High Speed Sync Photography of Hayley Steele - UKDFBA Amateur Fit Body Champion, using Phottix Odin

Simon Harvey October 6, 2014

Hayley and I have done a few great shoots together, so when she called and asked if I'd shoot some Fitness/Sport images of her - I jumped at the chance! (excuse the pun)

Hayley explained that she'd been training hard and wanted to get some shots showing her best form in an 'action' style before her competition!? It was only when we met up on a Friday morning at the amazing Lee Valley Athletics Centre near Enfield that Hayley told me what she had challenged herself to compete in the UKDFBA (the United Kingdom Drug Free Bodybuilding Association) Open UK Championships on Saturday 27th September 2014 at Leamington Spa (the day after our shoot!). Hayley worked under the expert guidance of Tim Sharp Personal Trainer since 1988. Owner of @Sharpbodies PT Studio. 5 Times Mr Britain finalist. TV Presenter to achieve the body she needed to be competitive.

To help accentuate Hayley's Form and tone, I knew I would need to do something a little different to make her 'pop' if we were shooting on a sunny day, at an Athletics track!? Enter recently purchased new toys... (Phottix Odin flash trigger and receivers for my Nikon SB800 and SB910 Flashes) from the lovely people at The Flash Centre, London, so thought this could be a great opportunity to try some High Speed Sync Photography. This would allow me to not only freeze Hayley in action - showing her muscle tone and energy to its max, but also allow a fast enough shutter speed to darken down the background.

Like most photographers, we don't like reading instructions, but luckily the Phottix Odin system is a TTL system, and really is very simple to use. It wasn't long before we were getting some great results! so If you fancy giving it a go, get down to the flash centre, grab yourself an extremely fit and willing model and off you go! Have fun!

P.S. BIG Congratulations to my friend Hayley Steele who is now UKDFBA Amateur Fit Body Champion! Yes, SHE WON it!! ;)

An Inside Job!

Simon Harvey January 16, 2013

A little showcase of images from a recent interior photography shoot I did in a beautiful home in London. Interiors photography is actually one of my favorite types of work I get to do. I hope you enjoy the images and get some design ideas of your own! ;)

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How to shoot Events Photography

Simon Harvey December 3, 2012

I do a lot of events work throughout the year, and its mostly great fun! The venues are usually quite special, and the people attending are always up for some laughs. Its my job to make them look their best, and also capture the essence of the event and the mood of the occasion. 9 times out of 10 when I'm working at these functions, someone or more than one person, gets talking to me about my job, photography, the kit I use and how I do it. So today I thought I'd share some basics and explain how I approach a night like this. Firstly, I get my running order from the client and do a walk through of the venue so I can work a few things out!

Its going to be dark, so we need additional light/s .... but we don't want to blitz the available light out so much that we kill the feel and mood that's there!?.... So we need to find a balance between the ambient light reading and our flash power. To put this simply... you need to expose for the ambient light (background available light) and then add in some foreground flash to light your main subjects nicely and 'Freeze' the action enough to keep it looking crisp! This is where having a camera with a good low light iso range comes into play. My ever faithful Nikon D3 is still great at low light level performance although its now 4 years old.

I always try to use some form of backlight for these events so its adds some drama and life to the background .... so I look around for the best places to set up shots. There were some key elements to this job that i needed to cover...

Establishing shots of the venue - in this case The Roundhouse at Camden, a fantastic event space!
Guests at the reception area - excitedly meeting friends, all dolled up wearing big smiles!! (Time to interact and smile lots myself too !)
Guests seated at their tables
Awards if any...
Dancing and partying

You need to be organised, plenty of spare batteries (as you will be hammering your flash)...... I also like to use a simple 'speed Gobo' bouncer from Honl Photo for my flash so that the light is 'bounced light' rather than direct (its just a bit softer and more flattering) .... experiment!

I also brought along my Elinchrom Ranger Quadra Kit (x2 lightweight, powerful and portable battery packs, x2 flash heads, x2 stands x2 brollies) so I could leave them set up on the top balcony ready for some cheeky group shots after dinner... guests are always more relaxed after a few drinks and then you can start to have some fun with them.

If you look at the info on each image, I have shown the EXIF data settings so you can see my exposure settings ... I hope this has been helpful, but please ping me a comment if you have any questions! Ta. :)

CLICK ON THE IMAGES BELOW TO SEE AT CORRECT SIZE AND SHARPNESS.

