As a wedding photographer in London, some people say how fortunate I am to be in the right place at the right time for my photography, as if I seem to have some kind of luck where all the action happens around me.

But that couldn’t be further from the truth. Rather, being in the right place at the right time is almost entirely down to anticipation.

When taking photographs and trying to capture that ‘moment’, instead of looking around for the moment that’s already happening look for the moment that will be happening soon.

Because if it’s already happening you’re probably not going to be prepared to photograph it; the camera could still be set for the last photo, the lighting might be at the wrong angle or more simply you might have a zoom lens on the camera when it should be the wide angle.

Instead, look around at what’s going on and try to predict what will happen in the next few minutes. If guests are about to walk into a room and you expect emotion, kisses and hugs, get yourself in the right position now. If you’re walking with the people you’re photographing and you want a specific background, anticipate where they will be in 30 seconds and run ahead to be in the right place.

The two photographs on this page are good examples of this. To capture the photograph on the boat (below) I could see Big Ben was close and would make a good background. I got into position and had to hold the camera with one hand while keeping the balloons out of the way with the other. Then I had to hope the bride would react well to the guests on my right. One made a joke and she turned around laughing. Perfect!

In the second photograph (below) I wanted to get the emotion in the moment of hugging while setting most of the background out of focus. I chose a wide aperture (low ‘f’ number) and got into position, hoping the lady would hug the man in front of me. She did, almost as if prompted by me.

Both examples demonstrate being in the right place and waiting for the moment to happen.

But it won’t always work in your favour. Sometimes you’ll anticipate incorrectly and the picture won’t happen. Never let that get you down and simply move on to the next expectation.

For more details on photography training courses visit www.bonjourphotography.com.

If you want to take some great family photographs this Christmas, why not try something a little different to the very standard ‘grinning-child-with-present’ shots that most people will capture with their ‘point-&-shoot’ cameras.

After all, how many times have we seen the harsh camera flash making people looked shocked and (let’s face it) quite unhealthy!

Here’s one idea for something a little more hand-made. The ‘recipe’ is below. :)

Recipe for the photo above…

Lighting:
- There’s no flash with this and it’s relying purely on the ambient in the room. This also means positioning them both where they’re not in the shade from the main light.
- The benefit of no flash is letting all the background light come through from the fire and Christmas tree to add to the scene.
- The ‘white balance’ setting on the camera allows a very warm kind of light to come through which matches the flavours of Christmas.

Composition:
- Obviously, the children are both positioned to allow the tree-lights and open-fire to set the background.
- A wide aperture (low ‘f’ number) was used to create that mushy out-of-focus background. This shallow ‘depth-of-field’ is important for the photograph but you don’t want it too out-of-focus back there or the colours merge into one and you’ll lose Christmas (shock!) :)
- To make the shot more interesting, they’re both looking straight to the camera with no smiles. This is a good way to encourage slightly older children into a photograph; you can tell them to look more like a rock-star and they’re more likely to buy into your ideas!

Why it’s different (summary):
1. No flash
2. Yummy out-of-focus background
3. ‘Cool’ expressions for kids

So this Christmas why not use some of that spare time to try some new styles of photographs. If nothing else, you’ll have lots of fun with it!

For more information on getting better photographs with your camera, visit www.bonjourphotography.com/training or email simon@bonjourphotography.com.

Being a wedding, portrait and event photographer in London and Hampshire means I have the chance to take some excellent photographs at some amazing venues such as St Martin-in-the-Fields in London, the Lanesborough Hotel on Hyde Park Corner and the University of Oxford.

But it also gives me the chance to photograph some incredible countries such as Singapore and India (two of my favourites from 2011) and capture some fantastic photographs with both colour and black and white photography.

So this year I want to know which photographs are your favourites. That’s why I’m asking you to give a rating to the photographs below which were all taken throughout 2011 – except for one which sneaked it from the end of 2010 (see if you can guess which one!)

What to do
Simple. Just look through the photographs below and give the ones you really like a 5-star rating. You can score each image between one and five stars, and you can choose to score as many (or as few) as you like.

Then just enter your name and email address in the two boxes underneath the set of photos for the chance to win a free portrait shoot.

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Now that you’ve scored your favourite images, just enter you name and email address in the boxes below to be entered into the draw to win a free portrait shoot.

The winning entry for the competition will be pulled from a hat and broadcast here on this blog so you can see who the winner is.

Will it be you?!

Good luck with the competition!

I sent an email to friends and family last Friday which contained updates on being a photographer in Hampshire and London etc., but I included something quite fun. Right at the bottom of the email was a small section for people who made it all the way to the bottom.

It was called, ‘Congratulations for making it all the way,’ and I invited people to enter a competition by emailing me saying they’d done just that.

All that was needed was an email saying, “I made it all the way” and their entry in the competition was secure.

So last night, I threw all the names into a hat (literally) and pulled out a winner. On camera.

Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQJ53Wt9DDs