Natural Expressions Photography blog - Wedding, lifestyle portrait and commercial photographer based in Lincoln, Lincolnshire,UK

A few photos taken on a trip to Istanbul. My camera is always with me and even though I’m mainly a wedding and portrait photographer, I love to photograph daily life whenever I travel anywhere.

I am trying to make Natural Expressions Photography as environmentally friendly as possible, and to cut down on waste.

Electronic bankingUsing electronic banking rather than paying by cheque saves a trip into town, negates the need for cheque books and postage, and is instantaneous. There is also the immediate confirmation of payment having been made. If you do pay by bank transfer you will receive an upgrade on the proof book (please ask for details)

E-admin Where possible I use email, and other online formats rather than sending out paperwork. So, your contract, album design proof and correspondence are all be sent via email. This has the added advantage of making the viewing, proofing and approval process extremely efficient - you will receive your album quicker than if postage was used.

Downloading of files I offer file downloads at a price that is a lot less than if it were ordered as a print. So, no photographic paper is used, no envelopes and packaging, and again, no postage. If you are wanting a few reprints from a wedding or portrait session you can order digital copies of the photos - that way you also get a master copy of the photo, and you can choose to simply view on your computer or make prints.

Packaging Excessive packaging is kept to a minimum, and is re-used where possible. This does not detract from any product that is ordered from Natural Expressions Photography, it simply means there is no waste in using outer packaging for delivery.

Home office All my work is shot on location, whether it’s a wedding, a portrait session or a commercial shoot. I have no need for a studio and so don’t have one. I am based at my home, and use a small office for all processing, editing, admin, etc. Heating is kept to a minimum, and it’s nice and light, so artificial lighting is rarely used.

The shoot I try to keep my camera kit to what is needed, and I try to shoot natural light as much as possible. I don’t use large portable lighting rigs, and I try to minimise the use of flash. All batteries that I use are rechargeable. I love the look of natural light in photographs and will try to use the light that is already present rather than creating additional sources.

Please feel free to add any comments about anything else I can do.

Well, I’m going to be shooting in Brighton most of next week. I’m always looking for ways to push my photography forward and this is going to be fantastic!

MYVISION 2010 is all about the documentary side of photography. When I’m photographing a wedding, a large part of it is capturing moments as they happen, with no input from me - so, the natural, the unposed and the telling of the story of the day in images.

I do direct couples for some more posed shots (see the ‘Strike a Pose’ section of my website gallery), and I try to keep it as modern, fun, and creative as possible. However, the majority of the day is just letting your story tell itself.

MYVISION is exciting - it’s not just another seminar, most of which are all about the speaker telling everyone how great he/she is and then trying to sell you something. This one is different - it’s 100% about photography, and pushing myself creatively.

Participants are to be given an assignment on arrival and we then spend three days photographing whatever subject we are given. What will I get? I’ve got no idea until Monday morning, but I’ll be posting all my images here as soon as I get back.

I’m also planning to publish a photo book of my assignment, so watch this space.

There’s a MYVISION 2010 website here, and the MYVISION blog will update over the course of the workshop.

I’d better add some photos to this post, so here are a few that I took on a recent trip to Brighton.

Natural Expressions Photography is now on Facebook. If you like our work it would be great if you could become a fan! Thank you.
The direct link is:
http://www.facebook.com/naturalexpressionsphotography

I love shooting weddings and portraits, but I also love photographing whenever I travel - here’s a few shots from a recent trip to Nicaragua.