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Marcus is back this week with a fantastic guest: Colin Jones, CEO of The Society of Photographers (The Societies).
In this powerful episode, Marcus and Colin dive deep into the state of the professional photography industry, focusing heavily on the commercial and B2B sectors. Colin shares critical insights on how a 5,000-member international organisation supports photographers and what it truly takes to succeed in today’s demanding market.
What You Will Learn
We’re covering the three key takeaways you need to navigate the evolving industry:
How to significantly improve your photography and build a more profitable, premium business by leveraging the support, mentoring, and community of a dedicated professional body.
How the commercial photography market is changing, addressing the challenges and opportunities presented by AI, and exploring which specialised markets (like food, architecture, and product photography) are thriving.
Why ideas are the gold standard of your business, and why technical excellence alone won’t cut it in the future, especially as technology advances.
“Show Transcription”
00:03.24
Sam Hollis
Well hello listeners and welcome back to another fun packed show full of information and useful tips. We’ve got a guest on this week we’ve got Colin Jones from the Society of Photographers.
00:17.57
Sam Hollis
Hello Colin how are you doing?
00:19.41
Colin
Hi, it’s great to be on here. So thank you so much for having me. I’m really well, thanks. How are you?
00:23.83
Sam Hollis
I am very well. Thank you very well. And we met ah face to face early this year in your homeland of Wales at the conference down there, didn’t we? That was the first time we’ve met, but we’ve spoken to before.
00:36.66
Colin
Yeah, yeah, 100%. And it was great great to meet in person. I love kind of those um those trade shows and networking events that you get to put a face to a name from people you might have spoken to on emails and stuff like that. So it’s always great to meet people in person, definitely.
00:50.40
Sam Hollis
Yeah, agreed. So in a nutshell, Colin, and you know, can you tell us what the Society of Photographers is all about?
00:58.22
Colin
Yeah, of course. So I’m the CEO of the Society of Photographers. And essentially, the Society of Photographers is an organization for photographers. And we help photographers improve their photography and make a more profitable and premium business. And we do that through a list of benefits ah where where we help photographers really improve their photography and and build their business. That’s something that we’re really, really keen to support photographers on.
01:21.89
Sam Hollis
Well, that’s fantastic. And how many members have you got in total at the moment? Do you know
01:26.05
Colin
Yeah, so we’ve got around 5,000 members ah cover covering all this different aspects of photography.
01:28.41
Sam Hollis
Nice.
01:31.57
Colin
I know this podcast is mainly commercial and we have lots of great commercial photographers ah within our membership, but we also have nature and wildlife photographers. ah We have wedding and portrait photographers and and that’s spread across ah literally across the world. So we’ve got members in the UK, Europe, America and Australia and literally all around the world. So we’re really fortunate to have such an amazing group of photographers here.
01:54.85
Colin
as part of the organization.
01:57.07
Sam Hollis
when was it set up
01:59.57
Colin
ah it was set up in the ah late 80s. It was actually set up by the Master Photographers Association ah back in the day as like an offshoot organization.
02:05.90
Sam Hollis
uh-huh
02:09.92
Colin
um and And historically, they they passed it on to someone. um They ran it for a good number of years. And then my father, Phil Jones, he took over running it ah quite a few ah years ago.
02:24.33
Colin
And back in 2020, I took over running the organization.
02:28.22
Sam Hollis
ah Oh, right.
02:28.85
Colin
So it’s ah yeah it’s it’s been an interesting development over the years and it’s ah you know just continuing to grow. And and you know it’s just great that we get to get out there and support photographers.
02:39.96
Sam Hollis
That’s fantastic. And um um the kind of things that you put on, I know you you do you do a magazine.
02:45.54
Colin
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So we do a professional image maker magazine that comes out six times a year. And that’s filled full of lots lots of tutorials and reviews and inspiration. it’s It’s a great magazine, ah which I know the members really appreciate.
02:59.82
Sam Hollis
Yeah, and it’s just so nice. It must be great for your members to see their work in print as well and to have something on print. I mean, we to spend so much time on the internet like these days, don’t we? Print is still so valuable.
