Neil Lennon and Michelle McManus
Like many photographers, I balance a full time job with my hobby/part-time business. One of the things I have done over the last 18 months though is to donate some of my time to Marie Curie Cancer Care where I take photographs at various events around Scotland. Not only is it a good thing to work with a charity, it’s also a great testing ground for you to try different things with your photography. The events I have covered challenged me with all kinds of weather conditions from the harshest sun to the wettest rain and from the perfect lighting of the golden hour in Fort William to low light photography on Thursday evening at Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery.
So if you want to get additional experience by volunteering you need to also practice the skills that a professional photographer needs. An ability to take control of situations using humour and good people skills – when you have a volunteer who has ran 9km, covered in mud and is just about to jump into a freezing river it takes a personable smile and a bit of encouragement for them to not mind having a camera lens in-front of them. Again great experience for a want-to-be photographer.
The benefit I have seen from volunteering is getting your name recognised for doing quality work and then enjoying the publicity of word of mouth that then opens up other opportunities. If you are trying to gain experience in the world of photography, perhaps even wanting to progress into the professional world of press photography then I can highly recommend contacting a charity and volunteering your services – you’ll find it is good for your photography to be good.
One of my aims for this year is to get out of the studio more and into locations. Ideally I’m also looking to work using natural light. I’ve spent the day working with a lovely model in Edinburgh which has allowed me to practice getting the most from the available light of the large patio window of the hotel that we shot in. This is one of the best images from the day. Any models who would like to work with me in this style should e-mail me and we can arrange a suitable venue and date.
