Charlotte Bellamy Creative Photography newsletter - July 2022

Charlotte Bellamy Creative photography Newsletter – Issue 5 – July 2022

www.charlottebellamy.com charlotte@charlottebellamy.com

What’s in the newsletter….

This is a newsletter to keep you all UpToDate with training opportunities and my work. I hope you find it useful. New for 2022 will be a useful article in each newsletter I hope you can gain inspiration from, or useful ideas to try.

2022 – From tulips to sand dunes and everything in between! (A round up of what I’ve been up to since the last newsletter) ICM article Online course dates – September 2022 – January 2023 In-person workshop dates – 2022 and 2023 Fame in France!!!!!!

Photo books – Your in depth article for this issue YouTube channel Blogs and other photographer’s I’d like to share with you

2022 so far – From tulips to the dunes and everything in between When I have written to you all in the past and asked if you would like to receive a newsletter, I have always made it clear you won’t be spammed – in fact it seems that I really should try and contact you all more often! I can’t believe its 5 months since I last wrote to you all! I follow and am mentored by a wonderful photographer at the moment and he manages to send out an inspiring newsletter every week, that I absolutely love reading – I think I procrastinate too much for anything like that!

To be honest, the regularity of the newsletters is unlikely to change, but I do promise that each one will contain a useful informative article, an update on what I’ve been up to since I spoke to you previously and information on the latest course offerings (online and in person.

For now, Covid seems to have taken a back seat in our lives, and travel and seeing family is back on the agenda. Although it has been a time of great uncertainty for everyone, I still feel blessed that the pandemic sent me online and out into the world to meet all of you. Just last night I was finishing a course online and we had individuals from the UK, Denmark, New Zealand and myself in The Netherlands. Another ongoing course we have a strong Irish and American and English contingent (2 of each). When it comes to sharing homework images, I love the diversity of results everyone shares and is exposed to. It’s always fun to see palm tree images in the middle of winter, and to see the diverse coastal and city locations you all have access to.

So far this year, April and May whizzed by in a blur! I still have 1000’s of tulip images to work through, but I shall look forward to these when the days get a bit darker and the colours remind me spring is not so far away. In May, I made my 1st trip back to the UK in around 3 years, especially to run the Norfolk waves and woodlands workshop. In June the online workshops have continued, and I have got out to do a little photography for myself, and I’ve managed to find time to ride my pony, who enjoyed her 2-month holiday and is now looking a little porky!

My personal trees project is ongoing, and with the support of my mentor I am starting to think about how it might all come together. Trying to make decisions about which images to put forward for a book and the way I might want to present it is exciting but quite daunting.

Another book that I have been working on for a couple of years all about rekindling the love of photography is also back on the table, and I am working with someone at the moment to try and realise that as well.

So, enjoy this newsletter, hopefully a balanced blend of lovely images and useful information. Enjoy your photography

Charlie x

Tulips After 2 years of not seeing any guests out in the tulip fields, this year made up for that. Not only did I welcome some wonderful people, we were blessed with the most perfect weather for my tour and day bookings. This year I enjoyed a couple of sunrises and sunsets, which were super as it’s a fair effort for me to do either of these, living around 2 hours from the tulip fields.

For anyone not familiar with the tulip season here in Holland, its actually very short. There is a window of around 3 weeks when you can pretty much guarantee finding fields of tulips, but it does depend entirely on the weather in April, and the winter and spring before. With ten years’ experience however, I do feel I am on top of this with regards to planning tours and day trips for my guests, and I always start the season with a rece round all the possible locations, so I can guarantee super (off the beaten track) photographic opportunities.

Whilst 90% of tulip tours head for Keukenhof and the surroundings, this is the one place I actually try and steer away from! It’s sad, but since arriving here, this area has become a victim of its own success. The Keukenhof park is so very busy I prefer to be there only in the first 2 or last 2 hours if possible. And because of the lack of respect shown by so many tourists towards the flower fields, those in this location are now surrounded by rolls of barbed wire – offering a distanced experience to the bulb fields.