03:11.77
Colin
Oh, 100%. So, um you know, we we’re we’re still very much a printed magazine. We do have a digital edition of the magazine as well. But um I think, you know, when when the magazine drops for your door, you know, your letterbox, um and it’s quite a weighty magazine as well, and people take the time out.
03:24.12
Sam Hollis
Hmm.
03:29.07
Sam Hollis
A weighted home. Hi.
03:31.71
Colin
A weighted magazine, it it’s got a good weight to it.
03:33.37
Sam Hollis
yeah
03:34.20
Colin
and
03:34.63
Sam Hollis
yes
03:35.34
Colin
So, you know, our members really enjoy taking time out and reading the magazine and and getting that inspiration from seeing the articles in there.
03:44.83
Sam Hollis
i yeah Photography, yeah. it’s Seeing the work, stuffing print is just so different. It’s such a different experience. i wish ah A couple of weeks ago, um I went to the um Marching Path Foundation.
03:57.36
Sam Hollis
They had a ah book weekend for what is they call BOP, where people bring, you know, and it’ you might have come to, did you go to it, Conor?
04:02.00
Colin
yeah
04:05.42
Sam Hollis
I know it’s around, you’ you’ but you’re located in Wales near here. Did you go to it?
04:09.42
Colin
ah we well We’re located in North Wales, so it’s it’s a bit the drive that down to that area, but I know the one you’re on about, yeah.
04:13.47
Sam Hollis
Oh, okay. little bit a distance. Yeah, that is drive. Yes.
04:19.14
Sam Hollis
Yeah, and it’s just jam-packed full of ah people sending books and it was, you know, small projects, big projects, really famous books, you know, people starting out. And yeah, but the primary thing is, it’s just still we’ve got that foundation of seeing photography in print.
04:34.68
Sam Hollis
Yeah, so great that you’ve got a magazine.
04:36.77
Colin
Yeah, and it’s really important that ah you know photography is still printed. It’s something that we really champion. um you know ah As you kind of mentioned before, we we see so much digitally these days, whether it be on social media or on websites or and anything like that.
04:52.01
Colin
But seeing the final image printed on a really good quality paper ah done professionally it It can transform an image, and and we’ve seen it so many times where you see a digital image and it looks really good.
04:59.92
Sam Hollis
yeah
05:06.58
Colin
It’s technically perfect.
05:06.59
Sam Hollis
Yes. Yes.
05:08.20
Colin
But once you see it printed, it it has a completely different feel to it.
05:08.36
Sam Hollis
Yes. yes
05:12.99
Sam Hollis
It really does, doesn’t it? you know Yeah, that ah it’s it’s it’s not so forgiving, I would say, printing as looking at stuff on the screen, to put it politely, I guess. um You also do, a convention you run a convention as well.
05:26.95
Colin
Yeah, of course. Yeah. So we we run a convention in London every January. And that really is kind of like the the the main event that we do every year. ah So the convention comprises of quite a few things.
05:39.63
Colin
It’s got a trade show, so you can go and speak to the trade.
05:41.99
Sam Hollis
Right. wow.
05:43.08
Colin
um that There’s, you know, 100 brands, ah
05:45.95
Sam Hollis
ah wow
05:47.00
Colin
milling round, you know, and ah so it be all the latest products and services from the industry. You can go and see the latest gear, find out what new services are available, ah you know, and get feedback or guidance from people like the IPO who are going to be exhibiting next year. So it’s a real good one-stop shop to ah to to pop into ah to get those kind of questions answered.
06:09.47
Colin
but we ah We also do 150 hours of master classes.
06:13.93
Sam Hollis
Oh, wow.
06:14.21
Colin
ah So if you’re looking to improve your photography then or business, then that’s great as well. We also run a business school. So if you’re looking for help with the business side of that. And then, of course, on the side, we’ve also got the awards presentation evening and 20 by 16 print competition.
06:29.72
Colin
ah So yeah, still a, um going gone back to what were just talking about, ah we we’re really champion print.
