Sign your life away

April 9, 2012 by Tony

One of the websites I’ve found useful for my wedding photography business is SignNow. It’s a free service  for signing contracts, unaffected by the delays of the postal service and saves paper too. At the risk of sounding like an advert, it’s really quick and easy. Register an account, upload a copy of the document. Enter the e-mail addresses of the people you want to sign it and wait.

As a client, you receive an e-mail with a link to the document.You don’t need an account, no registration is required. One click and you can read the document and add your signature. That’s done by uploading an image, drawing using their mouse or by typing directly. All three methods are legally binding here in the UK, the US and elsewhere. You then receive a copy of the contract in PDF format in your e-mail and another copy when I’ve signed the contract too.

When I first looked into the site a year or so ago, when it was still quite shiny and new, there were a few minor problems with its terms & conditions. Most bothersome was a clause that meant that SignNow owned the rights to any documents you uploaded. The company were very helpful when I explained why that was a problem for me and fortunately the clause has been removed in more recent versions of the T&Cs.

It used to be possible to mark where on the document you wanted the other parties to sign, but that’s not the case in the newer version of the site. So it’s important to make sure that the document itself makes this clear. Also, It would be nice to be able to send copies of the same standard contract out to different parties, but it’s not too much of a burden to upload it each time.

If a client isn’t comfortable signing on-line then a traditional printed and posted contract is still an option. But if they are then it seems like a great way to be doing business.

3 Comments / Posted in Photography, Weddings

From Bibble to Aftershot

April 2, 2012 by Tony

I use Ubuntu for my wedding photography business. I do it reasonably successfully: I don’t have a Mac or Windows system in the house. But sometimes it can be hard to find software that offers the level of sophistication and specialism of the proprietary offerings. This time last year I wrote about my quest for a professional photo workflow and management package.

I settled on Bibble and found it to be almost exactly what I was looking for. Although it’s not an open source application, it was supported on Ubuntu. Having developed a good working relationship with Bibble over the last year, I was a bit surprised when the people at Bibble Labs announced that they had been bought up by Corel. The Bibble software was going to morph into Aftershot Pro, a new offering from Corel.

One of the things that appealed about Bibble was the strong Linux community around it. Although not open source software itself, some of the plug-ins were. Bibble was quirky in places but I was able to do what I wanted, to build a large catalogue of images and work with them quickly. Fortunately Corel have announced that Linux will continue to be a supported platform.

So far my experiences with Aftershot Pro have been positive. The interface is more polished and intuitive and the images it produces continue to be of a high quality. There is a small but growing number of plug-ins. It is shame that certain types of catalogue can’t be transferred into Aftershot from Bibble though.

I hope that Corel will continue to develop Aftershot Pro in the spirit in which Bibble was developed, and that it will continue to be a good choice for anyone wanting photographic workflow management on Ubuntu.

18 Comments / Posted in Computing, FLOSS, Photography, Ubuntu

Once upon a time in Cardiff

March 26, 2012 by Tony

At the weekend I went to the official Doctor Who convention. It wasn’t like other conventions I’ve been to. It was expensive, activities were more prescribed and there was less time for socialising. But that was more than made up for by the talks and guests. Normally at conventions, you get to meet people who made the show twenty years ago. Which is great and they’re lovely, but this convention was all about the people who are actually making the show right now. It was as if everyone at the Upper Boat studio had taken a bus ride into Cardiff and started showing off.

Danny Hargreaves, who has worked on every episode of new Who, Blew Things Up right in front of us and made it snow indoors. Niell Gorton turned actress Raquel Cassidy into a fleshy ganger in 45 minutes. Producers, writers, directors, set and costume designers were all there, discussing how they make the show. The creative juggernaut that is Steven Moffat took part in two panels, ensuring nobody let slip something they shouldn’t and refusing to be drawn himself. The three stars of the show, Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill, exhibited all the camaraderie that we’ve come to expect thanks to their appearances in the late, lamented Confidential.

Then there was the set tour. The actual TARDIS set. Where they film the show. They drove bus loads of fans down there, let us pull levers, twiddle knobs and stroke the doors. Not that I did that. *ahem* The working set, which we were repeatedly reminded would have lights and wires, is due to be dismantled for relocation to its new home in a new studio complex so they bravely let groups of geeks have a go at dismantling it first. We got to have tea in the famous Blue Box Cafe too, chatting to our tour guides who also happened to be engineers and extras on the show.