So, I always head north, to an area with less public transport links, a little further from the city, and an area where I have contact with individual farmers. We can get into the fields, hardly meet any other photographers or tourists and actually the landscape is so much nicer there as well. Guests chat with farmers out in the fields and have the opportunity to learn a little more about the tulip growing business of Holland.

Guests returned to the Netherlands from America, and I had the pleasure of guiding a number of individuals and couples out into the tulips for the day. The beauty of these individual tours, is that I tailor them to the exact desires of my guest – tulips, windmills, nice lunch or dinner location, small villages, sunrise or sunset – nothing is too much trouble to ensure the experience is unique.

This year I led the Light and Land tulips tour for the first time. Originally planned with Sue Bishop, a broken wrist meant that I ended up leading the tour on my own. I know everyone would have loved Sue to have joined us with her wonderful macro flower photography expertise, but we still enjoyed a wonderful and varied tour. A stunning sunset in Amsterdam the 1st evening and a very early start for sunrise in the tulip fields was well rewarded. First light out in the tulip fields is always very special to experience, however many times I do it.

Sunset with a number of different sets of guests from America was special this year – although a real challenge to photograph.

It’s always a bonus to find a windmill with tulips surrounding it – 80% of those images you see on the internet are photoshopped! You would think that it would be easy to find these locations, but every single year, tulips are planted in different fields. Only one in 7 years will tulips bloom in the same location due to crop rotation techniques to manage pests and diseases. This is why, although I always hope to be lucky to share this with guests, I can never 100% guarantee it. This year I was gifted a new location, and because every time I visited we shot from different angles, and experienced varying weather conditions, I collected a diverse set of images this year. Whilst I love the blue skies and sun for lighting up the colours, a moody stormy sky also sets the colours off beautifully.

Bluebells Returning to the UK in early May this year, I got another first chance opportunity to photograph bluebells. Here in the Netherlands, growing conditions are not optimal for carpets of bluebells, so to be back in the UK at the right time for these blue beauties was a real treat. Right on my parent’s doorstep, a couple of bluebell woods. I found it quite a challenge to create the ICM images I imagined, as the light conditions were quite harsh.

However, creating this multiple exposure using an ICM and non ICM image, I felt captured the vibrancy, colour and fresh hope and optimism and joy I felt while there with my camera.

Time for something rather different – Birds and beasts Now as they say, time for something completely different! Sometimes you just need to be in the right place at the right time, and so it was when I went to photograph a neighbour’s cows going out onto grass for the 1st time in the spring – an absolute spectacle of joy, frivolity and energy to behold – I was smiling behind the camera all the time.

The chance of doing some bird photography whilst at the farm photographing gambling cows was not exactly on my agenda, and I’m no bird photographer- honestly have no patience to stand and wait for a bird that might arrive or fly off at any time, and I am restricted on my lenses as well, with 200mm being my longest. However, when you are offered a chance to go and have a private viewing of storks, who would I be to turn it down.

Now I am well aware these are not exactly in the realm of ‘creative’ photography – but it’s a wonderful lesson in being adaptable and embracing the opportunity, regardless of whether it is what you expected to photograph r not!

Waves and woodland Actually, hardly any waves and a very short trip to the woodland!

My first trip back to the UK in 3 years, and my first ever workshop in the UK was a super success. 6 Lovely ladies joined me for 2 days on the beach and what should have been a day in the woods. Although the sun shone wonderfully on the beach days (which is not so wonderful for ICM). The woodland day was quite literally a wash out. The group battled admirably for a couple of hours in the sog and drips. But the coffee and cake stop at Sandringham saw most of the group opt to return to the warmth and dry of the pub where we were staying! A couple of determined souls managed another hour with me, but eventually gave in to steamed up lenses and wet shoulders.

Lunch time and take away cake and no tussling for tripod space on my workshops!!!!!

Needless to say, overall everyone really enjoyed the workshop. We started a week before, when we met with an online Zoom meeting to discuss the concepts of ICM and multiple exposure, so everyone would be up and running as soon as we hit the beach. And to follow, 3 weeks after the workshop we all met again online to share our favourite images and discuss learning experiences.

Although there were very few waves due to the beautiful weather, the beaches offered everyone so many wonderful opportunities from wide open landscapes, to sand patterns, wooden break waters, dune grass, beach huts, broken fences and footsteps in the sand.

