Carlotta is an Italian photographer, currently living in London, creating portrait and documentary work. 

After having studied in Italy and moving to London, she chose her photographic approach to be largely made up of using large format film cameras. Her work has a gorgeous and well considered feel to it which has a subtle indication of being created with a film camera. I believe that her work really does add to her documentary approach and well considered use of light, both natural and artificial. She also entered lots of competitions and received some recognition including receiving some prizes for her work, too.

During the lecture, Carlotta gave lots of fantastic advice to us including 

• 'Weddings are a great practice' - This relates to the fact that weddings are a fast paced event which prepares you for photographing people in different environments in a commercial environment
• Go to the shops to buy print magazines and discover which photographer took the pictures. Use as inspiration for own work and reach out to them. 
• Its important to have good relationships with people and gain connections, too
• Photography is about discovering yourself

Carlotta's Website
carlottacardana.com

Francis is a documentary photographer who particularly enjoys travel photography and creates some amazingly captivating images.

He is big on building the relationship with the person he photographs, prior to photographing them. He has created work inspired by a photographer in New York who would approach strangers on the street and ask them to have their picture taken along with telling a story about themselves. Taking direct inspiration from this meant he would travel around London and use his personable skills to hype people up and take images of these people he didn't know until less than 5 minutes prior.

Francis is one particular photographer who I do find myself gaining inspiration from. Not only due to the way he shoots and his approachable personality but also because he is agency represented which is a clear goal as mine within my career.

He believes in speaking to everyone on set, no matter their roles so things don't feel robotic. 

Finally, a statement he made really stuck with me, which is 'humble confidence'. I also do believe that this is very. important in the creative industry. 

Francis' Website
www.francisaugusto.co.uk

The basis of the questions we asked Sophie were very much to do with the practicalities of being a freelancer. Some key questions were the following. 

How do you Price a Job?
She bases her prices largely on each job which comes in and dependant on the budget. If she were to work with a friend for a small job, she would charge a lot less than if she were working for a large brand with an equally large budget. In addition to this, Sophie sometimes goes with standard day rates which also entitles the client to use the images in one country on a certain number of platforms. She is very clear with usage to her clients too.

Is there anything you would do differently?
An important question for us as students due to graduate. To which Sophie  tells us to cease every opportunity you are presented with along with working with more people.

What is some advice when graduating uni?
Sophie spoke incredibly honestly here and mentioned the importance in outsourcing the things you are bad at, including hiring an accountant to help you with your taxes. This lead her on to saying to keep an eye on tax, too.

Lastly, some tips I gained from this lecture with Sophie included:

• Talk to your peers for a confidence boost and crit
• Work is an opportunity to forget about things for abit
• Be positive
• Test Shoots are for everyone to come together and test new ideas
• Golden rule is if you have tested for free with people, don't sell the images commercially
• If you are approaching someone on instagram, do it on your professional profile. Make the message personal, too. 
• Give people a reason to respond
• People need gentle reminders
• You will know in your gut if you can't do a job
• Everyone can bite off a little bit more than they can chew, otherwise you won't challenge yourself and push out of your comfort zone, making you stay still
• Calculate risks
• Don't sell yourself too cheaply but be reasonable
• Be more worried about getting work rather than money after graduation

After graduating university in 2013, Sophie decided to venture straight into freelance photography work. She worked multiple jobs to get by in the first few years, before she could finally make photography her full time career. She now specialises in commercial photography, working for beauty and food brands to expand her existing knowledge and expertise in beauty, fashion, food, and product photography. 

The approach Sophie has had is very much reflective of a freelancer diving right into their craft and is something which inspires me in my own craft and fulfilment of my aspirations. 

As the talk went on, Sophie revealed tips for us, including the importance of networking with friends and also staying in touch with people. I believe this is an important idea to keep in mind, considering that being a freelancer is very much about having the right people and contacts around you.

We had multiple opportunities to meet with and converse with Sophie so we truly were exposed to the reality of being a freelancer as our questions went into some detail. (see next blog for more)

Sophie's Website 
​www.sophietraynor.com

Tom Duffield is an alumni of the Photography course at Huddersfield who's primary specialism lies with film photography and a documentary style of story telling. 

During his final year at Huddersfield, he created a project titled 'The Whole House Is Shaking' which showed the viewer a glimpse into Tom's life and relationship with his family on the farm where he grew up. Especially emphasising on the effect his father's heroine addiction had on him. This work is, In my opinion incredibly well done and beautifully captures the quaint area he lived his childhood, while showing a much deeper meaning to the work. 

Further to this project, he used it as a way to emphasise the life lesson of the realisation of how short life truly is, which naturally sparks one's self to appreciate those around you so much more. 

The previous statement and Tom's lecture in general is something which truly resonated with me, due to my own thoughts and experiences in life, discovering, myself, as to truly how short life is and how important it is to enjoy it in the moment. 

Through my years of photographing along with experience working alongside families and multiple brides and grooms, my end goal has always remained the same. How important the capturing of a moment truly is and the realisation as to how short life is, too. 

In May 2017, I experienced a terrorist attack at the end of a concert. I was 18 at the time. A young, naive, and dependent human being who truly hadn't ever pushed one's self outside of  her comfort zone. I am incredibly fortunate to live with a supportive family network and with friends who will be there for me when I need them. Through the years of therapy and self development, I have realised, more than ever, how much I value photographs and how truly important images are as a memory tool and in society as a whole. When I photograph, I use it as an act of self expression, and a way to give people memories to look back on as this is what I feel is so important. 

Life is such a precious thing. After experiencing what I did and realising how close I could have been to not being so lucky as to only running out of that arena with so much as mental scarring, I believe that this was when I truly realised the importance as to what I was doing as a photographer.

I feel incredibly honoured that the images I do take, are cherished and make me realise the positive impact you can have on someone by giving them precious moments to reflect upon and keep for the rest of their lives. 

Even with my dreams to move into commercial photography, I believe that my experience and sense of reflection will remain with me. Photography isn't just about taking a picture with perfect lighting, focus, and placement. To me, It is the ability to be responsible for permanently capturing a visual moment, of someone's true happiness and sense of being. No-one lives forever, but the stories within a picture certainly do.