2014 - A look back

As 2014 is about to come to an end and I start to plan out what I want to achieve in 2015, I thought a starting point would be to look back on what I had achieved this year, and in all honestly I have to say 2014 has been a pretty good year for my photography. I won't mention every shoot, but here's a few highlights!

Practical Photography Magazine

Firstly at the beginning of the year, having been an intern for Practical Photography magazine for just a few months, my contract was extended and I've now been working at the magazine for over a year! All of this came from doing a one-day work experience through GoThinkBig, and my role has dramatically changed since I first started - I even do a bit of writing now! I can also now finally reveal that the next issue of Practical Photography, on sale the 30th December features a video interview with the amazing Rankin, an interview which I arranged and got to go along to! Yes this was mega for me!

Rebelicious Magazine

After having some of my photos published in Rebelicious Magazine at the end of 2013, I started 2014 with my own feature Frock N Roll. The feature includes an interview with female members of rock bands and also photographs that I've taken of the artist.I also had a 6-page editorial featured in the September issue! I'll be planning more work with Rebelicious both on an editorial basis and also for Frock N Roll so if you're a model or female in a UK band and want to be featured get in touch!

 

Music Photography

Looking at what I've achieved within my music photography this year seems ABSOLUTELY MENTAL. Not only did I get to shoot my first TWO big festivals for Hit The Floor Magazine (Sonisphere and Leeds Festival), but I also won the NME Photography Awards live category. I still can't believe it to be honest and have to keep reminding myself (in a non-ego way) that it's pretty damn amazing. NME editor, Mike Williams actually said at the awards evening that my photo was "f**king amazing" and I will definitely never forget that!

 (credit Jordan Hughes /NME)

I wonder what will happen in 2015...

Practical Photograpy Magazine Video Shoot

As part of my job at Practical Photography magazine I often get to go on shoots to get some behind the scenes shots and assist. Last week I headed out on a video shoot with deputy editor James Abbott. Our wonderful model for the day was Gemma Stafford, who it was lovely to finally meet as we've been talking to arrange a shoot together for a while! I was also lucky enough to have a bit of spare time to get some shots with Gemma.

Here's a quick behind the scenes shot that I took on my phone. You'll have to wait to see the rest!

Practical Photography Magazine - April Issue

Here's the April issue of Practical Photography Magazine which is out on sale now. My face actually appears in this issue...

As part of the 'Click' feature we find 10 inspiring ideas for other photographers to shoot. For this one we took some self portraits and then transformed them into polaroids using the Poladroid App. This was quite a challenge for me as I never particularly like being on the other side of the camera. We all pull silly faces now and then, but being sat in a studio on my own and having to use a remote cable release made me feel very silly. Here are the results (the few that I let them use)...

I also took the gear shots for these pages (not the wedding shots).

Practical Photography - March Issue

Work is keeping me super busy and bookings are flying in, but here's a little something for now.
I've somehow managed to miss off the February issue of Practical Photography, but here's the March issue that's on sale now.

Here's a double page spread from the issue on flash modifies - I took all of the photographs for this one!

A day at the sea side...

As part of my job at Practical Photography I get to go out on location to assist with photo/video shoots and get behind the scenes shots. I also get a bit of free time to take as many photographs as I can of the location.

I can honestly say that I never really spend much time just shooting 'on location'. If I'm at a location I'm there with a model and that's my main focus. Going along to these shoots with the guys and having free time to shoot, makes me look at things in different ways and think 'how can I get a good shot out of this?'

My second trip out was to Cromer. I don't think I've ever been to the seaside in November - it was freezing! The initial reason we were there was to photograph some long exposure shots of the sea using polarizers, I was super excited to get the chance to shoot some! My shots were taken later in the evening without a polarizer. They're not the best they could be as it's really unnerving sticking your camera on a tripod in the sea with waves coming up, but I love the effect and the lighting. Here's a selection of shots from the day...

All images © Jemma Dodd Photography

Practical Photography Magazine Internship

At the beginning of October I received a phone call from Practical Photography Magazine offering me a 6 month internship. After doing a one day work placement at their offices back in July, this was extremely exciting news and an opportunity I could not turn down. For the past month I have been living in Peterborough working at the magazine and I am absolutely loving it.

Here is the front cover of the first issue that I've worked on!

There's a tiny little image on the bottom left that I took. It's only small but it's on the front cover!

 

You can preview a selection of pages on Issu here

Or buy the full magazine in stores now!

 

A day at the offices of Practical Photography and Digital Photo Magazines

In July thanks to GoThinkBig and the lovely team at Bauer Media's Practical Photography and Digital Photo magazine I got to spend a day at their offices to get an insight into how the magazines work.

When I first got the email saying I'd be chosen for this GoThinkBig opportunity I was so excited! Not only would it give me an insight into a different field within the media but it was also directly related to photography.

During my day at the offices in Peterborough I got to assist and take some product shots of flashes and memory card readers to be featured in the magazine, and even modelled...as a photographer having your picture taken feels sooo weird. You spend so much time on the other side of the camera that when you're in the other position you feel a bit out of your comfort zone. Nevertheless I felt I should throw myself into everything this opportunity gave me and my face even ended up in the September issue!

I cannot thank the team at Practical Photography and Digital Photo enough, even though it was only one day I had so much fun and it gave me the chance to get involved photo-wise and even practice my writing skills. It opened my eyes even more to the fact that I really do want to and need to write more, hence why I'm trying to write more detailed blogs and get used to writing!

You probably won't ever see many photos of me on this blog but here's the pages from Practical Photography featuring my face shot by the lovely Tim Berry who just so happens to be a fellow brummie photographer.