06:34.73
Sam Hollis
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
06:36.51
Colin
ah So we actually do a 20 by 16 inch print competition. and So you can enter your images and they get critiqued in front of a live audience. It’s completely free to attend that part of the convention. And we really encourage as many photographers to attend that because the um the the critique and and what the judges are explaining when they’re looking at the images is really beneficial to not just the author, but people in the audience to see.
07:01.99
Colin
what the judges are looking at and how that image can be improved. And you know you can take it into your own photography, some of the and the comments they’re making. it’s ah it’s It really is a really good aspect of the convention to go to.
07:11.36
Sam Hollis
hundred percent
07:14.84
Sam Hollis
Yeah, I totally agree. I mean, I don’t know if you know, but I was um a senior lecturer for a little while um yeah in yeah in South Wales a university there. And yeah, those group crits that we’d have where people would show their work. And, ah you know, and i went when I went to university, that was a really fundamental part of the photography degree that I did, group crits.
07:34.47
Sam Hollis
It’s a bit painful. It can be for the person whos showing the work, but God, you can learn so much from it.
07:40.63
Colin
A hundred percent. And, you know, we we always do positive commenting as well.
07:44.38
Sam Hollis
Yeah, that’s the secret to it.
07:45.04
Colin
So we we we tell people, you know, what ah we tell the photographers what what they’re doing right, as well as some um some tips and techniques to to improve their photography. But it very much comes from a ah positive place, you know, because we want to see people getting the best out of their photography and ah pushing the standards forward. That’s something ah that we’re really passionate about is is seeing you know where the industry thriving and and and photographers really excelling in what they do.
08:11.61
Sam Hollis
Hmm.
08:13.15
Colin
and you know Certainly in the the the commercial world, we see a lot of amazing photographers, the yeah and massively in the commercial sector. The the quality of photography that comes out of that sector is is very high standard.
08:27.91
Colin
and So it’s it’s it’s always great to see people really pushing that technical excellence
08:28.11
Sam Hollis
Yes
08:32.41
Colin
um you know and and working for their clients really well.
08:36.24
Sam Hollis
Excellent, well we’re going to dive into the commercial side of the yeah society in in a second Just before we do that Colin, maybe you can just give us the dates and where it’s being held, the convention for next year
08:47.29
Colin
um Of course, yes, so the yeah the conventions, ah the full conventions, the 14th to the 17th of Jan, ah correction, but can I just check that, sorry?
08:54.87
Sam Hollis
Yep.
08:58.13
Sam Hollis
I’m sorry, put you right on the spot there.
08:59.82
Colin
Do you know what?
09:01.09
Sam Hollis
I did look, yeah.
09:02.49
Colin
I’ve wrote the dates a million times. Yes, I’m correct.
09:04.16
Sam Hollis
Go on.
09:04.77
Colin
The convention is the 14th to the 17th of Jan, and the free trade show is the 15th to the 17th of January, and that’s held at the Novitel London West in Hammersmith, London.
09:07.60
Sam Hollis
That’s what you said.
09:13.62
Colin
and
09:14.76
Sam Hollis
Great. So that’s a great start to the year for people. Great. You know, that’s a good bit of timing, I think.
09:19.73
Colin
Yeah, and a lot of our members and photographers, they they use that as their and you know that their inspiration for the start of the year. So Christmas is over and done with. We’re looking forward.
09:30.99
Colin
So that’s why we run stuff like the Business School, because it’s the right time of year where photographers have that natural break in their calendars um that they can you know plan the year ahead and ah you know ah get get some inspiration and some ideas for not just their photography, but their business as well.
09:48.87
Sam Hollis
Yeah, that’s excellent. That’s very good. And of course, but yeah being in Hammersmith, easy to get to, not having to go to the right heart in the central London, just, you know, very near motorways. Excellent. Great. Okay. Let’s dive into the commercial world, the the the business of photography.
10:05.24
Sam Hollis
So but you mentioned that you’ve got some workshops going on. What kind of things do you tend to focus on in these workshops for commercial photographers?
10:14.62
Colin
and So to be honest, we we try and cover quite a range of topics when it comes to the education we put on. and As I say, we do quite a lot in business because we we know that that’s the side of the industry that ah photographers, you know, they they they want more education on the business side, how to get more clients in, how to make their websites convert better.
