Wedding and portrait photography research

I recently visited a photography trade show of the SWPP (Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers) down at the London Novotel  West Hammersmith. This is a trade show open to the general public which show cases all thats going on in this field of photography. I find it's very beneficial for any budding photographer to visit these locations and seminars to stay ahead with new, up and coming trends and technologies which enables you to keep ahead of your business competition


Shown here is the homepage from the societies's website's homepage advertising the show

http://www.swpp.co.uk/convention/

Shown here is a screen grab of the schedule for the day which shows some of the events that I attended during my visit to the show. I visited numerous lighting events during the morning to compound my knowledge and understanding of lighting a model with various lighting setups for wedding photography

Shown below was one of the lighting demonstrations from "Bowens" the lighting specialist's which gave a workshop of how to light your model using a 2 light setup which gave your model a 3D appearance. A light positioned from the rear of the model's head produced a rim light which created a distinct outline to the model's head. The 2nd light was positioned above the model's face from the front which was the main source light. A large reflecter was positioned in front of the model's face which eliminates shadows from under the model's face or eyes

Shown here are various photographs that I took doing my visit to the show

I find visiting this type of event gives you an insight into preparing to set up a business. You can see the competition and your competitors and see how marketing is put into action. You can compare up to date prices of most of the products in this branch of photography. Photography is an ever changing industry with new products and innovations happening daily so it's important to keep up with the trends if you are to go into business. This is the place to plan budgets and price up products you will need to help run your business. This is also the place and get to meet potential business partners that you may be buying from or selling to in the future. It's all about networking and communication without these tools your business will not survive