David Wagstaff-Myers Photography

Today I will discuss the importance of background in photography composition illustrated with some examples of mine. Part of a larger series covering elements of composition in photography for which you’ll find links at the end of this article. I taught myself photography in quite a specific order, I navigated / progressed through various urban photography genres: Graffiti Photography > Urban Landscape Photography > Street Photography It’s the reason I realised early how important an image’s background really is, allow me to explain: I took-up photography as I used to have an obsession with graffiti, around 2006. I was like a trainspotter but instead of obsessively shooting trains, I’d hunt for new graffiti art around London which would be cleaned or gone just as fast as that elusive locomotive. I had to find them. After exclusively shooting graffiti up-close, photography itself became my passion. I realised I loved graffiti because of how it sat within its surroundings and its e

                                                                                                             Catchlights are the lights reflected in a subject’s eyes. I normally use strobes to capture them. Catchlights add life and sparkle, while their absence can result in dull, lifeless images. There are no hard and fast rules, and sometimes you may want dead and lifeless. It’s all about knowing what you want, why you want it and how to create it. But portraits are almost always better with catchlights. Single vs. multiple catchlights Regardless of the light source used, the goal remains the same: replicating what exists in nature. In nature, we have only one light source, the sun, and there’s only one. I’m not a fan a multiple catchlights. There are exceptions to this, notably in the studio with certain fashion, cosmetics and beauty lighting applications, so we’ll look at them both ways. While studio lighting is a bit more forgiving in the catchlight department, my prefe

I have worked my ass off building a successful business. But it hasn’t been easy. The last year has been enough to break the strongest-willed person. So, what do you do? I am sure as you read this you can relate on some level. You have had things go wrong in your life or business. We all have. I don’t have all the answers. All I can do is share with you my lessons learned and how I have managed turmoil, adversity and negativity in my recent past. Roll with the punches. One thing I have come to realize is that you just have to roll with it. I don’t know, maybe it’s just experience that has led me to this conclusion, but what are you going to do? Give up? Whatever you are doing in life or business, it is going to be met with some level of friction. It’s impossible for it not to. I stress this to myself and my team constantly: “If it were easy, everyone would do it.” That’s not just some cliché line. Think about it. The people who are successful are there not because they are