Category Archives: Uncategorized

Reality Check

Posted on March 24, 2012 by darren

Don’t know about you but I certainly thought I’d be doing much more of what’s in the left pie chart than the right when I first dreamt of becoming a photographer! Reality bites pretty quickly though once you make the move to full-time shooter and realise that each and every decision about what your business does and which direction it’s heading rests on your shoulders. You are the CEO, the CFO, the PR department, the marketing department, the tea maker and the photographer. I wish the charts (by SwissMiss via Seth Godin) were in some way inaccurate, but they are bang …

Photographer Andrew Richey On Running A Studio; Winning Fashion Campaigns & Meeting The Queen

Posted on March 13, 2012 by darren

Renowned Australian fashion and portrait photographer Andrew Richey has just celebrated ten years at Ripe Studios (which he built from the ground up) and in this interview he opens up about running a successful studio; winning campaigns; the importance of making time for personal work; how to price your work; what to do when things get quiet and how he met the Queen. Twice!  

Think it’s Just About Taking Great Images? Think Again…

Posted on February 2, 2012 by darren

There’s so many things to think of when you run your own photography business. I always thought that if I simply took great photographs the rest would take care of itself. Wrong! Fail! Thankfully there’s guys like Andrew Mackinnon around. He’s the managing director at Taboo, a youth marketing company based in Melbourne and I recently sat down with him to get his take on how to successfully market yourself as a creative. Andrew’s been running Taboo for more than ten years and what he doesn’t know about the dos and don’ts of marketing is not worth listening to.  

A Career In Diplomacy…

Posted on January 4, 2012 by darren

Well, sort of…the good people at Childwise have asked me to be one of their ambassadors and help promote their great work. It absolutely staggers me that one in five Australian children will be sexually abused, more often than not by people they know. I’ve never met a team of people more dedicated to stamping out this insidious global problem than the crew at Childwise. So, Carol Croce, the deputy CEO at Childwise has asked me to promote one of her ‘dreams’ on website Sunsuper and help raise some much-needed cash for her not for profit organisation. Click on the link and vote …

R.I.P Gary Andrews

Posted on September 29, 2011 by darren

Devastating news today. Gary Andrews passed away with his wife of a few weeks, Basia, by his side. There were many goals Gaz had set for himself along the journey. First and foremost obviously was not to let the cancer beat him. But as the arrival of his daughter drew ever closer he was more determined than ever to be there for the birth. Tragically, it wasn’t to be. He drew his last breath feeling his unborn child kicking inside Basia’s belly. The last time I saw Gaz a week and a half ago he was watching the video of …

This Might Be A Little Indulgent But….

Posted on May 10, 2011 by darren

…I had to share this photo of my three month old son. I drew a bit of inspiration from a shot I’d seen of a sports car that showed off the curves of the car beautifully and wanted to emulate it with curves of the human variety. It was a very simple set up involving a flash and mini soft box held directly above him. Had to work fast too as nothing was going to distract him once his mind turned to milk.

Great Portraiture

Posted on April 12, 2011 by darren

I’ve been a huge fan of Julian Kingma for a long time. Great to get the creative juices flowing which is guaranteed looking at his portrait work. Check his website out for yourself. Actually, while you’re at it have a look at Andrew Richey’s portrait and fashion work as well. His use of light is exquisite.

The Contenders

Posted on March 30, 2011 by darren

Went along to the boxing the other night and shot some fighters straight after their bouts. Dwight Ritchie caught my eye, for obvious reasons. He only took his hat off long enough to beat his opponent and become the Victorian middleweight champion.

A Great Way To Show Off Your Work

Posted on August 5, 2010 by darren

Click on the link to see another great way of getting your work out there and you can link it to Linkedin, blogs, Facebook etc.which is a bonus.