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Anna Wintour Out of Focus at London Fashion Week 2014. London Celebrity Photographer Behind the Scenes

INTRODUCTION: Anna Wintour at LFW Monday 15 Sept 2014 according to the EXIF. Another Behind the Scenes look at the world of being a Celebrity Photographer in London. It's not all Rainbows and Unicorns? There is a saying in photographic circles which I keep repeating and that is "Always show your best work". I agree, BUT I'm at the other end of the spectrum. Yes show your best work on your portfolio site (mine is frankjohn.com ) for sure, but show your mess ups somewhere else. I think that is very important! That's how you learn, by learning from your mistakes. It takes many bad pictures to arrive at a good one.......even the Masters are subject to this same photographic law of numbers. WHAT? So what have we here?  This is another "Houston We Have a PROBLEM" photo this time involving Anna Wintour at LFW (London Fashion Week). Yes another extremely annoying photo destined for the Recycle Bin. No Range Rovers in the way as with the previous post featuring K...
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Khloe Kardashian outside the Langham Hotel BUT Houston "We have a Problem?"

A behind the photo/lens behind the scenes look at Khloe Kardashian straight over from LA arriving at The Langham Hotel in Central London. Archive Photo buried on a hard drive taken 14 Nov 2013.  A sort of hotel surveillance session from some insider info that I became increasingly involved with in the mid to later years of being a Celebrity Photographer.. Remember it being pretty cold. She's looking good, nice smile, wearing aviator shades...not a problem, hair looks great, she's looking in our direction and posing up which helps.....interesting scene with some hotel concierge adding a bit of a story and context to the photo BUT we have some problems here? 1. The vehicle she turned up in (huge Range Rover not the Sport variety) is in the way. Normally the driver drops the person off and drives off but the driver is just staying put and stopping us getting any full length shots for some reason. I think there was about a dozen of us behind some barriers they put up...a sort of ph...

Kelly Brook arrives at BBC Radio 2 Central London: Behind the Scenes with a London Celebrity Photographer

Some video footage of Kelly Brook arriving at BBC Radio 2 in Central London. What can I say? She is certainly in show stopping mode and bringing the whole street to a stand still. This was filmed from the Official Photographers Pen, Fan Pen opposite, 2 Security Guards to my left, a couple of Paparazzi with big rigs just outside. Kelly arrives in the obligatory Merc S350 or E220? not sure, she's out of the car, signs, poses up and is gone in 20 seconds flat. This is the normal situation, things move very fast and these stars don't hang around..... we are not talking studio or landscape photography here. If I was here not filming but instead using THE RIG as in shooting stills I would have got this shot here where she just looks for a nano second. She's done this many times before, has clocked everybody including myself even though it doesn't look like it and then she's gone. Blink and you miss it! Then it's off to another photo shoot somewhere else and it's r...

Lisa Snowdon leaving ITV Studios (Focus Error): Behind the Scenes with a London Celebrity Photographer

  Lisa Snowdon pictured leaving the ITV Studios one of the hardest places to get a decent shot of any celebrities. You are shooting through a 3m high fence with metal railings with a gap just big enough to get a lens through. You've got bin bags, cleaners, security, tv crew, delivery drivers and vans....the list goes on. Not only that once you manage to get the lens through the gap the flash is firing into the railings so you have to take that off and push it through another gap or just forget the flash all together. Probably why she is laughing? Only 2 spots you can get a full length shot and this is the main one and it isn't great even if there is no coffee cup on the floor. So what's gone wrong here then??? We have eye contact, she's laughing, we've got her full length, it's all happening but there is just one problem. She's slightly out of focus at the dreaded 200% which all media will do, the camera has back focused on the TV crew guy behind, he's g...

Sarah Harding Paparazzi Photo Shoot Archive Raw Video

  A Behind the scenes video of Sarah Harding arriving at BBC Radio 1 in Central London on 8 September 2014. A Paparazzi Photo Shoot Video RAW and unedited probably 360p quality under my former website FameFad. Unfortunately Sarah is no longer with us as of Sept 2021 BBC headline .......so this is a video tribute to Sarah Harding. R.I.P Further Details: A video shot by myself whilst in the middle of a crowd of Paparazzi. About 10 or 15 if I remember correctly? Can't remember if I was just filming or whether the video (a bridge camera) was bolted onto the camera rig and taking photos at the same time.. If it was, the shots are somewhere buried on a hard drive, where is the question. If they are found then they will appear alongside this video. This video footage is a constant reminder that you are taking photos or filming real people here and they are subjected to the same natural laws and highs and lows of life as everybody else. This video shoot is just a typi...

The Canon 540EZ Flash. A Pro grade flash for next to nothing???

What fancy high spec flash did i use when undertaking Female Celebrity Photography and Red Carpet Event Photography in London. I used an old film flash called the Canon 540EZ. A brute of a thing and to this day holds it's own! This is an endorsement of the Canon 540EZ flash that was made in the Film era of cameras, weighs a ton, is built to withstand a nuclear attack, can illuminate somebody 30-50 metres away on full power (did that with Tom Cruise at a Film Premier) and wait for it………. cost me a mere £15……yes you read that right £15. That was back in 2012, now I have seen them on Ebay for about £30-£35 but still they are incredibly cheap compared to the Chinese Yongnuo branded flash which back then were about £50 but not really up to heavy professional use on a daily basis especially in extreme weather conditions such as heavy rain. I've seen these Yongnuo branded flashes pack in quite spectacularly in such conditions and just destined for the bin...... and yes another £50 s...

A Speed Blurred Fearne Cotton outside Radio 1, Central London

 Very fast mover is Fearne, I mean really fast, but she was (most of the time) up for being photographed and was good practice for fast moving scenes and she was a seller. This is a reject photo but I still like this one. Looking quickly you would think this is not a bad photo but on closer inspection it is badly blurred in places but strangely normal in other parts of the photo. Her feet and trainers which are probably moving the most are crystal clear, her top errr no.???? Wonky horizon adds to the high energy look. Not a photo the media would be fighting over but certainly one for this website. Shutter speed is to blame at 1/125 and ISO 200, should have shot at maybe ISO 400 which would have lifted the shutter speed to 1/250 and problem solved. You live and learn? Taken at 12:53 she was just finishing work at BBC Radio 1 as the morning DJ.