understanding image histograms is probably the single most important concept to become familiar with when working with pictures from a digital camera. A histogram can tell you whether or not your image has been properly exposed, whether the lighting is harsh or flat, and what adjustments will work best. It will not only improve your skills on the computer, but as a photographer as well.”

High key and Low key lighting tutorial

“The highs and lows of lighting – Karl Taylor’s back to explain what high key and low key lighting is.”

How I Shoot: Lowkey Portrait

A great in-depth tutorial with plenty of explanation and a bonus video tut at the end.

Histograms

“You might already know all about histograms, if you don’t it’s well worth getting your head around them because, well, they are pretty awesome. Unfortunately they are often overlooked, dismissed or misunderstood but they are very helpful especially when it comes to strobist photography.”

Photographing Young Children with Low-Key Lighting – Tutorial

“Here is no doubt that photographing young children can be a challenge, and never more so than when using a low-key lighting setup. So why bother? Because the drama and richness inherent in this type of lighting is SO worth it and because it’s unexpected for high energy children’s photography.”

Macro Tuts

The Complete Guide For Photographing Live Insects At Home

“For starters, I’ll walk you through the gear I am shooting with and some basic technical tips, then I’ll wrap this up by sharing some ideas on working with the insects and most importantly “containment” during the shoot.”

How To Shoot Macro Photos

“Macro product photography can be extremely challenging, but also very rewarding. Commercial opportunities for high quality product close ups are strong and growing, both in print and online.”

Macro Photography

“How to take close-up pictures of small things.”

Bug Pictures (Insect Macro Photography)

“An article on the techniques involved.”

Underwater macro photography – taking great photos

“You must be able to evaluate the potential of a subject. Some subjects you will want to pass over because there is no chance of a good moment or presentation. This is something that comes with experience.”

Introduction to Macro Photography – Part 1

“Shooting all styles of photography is a privilege for me but it seems to be that more true with macro photography. In this 3-part tutorial, I hope to pass along not just my technical knowledge but also my passion for macro photography.”

DIY Tips and Tricks

DIY – High Speed Photography at Home

“You can use this technique to take picture of exploding things like tomatoes, water balloons, watermelons, or even your Canon camera as you smash it against a wall for not understanding the menus.”

Reversing Lenses for Macro Photography

“If you have a telephoto lens and an old 50mm lying around you might want to give this a shot. It’s not too difficult of a procedure and probably won’t take 2 minutes to read through this. All you’ll need is a reverse ring (coupler), a step up ring, and a small piece of cardboard or folded paper.”

Studio In A Small Space; Big Studio Effect Without The Cost

“Some photographers just prefer having complete control over the lighting. Instead of the hassle and cost of renting a studio, why not create one using a room you already have? The real secret, if there is any, of making portraits in limited spaces is having the right equipment with gear that doesn’t have to be expensive.”

Create Your Own Bokeh for Beautiful Photo Effect

“What’s a bokeh you say? It’s that oh-so-wonderful fuzziness in the background of photographs with a shallow depth of field and accompanying starry highlights. You can create you own bokeh effects with a little craftiness.”

Helpful Techniques

How to Create the Misty Water Effect in Photography

“Have you looked at a landscape photographer’s photo and wondered how they got the water coming down from a waterfall to look so misty? Or how did they get the ocean in a seascape photograph to look so smooth?”

Photographing Complex Architecture

“Photographer Philipp Klinger gives his advice on capturing elaborate structures.

Tilt-Shift Photography Photoshop Tutorial

This photography shows you how to give a city shot a neat miniaturization effect.

5 Black and White Photography Tips

“Continuing the Black and White Photography theme we’ve been on lately in the latest forum assignment (where the photos featured in this post were submitted) I thought I’d share five pretty random Black and White Photography Tips.”

How To: Take Better Landscape Photos

“What looks ideal? Rather than tackle the problem head-on, I’ve come up with a few basic guidelines that can yield a profound improvement in your landscape photographs. In fact, it’s as simple as A, B, C: Angle, Balance, and Crop.”

Intuitive B&W Conversions

“Try this simple step-by-step process for making beautiful monochrome images.”

Isolated Sharpness

“Tips and techniques for using shallow depth of field to add impact to your macro shots.”

Travel With Still+Video

“Tips for better technical and creative results shooting video with your DSLR”

How-To: A Primer on Long Exposures

“In contrast to using fast shutter speeds to freeze action, using long exposures is a very creative means to convey motion in a photograph. A blurred image can be a very impressionistic rendition of movement, giving the viewer a sense of sensation. “

Colorizing Black-And-White Photos

“Using Photoshop to create a classic hand-painted effect.”

How To: Photograph During Bright Midday Sun

“Turn a lighting faux pas into an element that adds punch to your photo.”

How To Make Money As A Photographer

“To be successful, you have to be able to effectively sell yourself. It doesn’t matter if you want to do wedding photography, sports photography, product photography or simply work for the local newspaper – you have to market and sell yourself and your talent.”

Shoot The Moon

“When the sun sets and the rest of the photographers pack up for the night, you can get some of the most stunning and unique images.”

How To: Photograph A Shattering Image

“A sound trigger and flash snap the moment of impact.”

