Eddy - Rugby League

ls:  Eddy come from a family of very high achievers, so will have a lot to live up to. We have absolutely no doubt that he is up to it. He is outstanding in both League and Oz Tag, and is still a bit young for the rep teams in League. That will come over the next few years as Eddy gets into the older age groups.

Welcome to our studios Eddy and thanks for your participation. What sports do you play and which is your favourite?

eh: Rugby league, Oz tag and cricket.    

ls: What clubs do you currently play for?

eh: Brothers Junior Rugby League club, #Tags and Saints.

ls: What position do you play?

eh: 5/8 or in the halves.

ls: Who is your sporting hero?

eh: Billy Slater from the Melbourne Storm, Queensland and Australia.

ls: How many years have you been playing?

Eh: 5 years.

Ls: How did you get involved in these sports?

eh: Mum & Dad got me involved with league, my friends got me into Oz Tag and the school got me into Cricket.

ls: What rep honours have you achieved?

eh: Oz tag Townsville under 11.

Ls: How much time is involved?

Eh: With League it’s 40 minutes a game plus training one night a week, Oz Tag is 40 minutes a game and Cricket is 2 hours a game.

Ls: What is the best part of playing the sport?

Eh: Playing my best.

ls: What is the worst part of playing the sport?

eh: Not being able to play.

ls: What is your favourite event?

eh: Rugby League.

ls: Why did you play these sports?

eh: Because these are the sports I love to play.

ls: What is your biggest accomplishment in your sports?

eh: Making the Townsville rep side 3 times for Oz Tag.

ls: What one or two things do you currently do in your training that are keys to your success?

eh: Working together to win games, playing with friends and having fun.

ls: What would be your ultimate achievement?

eh: To play for Australia in these three sports.

ls: How do you set your goals?

eh: My coaches set the goals and by following my sporting hero.

ls: What is the best advice you have been given?

eh: Never stop trying on what you love.

ls: Do you have a saying or motto that you live your life by?

eh: Always have fun.

ls: Where do you draw your inspiration from?  

eh: Sporting heroes Billy Slater, Cooper Cronk and Mitchell Johnson.

ls: What do you like to do in your free time away from your sport?

eh: Work.

ls: Do you have any pre-match routines?

eh: Go outside and practice with friends.

ls: Thanks Eddy. 

Sports Stars 2 - Chloe (Netball)

Our week 2 sports star is Chloe, who currently plays for the Phoenix Netball club in Townsville. She plays in the under age team and the Premier League. She has represented Townsville at the State Championships and made North Queensland sides. She is currently going through the trials process to made the QLD state side. Chloe attends Saint Margaret Mary School. We sad down with Chloe and her grand mother to talk about what she has achieved so far in Netball.

ls: What sports do you play?
cc: Netball & Touch.
ls: What clubs do you play for?
cc: Phoenix Netball and Brothers Touch.
ls: What position do you play?
ls: GD & GK (Goal Keeper and Goal Defense)
ls: How long have you been playing?
cc: 8 years.
ls: Who is your sporting hero?
cc: Laura Geitz from the QLD Firebirds and Australia. (Laura is currently the captain of the Australian Netball side)

ls: What representative honours have you achieved?
cc: Townsville, North Queensland and QLD Netball Squad.
ls: How did you get involved in these sports?
cc: Through my mother and friends. 
ls: How much time is involved?
cc: 6 days a week
ls: What is the best part of playing sports?
cc: Going away to carnivals with my teams.
ls: What is the worst part of playing sport?
cc: Having to balance sport with school work.
ls: What was your favourite event?
CC: Going away with my North Queensland netball team.
ls: Why did you choose these sports?
cc: I chose to play netball as my older sister played netball and my mum loved the sport. I chose to play touch because I wanted to participate in a fun sport with all my friends.
ls: What is your biggest accomplishment in your sport?
cc: Winning sports women of the year and making the Queensland Under 17's State Netball team.
ls: What one or two things do you currently do in your training that are keys to your success?
cc: Always try my best and push myself each training session and game.
ls: What would be your ultimate achievement?
cc: To make a Queensland and then Australian team for netball.
ls: How do you set your goals?
cc: I set my goals by creating new challenges.
ls: What is the best advise you were ever given?
cc: Never give up, try your hardest, play hard but enjoy yourself.
ls: Do you have a saying or motto that you live your life by?
cc: Be the best person that you can be.
ls: Where do you draw your inspiration from?
cc: Famous sports people, my coaches and my mother.
ls: What do you do in your spare time away from the sport?
cc: Spend my time with my family and friends.
ls: Do you have a pre-match routine?
cc: I eat a small snack.
ls: Anything else you would like to share?
cc: Not at this stage.
ls: Thanks for your time Chloe, good luck in the future with you goals and ambitions. Thanks also to your grand mother for bringing you to the shoot. 