When we saw each other’s images, it was hard to believe we had all been in the same place!

Everyone worked at their own pace and in whatever style they wanted. Some chose to challenge themselves to ICM only for the 3 days, and others were just enjoying some dedicated photography time.

Dune grass (left) and the mane of a pony grazing in the dunes (right)

Emptiness – dunes, sand, sea and sky

These were just a few of my favourite's. But if you would like to see a few more, I have created a photobook which can be read on line here Blurb https://www.blurb.com/b/11193033-the-norfolk-wind-blows-the-sand-and-sculpts-the-s

Looking forward through 2022 further there are more online courses starting after the summer with dates in the diary to suit all levels of photographer. Check out the workshop section in the newsletter.

This year I will running my creative autumn retreat here in Holland for the second time. Last year was a massive success and this year I can’t wait to welcome more of you to join me in this wonderful area of the Netherlands for a chance to delve deeper into your creative. I have 6 spaces for this retreat and five have already gone, so check out the info in the newsletter if you would like to grab a space.

ICM article I am absolutely delighted and extremely proud to have been asked as one of the leading ICM photographers from around the world to input into a fantastic article (with a number of other photographers) all about ICM. For https://www.bhphotovideo.com/ There are 3 parts to the article - I've added all the links below. We were all asked to share our tips and ideas and suggestions regarding ICM. Naturally, I was more than a bit enthusiastic! Asked for a few tips, I offered pages! LOL But I am so passionate about my ICM, and love to share it, that I couldn't help myself.

Each of the photographers who have input into this article offer their unique take on ICM photography from techniques, equipment, creativity and concepts. Even if you are a seasoned ICM photographer, these articles may introduce you to ICM photographers who you were previously unaware of, who may inspire you and offer new ways at looking at this genre.

I hope you enjoy the articles - I think they offer so many wonderful viewpoints on this creative genre.

Part 1 - Intro https://blogd7.bhphotovideo.com/.../intentional-camera...

Part 2 - Gear and technical https://blogd7.bhphotovideo.com/.../intentional-camera...

Part 3 - Approach and subject specifics https://blogd7.bhphotovideo.com/.../intentionalcamera...

Online course dates for 2022 Intro to ICM – 3 session course – 6 spaces available 6th, 13th and 20th September – Tuesdays 20.00 - 21.30 Central European time (1hr earlier in UK) Over 3 sessions, we will explore the creative process of ICM. Working from a basic understanding of the process, we will build your knowledge so that you can understand why things happen, how you can control them and how you can more creatively express your feelings in this photographic process. Presentations, homework and 1:1 feedback. Course suitable for complete beginners or those with limited ICM experience. Although the 1 st session introduces the basic concepts of why and how, you can work at your own level for the 2nd and 3rd sessions.

Cost for this course is 95 euros per person

Multiple exposures with ICM – 3 session course - 6 places available 8th, 15th and 22nd September 2022 – Thursdays -20.00 - 21.30 Central European time (1hr earlier in UK) Over 3 sessions we will explore various methods to produce multiple exposure images using ICM images. Non-ICM traditional images will also be utilised during the combination process. Lots of real-life examples showing the process from the initial idea, through capture and then post-processing in photoshop. This is not a workshop to learn in-camera multiple exposure work. Presentations, homework and 1:1 feedback.

Cost for this course is 95 euros per person

Creating cohesive bodies of work - 3 session course - 6 places available 16th, 23rd, 30th November - Wednesdays -20.00 - 21.30 Central European time (1hr earlier in UK) Over 3 sessions, we will explore what makes a cohesive body of work and why you might want to create them. An ideal course for anyone wanting to understand how to make images work together in portfolios, creating photo books, presentations, applying for photographic qualifications or wanting to improve the presence and balance of web albums or social media posts. Presentations, homework and 1:1 feedback.