Beyond HDR

“How to expand your photo’s tonal range when HDR techniques aren’t ideal”

Understanding Depth of Field

“This section is designed to give a better intuitive and technical understanding for photography, and provides a depth of field calculator to show how it varies with your camera settings.”

How to Get “Tack Sharp” Photo Images – Part I

“Shutter Speed, Focal Length, Image Stabilizers and Tripods”

Give Any Photograph A Little Bokeh

“You can–thanks to Alien Skin software”

A “Mist-Shot”—Better Fog Photography

“Some people associate fog with inclement weather and avoid the outdoors. Not me. I grab my camera to create some extremely exciting images. Foggy conditions elicit moody and ethereal feelings. The light is diffused and even, but very flat. Knowing how to take advantage of this allows you to create great fog photos.”

How To Photograph Moving Vehicles

“A step-by-step guide to capturing that perfect motion shot.”

Ten Tips For Photographing Kids

“Summer is a perfect opportunity to photograph children at play”

Photographic Time Shifting

“Change the time of day and date of a picture”

Zoom with Your Feet

“A Basic Photo Gear Recipe for Beginners and Pros”

Shooting Water

“Whether it’s your focal subject or a supporting element, these quick tips will get your feet wet”

Video Tuts

Photography Lighting Tutorial- Strip Lighting Light Tec Tip

“How to use strip lighting in the studio, hosted by Light Tec in Dallas, Texas. Light Tec offers photo lighting equipment and training.”

Smoke Photography

“Terry Watson shows his technique for doing Smoke Photography”

ProPhotoInsights Tutorial — Digital Photography Tutorial,-Blend Colour

“In this Digital Photography Tutorial we look at a quick & simple and very flexible way to manipulate colour within an image.Step behind the scenes on pro photo

shoots with our unique digital photography tutorials.”

The Assignment Macro Photography Tutorial

A detailed introduction to macro photography.

Photography Tutorial – How to photograph a fast car in motion

“Photography Tutorial – This image was shot for a Pentax advert in the UKs DSLR User Magazine. We’ve also used it in our downloadable photography course Digital Photography Exposed.”

Long Exposure Photography Tutorial (Light trails)

“This is a tutorial on how to take nightscapes using bulb. In this video I describe how I capture star trails, how to set up your camera and how to light subjects in your image.”

Photography tutorial 5 ( Light Quality)

“This month’s lesson teaches the difference between hard and soft light. Light is a main ingredient to any photograph and this video gives you a better understanding. Enjoy”

Studio lighting Portrait photography tutorial

“Using the smick.co.uk 120cm octagonal softbox Gavin Hoey shows how by just using this one softbox and a 400Ws studio flash head for his studio lighting setup to produce some quality portraits. Live action show shows how Gavin uses several different lighting setups and shows you just how to produce quality results in a simple to understand way.”

A Photography Lighting Tutorial

“Photography lighting can be natural light, ambient light or studio light, which should include a main light, a fill light and a back light. Create subtle shadows and perfect lighting with helpful tips from a freelance photographer in this free video on digital photography.”

Light Leaks in Photography

“A trend that is becoming more and more popular in Photography recently is a vintage/film/retro style. You can see examples in Urban Outfitters, Nylon Mag, Anthropologie, etc. One of the major elements in this style is the light leak.”

Other Recommended Links:

Some posts featured on here in the past: Peter Hurley (head shot photographer) and David Bergman (Band Photographer) by FStoppers.com

Digital Photography School

PhotoTuts

Digital Photographer Magazine

Flickr (for hosting your photo’s online if you can’t afford your own website)

Flickr – Host all your photos online if you can’t afford your own website.

Client: Self-Initiated
Role: Art Direction, Design, Animation, Compositing
Format: Short Film 1024*576 Widescreen Pal
Sound: ECHOLAB Gavin Little

So whilst browsing and researching photo charges for a client I stumbled upon this website: Shakodo

What is it?

Well the best way to describe Shakodo is a help website for photographers specialising is the financial side.
The image on the about us sections sums up the situation perfectly!

Who can use it?

Any photographer, Pro or amateur, if you unsure or worried about under valuing yourselves, charging to much or too little or questioning licensing agreements with clients then this website will help.

Why is understanding photo licenses important?

Well take a look at one of the blog posts one photo (below), with the proper and correct photo licence the photographer netted around $15,000.

Click here to read more about it.

The website also helps with forums divided up into sections: ‘Assignments Q&A‘ ‘Photography Business Q&A‘ ‘Photo Licensing Q&A‘ and ‘Community Posts‘

Overall a great web resource and I highly recommend it check it out.

www.shakodo.com

by Von Wong

Video of the shoot:

Some news for photographers looking to get some decent exposure and show off your talents!

“The Digital Photographer of the Year Awards 2011 are now live and we want to see your entries! There are six categories to enter altogether – each launching in a separate issue of Digital Photographer magazine.”

The category dates are all listed when you ‘click for more’:

Landscapes: Launch 14th July
Close 25th August

Portraits : Launch 11th Aug
Close 22nd Sep

Action : Launch 8th Sep
Close 20th Oct

Wildlife: Launch 6th Oct
Close 17th Nov

Black & White: Launch 2nd Nov
Close 14th Dec

Editing : Launch 30th Nov
Close 11th Jan

Click here to see more!

“The Game” by Lung
Canon 5D Canon 28mm f/2.8 Studio Shot