10:36.57
Colin
um
10:36.61
Sam Hollis
Mm-hmm.
10:37.83
Colin
you know So that that is something that we really do focus on is giving photographers um the the guidance when it comes to business. But we also do lots of stuff like lighting ah in the the you know the the social side of the world, we do posing.
10:52.57
Colin
um But we we’ve just done um and an evening seminar on tabletop product photography, ah which went really well. And that was amazing. going from ground up, how to build um the sets for a start, how to light to
11:08.84
Sam Hollis
yeah
11:09.20
Colin
um
11:09.46
Sam Hollis
yeah
11:10.01
Colin
you know and we We also covered how easy it can be to do tabletop photography and make something look very elegant using minimal props. um So using stuff that we’ll just have around the studio or your workspace and that we can use to give a bit of depth to the ah image without it costing a fortune.
11:32.03
Sam Hollis
Gotcha. do Do you know what percentage, i’m sorry not to put you on the spot here, but do you know what percentage of cho members you’ve got are actually working photographers?
11:41.23
Colin
Yes, so quite a quite high percentage.
11:41.29
Sam Hollis
or could you
11:44.11
Colin
It’s roughly about the 80% of our um membership is is ah working working photographers.
11:46.00
Sam Hollis
Oh.
11:50.39
Colin
um ah A lot in the the wedding and portrait kind of side.
11:54.45
Sam Hollis
Yeah, right.
11:54.73
Colin
And I think commercials, about 15% of our membership are professional commercial photographers.
12:00.89
Sam Hollis
Yes, okay. Yeah, yeah. and yeah um ah And again, you know, it’s always difficult with terms, isn’t it? And I know everybody, you know, every country has got a different view on different terms. But when we say commercial, we’re basically talking about B2B, aren’t we?
12:13.83
Sam Hollis
People whose business is based around working with other businesses.
12:14.19
Colin
Yeah, yeah, course.
12:17.55
Colin
Yeah, 100%, yeah.
12:19.06
Sam Hollis
Yeah, cool.
12:19.17
Colin
And yeah and and but we we see a range of commercial photography within our ah world as well. So some people, they you know, they specialize in that architecture photography or they do product photography.
12:28.25
Sam Hollis
Mm-hmm.
12:30.00
Colin
um You know, so we we get to see a great range ah of people working within there that environment as well.
12:36.48
Sam Hollis
Do you do actual ah awards for commercial photography or competitions for that? Is that the kind of thing you try doing or do?
12:43.82
Colin
Yeah, 100%. So we we have a monthly image competition that members can enter. That’s part of the membership. ah So you can enter one image per category per month, completely part of the membership.
12:55.42
Colin
And we do have an advertising and commercial category.
12:57.44
Sam Hollis
oh
12:58.12
Colin
So we award an advertising and commercial photographer of the year. And that’s also backed up in the 20 by 16 competition as well. um So yes, we we we we have awards for both digital and print photographer of the year for commercial categories.
13:13.22
Sam Hollis
That’s so interesting, Colin. mean, really, you know, I’ll be honest with you. don’t really realise that. I always tend to think the society as being non-commercial, for one of a better word.
13:21.16
Colin
Yeah, yeah and and to be fair, over the last 10 years we’ve we’ve massively grown in the and ah the demographics of the of our membership.
13:30.49
Sam Hollis
Right.
13:31.21
Colin
so um where we we We used to be really well known for the kind of wedding and portrait side, and we still are to be fair, ah but ah we’ve had a massive surge in nature wildlife photographers, so that now makes up 35% of our membership.
13:42.54
Sam Hollis
Hmm.
13:44.44
Colin
And then, as I say, commercials are under 15% of our membership. So we we really do have quite a a mix of photographers specializing in so many different ah aspects now.
13:52.75
Sam Hollis
Yes. Mm-hmm.