Cost for this course is 95 euros per person

Returning in 2023 Intentional Camera Movement - Deep dive 6 subjects’ course - 6 sessions – 6 spaces available Starting mid January – Tuesdays 20.00 - 21.30 Central European time (1hr earlier in UK) Over 6 sessions I will guide you deep into 6 ICM subjects - Each week a new presentation with loads of material from real shoots to fully understand all the aspects and factors that influence ICM photography from 6 subjects - woodlands and trees, water, architecture and urban, animals, details and the last week will actually cover a number of smaller subject (so actually you get more than 6 subjects!) In addition to the presentation each session you will be asked to submit a homework assignment in response to each presentation. From this, you will gain timely and valuable individual feedback and an opportunity to discuss any challenges you found or questions that you have.

By the end of the course you will have a deeper understanding of a variation of ICM subjects - some you may wish to take further, others you may not. But having the support to

experiment and gain immediate feedback is an invaluable way to learn and be supported if this interests you.

This course is 6 sessions run over a 3-month period. Sessions are 2 weeks apart. This allows adequate time for homework assignments to be completed and lots of time for experimentation and development of understanding.

Cost for this course is 185 euros per person

A reminder of the little extra bonus to signing up for any of my courses Many of you have already completed a course with me, and have enjoyed the bonus of the creative community group I have set up on Facebook for the sharing and feedback of images. Once every few months I also run a free critique session where everyone and anyone in the group is welcome to submit an image (need not be ICM), and we spend the evening discussing the positives and possible improvements that could be made to elevate the images further. A great way to keep in touch with previous class mates, see work from other individuals and hear how images can be improved with just the tiniest of tweaks.

Once you have completed a course you will receive an invite to the group – completely closed and private and only accessible to previous course members or mentor students.

In person workshop dates for 2022 Autumn creative landscape retreat in The Netherlands 2nd – 6th November – 1 space left A variety of autumn woodland locations to inspire, challenge and invigorate your creativity.

Photography on location each day, combined challenges to stimulate your creativity and support with post processing and technical photographic skills – this is not just a photo tour – this is a fully supported 4 days of exploring your creativity with my guidance. Small group of 6. You will stay in one location for the duration of the retreat. Each morning we will explore a new area for photography, we will have lunch then return to my farmhouse each afternoon for creative challenges, feedback, post processing and anything else you may want to explore while you are here. https://www.charlottebellamy.com/2022autumn_creative.pdf

One weekend, two separate workshop opportunities - UK Creative woodlands at Westonbirt – Saturday 1st October. 1 day course – 175 euros per person. Plus your entry into Westonbirt and parking - Full day from 10am – 5pm. All levels of ICM and multiple exposure experience welcome. Group size 6 maximum.

Architecture and urban ICM and multiple exposures – Bath Sunday – 2nd October. 1 day course – 175 euros per person. Full day from 10am – 5pm. All levels of ICM and multiple exposure experience welcome. Group size 6 maximum.

Creative Light – 3 day creative event with a selection of super speakers (including myself and Paul Sanders) and workshops organised by Margaret Soraya 28/29/30 October – I will be giving 2 half day workshops during the weekends in the stunning location in Scotland not far from Inverness. – Sold out.

And 2023 (provisional dates and info) Some of these are my own tours and some will be organised by Light and Land Light and Land tours Amsterdam city from all angles – Mid April or Mid May 2023 Cornwall creative – Coast, harbours and gardens – September 2023 Norfolk woodlands and waves – June 2023 My own tours Dutch tulips tour – exact date to be finalised – most likely 25th – 29th April 2023 ICM deep dive in the Netherlands – September 2023 Autumn creative landscape retreat – Netherlands – 1 st week November 2023

Dutch tulips tour – exact date to be finalised – most likely 25th – 29th April.

Full itinerary and info is here at this link for this year – please use this as info – price may change according to the hotels that I book. If you are interested – please let me know and I will place you on the priority wait list. It will only be a small group 3 or 6 individuals. https://www.charlottebellamy.com/tulip_tour_2022.pdf

Join me for a fantastic colourful 5-day photographic journey in Holland. A complete sensory experience. Not only will you see and photograph the unique landscapes of this country, but you will also smell and taste what makes this country unique. There is nothing quite like smelling a field of hyacinths before you even see it, and of course Holland is world famous for its cheese.

