Professional Photographer- Duncan Philpott

Duncan Philpott is a professional freelance and sports photographer. Sports photography ranges from photojournalism like websites and magazines to the commercial side like advertising and product launches which is the more creative aspect. Duncan specialises in cycling and motorbike photography. He started out with photography at 13 when he was on holiday and had a cut on his leg and couldn't use the pool, so his uncle let him borrow a camera and teach him to take photos.

He started out posting pictures in Flikr and in magazines, and did photography at AS level, then went to university and studied maths. He got interested in taking photos of bikes when he started cycling, and the widely recognised world champion cyclist 'Steve Peat' got him involved in the cycling world. The key to this type of photography is getting known by meeting people and putting yourself out on the map.

The industry works by people looking for prominent and well known individuals as well as being hired by magazines. Also retailers, magazines and websites are always looking to hire photographers and pay to use the photos for their sites etc. as these things are big i  the sports photography world. Lots of travel is also involved with this type of job.

The gear that needs to be used does not always need to be the latest high tech equipment, but it has to be able to withstand the harsh environments that may be visited. The cameras must be waterproof in case of showers. The lenses have to be fast and responsive as the events don't happen twice so capturing the best shot is a priority. The equipment needs a CPS support check which is basically a servicing for the camera. The equipment should be small and moveable as a lot of travel is involved, also an inconspicuous hiking bag is a good idea to use. A monopod is a good idea to use so different angles can be obtained.

It is an adventure sport so there is lots of travelling to outdoor environments involved. He has travelled to the world series for many years for photography. He has travelled around Canada, Africa, Norway, Italy, Austria and Australia in a short amount of time for shoots.

In sheffield there are many different places for photography, as the city has industrial roots all around the city. There is also the peak district with lots of natural features.

There is lots of paperwork involved in the industry. Lots of the paperwork consists of invoices, taxes and returns and also article proposals which is asking round newspapers and magazines. There is also lots of planning of shots that needs to be done like shot lists and angles as well as location scoutings. Usually on professional photo shoots you have to stay up until 2:00 am and get up at 6:30 am for the best times for shooting. There is also lots of travelling and half days involved. Commercial work is done on a day rate which usually fluctuates depending on the size of the company you are working for.

When photos are taken, at first they have to be tagged, which means ticking all photos that are a good enough quality. Then deciding on the best ones or suitable ones to take them from thousands to tens. When selecting the images to use, systematically choose the ones you don't want and use the process of elimination to decide on the best ones to use. Also if the photos are for more than one person/business tag the photos using different colours.

Developing your personal style is a good starting point for your photography. It is always good to decide on a genre that your photos will be taken with, then develop this into a style of your own photography.

When revisiting the same event or location year on year it becomes difficult to capture unique images so it is good to always think of new things to do in that area. Usually in commercial photo shoots, clients are looking for things that are different. This is a time to be creative with your ideas to create original photography.

Sheffield Photographer Research

Chris Saunders is a photographer. He has worked as a photographer for 10 years. He has taken photos of many different famous people; authors, actors, film directors, musicians, comedians etc. His list of clients include; The Guardian, Sony, EMI, Universal and many others.

He became interested in photography around 20 years ago when he borrowed an SLR to take photos of a Cat. He studied photography at the university of manchester and worked his way to the top, taking photos of Oscar winning actors and many other famous people.

1. What's your favourite type of photography
2. When did it become a career
3. Favourite project?
4. When do you know you've got the image you want
5. Favourite thing about the job

Mark Harvey owns ID8 photography. It is a photography company that takes gritty, realistic and unsentimental that show reality in the criminal justice sector. They also work with business' to turn editors heads and help them notice the business. They take high quality, professional images with the best of equipment.

1. Favourite type of photography
2. Best part about the Job 
3. Job before ID8
4. When did it become a career
5. Favourite place for photography

Mark Harvey gave me some valuable information on photo taking. The 3 key principles of photography are exposure, focus and time. The best photos are not necessarily taken with the best equipment but from a clever angle or an inspirational scene. He told us about how to pre visualise images before taking them and write ideas down as you are thinking of them

Duncan Philpott is a photographer from Sheffield and is one of two people from Steel City Media. For him, photography was always a passion, it became a career when he moved to Sheffield to study a maths degree. It started just taking a few photos, to a career which has seen him take photos for the UCI mountain bike world cup series.

