Portraits with impact, 2nd February

It was a real privilege to welcome Internationally recognised Emma Finch QGPP to talk to Otley Camera Club via zoom. We were joined by friends from nearby camera clubs to listen to her inspirational and well informed talk - full of hints and tips not only for budding portrait photographers but across many genres of photography.

Emma is first and foremost a super mum from Manchester. In her professional life Emma is the owner of Emma Finch Photography; Belle Privé Photography, and along with her business partner, Graham Currey, is the joint owner of the brilliant Photography Session Days based at AWOL Studios in Manchester. Her work is internationally recognised by fellow professionals and the Guild of Professional Photographers; having received many awards over the last few years for her outstanding photography.

Emma began by taking us through various aspects of her photography workflow from initial planning to final delivery of images. Her attention to detail throughout was clear for all to see but as she clearly demonstrated achievable by most photographers. There were sections on planning, posing, lighting, editing and applying your own creative flair. Perhaps her best and long lasting advice was to put people at ease by careful planning and by talking to them throughout the photoshoot.

The talk was a mixture of textual advice interspersed with superb pictures explaining each topic in detail. Her clarity of delivery and simplification of the challenges made the talk relevant to photographers of all abilities. At the end several attendees commented that they ought to follow Emma's advice and have a go at taking portraits.

Towards the end of the evening Emma provided details about what Photography Session Days is all about. Seven of our members have attended or will shortly be attending events put on by Emma and Graham. Learning from the experts in a friendly environment is clearly recognised by our members and from a club perspective is resulting a significant improvement of photographic skills which we are eager to pass onto the wider membership.

More details can be found at https://www.emmafinchphotography.co.uk and https://sessiondays.co.uk.

Once again, thank you Emma for an outstanding and memorable evening.