In a small group of photographers plus me, you will travel throughout North Holland, photographing the beautiful bulb fields in bloom, traditional windmills and pretty Dutch villages. As an added bonus this year, a day on the coast is also included offering fantastic ICM learning opportunities and photography. I’ve been visiting the bulb fields for 8 years now, and know the areas untouched by tourists. The tour also includes some small villages, beautiful windmills, a tour of Amsterdam in the afternoon and evening and also a day on the coast to experiment and perfect your ICM (or just enjoy landscape photography).

Keeping the tour small, its 100% personal, every individual in the group is guaranteed loads of opportunities for support with their technical and creative photography. Of course, if you wish to just immerse yourself, I will also give you the space and time to do this.

The price will include 3 full days and 2 ½ days of photography locations, 4 nights’ accommodation including breakfast.

Amsterdam city from all angles – Mid April - Light and Land - Full details, price and dates to follow This 2 full day’s workshop will give you an insider’s look at Amsterdam, allowing you to uncover the treasures this city has to offer that the average tourist has no idea about, or skips over because they don’t appear in the guide book. Of course, we will se the iconic sites of this city, but the icing on the cake should be all the places you had no idea were there.

Amsterdam is a wonderful blend of water, history and modern architecture and culture.

With an emphasis on photographing whatever style you enjoy, the wide range of locations will offer the opportunity to explore colour, lines, contrasts, landscape, street, architecture, ICM, multiple exposure and so much more. Whether you love graphic colour, or are inspired by the Dutch Masters, you are guaranteed to take home a wonderfully diverse range of images.

Charlotte has been photographing this city for 10 years, and was featured recently on the popular French travel show Echappées belles - https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=6darV0Ggw0o She was asked specifically to feature, based on her unique way of photographing the city of Amsterdam.

Accommodation will be in the centre of Amsterdam to allow easy access to the city at all times of the day. With 2 full days of photography you may wish to look at adding a night before and after the workshop to your stay. Adding an extra one at the end may offer you the opportunity to visit the tulips.

Norfolk woodlands and waves – June 2023- Light and Land - Full details, price and dates to follow This three-day course will be packed with super coastal and woodland and heath locations – all picked for their rugged beauty and opportunities to be explored with ICM photography.

Accommodation at the super at The Rose and Crown in Snettisham, which is located a short drive to many super locations. The beach possibilities are endless but Include Holm, Brancaster, and Holkham. Sandringham estate with its beautiful woodlands is on the doorstep for the woodland location. I ran this tour in 2022 and we had the most wonderful few days. Places will be limited to 6.

Cornwall creative – Coast, harbours and gardens – September 2023 - Light and land Details to be finalised but this tour will include coastal photography, pretty Cornish harbour opportunities and a planned visit to the lost gardens of Heligan. Plan to be based around Mevagissey.

ICM deep dive in the Netherlands – September 2023 - Price and exact dates to be released soon – please let me know if you are interested to be placed on a priority notification list.

This will be a fantastic opportunity to immerse yourself into ICM photography. Whether you are a beginner or have experience, this workshop will offer a wide range of opportunities to explore ICM photography from every angle. Having run a successful ‘deep dive ICM’ course online, this is the opportunity to follow a similar course structure, but with Charlotte on hand to offer immediate guidance, support and feedback. Subjects for ICM photography will be woodlands and trees, water, architecture, animals, abstract/details, flowers and people.

A packed few days based in the east of the Netherlands near Charlottes home. Photographic locations will include small waterfalls and open water, beautiful woodlands, Arnhem Station, gardens of Apeltern and a private stable for horse ICM. Each subject will be introduced with a presentation, and there will also be time during the course for analysis of your images, and the chance to look at post production techniques to enhance them.

This will be 4 full days plus 2 ½ days course including 5 nights’ accommodation.

Outline itinerary Day 1 – Arrival to hotel by early afternoon. ICM intro session and outline of subject specifics.

Day 2 – Woodlands ½ day photographing – ½ day edit/postprocess/analysis and discussion.

Day 3 – Water and architecture in Arnhem – Full day of photography Day 4 – Tuin van Apeltern (creative gardens) – Macro/details/flowers/textures – Full day photography Day 5 – Horses ICM – Private ½ day - horse ICM masterclass – ½ day edit/postprocess/analysis and discussion.

