This was my first wedding shot at The George and it’s an absolutely stunning venue: Michelle and Sean’s wedding decor fitted the style of the Georgian Ballroom just perfectly. Hope you enjoy the pics and please feel free to leave some love for Michelle and Sean in the comments box at the end of this post. Jade x

I’ve got several weddings to blog that I shot towards the end of last summer, as well as a couple of toddler shoots to post, but with looking after a demanding baby, things will be running at a slightly slower pace… In the meantime, you can enjoy some latest wedding pics on the homepage of my website (full portfolio update to follow shortly!) Jade x

Huge thanks to the lovely editor Cath for asking me to be part of the mag. Happy weekend everyone! x

Here are some photos from the day – please feel free to leave some love for Jessica and Ned using the comments box at the bottom of this post. Jade x

But first, I’m really pleased to share the work of award-winning photographer Nick Saglimbeni – I’ve got my husband to thank for asking Nick the questions, as he recently interviewed him for the September issue of Professional Photographer magazine (out now by the way).

Nick is a professional photographer with ten years experience and he has photographed for high-profile magazines and brands including People, Ocean Drive, Hamptons, The Wall Street Journal, Maxim, OK, LA Confidential, Photoshop User, and the New York Times. He has also photographed both national and international campaigns for Skechers, Sears, Wacom and Nuvo. You may have seen him on Keeping up with the Kardashians, as he is one of the only photographers Kim Kardashian and her family uses. He is based in LA and also runs photography and editing courses, while pioneering 3D photography for which this year he won a Sony World Photo Award.

What has been the most memorable assignment/project you have photographed and why?

I have many but I guess the most recent was when I was shooting in Egypt during the revolution there last year. I went to shoot for the magazine and my cab driver dragged me into Tahir Square to see what was going on. It was so odd because people were throwing fire bombs but also selling cotton candy. It was like a street fair, but a really wild one! When I went to Egypt people were saying, you know there is a revolution going on it is not a good time to go, but I had friends there so I was not worried.

What do you love most about photography?

I think I have always just loved women, it is such a generic answer, but I always wanted to capture a moment of beauty in a way people had not done before. And I like to think I can do it with almost anyone, I think I can get someone far less comfortable in front of a camera than supermodels say, and so make them look good. It is about creating a hyper positive environment in which everyone feels good about themselves.

What’s the best photography lesson anyone gave you?

The best lesson I got that I apply to my photography isn’t actually directly related to photography. A friend of mine who is a relatively big personality, was telling me how she had had to be up at 4.30am for filming and was really grouchy and a friend called her and asked how she was. She complained about the early starts and the workload and he said, oh I know how you feel, I have been up since 3am. And she said that in that moment she realised there will always be someone willing to work harder than you. And that is a good lesson to live by. The other thing I was taught was that you should never get too big for your job. Your mission is to serve the audience, which does not mean everyone but something true to the people your work resonates with.

Name one picture that made you say “I wish I could take a photo like that”?

The five supermodels sitting on the ground taken by Herb Ritts. It is the most famous glamour shot in the world and my most favourite photograph ever taken. The girls are all nude but they are not showing anything, so it was one of the first controversial tasteful shots. It was an era before heavy retouching so all those girls actually looked like that. It was the first time they mixed races in a picture – white and black models intertwined, which I thought was just awesome. There is an innocence about the girls too, despite the fact they are the ultimate vixens. There is a vulnerability to them.

If you could choose to shoot with just one lens, what would it be and why?

I don’t think I want to give that away! I will say I always shoot primes, as I don’t like zoom lenses. I like the discipline of knowing your focal length. I think zoom lenses accommodate to much laziness in photography, as it doesn’t force you to think about composition.

On a side note, if you like documentary photography then the Canon 5D Mark III is just incredible. I have never seen natural light look that good in my life. The biggest focus with the Mark II also was that the auto focus was slow and does not calibrate properly, but with the Mark III, there is hawk vision focus and the subtleties are incredible.

All images (c) Nick Saglimbeni 

A huge thank you to Nick (and my other half!) for taking the time to provide a little glimpse into your world. For loads more info on all of Nick’s projects visit http://www.slickforce.com or you can follow him on twitter @NickSaglimbeni. 

What has been the most memorable assignment/project you have photographed and why?

I worked for 10 years on my project ‘Survivors’, which is one of the most memorable projects for me. Once an 8-year old balloon maker told me: “I took some damaged balloons for my little sister, I have no time to play. I have only time to support my parents.” It was at that point that I realised should turn my lens on lives like hers.

After that my aim with ‘Survivors’ has moved beyond documentation only. My goal is to bring as much help as possible to such people as these. A soon to be published book called Survivors aims to lift the lives of those who are depicted in the book . 25% of the sale price will go directly to assisting some of the people featured in the book. I have already taken the small step to assist ten families who feature in the book and I have been actively monitoring the changes in their lives. It’s a matter of great bliss to watch a factory boy sitting beside his father in their own vegetable shop. Their smiles are priceless to me, particularly when I think back to the grim portraits that I’ve found myself taking in child-labour factories. To be able to show the other side makes it all worthwhile.