13:57.17
Colin
and And within our judging team and our mentors, we have ah photographers that are you know full-time professional photographers in those sectors. So when you apply for Mentrum, which is one of our biggest benefits of membership, ah where you can get a one-to-one appraisal of your work,
14:13.71
Colin
ah You can send in 20 images. They’ll critique that. Each image, they’ll tell you what you’re doing really well, areas of improvement, how to you know improve those images overall. and that That will be done by a commercial photographer. So you know we’ve we’ve worked really hard to ah to get the right people in place that and when when we’re offering guidance, we’re you’re getting it from a reliable person who’s done that and knows the industry really well.
14:38.98
Sam Hollis
yeah that’s great it’s great you do it you have to though really you have to i mean and you know it’s got it’s every sort of yeah genre has got its own different sort you know little quirks or tweaks tweaks to run the business of course it got yeah yeah
14:52.68
Colin
Yeah, definitely. you know Every genre, there’s so much that um that does cover all kind of bases when it comes to to photography, but each little section has its own nuances. and you know When you you think about commercial,
15:06.96
Colin
um yeah that there’s ah there’s so much what goes into it. Obviously the the technical act and technical excellence is really high on the agenda when it comes suits to the pictures.
15:11.28
Sam Hollis
Yes.
15:17.48
Colin
But working with brands, you’re going to be looking at their their overall branding guidelines.
15:19.55
Sam Hollis
Yes. Yep.
15:22.07
Colin
They might be giving you a and ah description of what they want in that job.
15:23.25
Sam Hollis
Yes.
15:26.12
Colin
you know Is it going to be ah designed for a magazine advert? Is it going to be on a billboard or is it going to be on their website?
15:32.83
Sam Hollis
Mm-hmm.
15:33.19
Colin
ah you know so and The difference just between those three can be a big difference in how you take that photograph initially. so It’s a really interesting ah part ah part you know section of the market, the commercial world, because there’s so much more that goes into it.
15:47.04
Sam Hollis
Yes.
15:48.42
Colin
is’s not You know, it’s not just the taking of the picture and the posing and the styling. um there’s there’s ah There’s a lot more what goes into um the the the image to make sure that it’s what the client needs for their overall outcome of the campaign.
16:03.76
Sam Hollis
Well, I’m bound to agree with you on that, of course. Yeah, there’s a lot in the pre-production. i think that’s where the, ah that you know, that’s where the real difference lies and just getting things sorted out and the ideas, et cetera, et cetera.
16:15.14
Sam Hollis
so You’ve obviously got a fantastic overview of all the types of photography, but um can can we focus on any changes that you’ve seen in the commercial sector over these last 10, 15 years?
16:28.79
Sam Hollis
Have you seen any growth markets, any markets or even markets that are not doing so well?
16:34.12
Colin
Yeah, I mean, that’s ah that’s an interesting question. I think you know the the industry is changing ah cook quite rapidly. and you know it was We’re seeing seeing massive changes in the industry overall.
16:46.56
Colin
and I know from many commercial photographers, you know there’s ah the concern over AI and how that’s going to change things, you know certainly when it comes to like stock photography and stuff.
16:54.37
Sam Hollis
Mm.
16:57.78
Colin
and you know So really really my advice to to people would be and you know to nail that technical excellence when it comes to ah you know getting everything right and delivering what the clients want and finding that market of people who want their products and and you know showcase to the best of ah your ability, ah which AI can’t do. So say if you’re a food photographer as such,
17:22.08
Colin
A chef’s not going to want an AI image of a cake that’s been generated online. they want go to the They want to see their hard work that they put into building that that food, um you know, photographed correctly so that they can put it on display.
17:36.34
Colin
So, i you know, I really believe that’s a really good market to be in at the moment is finding those niche markets and and working with high valued clients that really value photography ah of their products.
17:47.54
Sam Hollis
Yeah, yes, yes. And there are companies out there who really, really do. I mean, I certainly, well, yeah and the ones that I work with certainly do. um And what about sort of um industries? I’ve obviously, obviously but being a branding photographer, I’ve seen the growth in branding photography.
18:04.97
Sam Hollis
um Wedding photography seems to have, in the last 20 years, has definitely changed, certainly and as a growing market. um Any thoughts on any of those kind of things, Colin?