Day 6 – ½ day edit/postprocess/analysis and discussion. Course will end at mid-day.

Fame in France!!!!

Back in March I was contacted by the French travel show Echappees Belles. They were looking for a photographer to feature on their Amsterdam travel show! They contacted me because they had found my Amsterdam reflections portfolio on my website and felt that this was a unique and alternative way of photographing such an iconic city.

So, along with 3 willing friends (to act as my photographic group) we were filmed for 3 hours! They also did a short interview with me, which allowed me to explain the concepts behind why I photograph in the way I do and how it allows me to express in my photographs what I not only see, but feel and hear as well. 3 hours was rolled into approximately 2 minutes! So, if you fancy having a look, my piece appears at around 9 minutes. Although I was speaking in English, there is a French explanation spoke over, so see how you go with the French language! The whole show is actually a fascinating look at the alternative Amsterdam, and even if you struggle with the language I think it is still a wonderful program.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6darV0Ggw0o

A few of the images I made while we did the filming

Creating photo books – In depth article for this newsletter This year I ran my first ‘personal projects’ course. The idea behind which, was to offer individuals the chance to work in a small group, but also receive 1:1 sessions, with the aim of coming up with and completing a project during the period of the course. During the 3month course we met as a group 5 times, and each individual also had two 1:1 mentor sessions. A perfect balance of following your own idea and project with very specific directed help from me, but with the bonus of being part of a group for support.

A number of the individuals on the course opted to create a book as their end product, so I decided to present on this, and also to create a YouTube video looking at al the aspects to consider when thinking about creating a book. As we speak I am also making a video on the actual creation of a photobook using the Blurb software so you can see the actual physical process, after hearing about the concepts behind making these books.

Having just had a wonderful presentation on the creation of photo books last night by Glenys Garnett, I was reminded of some really valuable reasons to create photo books – whether via a printer or in a DIY manner. For me, photo books represent a closure or an end product to a project. After the hard work of creating images, and working over a period of time on images, I find that creating a photobook can be a wonderful physical end to the project. To have something in your hand to look at and be proud of is a lovely thing. It brings a sense of achievement hat finishing a digital edit of a photo online simply cannot.

Telling a story and capturing memories for a lifetime are also fantastic reasons to create books to hold your valuable images. So many of us have thousands if not hundreds of thousands of images on our hard drives which never see the light of day. Next time you are surfing through your Lightroom catalogue, take a moment to look at some of the images sat there, and ask yourself would you love to see them out in the world?

So, I have created a YouTube video of the process by which I consider some of the concepts of photobooks, before I even start to make them. Why should you make a photo book? How many images should you include? Will you add words? Just a few of the questions I address.

I’ve pulled out a few of the slides for this article, but I suggest you watch the video if you would like to see examples and more of an in-depth discussion. https://youtu.be/200CJnEU8L0

So, what should you think about when planning a photo book?

Why are you making a photobook and who is it for?

These two questions go hand in hand, answering them will give you a good indication of the type of material, how open you are going to be with the images you share, and how important the quality and cohesivity of the end result will be.

When you start to think about who is actually going to see your book, this will give you some direction on how personal your book will be you and give an indication of the depth of images and also writing you will want or be willing to share within your creation.

Making a book that you know no one else will ever see could lead to an amazingly personal collection of memories. Conversely, if you plan to share or even sell your book, you will be looking to produce something that appeals specifically to your audience.

How many images?

Delving a little further you should also start to think about how many images you might like to present in our book. Important considerations here are to reduce repetition, and try not to add images to pad out the book. In many cases less is more – think 20-30 images instead of 100 for a printed book, or 4-6 instead of 20 in a home-made book. You will find that going back to why you want to create your book will help shape this number. Recently I started to create a book of my time on the Norfolk coast. I started with 150 images in my book, and to be honest was completely overwhelmed. I talked through my prospective book with a. group and realised how it lacked impact because so many images were similar – I was just too personally attached to the images to cull them out! I went back to the basics of why and who and managed to bring the final amount to around 30.

Examples of use of different numbers of images on individual pages and page spreads

Do you want your book to have a flow, narrative, story or be in chronological order?

