In the beginning - How Jeremy Howells Photography started in the photographic business.

Welcome to Jeremy Howells Photography's new blog.

Welcome to my new blog.  I am hoping that it will be of interest to you whether you are prospective client, fellow photographer or just someone with an interest in wedding and portrait photography.  If I  am truthful and I always try to be, this blog is for me to keep a journal of my professional events.

I bought my first SLR camera at the tender age of 16, far too many years ago!  I mastered the very basics and eventually moved into darkroom processing of images which gave me a greater insight into the technicalities of the overall process of film based photography.  As I grew so did my hobby but it became a little stunted when I started a family and the cash wasn't available to keep investing in kit.  I still continued to shoot film and as a result I have a great collection of family photographs spanning three decades.

As with most of us we all suffer life's up's and down's and following my divorce some years later I decided to make some life changes.  One of those changes was to develop my photographic skills and begin to carve-out a part-time career as a freelance shooter.  Photography is an expensive hobby and as with most enthusiasts I wanted the best and the latest kit and to get paid for practising my art not only gave me confidence and it also provided much needed finances to invest.

A few years on and the digital revolution began and I bought a basic Canon 400D DSLR.  Months later and I upgraded to a pro-level Canon 5D and have remained with the 5D every since.  I also have a fine collection of lens and accessories and much depleted bank account!

'I Shoot People' is my strap-line because it is what I do.  Whilst I love all styles of photography, I love taking pictures of people the most.  Those who know me say I am a natural people's person able to build a rapport with pretty much anyone I meet.  Not wishing to blow my own trumpet, there is some truth in this and it reflects in the finished product.

Building a rapport is probably one of the most important aspects of people photography

Building rapport with the people you are photographing is crucial.  Clients visit my studio regularly and nearly always apprehensive about the session you have booked.  I am very fortunate that my studio is part of my home.  In fact it used to be a snooker room which is now my workspace and doubles as a yoga studio for my partner.  So welcoming clients at my cottage is quite a relaxing affair.   They sit down with me in my lounge and drink tea and coffee while we get to know each other a little better.  I also explain how the session will work and make sure I understand what it is they want in their portrait.  I try and encourage all my clients to try different things, be it using a white or coloured background or using some of the props for more formal shots.  Having nearly an acre of beautiful gardens means we can always take the shoot outdoors, weather permitting and this is particularly good when I have to shoot children and pets.

During a normal portrait session I will shoot upwards of 300 frames and I love looking back over the sequence as I begin the post processing.  The first 30 or so shots I can almost always discard as my subjects can appear a little wooden as they acclimatise to being photographed and then something suddenly clicks (and not just the shutter!) and I begin to see the person within.  It is really very magical.