Ian Pearson Photography

Family portrait shoots are as rewarding as photography gets. Winning competitions is fun but seeing your photos light up someone’s face is priceless. Doing a shoot in home or at a favourite location puts the family in a relaxed mood. This is especially important when shooting young children and babies. So often I turn up and see a look of worry that things are going to go very wrong on the parents faces. I get told how they have been troublesome all morning and they don’t think they will play ball. My first move is to advise the parents not to worry.

I never rush a family shoot and allow plenty of time for little ones to go off and do their own thing for a while, as they will get very bored if made to have their photo taken over and over again.  The time it takes me to set up means everyone gets to know me and with new and interesting things being bought in to the house and put up ready to take photos, kids are usually interested. By the time I am sorted they are happy to investigate both the kit and the photographer. As a father of 2 (both under 3 years old) I know only too well how long it can take to do anything, never mind get THE shot.  So once everyone knows I am not going to be clock watching, we are good to go. I normally just let very young kids play for most of the shoot. I get the posed shots as and when we can, but I get natural shots and some well-timed captures make a great selection of images. If a customer has chosen a studio style shoot and a baby or toddler is not wanting to sit in front of it, rather than causing a tantrum I find it best to let them go for a wander. I carry on shooting them as they play. This should get them used to the camera and in their own time they will go and see the studio where mummy or daddy are. I have gone on too long in this post but it is such a regular occurrence that I encounter mildly stressed parents as they think the shoot is going to be wasted. I have never had to do it but I can always come back another day if required. It is not the end of the world.

Alice Ella performing live at the Festival of Sound and a Morgan car from the Horsham classic car show

Press work is so diverse and interesting. I have shot many local events this year and hope to do many more in the future, if the opportunities keep coming my way.  Shooting the Festival Of Sound – Horsham was a great day and coincided with the Horsham Classic Car Show.  Live music and cars made pretty much a perfect day for me. It was a busy day with so much going on. After the pouring rain cleared, it made a great day to wander from stage to stage hearing all different styles of music.

A few weeks ago I got to shoot a special event they were holding at The Pass – South Lodge Hotel.  It is great example of how interesting this work can be. I was given an up close view of a Michelin star chef working with his busy kitchen. It was amazing to watch and be able to get in so close to photograph it.

The Pass

After the initial few shots at the Isaac wedding (mentioned in my previous post) the story with The Last Carnival has continued. So who are they? Well they are one hundreds of thousands of artists trying to “make it”. I am not being patronising when I say that. These guys are good enough to go all the way, but that is a very long journey. If you want to take a look at them and find out more take a look HERE.

I have done a mixture of location shoots and live shots with the band. Both styles really appeal to me. With a band or artist on a location shoot you can be as creative as your imagination will allow. You have to tailor your crazy ideas to the requirements of the band or the use of the shots, but if the client is up for trying new and unusual concepts then it is a lot of fun. Live shoots are obviously cool because you get to go to a gig, but also because it is so different. You are working in such low light that every shot is a challenge. Capturing that moment is testing enough then someone turns out all the lights.

The first day we planned to meet for a location shoot the weather was awful. We did not call it off though. Tunnels were the smart choice. I had done my homework so knew of a few places that were up to the job. The first tunnel was on the downslink and I used it for the texture of the walls. The second was an old train station underpass. As grubby as you could imagine.

After the success of the first shoot we soon started to plan a second. We were hoping for some better weather.  Again the location homework was done and put us in a great position. We had the use of a barn thanks to friend of a friend. This proved so useful. When we arrived the weather was interesting! A showery start made my decision to shoot at the barn first a good call.

We played about with various set-ups and positions and it proved to be a very useful time. We really wanted to get outside though. We had done enough shots in sheltered areas.  With near perfect timing the clouds broke and the sun came out and left us with a stunning last few hours of the day. We got out there quickly and began working on a shot I had in my head from the second I saw the barn.  We were discussing the setup and Danny from the band went and stood by the barn. We looked round and the rest just fell into place.
We wanted to make the most of the good weather so headed on to the next location. Balcombe Viaduct was the destination.  A stunning  structure that is visible for miles around. We played about in the arches of the viaduct for about an hour.  Then Russ (lead singer) started playing an acoustic guitar and singing a few songs. This shoot just stepped up a level. We then moved away from the structure to use it as a background. After searching for the best place to shoot and setting up the lights the whole band began to play. I was treated to a private acoustic set. This shoot just turned epic! It will stick in the memory for a long time.

So next up were the live shoots. The best of the live shoots came at a private gig they did in Haywards Heath. The stage looked great and so was just down to me to capture it.

John And Marcia

To start off this blog style of website, I thought I should talk of a few highlights from this year’s photographic exploits. A few weddings stick in the mind.  John and Marcia’s was special for me as they are wonderful friends as well as clients. The groom supplied a full English for breakfast which also makes this day a prominent memory  .   Joking aside it was great to shoot and also to be an invited guest.  There was a live band called The Last Carnival playing in the evening which I have gone on to work with after this day.

Another day that is a stand out moment was the civil ceremony of Bob and Mark. It was a great day and a very relaxed and enjoyable shoot.  They created a day that was special for them and a fun and memorable experience for their guests.   This wedding is in the final of Surrey ‘Wedding of the Year’. You can vote for them here. I could not have wished for two more friendly and relaxed people for my first civil ceremony shoot.

Bob And Mark