Creating a pictorial legacy begins at home.

Below, you will find my pre-recorded film for the “Virtual” Photography Show.

Sadly, The Photography Show has been postponed not once, but twice this year.

However, in this brave new online world we find ourselves in, the good folks that run it, decided to put the whole show online.

And they did a fantastic job.

My talk, in its entirety, can be found in the video below, and, below that, some of the featured images and other thoughts.

Below is a transcript of the film, and the stills and photofilms shown:

Today we are going to talk a little bit about creating a pictorial legacy with pictures. And what does that mean?

To me, it means that we are creating images that people will look at in the future and will remind them, not necessarily always of pleasant moments, but will give them a view into their history.

I say to my clients also that a picture doesn't necessarily have to be good. It just has to be important.

So, for example, we have a picture here, and this is my little son, Albie.

As you can see, he's got tears rolling down his eyes, but the point about this picture and this is what brings us to this idea of legacy is that we're reminding ourselves in the future, our past selves.

I think it's essential as a family and a wedding photographer specifically to be able to capture moments.

It’s their reality, rather than in a prefabricated version, some fairy tale story if you like. However, we have another picture here that is from the same period of the kids.

This photograph was shot on a GFX 50R a couple of years ago, and you can see that they are in the garden having a lot of fun.

Light, Composition & Moment

And of course, you know during this recent lockdown we've spent a lot of time in the garden.

They've grown up a little bit since, but the point is, having a camera with you at all times, regardless of what camera it is, is going to allow you to capture these magical moments forever and for the future.

And like I said, I'll keep repeating this. It's not just for me; it's not just my wife. It's not just for them, but it's for their kids and their kids' kids.

Now, when it comes to photography and this idea of creating art if you like that will empower us or allow us to see these images.

There are only three parameters that we need to remember, and this is true of any style of photography, and it just comes down to light composition and moment.

If you have a good picture with good light, good composition, and a good moment then you're going to have an image that is going to win awards, could be printed, will look good in books, etc. etc.

However, if you're shooting purely candidly as I do, then it isn't easy to get an image with good light, reasonable composition, and the right moment all of the time.

Sometimes you have to make compromises. The most important thing for me is the moment that's really what drives me and what I enjoy shooting.

And when it comes to weddings, I shoot purely as a candid photojournalist, documentary, wedding photographer if you like.

I think that allows people to enjoy themselves on their wedding day a little bit more, but more importantly, it gives them a real, authentic, honest representation of their day.

Here I have a picture from a wedding that was actually at Stonehenge.

It was last year or perhaps a year before, and it was a dawn wedding. They had druids as the celebrants, and it was just before the summer solstice and about 5:30 in the morning and I really wanted to capture a picture here that showed off the stones but also showed off the fact that it's a journey for the clients and their children who are with them in this.

I find that this kind of picture this beautiful, colourful, vibrant picture is something that I think will allow them in the future to look and remember more rather than just a picture of the stones themselves and a photo of them stood at the altar.

A Wedding Photofilm

This is a storytelling picture, and that's what I mean by a legacy in this idea of pictorial storytelling.

OK, so I'm just going to show you a photo film now from a wedding.

This is a wedding that was shot in the Dordogne, southwestern France.

It's a beautiful film. It's a wedding between a Jewish Lady and a Christian man, so it's a bit of a crossover in terms of religions there, but the fun and the beauty of it.

I hope you enjoyed that. A wonderful wedding, of course, very vibrant towards the end.

Now all weddings regardless of Culture, Creed, beliefs, all of that kind of stuff I think deserve to be photographed sympathetically and honestly, and that doesn't mean off course, there's no place for posed pictures and more editorial style.

Of course, there is, and I have many friends who shoot that way, and they're very, very good at it.

However, for me, it's about honesty, and sometimes it's brutal honesty. So for example, if we look at this picture here.

This is from a bridal prep time of the wedding day, and you can see that the bride is just getting prepared to have a hair done and makeup done.

