The Mastering Portrait Photography Podcast
Tales, techniques, tricks and tantrums from one of the UK’s top portrait photographers. Never just about photography but always about things that excite - or annoy - me as a full-time professional photographer, from histograms to history, from apertures to apathy, or motivation to megapixels. Essentially, anything and everything about the art, creativity and business of portrait photography. With some off-the-wall interviews thrown in for good measure!
Episodes
Husky voice, Friday night whiskey, and a mountain of cheese from the book launch. In this episode I lift the lid on what really happens inside a print judging room. The rotation of five from a pool of seven. Silent scoring so no one nudges anyone else. How a challenge works, what the chair actually does, and why we start with impact, dive through craft, then finish on impact again to see what survives. Layout over composition, ligh...
Ten years, 50,000+ copies, four languages, and about a million stories later… the second edition of Mastering Portrait Photography is here. Sarah flips the mic and grills me about why we did a new edition, what changed (spoiler: basically everything but one image), how mirrorless and AI have shifted the craft, and why a tiny chapter on staying creative might be the most important two pages I’ve ever written. There’s a Westie called...
I sit down with Mark Cheatham and Simon Burfoot from Elinchrom UK to talk about the two words that matter most when you work with light: accuracy and consistency. We dig into flash vs. continuous, shaping light (not just adding it), why reliable gear shortens your workflow, and Elinchrom’s new LED 100 C—including evenly filling big softboxes and that handy internal battery. We...
This one starts with a dodgy lane choice, a Starbucks coffee, and a misjudged underpass. As always.
I’m back in the Land Rover — which might be its final podcast outing before it finds a new home — and today’s episode is a rambling, reflective road trip through customer service, creative resilience, and the rapidly growing presence of AI in our industry.
The day started badly. Cold shower (thanks British Gas), broken editing softwa...
Join me in the foothills of the Dolomites for a warm, funny, and surprisingly philosophical conversation with Mauricio Arias — Graphistudio’s strategist, storyteller, and, as I’ve dubbed him, their “Product Philosopher.” We dig deep into why printed work still matters in a digital world, how to make your images sing in print (and what that print will brutally reveal), and what photographers need to believe if they want clients to i...
This week, I’m recording late in the lounge with a glass of Irish whiskey, reflecting on the usual mix of chaos and joy in a photographer’s life. Some good news first: the Mastering Portrait Photography podcast has landed in the https://podcast.feedspot.com/photography_podcasts/ https://podcast.feedspot.com/portrait_photography_podcasts/ https://podcast.feedspot.com/uk_photography_podcasts/
In this episode, I dig into a question that’s always lurking in the back of a portrait photographer’s mind – what really makes light flattering? It’s a term we all use, but what does it actually mean? Is it just about soft shadows and low contrast, or is it more about the connection between the subject and the photographer?
I talk through this while reflecting on a busy week – from a stunning wedding at Head Saw House to a corporat...
It’s a late Sunday afternoon, the sun is shining, and the smell of freshly cut grass (and the inevitable hay fever) is drifting through the studio as I sit down to record this episode. After a whirlwind few months — including seven incredible weeks photographing on Crystal Cruises — it feels good to be back behind the mic, even if I’m a little sniffly.
In this episode, I’m reflecting on the magic of authentic portrait photography, ...
Well, it's the day after The Socieities Of Photographers Convention in London. What a blast!
Judging, laughing, making friends, presenting workshops, representing Elinchrom Lighting and Evoto Ai, learning, exploring, creating and very little sleeping! The Convention is quite something to be a part of!
In this episode, I try and explain what it feels like to be a small part of it whether judging the print competition, presenting o...
Imagine that every person had exactly the same fashion taste. Imagine if each of us had the same clothing or the same hairstyle. Imagine that everyone was the same height and build. Imagine that everyone had identical makeup.
Just imagine.
Of course, it's a nonsense - different styling suits different people. Short, tall, thin, round, dark-skinned, fair-skinned, red-heads, blondes, straight haired, curly haired: everyone looks fo...
So after three days of judging images for the British Institute Of Professional Photographers, it's time for me to step down from my role as Chair Of Awards And Qualifications. I have been in the role for three years and it is time for someone else to pick up the reins and run with it (if that isn't a mixed metaphor.)
I have loved doing this and if it weren't for a million things I have to go on and do, I think I would do it forev...
So after three days of judging images for the British Institute Of Professional Photographers, it's time for me to step down from my role as Chair Of Awards And Qualifications. I have been in the role for three years and it is time for someone else to pick up the reins and run with it (if that isn't a mixed metaphor.)
I have loved doing this and if it weren't for a million things I have to go on and do, I think I would do it forev...
Well, this hasn't been the easiest of years with inflation, geographical tensions and all-out confrontations, terrible weather and political transitions. And last night the trusty Land Rover Defender broke down one more time. Possibly one LAST time.
But through all of that, we have to look for the possibles - the light at the end of the tunnel. But maybe it's us that has to create, rather than simply walk toward, the light.
...
Ah, so it's the 4th July as I record this so Happy Independence Day to all my US friends and colleagues!
In this episode, I do my regular round-up of things I've heard during judging - I was chairing the Click Expo Print Competition (the standard was incredible!) and I made a few notes from this and a few other things I've been involved in.
I mention a couple of products and here are the links:
EVOTO AI - https://go.evoto.ai/P...
There are many factors to success and I have listed many in these podcasts, but the brutal reality is that it takes hard work. Lots of it. There isn't a silver bullet, no matter what every influencer, marketer, salesman, advertorial or Facebook campaign might try to convince you - and AI ain't gonna fix it either. All I wish is that I could stop seeing the ads that tell me otherwise!
Sometimes it's just a pleasure to sit back and listen. This is one of those moments - for me, certainly, but hopefully for you too.
I had the pleasure of sitting and chatting with two icons of the industry - Sean Conboy and the inimatable nonagenarian, Stuart Clark who is not only still shooting at the age of 97 but is a considerable racontour (you can hear me and Sean laughing in the background throughout!)
Stuart started his ca...
So what does it take to be successful (at least as a portrait photographer?) In this episode I muse on the key building blocks that every successful photographer I've encountered seems to exhibit, at least to varying degrees!
This episode also features a quick catchup with Andy Blake from Kaleidoscope Framing (https://www.kaleidoscope-framing.co.uk/) who have been our supplier for nearly twenty years. Why? Because their products ...
Ever wondered why you should sign your work? Well, in this, our 150th episode, we have chat about it.
But before that, a quick catchup with Charlie Kaufman of Click Group at The Photography Show - head to https://www.clickliveexpo.co.uk/ to see details of one of the most exciting events in years!
There is also news of the PMI Smoke Genie / Smoke Ninja competition - a fantastic opportunity to get creative and win some hefty prizes....
In this episode, I get to very briefly chat with Louis Wahl, CEO of WEX Photo Video. Turns out he is a really nice guy (and with luck, I'll get to chat to him in a full-length interview at some point in the future.) It's the great thing about the photography show - I get to meet loads of people!
As well as the short chat, the episode is primarily a response to an email I received from 'Steve' asking what first strobe he should choo...
Well, I'm back on the road with a microphone - but this time in my wife's nippy little Peugeot!
There are so many aspects of customer service but one of them is how you explain what you're going to deliver and how you're going to do it and, given the stories in this episode, that is something that is very easy to get wrong! Ultimately, clarity is king!
Cheers P.
If you enjoy this podcast, please head over to Mastering Portr...
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