18:17.54
Colin
Yeah, I mean, the the the wedding photography market has has massively changed. and You know, people have access to digital cameras a lot more than what they did 20 years ago.
18:28.81
Colin
ah you know And, you know, we look at the technology within, you know, phones and stuff like that. It’s it’s come on leaps and bounds. and You know, so and I think weddings as an industry overall,
18:42.47
Colin
ah has changed. you know People see weddings differently to what they did certainly 20 years ago. um But again, I think it’s finding the right clients. you know People that are looking ah for low-cost alternatives probably aren’t going to be your client. you know so The people that aren’t looking for those professional images, they probably weren’t going to be your client anyway.
19:04.58
Colin
ah You know, so we we really encourage people to to look for that high end ah market where people really value photography and value professional photography.
19:15.79
Sam Hollis
yeah if the clients you don’t ask you how much you they charge you charge that’s those are the ones you want because those the ones who are coming to you because of of your photography and your ideas um yeah like So, obviously, we are in photography.
19:30.98
Sam Hollis
all As long as I’ve been in the business, I’ve always seen change, you know, going from film to digital, or blahh blah, blah, blah, blah.
19:35.74
Colin
Yeah.
19:37.26
Sam Hollis
There’s always change in photography. And you mentioned AI, obviously, is the sort of the next big sort of, how I say it, threat. But… So I would say, and I’m sure you’ll agree, is that the way forward is to, I think, is to come up with more as a content, dare I say, a content creator, where you’re doing lots of different things maybe. Well, it’s more based around ideas, which you’ve sort of alluded to.
20:00.83
Sam Hollis
um so so with with that in mind, and this is a provocative question, with that in mind, do you feel, oh what let me say, with that in mind, how are you addressing that, the more opening up of the of photography into other forms within this society.
20:18.73
Colin
As in different genres, do you mean? Or people…
20:20.90
Sam Hollis
Not a genres, I’m thinking like doing video, like doing photography, like doing whatever it might be, yeah it might be a a more as a content, creating content making my ideas.
20:30.27
Colin
yeah yeah Yeah, of course. and And we’ve actually done classes on that in the past. Obviously, a lot of the digital cameras these days, ah that they they you can do photography and video um you know on the same system.
20:43.68
Colin
ah So we’ve done classes on how to to get more out of your camera. So not just using it for photography, but you know if you’re a wedding photographer, yes, you can take pictures, but you can also do reels on it.
20:49.78
Sam Hollis
Mm-hmm.
20:54.45
Colin
and I know a lot of photographers… ah are invested in some of the the smaller video production stuff on the market ah you know to to to basically use as an add-on for their services. So and you know they they can say that we’re going to go out and we’re going to do your photography, ah but we can also do an add-on where we do a six-minute reel on the side of it and and charge extra for that.
21:20.03
Colin
um
21:20.12
Sam Hollis
Yeah.
21:21.07
Colin
you know and i i Going back to kind of ai i it it really reminds me of back in the film days where I’m sure you’ll remember, people were you know just slow so some people slow to take up the the digital. there There was people that firmly believed that film was the way it still the way forward.
21:41.38
Colin
It was the people that you know took the digital era ah ah you know ah with open arms. ah They’re the ones that seem to grasp it quicker. They move their production more digital quicker. you know And I see very much similarities with with AI. you know that I know there’s ah some people out there that are really using AI for for the the the benefits that it can bring.
22:05.71
Colin
And that might not be in you know the kind of photography side, but it might be mean in the admin side, you know using it for emails or ah you know website or trying to give you ideas.
22:10.20
Sam Hollis
Yeah, right.
22:15.62
Colin
or and you know There’s lots of possibilities that photographers can use AI for. That actually does help your business. um So you know i would say keep an open mind when it comes to AI. It is here. It is going to stay.
22:30.46
Colin
And we just need to find ways that are going to make it work for us rather than against us.
22:35.34
Sam Hollis
Yeah, quite agree. I mean, I think, you know, said a lot on this show, and i you know and this is what i talk about in my in my talks, is ah you can’t ideas are gold. This is what you want, is ideas. All the rest is just technique.