But in the background, we have the mum and the mum's sister, and you can see from this picture that the mum has been through her battles recently and I think that this is the kind of image that even though it's a happy day and a wedding day, you have to be telling these stories.

This is legacy, and I say again, the legacy idea is there to tell the true story of the wedding day.

The Five W’s of Storytelling

A story much like a book should have a start and middle and an end, and I find it very easy for me to try and re-emphasize to myself when I'm working, especially at weddings.

The way to create that story is to remember the five W's and that is who, why, what, where and when.

Technically you can tell a story in five pictures you see.

So, for example, in this picture above, it's early in the day is way before Bridal Prep. I've just turned up, and it's a little bit of a humorous story.

Of course, in this picture, we have the vacuum cleaner. We have the cake inside the box, and we have the cake.

And I think you know, you all agree that this is the kind of stuff that people don't often see on their wedding day, especially the bride who's busy getting made up at this point.

But it's all part of the story. This all comes together to give The who, why, what, where and when.

It always comes down to humanity and the interactions between people.

So for example, we have another image here, bridal prep, and this is the bride having her dress made up by the bridesmaid.

There's a little bit of humour here as well.

Of course, you can see the bridesmaid is under the dress to get to the buttons. But the thing that made me take this picture was the light and looking for that light and the moment primarily.

Here is another image here from a wedding where the composition isn't so good.

And remember what I said at the beginning. A picture doesn't always have to be good; it just needs to be important.

That's important for me to remember and in this picture here, for example, we have a somewhat fuzzy front ground.

The story is the bridesmaid touching the cheek of the grandmother, who you know is a little bit emotional at this wedding.

So it's a beautiful picture, but it's not going to win any awards, but remember, it's not about winning awards when you're trying to create legacy photography.

This is all about creating memories and moments for people to look at to smile at and remember from a very natural point of view.

OK, so back to some family pictures because most of you probably are not wedding photographers, so I want to encourage you to be able to pick your cameras up and shoot your family wherever whatever they're doing.

Simple stuff right there.

Just having breakfast.

These are the things that you will forget people will forget in time.

I don't have any pictures of myself acting and behaving like this.

Not that my parents wouldn't have taken them, but they just didn't. You know, it just didn't exist.

A Day in the Life Photofilm

They look at these pictures, and they smile, and they remember, and they're happy.

And so with that in mind, I want to show you a whole photo film now from A day in the life session which is a day on the beach in southern Spain with a family.

And it's a beautiful, beautiful film about the children.

The light is beautiful. The moments are beautiful. The playfulness between the children is beautiful, and it's film I like.

I hope you like it too.

This is another one of my favourites from a day in the life photoshoot, and I think this probably sums up most parents days when they have very young children.

So in this case, mum, there is trying to feed the baby medicine and the little girl there is taking the opportunity to delve into the cake tin. Full face there. She's got the big spoon in her mouth.

Dad in the background doing the washing up and I think, even though it's a very very ordinary picture it's the kind of image that when you look back in time, you'll think "yeah, do you remember when we were like that?"

I think that's important.

I love taking that kind of picture, and when it comes to weddings, for example, we have another picture here which is bridal prep.

Now, many people will look at this picture and think, "Oh my word, look at the kitchen and the tea towels and all of that kind of stuff".

But this for me, is a real telling picture. This is a beautiful documentary picture from Bridal Prep.

We have the bride having makeup done through the doorway. But in the foreground, we have the kitchen. We have the milk on the side. We have the details. A sign up in the in the corner of the room there saying how many days left till wedding day.

It's a bit chaotic. It's a little bit cluttered, but this is what it was really like.

This is the real story of the wedding day.

Now in the future things will change in this house of course, that may be the furniture will change, the kitchen will change all kinds of things will change, but this will remind them.

Thank you very much for joining us at the virtual photography show this year. Very different to what we all expected.

As always, leave any comments below and I will do my best to answer them.

I hope you are all well, and happy snapping!

Kevin

PS - You may be interested in my presets or online training options.

Creating a Pictorial Legacy

Below, you will find my pre-recorded film for the “Virtual” Photography Show.