Depending on what you are documenting in the book, you may present your images in a different order. Documenting holidays, or events or celebrations, chronological order may be the best way. However, for projects, the order you made images may be unimportant, and images could be sorted according to theme or a story that they tell.

Creating photo books, is a fantastic way to tell a story with your images rather than presenting an individual image that just provides a snapshot of time.

Below, two ways of telling a story within the book. The 1st with images and writing by combining a portrait and detail shots. The second example – 2 photos, no writing, but together they tell the story of the weather in the Hebrides. How the sheep inhabit the bus stops in such a wild and uninhabited place.

These are examples of mini stories within a book, but of course the whole book could have a narrative, a story woven through or a concept.

Do you want to add any words into your book?

By words I mean absolutely anything – titles to images, descriptions of locations, chapter titles, descriptive text to help the reader understand the photos or possibly poems or stories? The world is your oyster here and you can use your own words or share those from others who have inspired you or the images. I’ve produced various books and some have just location descriptions, while others have an explanation as to how the image was created and brought to life. Again, what you decide here will be dependent on the feel you wish for you book.

Below, examples from a book which had one image per 2 pages and poems or thoughtful words on the other. The second example a mini project of starting words which I could interpret and photograph however I wanted. In the book I chose to detail how I interpreted each word and how the resulting image came about.

Will you include portraits or people in your images? - This is well worth considering if it is a family photo book, or whether it is a portfolio. How personal do you want it to be?

Black and white, colour or a mix - For this you need to consider your book as a whole, but also the facing pages and how images lead from each other throughout the book.

Book orientation -Depending on the style and dimensions of your images you may choose square, landscape or portrait orientated books. Square works for absolutely any share and combinations. Landscape lends its self well to landscape orientated images and pairs of portrait style images. Portrait orientated books work great with more writing and a slightly more published feel of a book.

Backgrounds and page colours – To add to the feel of the image you can choose to place your images on plain white or add a colour or texture. You can even add a photo behind your photos in many photo books. The decision on this will be based on the feel you want for the book. For example, a fun book f your children’s memories or art work could work great with brightly coloured backgrounds. Creative images in a home-made book could benefit from being mounted on a unique paper. Sometimes simple is best and white allows the images to speak for themselves with no distractions.

Use of page space and layout

Last but not least, think about how you will lay your images out in relation to each other on the page’s spreads. How much white and space do you want? How picky will you be regarding the same orientation of images on opposite pages? I generally am happy to mix it up a bit, so long as I feel that balance remains.

I hope you have enjoyed this article and it has given you some ideas how to get started thinking about your next photo book.

YouTube channel The YouTube channel goes from strength to strength. Every day I have new subscribers, and some lovely comments. I try to add a couple of videos a month on subjects I have been asked about or I think you will find interesting. The latest up are a set of videos about using your Phone for ICM and multiple exposure photography.

My ethos with these videos is always to stay true to my processes and show you in a straight forward way my work processes from concept to creation.

In the meantime, if you haven’t found me there yet – please check the link out and do share with anyone you think might find the videos useful.

Equally if you are a subscriber you can always let me know what you would like to see in future videos. https://www.youtube.com/c/CharlotteBellamycreativephotography/videos

New videos uploaded include: Glenys Garnett presentation on concertina book making Photo books – considering the concepts behind their creation – Part 1) Part 2 an actual walk through of making a blurb book is on its way The principles of successful photography, whatever the genre – Webinar given to the Guild of Photographers

Blogs and other photographers I would like to share with you https://www.valeriehugginsphotography.com/ I love Valerie’s creative approach, and the way she documents in words as well as images her photographic experiences. Her blog is a wonder of detail and I challenge you not to feel as though you are standing there with her as you look at her images, after reading the words she brings with them.

https://www.ggcreativeimages.co.uk/ We were recently lucky enough to have Glenys Garnett speak to my creative online group.

Her creativity knows no bounds and her enthusiasm and willingness to share her knowledge and experience is humbling.

https://www.instagram.com/wn_flowers_and_still_life/ Wendy’s work is beautiful, creative and the way she creates small groups of images and presents them on Instagram is an inspiration.

Till the next time.

Enjoy your photography and remember Take a moment to look at the normal; you might just see the incredible Charlie x