What do you love most about photography?

How it underlines our lives, our awareness: by transforming sufferings into photographs, I persist to treasure and poke the ‘spinal chord’ of the world.

I see the beauty of people and the human soul in the pictures I take. And though the circumstances of some of the people I portray may be grim, back-breaking, depraved, the people themselves are always remarkable characters and souls. Photography is my language; to access, to communicate, to identify and mostly to make it ‘hear’. I breathe in photography. Without photography I have no existence.

What’s the best photography lesson anyone gave you?

‘Click, click and keep clicking, until your thirst become eternal, until you make your own kind’ – I am following this rule throughout my lifetime.

Name one picture that made you say “I wish I could take a photo like that”?

There are numerous images. I often look at images of James Nachtwey and wish I could take pictures like his. Being able to be placed in those places for taking photographs is absolutely impossible for a Bangladeshi photographer like me.

If you could choose to shoot with just one lens, what would it be and why?

35mm. This lens is not too wide, but it allows for a little bit of wide-angle. You can almost get close to the frame that you see through your eyes. I don’t like shooting too wide-angle, as it destroys the image. I prefer to keep the picture as natural as it is in reality.

All images (c) GMB Akash 

Thank you so much GMB Akash for taking the time to provide such an interesting insight into your life as a travel photographer. I wish I could take images half as good as his, they are truly incredible. You can see more of his work in the following places:

www.gmb-akash.com

www.akash-images.com

www.gmbakash.wordpress.com

You can also read more about his book Survivors and order a copy here: http://121clicks.com/articlesreviews/gmb-akash-talking-about-his-new-book-survivors

Here are some of my favourite shots from the day – thanks to both Tessa and Jon and their families and friends for making us feel very welcome and enjoying the day so much. Feel free to leave some love for Tessa and Jon using the comments box at the end of this post. Enjoy! Jade x

Today’s interview is with Julian Dodd, who takes some seriously good portraits as in-house photographer at Haymarket Business Media as well as shooting successfully on a freelance basis.

What has been the most memorable assignment/project you have photographed and why?

Probably the most memorable was memorable for all the wrong reasons. I took Bernie Ecclestone’s photograph for Management Today in which he successfully met his reputation. On meeting, he made demands on what was allowed and what he wanted and made it very clear he was not happy to have his photograph taken. With little time allowed I made a judgement for the full frame head shot. With his face big in the frame and after asking a number of times for a happier, more approachable look, he retained the unhappy moody look into the lens. Instead of looking a gift horse in the mouth I clicked the shutter and captured the unhappiness within. He then left by insulting my assistant. Still, it got the cover.

What do you love most about photography?

For the most part, the people in the industry and getting a great picture in print. Although print has taken a battering over the past few years I’m very positive about the future of photography. It is an amazing medium and captures and conveys an idea in a second, something that video can never do. It’s that immediacy and versatility which keeps the medium of photography alive, and as long as people value communication, then this medium has a long life.

What’s the best photography lesson anyone gave you?

The best lesson anyone ever gave me was to build a relationship with your subject before you get down to photographing them. This can’t always be done as you’re often fighting time, but it’s during this time that you understand who they are, but as importantly they start to understand the type of person you are and this is where trust, respect and admiration is created. By listening to the subject and who they are, the shots start to happen by themselves. Also, it helps by paying your relationship more attention than constantly being worried about the technical aspects of the shoot.

Name one picture that made you say “I wish I could take a photo like that”?

There are so many great contemporary photographers, and I hate to hark back to an earlier age. But one of my favourite shots is one that Richard Avedon took of Marilyn. We are so used to seeing Marilyn toying seductively with the camera that it became an easy shot for any photographer to get. But on this occasion Marilyn thinks she has a spare moment with her thoughts whilst Avedon changes film, but he just snaps her before she has time to put her happy face back on. Lost in her thoughts she seems a little more vulnerable, concerned and perhaps unhappy. Not the look of her we are familiar with.

If you could choose to shoot with just one lens, what would it be and why?

The 50mm. Its the closest focal length to that of the eye but restrains the eye to have a black border and framing. It’s the lens that everyone should learn on because you don’t have to learn the added element of wide and telephoto lenses which have their own rules. 50mm is not as fun as a wide angle but it will not suffers fools easily. So you will learn composition and framing and how to communicate well with your subjects.

All images (c) Haymarket Julian Dodd

Thank you Julian for this great insight into portrait photography. You can see more of Julian’s portfolio on his website http://www.juliandodd.com
 as well as follow him on twitter @Julian_Dodd.