22:48.27
Sam Hollis
It really has no has little value. Ideas are where the gold is, and that can be applied to doing a video campaign, a still campaign, a GIFs or reels or whatever. It’s all about having good ideas.
22:59.97
Colin
Yeah, 100%. And you know it’s it’s keep keeping ideas going forward, which which is what quite often makes businesses succeed. you know it it’s It’s thinking outside of the box. I hate using that term, but it’s the easiest way of explaining it, is to keep thinking differently, and to stay staying ahead of the game.
23:19.07
Colin
um you know they’re They’re the things that push businesses forward.
23:22.45
Sam Hollis
Yeah. Do you think this, again, another a rather provocative question, do you think having competitions which do tend to be based around rules and guidelines is limiting the thought process behind the submissions?
23:41.86
Colin
Yeah, that’s certainly something now ah that we consider. So um our competitions, we have we actually have fairly relaxed rules as a general consensus.
23:53.27
Colin
and Obviously, there’s some rules that we need in there to make sure that the the system’s fair for everyone.
23:58.95
Sam Hollis
Mm-hmm.
23:59.32
Colin
um But we we do try and keep the the rules as unlimited. you know ah we We try not to let you know make the rules… ah Yeah, but because we we want to encourage photographers to to be unique, to have their own style.
24:07.76
Sam Hollis
Too prescriptive.
24:13.66
Sam Hollis
Mm-hmm.
24:15.00
Colin
um So when when it comes to judging, we actually have 10…
24:21.12
Colin
10 things that judges look for in an image, and which are listed on our website that anybody’s free to go and have a look. And that’s how our judges ah base their score and their critiques off. and But essentially, first of all, it’s all about the image that the authors put in.
24:36.03
Colin
You know, what’s the story behind it? and You know, so we we we do try and be open as much as possible to giving photographers a fair chance of entering the competition um and to letting and their creativity and style come through with that.
24:49.18
Sam Hollis
Creativity. Yeah, well, I can’t you can’t argue with that. Brilliant. And so just as we’re sort coming um um towards the end of the show, let’s talk about you, Colin, and put you on this spot. you you’re You’re obviously, um you’re you’re doing your own photography, presumably.
25:03.41
Colin
ah No, do you know what? I don’t actually do.
25:04.62
Sam Hollis
Oh, God. Okay.
25:05.41
Colin
i so ah So my background is my granddad was a wedding and portrait photographer and my dad was a wedding and portrait photographer as well.
25:10.69
Sam Hollis
Yes.
25:14.55
Colin
ah So photography has always been always been in my blood.
25:15.76
Sam Hollis
Okay. Okay.
25:18.05
Colin
ah When I was a kid growing up, my dad used to be a chair for the ah Master Photographers Association Northwest Region. So my whole life has been more built around the and ah the the association side of of photography.
25:33.17
Sam Hollis
Bye.
25:35.73
Colin
So back when I was knee high to a grasshopper, i was I was going to seminars when I was five and six years old, helping my dad and then. So kind of going to seminars and helping photographers has is has kind of been…
25:48.88
Colin
been my life since being a kid so you know it feels a natural fit that I’ve I’ve fallen into this uh role with the the Society of Photographers uh to continue that it’s ah and I I genuinely love doing it I love seeing photographers and you know excelling in their photography in their business and uh seeing the passion come out um but I leave for I will leave photography to the people that can actually take pictures rather than myself yeah
26:12.62
Sam Hollis
yeah ah Well, you’re facilitator. That’s what you’re you’re basically saying.
26:17.24
Colin
Yes, 100%, yeah.
26:18.17
Sam Hollis
Yeah, yes. Yes. But you still obviously enjoy photography. Any favorite photographers that you like? Any… and
26:24.72
Colin
Oh, they know that’s a really great question. i This is going to be a set on the fence kind of answer, but you know we we see so much great work coming through that it would be really hard to pinpoint one person.
26:40.47
Sam Hollis
What about a genre then?
26:40.52
Colin
and
26:41.35
Sam Hollis
What about a style of photography that you like? Is it fashion? Is it street photography? Hmm.
