Pssst . . . want a job?

I don't actually talk with a lot of photographers but there are a couple that I share and bounce ideas with. And Pat in Brisbane refers his Melbourne enquiries to me. One such referral came a couple of days ago. A company was sponsoring an awards night and wanted a photographer to cover it.

As it happens, we were already booked for the date. However, the company was looking for a photographer to cover the event for nothing and make money by selling the photos afterwards around the tables at the function. Now, there are businesses that do this, and they regularly advertise for photographers.

My approach is different - I charge an attendance fee designed to cover my costs and then set up a website so the guests can view the photos and purchase any they like. The website also promotes the sponsor's involvement in the event with messages and logos - it's a great way to maximise the funds the company has spent in the sponsorship deal. The guests are happy - they don't get photographed while they are eating because we don't have to rush off to get the photos printed, they don't get pressured into purchasing a photo, they get to see all the photos of the event on the website, and there's no bun-fight at the end of the night trying to find your photo - it's a win-win situation.

Of course there is an attraction for the company to get something for nothing, but in my view, it's a little short-sighted. And of course there are non-profit organisations like schools and clubs that don't have the money to employ a professional photographer. And some people do like to take home a souvenir on the night, so I have been working! I'm about to launch the Photoeventz "Click to Print" service - onsite printing at events. I'll provide the service in conjunction with my mobile studio set-up. It's been a process getting it right, but after investigating and trialling a few different options, I'm satisfied that the set-up I have chosen will provide a good value package for my clients.

The past few weeks have been used for consolidation. I have had a number of albums to produce and the "Click to Print" service has taken some time to set up. June is going to be very busy with a ball, a major conference, a children's theatre group performance (some 3000 kids over four venues) and a couple of weddings.

20 20 [Vision]

Tripped the light fantastic to Sydney last week to shoot the Connective conference. Fifty of their best contributors enjoyed a program that included a bridge climb, a harbour cruise, a great meal at the Italian Village restaurant and conference proceedings.

Bad weather didn't deter their enthusiasm. And it did rain during the bridge climb but everyone agreed it was an experience.

This weekend saw the Nation's best and finest gather in Canberra to set some 20 20 goals and aspirations. We'll a good broadband service would be great (I swapped over to ADSL2+ a couple of weeks ago and my connection has been up and down since) and maybe a couple of simple things like a common national driver's licence and a common set of road rules.

The images above are a good example of the power of my 400mm telephoto lens - the guys on the right are part of the group you can see climbing the right hand arch of the bridge.

2008 Marches On . . .

And March was a busy month with a number of great weddings, a big conference at Telstra Dome and some portrait shoots.

Spiro and Rosey's wedding at the Greek Orthodox church in Lygon Street was a great traditional event, closely followed by Emma and Hayden's wedding (pictured above) in the mounting yard at Flemington. Kelly and Stuart chose a great venue for their Easter Sunday wedding at Lyrebird Falls in the Dandenongs. And there were some 450 guests who witnessed Jerry and Andrea's wedding at Laverton (and we were lucky with the weather with rain threatening for most of the day).

For the third year in a row I photographed the Disability Professionals Victoria annual conference. And it was nice to donate my time to the opening of the 'Stitches' art exhibition and sale that was staged by Oxfam. A few other little jobs made for a busy month.

Wedding Tram

It was all aboard the wedding tram on Wednesday after Natasha and Ben's wedding. The ceremony was in the rose garden at the St Kilda Botanic Gardens. And then all the wedding party and guests walked down to Ackland Street to catch the No 96 and then the No 112 to eventually arrive at the reception venue, Belucci's Restaurant.

The tram driver of the 112 took it all in good spirit as I asked him to make an announcement on the tram's public address system congratulating Ben and Natasha , which brought a great cheer from all the passengers. And he waited while we got a few shots of the happy couple in front of the tram. As we did so, the restaurant tram passed on the other track (now there's a good idea for a reception venue!).

On the track . . .

I spent last night at Moonee Valley racecourse photographing a Mortgage and Finance Association of Australia function in the Committee Room.

Great venue and a good night out. Luckily several of the MFAA members sponsored races and I got to get down to track level to see some of the action.

Here's the winning jockey Sebastian Murphy who rode Sooze to a win in the Romanis Cant Handicap. Sebastian is a leading apprentice.

Proceeds from the MFAA function were donated to the National Jockeys' Trust.

2008 Already

2008 already and it is several months since my last posting to this blog - many things have happened that I should have recorded here; is it too late to make a New Year's resolution to update the blog on a more regular basis?

One of the highlights over the last few months was the Connective conference on Hamilton Island. My first visit and although I was busy behind the camera, I did get to see some of the sights when I followed the conference delegates on their buggy rally around the island.

Some great weddings, including Simone and David's at Summerfields.


Plenty of corporate Christmas parties in December including the IBM bash at The Trust Bar (I just checked the web gallery - very popular, over 1100 visitors in under two months) which had a 1920's theme. And the Funtastic Christmas party at Kobe Jones Restaurant at Docklands had a 1970's theme which was fun to photograph.

Anyway, it's now 2008. I have been developing a new digiwedding package which includes a small personal video player loaded up with a movie of the wedding photos - it's a great way to share your photos with anyone you meet (the player I am using has a built-in speaker). As well as the high rez images that I include with all my wedding packages, the digiwedding option will also include a disc of image files optimised for email and web posts.

February is going to be busy - I'll be away for part of the month with a major project in South Australia. March is going to be frantic with five weddings. 2008 is shaping up as a good year (already).

Catch-up

October started with a major conference for the Cemeteries and Crematoria Association and stayed busy with weddings, an awards night, a golf day and a corporate promotion for Brother (printers) at Red Scooter. It was great to catch up with Carolyn and Shane (photographed their wedding a couple of years ago) to do a photo shoot with their new son, Mitchell.

The photo above is from the last wedding for the month for Melanie and Corey. Quite an interesting photo shoot following the wedding in Queens Park, Moonee Ponds with location photography in Hosier Lane and then at the Soda Rock Diner where we were serenaded by the resident band 'Sons of Elvis'. Melanie was a picture! She complimented the 50s theme for her wedding with a Marilyn Munroe look, and the bridesmaids wore black and red. The guys looked pretty good too. The full shoot is here.

So plenty of variety for the month and November looks just as busy with some interstate work thrown in.