stevenson.snaps

Although I am incredibly passionate when it comes to nature shots – I don’t only photograph animals, I have always been quite fascinated by shots people have taken of skies, ocean waves and just truly showcased some of nature’s beauty.

Landscape shots have also been something I’ve been interesting. Although I sadly cannot travel the world at this time in my life, I have been wanting to travel to either Wales or Scotland as they have some beautiful scenery.

Lee Scott

Armand Sarlangue

Armand Sarlangue’s incredible shot of Senja Island, located in Norway towers nearly 640 meters above the sea. What I love about this image is the contrasting colours of the sky – the almost golden light contrasts the dark and kind of gloomy blue make it seem like a “good VS evil” scenario, it’s hard to believe they are the same place as it almost looks like two different worlds colliding.

Mike Olbinski

Mike Olbinski’s image is similar to Armand’s, it almost looks surreal. As it isn’t the typical seen colours in storms; dark greys, blacks and whites, it almost seems less intimidating – the purple in the clouds gives it that almost fantasy look to it.

Thomas Heaton

As I had previously stated, the colours in the image makes it look surreal. However, in this case there isn’t any real danger, the mixture of purples and oranges makes it merely impossible to stop and look at it in awe.

Warren Keelan

Kamil Nureev

Russell Wiltshire

Russell Wiltshire has done several shoots for National Geographic – his landscape photos are truly outstanding, he really has an incredible eye for landscape photography.

REQUIREMENTS

Although there aren’t really any formal requirements needed in order to become a full-time or a professional landscape photographer, you still need to be able to have great patience as this sort of thing take time if you want to get the perfect shot. You need to be willing to make sacrifices for it, it will take a lot of your time and effort in order to get anywhere with it. Have a passion for it, if you haven’t got truly any passion for something such as photography, it shows.

It is essential  that you have a back-up plan in case your photography career goes downhill because if you invest everything you have on becoming a photographer – although it is great you have the passion, what are you going to do if it doesn’t work out?

Being a freelance photographer takes a lot of time, it doesn’t happen overnight. You have to have patience and you have to be completely aware of the fact, you have to wait – whether that be days, weeks or months.

SALARY

The average pay for a photographer is £10.37 an hour, it is said that the average annual salary for a photographer is £20,757.

The majority of my photos involve nature in one way or another. However, I have always been rather passionate about animals – when I was younger I was intrigued by National Geographic as I would constantly watch documentaries. When I first got a camera I immediately began taking photos of my pets at home and would get extremely excited when I had a new opportunity to take photos.

My family and I went to several nature parks and zoos which allowed me to capture many photos that I remain proud of.

Growing up my family had many pets which is presumably the root of my passion for animals, I found them to be beautiful and intelligent – as a child I wanted to become a member of the WWF as I was, and still am, very passionate about not only admiring animals but saving them as well.

REQUIREMENTS

National Geographic

Although there isn’t your typical list of requirements such as grades or a certain amount of experience however, the majority of National Geographic photographers have had 5 to 10 years in photojournalism with other magazines or newspapers They are freelance photographers who are highly skilled in different areas:

– Wildlife
– Landscape
– Underwater
– Aerial
– Cultural
– Portraiture

The National Geographic Magazine (NGM) has a assignment to assignment basis where they select a few photographers and stories are developed internally. The magazine’s editors meeting regularly in order to discuss possible stories. Articles take months of planning – sometimes years in advance. The assignment is given to the photographer that they believe is best fitted and will have the best outcome.

National Geographic also have a place where you are able to upload your own photos which gives you a chance to be featured on their site – they also have a section where you can pick up tips and tricks from some of their talented photographers.

SALARY

The majority of Wildlife photographers make anything between £18,000 and £30,000 a year, however it could be a greater amount depending on the individual.

Hiroki Inoue

The majority of wildlife photography captures how elegant some creatures are and just how intelligent they are. However, there are times that they catch the comedic side of nature.

Charlie Richardson

Paul Bauchman

Shane Keena

MY PHOTOS

The first image I took whilst I visited Longleat, some of the photos I had taken that day are quite blurry as this was when I first got my camera and began to become more invested in taking photos.

The second image was taken at the Isle Of Wight zoo, I loved taking pictures of them however they kept moving.

Whilst visiting Staunton Park, I immediately took several photos of this adorable baby alpaca.

Once we were over on the Isle Of Wight, we visited the falconry where I took countless photos of the beautiful birds of prey they had there.

For work experience I attended the show at the 1865 where students from Fareham College would be performing. This was my first time doing a shoot at a gig, but I am quite pleased with how the photos came out.

It took me a while getting used to the settings before slowly getting more accustomed to it, the first few shots I had taken were either too dark or blurry so I practiced a bit before finally getting some shots that did the incredible performances justice.

The one thing I had found difficult was the lighting and the smoke machine made it a bit of a challenge but as I previously stated, once I got the hang of the right angle, location, etc, it became significantly easier.

Another issue I had encountered was the movement on stage – some acts were quite calm, they didn’t move too drastically. However there were a few bands that moved around a lot more than the other, so it was hard trying to get a shot where all fo the members were in focus.

Concert/gig photography has been going on for years, however it still continues to grow in popularity – concerts are constantly improving the audio output and the visuals for the show.

It has been an interest of mine since I first began photography, I have always enjoyed attending concerts as I love the atmosphere – everyone chanting the lyrics of the music and the lighting. 

Jake Chamseddine | Pray For The Wicked Tour, 2019

Jake Chamseddine (@JakeChams on instagram) is a photographer known for his breathtaking concert shots. His most well recognised pieces are from the Panic! At The Disco shows he attends, taking photos of the whole band. His work is undeniably incredible, he always seems to capture magnificent shots throughout the entirety of the show.

Jake Chamseddine | Pray For The Wicked Tour, 2019

Concert photography first became popular during the advent of Rock n Roll – bands such as The Rolling Stones and The Beatles being at the height of their popularity and people desired the memorabilia during the 1950s and 1960s.

Gered Mankowitz is an English photographer who was mainly recognised for his work in the music industry, working with artist such as The Rolling Stones, Duran Duran, Elton John and Jimi Hendrix.

Gered Mankowitz | Mick Jagger, 1965

Paul Natkin is another photographer who was highly recognised back in the 1970s, he worked with music icons such as The Rolling Stones, Prince and Bruce Springsteen. Paul has also done work for big magazines such as People, Entertainment Weekly, Playboy and Time.

Paul Natkin | Prince, 1982