26:46.58
Colin
yeah I love street photography. i also, for some reason, and I can’t tell you why, I’ve always loved and pictures of bridges at night lit up. I love that style of photography.
26:57.98
Colin
I think I must have seen a ah picture when I was very young and it’s always stuck with me. And it was just ah ah ah of a ah normal road bridge at night all lit up and I just loved it. And I think that that kind of style of…
27:12.47
Colin
Yeah, kind of like architectural, ah um you know, that that kind of style has always stuck with me.
27:14.30
Sam Hollis
Yeah.
27:19.34
Colin
And I love that kind of stuff. but um
27:22.01
Sam Hollis
Well, heres here’s a name for you.
27:22.20
Colin
Yeah.
27:23.41
Sam Hollis
If you like that style, I know a bit, you know, I mean, I’m going to phone history and this is a great name. The guy is called Winston O Link, L I N K.
27:31.82
Colin
Oh, right. Okay.
27:33.39
Sam Hollis
And he’s from the, I think it’s from the thirties, and he photographs, um, black and white at nighttime, presumably of railways.
27:42.97
Colin
Oh, love it, yeah.
27:43.24
Sam Hollis
of trains and that you use these great big massive flashes, which he’d light the train up.
27:44.54
Colin
I’m definitely going check that
27:49.44
Sam Hollis
And there’s a really famous picture of ah a train going over a bridge at nighttime and people in that in the, in the, in the water below swimming in the, in the, it’s, um, Winston O’Link.
27:59.84
Sam Hollis
It’s not a, no, he’s not a big name photographer at all, but his work is amazing. Yeah.
28:04.33
Colin
I will definitely check that out because it sounds right up my street. I love railway trucks and all that kind of stuff. if if Weirdly, if I do ever take pictures, it normally is of a ah railway truck going into the distance. ah So yeah, I do enjoy doing that kind of stuff.
28:17.48
Sam Hollis
ah Okay, that’s okay. Obviously, there’s maybe a psychological reason for that.
28:21.98
Colin
Yeah.
28:24.80
Sam Hollis
Well, yeah, that’s been great. So look, the societies, it’s really you’ve really opened up my mind to all the kind of um things that you offer. Obviously, I knew about a magazine, but the the the commercial side is all new to me. So that’s been great to hear about that.
28:40.93
Colin
Yes, we do have a dedicated website ah for commercial photographers. so That is S-I-C-I-P.net.
28:50.93
Sam Hollis
Oh.
28:51.29
Colin
and That’s dedicated to ah commercial photographers, of you know whether that be corporate products or or anything in between. so ah
29:00.54
Sam Hollis
What does that stand for?
29:01.98
Colin
ah It’s the Society of International Commercial and Industrial Photographers.
29:06.32
Sam Hollis
Oh.
29:06.53
Colin
ah So as part of the Society of Photographers, we actually have eight subcategories and so that everyone feels like they have their place. um So obviously we realize that nature and wildlife photographers, they might not be interested in weddings or fashion or something like that.
29:23.27
Colin
um So we set up eight individual societies under the umbrella of the Society of Photographers. So the benefits remain the same, ah but and each genre has their own place, they have their own website.
29:35.40
Colin
So when someone’s looking for a commercial photographer, they will go onto the commercial ah website.
29:40.46
Sam Hollis
Ah, yeah, yeah.
29:41.26
Colin
if If there’s a bride and groom looking for a wedding and portrait photographer, they’ll naturally land on the wedding and portrait website. um So yeah, so that they are that they’re their own entities.
29:52.71
Colin
They they share benefits of membership, but they have their own home, so to speak. So a that’s something that we’re really proud of as well.
29:56.90
Sam Hollis
Okay, that’s, yeah. and that That is, okay, that’s something i did not know, and that’s something really, really useful to know, and so we’ll make sure we put the notes for the, at the, yeah linked to that in the notes that’s fantastic and a great place to end there colin thank you thank you so much for being a great guest what make look after yourself and see you soon
30:11.68
Colin
Thank you. Thank you for having me on. It’s been a ah joy to talk to you.