I had my photograph taken with Karen Gillan, who looked stunning and seemed to be made entirely of long limbs. The security guard inspecting the bobble hat that another attendee had crocheted for her with a non-plussed look on his face was marvellous. Karen was very friendly and didn’t seem to mind having yet another fan putting their arm around her for the photo.

I finally got to meet Barnaby Edwards in person, and he gave me a big hug, which was lovely. All the crew were good humoured, professional and friendly the whole day. The event was very well planned and ran like clockwork. The process for distributing the photographs was the only thing that didn’t seem to be very well thought out. It involved the big burly security guards with their heavy welsh accents wandering around, trying to match the geek in the photograph with someone from the crowd.

It was also great to meet so many other podcasters in Eddie’s Diner (location for The Impossible Astronaut, you know), who were warm and welcoming.

7 Comments / Posted in Personal

I’m not a poser, honest!

March 19, 2012 by Tony

There are photographers who give their wedding photography clients very precise instructions about how to stand, where to look and how to hold themselves. I’m not one of them.

My clients are not professional models and it’s wrong to expect them to behave as if they are. People can look stiff and smiles seem forced if they are trying to hold their arm in just the right position, whilst smiling but still gazing into their partner’s eyes!

So, what do I do instead? I try to create an atmosphere where the clients feel comfortable, where they are able to feel relaxed and enjoy the experience of being photographed. Because that’s what it’s all about: Whether it’s a wedding day, engagement photo session or lifestyle shoot, you’re there to have a good time not to feel uncomfortable. Fortunately it’s been over a hundred years since neck braces were a necessary photographic accessory!

How do I create this atmosphere? Well, firstly I have a great empathy with anyone who doesn’t like being photographed. For years I avoided it where possible, preferring to hide behind the camera. As I learnt more about photography, I got used to being photographed but I remember how it felt. I like to think I’m amiable and easy-going, and that helps put people at ease. I try to help clients have fun and laugh, but I don’t bombard people with cheesy jokes!

I don’t cajole people in to doing things they’re not comfortable with, although if something crazy springs to mind I’ll definitely suggest it. If the client is up for it, then great! If not then it’ll keep for another time. I create an opportunity for the clients to be themselves, to behave naturally within some broad instructions; asking them to walk down a path and come back, stand in a particular spot, that sort of thing. Getting the clients to help each other do something physical (climbing over a log, stand on a chair) is a great way to help get rid of self-consciousness. As their confidence grows, the photographs get better and better.

It’s a great feeling when a client who was a bit nervous or self-concious at the beginning of a photo session relaxes and starts enjoying themselves. I can see it happening in front of me. The result is a set of photographs that they love and that I’m proud of. Everyone wins.

No Comments / Posted in Photography, Weddings

Expressing a Pinterest

March 12, 2012 by Tony

Tony Whitmore on Pinterest

“You have to be on Pinterest!” said Amy, over a roast potato. “I’ll send you an invite.” I nodded sagely and pretended I knew what she was talking about. You see, Amy is social. Not just in the truest, most human sense of the word but in the geeky, web-2.0y, search engine oiling sense of the word. Amy told me how sharing images from around the web on virtual cork boards was a great way of collating inspiring images for yourself and others.

A few hours later an invite landed in my inbox. I signed up, followed some of my friends who were already using the site and created a handful of boards. You can find them and follow me if you wish. For the last couple of weeks I’ve been adding images from a variety of sources that I have found interesting. I’ve also added “pin” buttons to my wedding photography site and this blog so that others can share my images if they are grabbed by anything.

It’s a shame that there’s no easy way to pin images from the real world though as I often find images I like in magazines and books. It’s not always possible to find the photograph on-line and it’s certainly time consuming to try. Photographing photographs is messy and time consuming. The site also seems to be a bit controversial: I don’t mind people sharing low resolution versions of my photographs, and the site claims to credit and police issues where they arise, but there are other photographers who do. I even found a WordPress plugin designed to stop images from being pinned.

I’m still trying to figure out how best to use Pinterest though. Pin images I like, things that might inspire a personal project in the future? Or pin some of my favourite images of my own so that others can see and share them too? If you are using Pinterest, how do you use it? For business, or pleasure? Or both?

3 Comments / Posted in Media, Personal, Photography, Weddings

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