[caption id="attachment_3009" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Nikon D3, 24-70mm Lens, Handheld, ISO 1100, F4.5, 1/50th Sec. Nikon D3, 24-70mm Lens, Bounced Flash in TTL Mode +2/3 power

Nikon D3, Handheld, ISO 3200, F5, 1/30th Sec, NO FLASH[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3007" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Nikon D3, Handheld, ISO 1100, F5, 1/30th Sec, Flash on Manual Power +1/3.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3023" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Nikon D3, 24-70mm Lens, Handheld, ISO 560, F5.6, 1/8th Sec. Nikon D3, 24-70mm Lens, 1 light to left front and 1 light to right front allowing even light, bounced into white brollies.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3021" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Nikon D3, 24-70mm Lens, Handheld, ISO 560, F5.6, 1/8th Sec. Nikon D3, 24-70mm Lens, 1 light to left front and 1 light to right front allowing even light, bounced into white brollies.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3020" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Nikon D3, 24-70mm Lens, Handheld, ISO 560, F5.6, 1/8th Sec. Nikon D3, 24-70mm Lens, 1 light to right to give side light, bounced into white brolly.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3019" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Nikon D3, 24-70mm Lens, Handheld, ISO 560, F5.6, 1/8th Sec. Nikon D3, 24-70mm Lens, 1 light to left front and 1 light to right front allowing even light, bounced into white brollies.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3016" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Nikon D3, 24-70mm Lens, Handheld, ISO 560, F7.1, 1/6th Sec. Nikon D3, 24-70mm Lens, Bounced Flash in TTL Mode +2/3 power.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3018" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Nikon D3, 24-70mm Lens, Handheld, ISO 560, F5.6, 1/8th Sec. Nikon D3, 24-70mm Lens, 1 light to left front and 1 light to right front allowing even light, bounced into white brollies.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3017" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Nikon D3, 24-70mm Lens, Handheld, ISO 560, F5.6, 1/8th Sec. Nikon D3, 24-70mm Lens, 1 light to left front and 1 light to right front allowing even light, bounced into white brollies.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3013" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Nikon D3, 24-70mm Lens, Handheld, ISO 560, F5.6, 1/13th Sec. Nikon D3, 24-70mm Lens, Bounced Flash in TTL Mode +1/3 power.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3012" align="aligncenter" width="665"] Nikon D3, 24-70mm Lens, Handheld, ISO 1100, F3.2, 1/100th Sec. Nikon D3, 24-70mm Lens, NO FLASH[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3015" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Nikon D3, 24-70mm Lens, Handheld, ISO 560, F5.6, 1/13th Sec. Nikon D3, 24-70mm Lens, Bounced Flash in TTL Mode +1/3 power.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3010" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Nikon D3, 24-70mm Lens, Handheld, ISO 1100, F4.5, 1/50th Sec. Nikon D3, 24-70mm Lens, Bounced Flash in TTL Mode +2/3 power[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3011" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Nikon D3, 24-70mm Lens, Handheld, ISO 1100, F3.2, 1/100th Sec. Nikon D3, 24-70mm Lens, NO FLASH.[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3008" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Camden Roundhouse, Event Photography by Simon Harvey - Nikon D3, 24-70mm Lens, Handheld, ISO 1100, F4.5, 1/40th Sec. Nikon D3, 24-70mm Lens, Bounced Flash in TTL Mode +2/3 power[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_3014" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Nikon D3, 24-70mm Lens, Handheld, ISO 560, F5.6, 1/15th Sec. Nikon D3, 24-70mm Lens, Bounced Flash in TTL Mode +1/3 power.[/caption]

2 day Travel Photography adventure in Magical Marrakech

Simon Harvey November 29, 2012

I went there with dreams of colour and life... but its was SOOOOO Hard to shoot there! Any of you that have been there, know that taking pictures in Marrakech is far from easy... and not the romantic holiday destination you would think of ... so armed with a hulking great big Nikon DSLR and a long lens, i hardly blended in... and these people are hyper sensitive to cameras! You either get a "NO PICTURE" and a hand raised over the face, or a hand out asking for money the second they see you!! So ....with only being there for 2 days I had to adapt quickly, and learn to be very quick to seize any picture opportunities ... Its still a great place to go to though if you like a challenge!! ;) Enjoy, share and rate please :)

The Key to commercial portrait photography

Simon Harvey November 21, 2012

I often do Commercial Portrait Photography of business owners and their staff ... and very often they want to be seen as serious, upstanding individuals... but this doesnt mean you can't use the surroundings to add some colour and a bit of a twist! Here are some recent profile shots I did for a business owner ... I tried to have a bit of fun with him in the environment we had... hope you like the images.

