kevs-blog

Here I made this for you, whoever you are.

  • Street Photography, does that term mean anything to you, and if so what? It is probably one the fastest growing genres of photography at the moment, especially since lockdown, and whilst the term is very fashionable at the present time I find it fascinating as for as long as I have had a passion for photography I have seen street photography in one shape or another. Any candid photograph of any scene or portrait of a person in the public outdoors could be deemed a street photograph. I would also suggest that your personal favourite photographer would have some street photography if not in their portfolio, then in their personal work somewhere. There is something magical when a brief unique moment in time is captured knowing that it will never be repeated in that context and place again. I am you would say, rather late to the party in relation to this genre and it is definitely out of my comfort zone, however the skills required only inspire me to practice and get better at this craft, as it can only be of value to the future me whatever the subject matter may be.

  • “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”

    Theodore Roosevelt.

  • A few weeks ago I had a shoot booked with some photographer friends. One of them set up a group and we get together every so often and shoot a couple of models, normally on one high key set up and the other low key for variation. Now I use the term model loosely, they can be anyone from someone met in a supermarket to aspiring models that fly over from Spain to get some portfolio pictures done. A real variety of individuals from different walks of life and it can be fun. It is also a bit like speed dating, in that with so many photographers in attendance you have about two minutes each time it’s your turn to introduce yourself, build a rapport, direct the subject and take the images before it’s time for the next one.

    The main reason for me mentioning this is the morning before this shoot my main camera’s two PCB circuits decided to pack up leaving me with no squeeze for the main event. Now I could have made my excuses and not turned up. However I have a point and shoot in the shape of Sony RX100 MK2. This is a pocket camera with no viewfinder but an LCD on the back. Because in a studio environment you need to be in manual mode what happens with this camera when you half press the shutter to focus is that a white frame line appears and then the screen goes black. The beauty of this camera is it has a centre pin hot shoe which allows you to use the generic studio flash trigger’s provided at the venue. You need to keep the shutter speed below the camera’s maximum sync speed so I took a tripod to minimise the very real chance of blurred images.

    Despite being the butt of many jokes, most of which are probably rattling around your head right now and me tentatively explaining why I didn’t have my ‘Real’ camera with me, I carried on, concentrating on communicating with my subject and directing the pose. Quickly adjusting the camera to hopefully get the image and click the shutter to a blank screen.

    The point of this story is, you guessed it, the majority of the images I took that day came out very well and certainly much better than expected with headshots and portraits the subjects loved. So if and when your prized bit of all singing and dancing kit dies on you, and it will, beg, borrow or grab anything you can that will get the job done. It may not be perfect, but that doesn’t exist. You have however created something for someone who cares, and that’s all that matters.

  • Well as we persue the slow post covid process to recover some of the freedoms we used to enjoy all the time, a harsh truth has become a stark reality. The way we make things that matter to the people we are trying to serve has changed. The service we provide to those people has also changed especially in the way we deliver it.

    I want to deliver an excellent service to a few people who matter and care. I want to provide priceless memories in a custom product that I designed myself, not someone else.

    I want to help CEO’s, creatives, models, actors, key workers, and anyone with something important to say to promote their business, their thoughts and ideas in a positive way to help them move forward in these challenging times.

    The way I light portraits is different to the way the majority of photographers do, the look of my headshots is different to the work of the majority of photographers you will have seen on the internet. The albums I provide clients for events are different to the majority you will have seen because I designed them myself and I am telling the story. I am happy my work is different to other photographers. That won’t appeal to everybody. I’m happy with that too.

  • Hi my name is Kevin Cull and I’m a Hertfordshire based Headshot and Portrait Photographer. I am extremely grateful to be able to to do what I love which is bring out the best in people and make them look fabulous whilst capturing for them a unique moment in time. I am committed to providing local businesses with high quality images for use in their internal communications, Social Media campaigns and business profiles.

    Communication everywhere is changing. Our parents have lived through the era of radio and then television. We have lived through the era of the desktop computer and mobile laptop. We are currently in the age of the smartphone and as these devices get more and more sophisticated the need for a professionally crafted headshot easily seen on this platform is no longer an option, it’s a pre-requisite of anyone wishing to be taken seriously in business.

    If you have a moment google yourself and your business.

    1: Do you have a current portrait easily found on your website?

    2: Does your business portraits and profile images have a clean non-distracting background?

    3: Are your profile pictures showing you as  approachable and professional?

    4: If a Human Resources department or professional colleagues look at your Linkedin profile would they see someone who has taken the time to show themselves off in the best light?

    5: Do you care?

    If the answer to any of the above questions other than 5 is “no” then I would suggest there is a very good case to get them updated. I know you don’t necessarily have time to go to a specialist studio in London for instance. I know your diary is full, you know it needs to be done but don’t have time for the logistics?

    Why not contact me at: kevin@kevincullphotography.com and arrange a shoot? You will be surprised at the value you receive from getting it done.

    Kindest regards,

    Kevin.

  • As you may have gathered I love photography, I also love playing with photography related gear. I had to stop to think for a minute when a friend asked me the other day, How many camera’s do you own? I have too many. I would like to qualify that by saying too many in so much that I can use all of them, but if I am honest, I am only professionally competent with three. This shocked me but the answer to this mini dilemma is obvious, I only use three on a regular basis, the others I bring out as the mood takes me; I then have to re-aquaint myself with the item before I load the role of film and live on the edge for 24 or 36 frames!

    I watched a documentary the other day, “Life Through a lens” Annie Liebovitz, by her sister Barbara.It is an amazing documentary which I have no intention of spoiling for you here; go watch it. My point is that Annie is so wrapped up in the momment, that she does not appear to care what camera she is using, Digital,Film,Rangefinder,DSLR,Medium Format,quite often changing mid shoot,and yet with consummate ease, gets the shot and calls an abrupt end to proceedings knowing she has got what she wanted. Wouldn’t it be nice to have that level of confidence and competence to know you can get the shot with any camera you are given?

    My age tells me two things here..

    1st: You are not gonna cram 50 years daily shooting experience into the life you have left. Get over it.

    2nd: You are only any good at anything when you practice it!

    I’m off now to guess what…….Practice something!

  • The human body is an incredible creation and something that never ceases to amaze me on so many levels. So did you know you have a dominant eye? Well, you do and so does everyone else. If you hold your thumb up at arms length and cover an item at the far side of the room you are in and then cover or close one eye after the other you will notice that with one eye the item you are covering will have jumped left or right. But the in the dominant eye the thumb will remain over the item you have covered, this is your dominant eye! You are welcome.

  • Thank you and welcome

    Since there are technically some new faces around here, I thought I’d take a quick moment to introduce myself!

    My name is Kevin Cull, I’m a Headshot and Portrait photographer. But enough about me!

    So a new era, a new blog platform, WordPress. It took a long time and I am sorry about that, but I am thrilled that you’re here. I’ll be posting news, updates, ideas, announcements, and any interesting documents and links I can find on this page, alerting you to what’s new.

    Whilst you are waiting, though, I would really encourage you to subscribe, it’s free and I’ll never rent or sell your information to anyone. RSS is the way to be sure that nothing stands between you and this blog, and I would certainly recommend it.

    PS: If you have already subscribed to my blog, no need to do it again, but if you’re not sure, go for it, you never know until you try it, I’ll make sure not to intrude any more than absolutely necessary.