Leiden Studios has been lucky enough this year to have photographed both Chloe and her older sister this year. I would like to thank the Cooper family for the privilege and offer both girls all the success in the future.

Christmas is Close

Christmas is Looming.

Did you know it is only 120 days or so until Christmas? Where has yet another year gone? So how have you gone with your plans and goals for the year? At this time of the year, it is a great time to assess how you are going and put plans in place for the rest of the year. Did you notice how much the kids have grown? So when was the last time you had some family portraits done?

Baby Portraits.

So are you stuck for a Christmas idea? What are you going to give your family? What about parents, grandparents and the rest of your family? Always a great idea is to get your family photographed by a professional photographer. An annual trip to a professional photographer will allow you to document your family as time goes by. There is nothing like today to get it done.

Studio Portraits.

Family photography can be done in a number of ways. The quickest, but not always the easiest is to use a studios with studios lighting. While some studios may be set up to utilise natural light, most will rely on studio flash. Studios shoots can be very creative because of the ability to control light and at various times of the day may be the best option. Daylight can be very harsh and while it is possible to do portrait shoots at midday, it is easier to do these in the studio.

Themed Portraits.

Location photography can bring a different dynamic to your shoot as you can customise the shoot to your family. Props like chairs, balloons, picnic set, even family pets can be used. Once captured, these images will last forever. Procrastination is the worst thing when it get to family portraits and as everyone knows, time passes so quickly.

Senior Portraits.

As we get closer to the end of the year, our grade 12 students are getting ready to leave school and enter society. A great memento for both the parents and the student is a senior's portrait shoot. The students schooling life can be incorporated into the shoot to give a pictorial history of the last year at school.

Summer Portrait Offer.

Our summer special just in time for Christmas is the family mini session. Thirty minutes along the river or in the studio and we will provide up to 20 digital images for you to select from. Places are limited so phone in to book your place. The offer is valid until the end of September.

Thanks to everyone who has used our services during 2013. We have had wonderful couples, family's and a couple of new sports clubs over the years as well as our regular clubs. We love doing your photographs and are looking forward to working with you next year. 

Over the next few posts we will provide a few tips on how to get the best out of your portrait session. Stay tuned.

Finding Your Wedding Photographer

Previously, I wrote about the process of finding you wedding photographer. It is a very difficult decision, made harder by the sheer number of people calling themselves a professional photographer. There is a wide range of abilities and price differences between the photographers and I have to say, like all professions, you get what you paid for, Generally.

There is a lot more to wedding photography than being able to compose a photograph in camera. Most people that get into wedding photography, start with an interest in photography and then get asked by friends to cover a wedding. All very well, except there is a big difference to taking photos for fun and the expectation of a wedding shoot. Suddenly, if you stuff it up, there is no come back. No real way to go back and re shoot the event. Even if you had the resources, the photos are never the same.

So the basics of wedding photography begin with an understanding of the camera and it's settings. Modern cameras are amazing. Really, anyone can pick a camera up and take a really nice, well composed photographs. Cameras come with face recognition technology, large file size, incredible low light capability, motor drive, this list go on. What is does not come with is composition, lighting and posing. Your photographer has to be able to do that.

Where you separate yourself as a professional from the want to be, is in the use of light, positioning of those being photographed, exposure and in the end, how the image is finished using programs like Photoshop. On Photoshop, when you start is amazing. It can "fix" a range of photographic problems that the professional photographer should get right in camera. There is a limit to how long you can fix it in Photoshop before you get sick of it and go back to the basics of the original in camera capture. Get that right and the rest is easy, sort of.

One of the great ways of getting a good photographer is to check their professional association memberships. The Australian Institute of Professional Photography (AIPP) or Australian Commercial & Media Photographers (ACMP) are two such associations. Membership requires an assessment by fellow professional photographers as well as a continuing education and assessment process to maintain membership. This means you constantly have to remain up to date with current technology and trends in the industry.

One of the assessments is the APPA's, the AIPP's annual professional photography competition. Four images are submitted and assessed by Masters of photography, people who have been in the industry for years and have a wealth of experience. This is the best way of learning what is required as a professional photographer. Judging can be brutal, but as a learning experience there is nothing like it. Does your photographer enter the APPA's?

Silver award 2012 APPA's

For further information please contact Malcolm during office hours.