Karen Strunks Professional Birmingham-based Freelance Photographer

My first Birmingham Post Pic!

The Gardeners Weekend was held in Kings Heath Park last weekend. The day before it opened I was sent to take some pics for the Birmingham Mail. People were very thin on the ground and the few people that were there were setting up stands.

I saw some Mothers with children in a nearby play area, so I had a word with them, gathered them up and took them to an area of the park that had some iron statues of animals. In my haste I forgot to take the names of the children. A lesson learned!

I thought that if any of the pictures were going to be used, it would be in the Birmingham Mail, so I was delighted to find out that the Birmingham Post used one of the pictures! That is my first published picture in the Birmingham Post, and another goal achieved.

A few of my other pictures from the day have been used on the Birmingham Mail website.

I am quite pleased with this picture, though the background could have been better. I suspect that could have been corrected by changing the angle. A step ladder had to be sourced so I could get level with the gentlemen.

I have a little acronym I try to remember: F.A.B

Flash – When to use it. What direction to aim it. Can I bounce it off anything? Will it create shadows? Should I take it off the camera and hold it above or to the side of the subject?

Angle – Try to use different angles and not just shoot the subject straight on. Don’t shoot up somebody’s nose*! Get creative and work around the subject.

Background – Do a background check. What’s going on behind the subject? Is there a pole sticking out of someones head? Is the background too busy? Does the background distract from the subject?

*I am quite short. Well, shorter than some people anyway. After having a chat with the picture editor, he advised that where possible I stand further away from taller people and then zoom in, as opposed to standing close to the subject. This way the angle won’t be so severe and I should avoid the ‘up the nose’ shots!