1. When did it become a career
2. Best part about the job
3. Best Project
4. Favourite place for photography
5. How do you capture the images and make everything else blurred

Research into 4 types of photography

http://prezi.com/lphylxkipkse/photographers-and-their-styles/

Script for Photostory

Visual	Script	Duration
Picture of camera	There are many different styles of photography that capture different scenes, objects and people in many different ways, with each style trying to capture a different thing with the photos that are taken.	10 seconds
Picture of slide tackle	Sports photography is a type of photography that aims to capture action shots of people in sport. It is used for magazines and newspapers as well as for advertising purposes.	12 seconds
Picture of hurdler	I have chosen Bob Martin as my sports photographer, as he has taken many famous photos of sporting events. The photos he takes are great as he tries to capture the emotion of the person(s) in the event its self, which he does very well.	15 seconds
Picture of Usain Bolt	I have chosen this image of Usain Bolt as it was taken as he won the 200m final in Beijing. The reason the photo is so great is because it captures the raw emotion from Bolt as he won the second event of his Olympics.	15 seconds
Picture of wasp	Macro photography captures photos extremely close and tries to make the animal or object captured look larger than it is in real life.	10 Seconds
Picture of Dragonfly	I chose Heather Angel as my macro photographer as she is able to capture animals and plants in a way that makes them look much larger than they are and in much more detail than can be seen without a camera.	15 Seconds
Giraffe Beetle	I have chosen this image of this beetle as it shows it much larger than it really is and it captures the detail on the beetles back, which gives the photo more depth which makes it a great photo.	12 Seconds
Angus Young	Band photography is taking photos of bands in live performances, studios and many other places. The idea is to capture the mood and feel the band tries to portray to the listener.	12 Seconds
The Clash	I have chosen Jenny Lens as my band photographer. This is because she has captured many bands over the years. She was particularly influential in the 70’s within the punk scene, especially with bands like The Clash and Sex Pistols.	15 Seconds
Sex Pistols	I have chosen this image of the Sex Pistols as I feel it demonstrates the angry and rebellious mood that the punk movement and the Sex Pistols created. I feel it is a powerful image that perfectly captures what the Sex Pistols are about.	15 Seconds
Albert Einstein	Portrait photography is a type of photography that captures a person or group of people. The aim of the style is to capture the expression and emotion from the person/group when the image is taken.	13 Seconds
Portrait of Yousuf Karsh	I have chosen Yousuf Karsh as my portrait photographer He was born in 1908 in Turkey. I chose Karsh, as he is one of the most iconic photographers who ever lived. His portrait of Winston Churchill is one of the most widely recognised portraits ever. He has many distinguishable traits that make him one of the greats of portrait photography.	25 Seconds
Winston Churchill	I have chosen this photo of Churchill as it was taken during the war in 1941. He has a stern expression on his face, yet Karsh has captured the uncertainty and worry that the British leader would have felt at the time.	16 Seconds
Sea and mountain landscape	Landscape photography is a photo that captures a large area. Often these areas captured are vast and unspoiled lands of beauty, although some can be small areas of land too. Often the photo’s are taken of natural landscapes but can also be of natural areas that have human disturbances to the environment.	20 Seconds
Waterfall	I have chosen Aaron Reed as my landscape photographer as he takes many images from places across the world. He usually takes images of natural landscapes but sometimes he takes photos of landscapes that intertwine with man made influences.	15 Seconds
Mt. Baker	I have chosen this image of Mt. Baker in Shuksan as it is a beautiful photo with an array of colours. It is great as it is a landscape outside of an industrial world.	12 Seconds

Wide Angle Lens Images

Using the wide angle lens allowed me to capture a large area of landscape and capture parts of the image which would usually be on the periphery of the photo. I will use the wide angle lens to take a landscape image of sheffield for my project. I would like be able to create more curvature on the photo to give more depth to the image.






Using the wide angle lens allowed me to take a photo of this art on the side of this building from a short distance away. Had I have used a normal lens I may not have been able to capture all the wall as I may have been too close.