As a working Army photographer we do from time to time get the opportunity to cover royalty visits etc.  Some more than others.  Royalty covers quite a range from some of the more high-profile to the more discrete.  It has been my good fortune to have the opportunity to photograph Prince Charles and his sons William and Harry.  I have also now had the opportunity to photograph His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent on three different occasions, once he even made the trip out to Iraq to visit the Scots Guards.Now if I am honest, photographing royalty at these kind of formal affairs is not what I would call great photography as I can’t avoid the barriers.  The Royal family has in recent years been a target for the media which I feel has resulted in many of them being much more guarded as they have been in the past.  I suppose the goal for a photographer in these circumstances is to try to capture real emotion from an unguarded moment which sounds easy but the reality is much harder.Even when a photographer is dressed in military uniform you just can’t avoid the feeling of suspicion from the royal family and there is rarely any kind of connection with the photographer.  I do feel this is a shame as I ultimately believe their personality is never truly portrayed.  But then when we record these type of events although we can offer images to media outlets, they are primarily used by the hosting units and for historical archives.  I do need to explain though that I really value the archival importance of these events and they do need to be exhaustively covered, no matter just how dull it may seem at the time.This occasion was a visit to 2nd Regiment of Royal Fusiliers, who are currently based in Celle, Northern Germany.  Any Royal visit is always taken very seriously by the hosting unit and in this case the Duke is their Colonel in Chief.  The Duke is (from my experience) always respectful and will pay a lot of attention to the soldiers he meets and is keen to ask any relevant questions.  I will always try to catch eye contact with a view to “make contact”, but invariably to no avail, as frustrating as this is I completely understand.These visits can often be a good opportunity to record some of the stands and demonstrations.  In this case the unit put on a public order display, which although was only a demonstration, it was quite a realistic scenario meaning the drills needed to be up to scratch.Non the less these opportunities are great for practising your photography, you will often have to think fast to focus compose and get your exposure settings right.  Yes I know it’s not real, but by using training to try some options adds ideas to the memory banks, so if you were ever to cover this kind of environment for real, you at least have some idea of what does and doesnt work.  Photographers can stagnate and the only real solution is to keep playing.Sometimes you have to bear in mind that you never know what kind of photographic opportunities will present themselves.  You can usually find a couple of decent images around you even if they are not related to the story.

Having never done a pregnancy shoot before, I jumped at the opportunity to assist a friend in a shoot he had arranged.  Now I have done a number of studio shoots before so I felt quite comfortable to begin with.  I was obviously a little nervous never having met the couple before so had no real idea what the client was looking for.  Now I obviously had a few things I wanted to try, but there were two things that would affect this, one would be a misunderstanding on the type of shoot expected by the client and two the fact that I was assisting.  I have not assisted before and have so far been happy working on my own.  I was concerned that I may try to take over the shoot.  I hope this did not happen but you will need to ask my friend that one!  Now as probably most photographers will tell you, when it comes to a pre arranged shoot, you can tend to have too many ideas to realistically complete in a single shoot.  But I suppose that it is better to have too many ideas before hand just in case the client is unhappy with something you are proposing.  Now this hasn’t happened yet but there is always the possibility.  As always we ran out of time rather than ideas.