Set Stills Photography with lovable Aussie boys, Hamish and Andy

Simon Harvey November 18, 2012

Some of you might know, that during the summer, Aussie TV and Radio sensations - 'Hamish and Andy' were over here in London filming their new TV show 'Hamish and Andy's Euro Gap Year'. I was pulled in to do some Set Stills Photography, Promotion shots and some behind the scenes photography too. I have to admit, before I got the call about working on the show - I had never heard of them. After a quick Google and Facebook search, I soon realized that these cheeky smilers have a big following on the south side! 1.6million facebook likers and half a million followers on twitter! Zoiks... i hoped they were cool!?

Our first shoot was set for some calamity capers around the London Eye, Westminster and then onto St Johns Wood for some Beatles Abbey Road fun! within 2 mins of meeting the guys i was pleasantly surprised at how absolutely lovely they were! Grounded, polite and great fun! from there on in .... it was all easy!

I hope you like the images and will check out these chaps... Hamish and Andy's Euro Gap Year is showing on ITV4 at the moment, and i guarantee you'll be smiling if you tune in! Enjoy!

Wet Wedding Photography in Seven Dials, London

Simon Harvey November 13, 2012

I was walking through Seven Dials only yesterday doing a job when i happened across this lovely couple walking up Monmouth Street having their wedding photographs taken!! The photographer was using flash close up with them, and i knew he was missing out on all the beautiful ambient light and reflections... so had a cheeky word and asked the couple if they minded if i took a quick shot of them on the Zebra crossing!! :-) I hope they get in touch so i can send them the shot .... i think you'll agree, the light is beautiful and it makes for a great shot! :) Good luck to them both!

Sneak Peek - Music Promo Photography with Tankus The Henge

Simon Harvey November 12, 2012

Today I met up with my crazy friends - Tankus The Henge! I've known and been photographing these lovable lads for the last 4 years now and there has never been a dull moment. With the arrival of their new Drummer, their manager thought it about time we got some new promo shots done... so we headed to the wonderful floating Dutch Barge that is 'Tamesis Dock' on the London Southbank of the Thames... Apart from being a great location, Neema the lovely lady who runs this ship (literally) provides some lovely food and drinks....! get down there and check it out! its magical! :)

The Tankus boys were in fine form, even if it was an early start... and we soon got going with some cheeky antics....

These are just a couple of tasters from the shoot. Hope you like them, and if you fancy coming along to listen to these chaps.... have a look at their facebook page here and come along!! I challenge you to not be able to love them!! ;)

[caption id="attachment_2699" align="aligncenter" width="1024"] Music Photography by Simon Harvey on the Southbank with Tankus The Henge[/caption]

Royal Ballet Photography

Simon Harvey November 7, 2012

This week I am working at the 'World Travel Market 2012' at ExCel in London as 1 of 4 Photographers providing all the images for the world press. WTM2012 is the leading global event for the travel industry. As part of this amazing Global trade fair, the WTM team organize many cultural events for the various heads of States and Ministers in attendance. I was lucky enough to be selected to go along and photograph the Ministerial Dinner at the Mayors official London residency - Mansion House in the City. A truly amazing building and venue. I have to say, this is the sort of event photographers love! Fabulous interiors, great lighting and wonderful subjects. This was capped off by the Royal Ballet Company performing as a finale to the evening. I myself have never seen Ballet live, let alone ballet by the very best performers in the world. It was breathtakingly beautiful and elegant! The poise and grace, is truly mesmerizing. I hope you enjoy the photographs and hope to be able to do more of these if i can make further inroads now! Watch this space :)

This is why i love my job! Always different, always challenging and a lot of the time a privilege!

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Upstairs, Downstairs.

Simon Harvey October 31, 2012

Characters on the underground ....I didn't manage to get a shot of this man giving this girl filthy looks for doing her makeup next to him ... it was hilarious![gallery]