weddings

I have started a wedding photography business - one of the most intense jobs you could try to do. The day is so important for the couple that you could really muck up if you failed to deliver. I am being very cautious about who I accept as clients though and am making sure that I feel I can deliver what they need. I focus on a 'reportage' style which aims to capture the story of the day and ends up with less than the usual forced poses and smiles.

There are so many great things about capturing a wedding day and I get such a massive buzz from doing it. You could say you are on a winner if you look at it really positively:

• most people at a wedding are feeling happy and your job is to capture this
  
• couples are usually 'in love' and therefore shine with this
• often clients become friends because they like your photography and your photography reflects you and the way you respond to them
• the competition don''t always reflect such a committed attitude or such high quality
• you can offer an alternative or different style
  

on the other hand

• it is a highly competative business and some established companies have excellent services
• the recession could have a very negative impact on a fledgling business

I have had some great feedback already and have got more bookings from some of my early weddings. My wedding books have been very successful and have already brought new clients to my door. The beauty of this is that they can already see the kind of approach, styles and outputs that you offer.

I have a wedding website called ithadtobeyou and I have a couple of books to view as well. One of the things I like about my website is the noir section where this photo is included. Other galleries include 'stylish' 'elegant' 'romantic' 'intimate' 'vintage' and another favourite 'lomo' where I include the toy camera wedding photos....

I like working for clients who are open to a range of photography and processing styles. I have also managed to get my partner to work with me as a second photographer which makes a great difference. I do all the front of house engaging work and all the photo processing, but to have two people recording the day is invaluable.

This is what one of my favourite couples said,,,

'Well, for us, it just had to be Lou and Tim!

Our wedding was the happiest day of our lives, and we feel so lucky that Lou and Tim were there to record it. In fact, they were as much a part of the day as any of our guests. The sheer style and outstanding quality of their work speaks for itself. What may not be apparent from the photographs, but which was every bit as important to us, was the care and individual attention bestowed on us before, during and after our wedding day. Their work surpassed our expectations in every respect, and we have an album of wonderful images to cherish along with our memories.'

sharings

"The road to hell is paved with good intentions...."
Samuel Johnson

This quotation was used to open the report Good intentions: improving the evidence base in support of sharing learning materials submitted to JISC in late December 2008 by myelf, Sarah Currier, Charles Duncan and Peter Douglas. The report offers an historical view of sharing learning materials in the UK, a description of existing business models to support sharing and a discussion around two focus areas in particular - open sharing and subject-based sharing. The accompanying business case tables could be ustilised/developed into a practical tool to help institutions consider existing sharing (and the benefits this brings) as well as providing an opportunity to consider the benefits they hope to achieve and which sharing approaches may be most appropriate for their institution.

The opening quotation aims to reflect the fact that there is a long history of significant work to encourage sharing. The vision has been around for some time - we always had good intentions - even though we didn't always get it right. Many of the early models to support sharing of learning resources are currently being revised due to lessons learned and a significantly changing landscape. The report concludes that some of these emerging models can support the kinds of benefits that we have always hoped sharing would bring. The potentials offered by open educational resources and social software for Communities of Practice to share practice and materials is significant but there is still a place for more formal managed repositories too.

Of course there are still significant issues around whether academics want to share learning resources - although there seems to be no disinclination to share practice. What is clear is that funders and institutions continue to desire such sharing, not least to reduce duplication, and encourage use of publicly funded resources. Incentives and reward emerge as significant issues, as does an understanding of the likely benefits to learners, teachers, institutions and the wider community.

The timing of the report's release was less than ideal as Christmas holidays quickly followed, but it has been referred to in the recent JISC call around open content. I would be interested if you have any feedback on the report and possible potential of the business case tables.

The image to accompany this post is actually called 'heaven' and is a triple exposure hogla shot on 120 film. It offers a positive future vision for sharing.