Featured Pro! New Section!

We are starting a new section of the website called "Featured Pro!". We are going to ask a guest blogger to write up an ariticle about themselves and their style. There are some amazing photographers on this planet and we thought it would be cool to showcase them and share them with all of you. We are constantly looking at ways to get inspired and we think this is a pretty cool idea!

To launch this new section of global inspiration we didn't think there was anyone better than Edwin Firminger. He has been a lightenupandshooter since the beginning. His photography has grown in gigantic leaps and every day I yell at him to quit his day job and do this full time! I think after you see his work, you will agree as well. It just goes to show you that when you love something you are amazing at it!

So without further ado, I present to you Mr. Edwin Firminger !

Hi.

I'm Edd Firminger, I'm 39 and have been shooting for about 2 years all in. I go (photography wise) by the name EddFirmImages. Andy was speaking to me via the wonders of facebook and suggested I do a little 'guest blog' for the site and asked that I do something with a few tips for other up and coming photographers to mull over.
I should probably start by explaining what I shoot and a little about my style.

When it comes to my subjects I like shooting women. Alternative preferably with tattoo's and piercings. I have and will continue to shoot the odd male but I find it easier to shoot women - go figure! As for my style... well thats a toughey! Im really not sure what it is yet... I think I am still working that out but Andy seems to think I have one! If anything it tends to be dark or dramatic with interesting light.

CLICK READ MORE FOR THE REST OF THE STORY!

SO what can i say that is interesting and useful? well I had a long think about that.... and came up with something that is kind of obvious to me but maybe not to everyone.

Its all about how you position yourself to the subject. Angles, height, depth all of these things alter a picture dramatically.
What im getting at here is we all see the world from straight on and at about 5 to 6 foot up. So why would you shoot from that height with the camera just pressed to your eye? I realise that sometimes thats what you want but its not for me! I see the world from that height and angle all the time. A lot of my photos are shot that way but a lot more aren't. 
Angles add drama! height can add drama! Instead of shooting your model from directly in front of her at head height try standing on a ladder, climb a tree, jump on a car (but if it's not yours make sure no ones watching!) Shooting down onto a subject gives your image a perspective the viewer hasnt seen before. Its eye catching you should try it! People will look twice if your photo's arent mundane and lets face it we want people to look more than once. It's why we do it.
Try twisting your camera a little. Forget the horizontals and verticals and skew your frame. Sometimes it doesnt work and looks odd but sometimes you get something magical happening. Horizontals become leading lines drawing the viewer into the photo. Im not saying this suits everything but surely its worth a try? Breaking the rules is half the fun in photography.
Shoot low. Sometimes I shoot lieing down on my belly in the dirt just to get a certain look to my subjects. The look you end up with, if done right is one of power. The model looks taller and it can make her seem strong and powerful. It also stretchs out your background perspective and can help remove the subject from it just a little more than just DoF. Give it a try sometime.
These few thoughts might not work for everyone but try them out and experiment. Stop acting like a 6 foot tripod and move a little more. Duck and dive! I once got described as a Ninja by a client as he watched me shoot going from practically the splits one minute to jumping on tables the next. I also recommend prime lens's as they MAKE YOU move allbeit just back and forth but its a start :)
I have included a few of my photos to show my style and some of the looks i have got by being a little bit more adventurous on my angles - I hope they inspire you to try the same.

In this image I had to shoot from down low to get this effect. The room was boring and drab but had a damaged glass panel in the roof. A twist of the frame made it a lot more interesting. I had a single flash (sb600) in a brolly to camera left to fill otherwise the model would have been too dark or the skylight too blown out.

This was from a creepy little shoot - all natural light. I wanted to convey the feeling of despair that comes from having your sight taken away. I shot down onto the standing model to make her appear a little more helpless.

I was shooting Holly (the model) and decided to try shooting her from floor level. The camera was sat flat on the floor for this shot and it really made the image stand out from the rest. Holly looks a lot taller and much more relaxed than the ones i took from knee height. Shot with a single SB600 in 60inch shoot through brolly for the soft light.

Part of an outdoor shoot I did where I got the idea of making the model a little more animalistic. This required getting her down into the undergrowth on all fours. Shooting this from standing height wouldnt have worked but getting right down with the model gave a very feral feel to the shot. Shot with a single flash (SB600) in a 28" Westcott Apollo softbox to models left.

Thanks for reading and keep shooting!

Edd Firminger
Http://www.eddfirm.info

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