Photography 101: Learning the Ropes

Hard at work capturing Flinn’s true beauty.

Starting a new job is always an exciting venture, offering the opportunity to gain new experiences and learn new skills. I’m Dave, the newly-appointed Creative Production Assistant here at Long Story Short. Having recently completed my first project with the company, I wanted to bring you in on this exciting new venture.

Mission Briefing

The brief was simple: lead a photoshoot and create some stunning new headshots for actor Flinn McManus - a one-off task assigned to me to act as a sort of crash course in photography. Whilst this was not my first time holding a camera, it would be the first time I’ve conducted a photoshoot on this scale. Despite my nerves, I was ready to get stuck in and tackle the project head-on.

Setting up Shop

Company director Jamie and I arrived at HQ at the usual time and after a quick coffee, it was straight to work transforming our office into our cosy professional photography studio. Once the lights were set up and the background carefully put in place I was ready for my crash course to begin. What I was quick to learn was that photography is a lot more than just aiming a camera and pressing a button. A good photo is a combination of several elements working together and it’s the photographer's job to control and align them into a coherent image.

The Shoot

Once Flinn had arrived and settled in, the shoot began. Starting at Clapham Common allowed us to get some great natural lighting and the sea of greenery created a nice contrast to Flinn’s dashing blue suit. Shooting outside always comes with its challenges, especially with England’s famously inconsistent weather. With each passing cloud, I was kept on my toes making adjustments to the camera settings, to make up for the constant changes. Although I welcomed this challenge as a way to put my new skills to good use, I was however very grateful when we returned to the more controlled environment that was the studio. By that time I was feeling confident with the camera and Flinn and I were in full swing. About 200 photos later, we were all ready to call it a day - we said our goodbyes to Flinn and turned the studio back into an office space.

“I recently modelled for a photoshoot with Long Story Short, and their supportive professional attitude was beyond my expectations throughout.”

Time for Editing

After cutting down the photos to twenty of the best it was time to start editing. To say I was unfamiliar with photo editing would be an understatement, so this was definitely the most challenging part of the whole project. Having control over so many elements was quite overwhelming at first but after some time, I began to see the subtle change that each adjustment had on a photo. Like most things, it was a case of trial and error, seeing what worked and what didn’t. With my confidence and knowledge growing, the quality of the photos went up alongside them.

Completed it Mate

Once the editing was complete and the headshots were shipped over to Flinn, I felt a huge sense of achievement as I completed my first project with Long Story Short. Since this experience, I have put the skills I’ve learnt to good use during many other exciting projects, from capturing the ongoings of a busy concert to filming an instructional video on the top of a mountain. I surely won’t be forgetting this project that started it all, anytime soon.

“Welcoming, easy to work with and clear in their communication I'd happily recommend Long Story Short to anyone.”