After meeting the couple, Mark & Catherine, we found the couple to be very relaxed which is always a bonus when there is an element of nudity involved in the shoot.  For some people this can be a problem as very few of us are entirely happy with our bodies.  There has to be an element of trust that you will try to do everything in your power to make the subject look at their best.  The beauty of digital is that you have the opportunity to show the client early on what you are getting which can put them at ease, especially as they won’t necessarily have any idea what an image will look like from the lighting in the studio at the time.Now I will be honest that when it comes to lighting in the studio I don’t describe myself as an expert, I like simple lighting, I think it can be so easy to over complicate lighting and the simple fact of simple, is that in most cases the simplest lighting is the most realistic.  By this I mean we are used to things being predominantly lit by a single source (the sun), so a single main light is important.That said now, I do have some other lighting tricks I am happy that once introduced will enhance an image without compromising its overall simplicity.  A rim or hair light can be effective and then a backdrop light will help to give some more interest and even quickly offer a variety of shots from a single set.I prefer to work in the studio with Bowens, however I agreed with Wes (the other photographer) to try to do a complete shoot with some Nikon SB 900’s.  Between us we had 8 lights (until one of mine appeared broken), and we set them up before the shoot as three banks that we could use when we needed them.  Overall I was very happy with the quality of light we had achieved however the hardest thing I found to get my head round was the lack of a modelling light.  This turns out not to be a big problem as simple lighting is simple to adjust.At one point I wanted to have some ambient light in the shot so using what I had to hand I brought in an old “red-head” video light (no control over intensity), so had to temper the exposure to begin with based on the light available.  As a result we used the colour correction filters that came with the flash units to match the best we could to balance.  I was very pleased with the results.Finally as with any shoot, it is always important to keep an eye out with whats happening as sometimes shots are there that you don’t expect.  Wes was working on a pose as he was working in I noticed a lovely abstract in the midst, and not wanting to interrupt him in his flow, I left him to it and when he finished I jumped in and got one of my own favorites of the shoot showing a close up of the bump with four natural and relaxed hands in the shot too.  As all photographers will no doubt agree, getting hands right and natural is very difficult especially with non professional models.

The shoot was a great opportunity to try something new, work with someone I have not worked with before and come away with some images I am very happy with.  Now I just have to convince the client.

Now then, if I am honest I am not a big fan of our nations capital.  Architecture aside, it is a sad and lonely place.  It never fails to surprise me how so many people can live in such a close proximity to each other and never connect.  I see so many people in a rush to get where they need to go and they just never seem to see outside of their bubble.  One thing London is very good for is opportunity and diversity.  There are an unlimited amount of photo opportunities and if it was just for photography I would spend a fortnight walking the streets just looking.

Looking up through the winter canopy

I have been playing around with an old manual focus f1.8 prime lens recently and decided to just walk about with this on a D3.  I like the depth of field you get although on manual focus sometimes it bites you.  Mostly I am convinced that this is due to laziness and auto focus, but I think at the wider apertures now on new lenses, it is virtually impossible to focus manually.  It’s fair to say though it is satisfying to do as much with the camera on manual!

City Bank sponsorship

One of the best things about this lens though is its size, I have got so used to shooting with the big bulky, imposing glass, that it just feels good to shoot with the innocuous pimple on the front of the camera.  I felt that I could be invisible (sort of), people were less inclined to duck and dive for cover at the sight of a huge lens.  This allowed for more possibilities.

The Steak house

This weekend I dug out an old lens, a 50mm prime lens at f1.8.  Now this is a manual focus lens and having been a long time away from manual focus, this was particularly tough.  The modern lenses just do not help out when switching to manual.  Now although this was difficult especially with f1.8 close up shots trying to focus on the eyes of a two year old who just will not sit still, I really love the results and will do a lot more with this lens.  Prime lenses themselves are a challenge when you have gotten used to working with telephoto’s and there are some considerations that most of the time you just do not have like your position in relation to the subject.  The number of times I needed to move or move the subject is something that will take a little getting used to, but it does make you think a little harded about composition, angle etc.  All in all quite happy so far and I will be posting a few more images later this week.

Hello everyone.  Let me start by introducing myself.  My name is Mark Nesbit, I am a serving British soldier.  I am a photographer and right now am lucky enough to get paid for doing what I love to do.  LIMEfotographic is a venture a wanted to get up and running ready for the time I leave the forces.  I have done quite a bit of research and the prospect of starting another photography business is daunting.  It seems that in these days ability is quite simply not enough.  The internet together with digital developments has made the industry ultra competetive and you now have to promote, promote and then promote yourself.  This in itself is still no guarantee of success.

So here I am, supported by my wife, looking at ways to raise awareness for my business.  I am in no rush and I want to achieve a reputation for all the right reasons.

This initial entry is the beginning of what I hope will be a long and satisfying journey.  Thakyou for joining me.

Mark