Jake Hicks Photography Techniques Archive 2014

A Photographers thoughts on Horst: Photographer of Style Exhibition

As the title suggests this article is a look at famous photographer Horst's V&A exhibition from a photographers point of view. The V&A museum in London is famous for it's vast fashion collections over the years so there are many great reviews of Horst's exhibition out there with this fashion and art history view in mind.

Making a Negative from your Instant Polaroid Prints

Although Polaroid as a company is no longer manufacturing their film, their ethos and idea behind instant imaging is still very much alive and kicking. The purpose for this article is to help explain some of the possibilities beyond just the instant print itself and in the following content I will go over the simple process involved in extracting a scannable or printable negative from Fuji's FP 100c peel apart instant film.

Shooting the Dan Le Sac Album Cover

Take a peek behind the scenes with me as I shoot the album cover for Dan Le Sacs debut solo album ‘The space between the words’.

Defining Quality of Light in Photography

In this article I try to define a term that gets bounded about by lots of photographers; the quality of light. This term is something that is crucially important to so many photographers but here I will be discussing the effect it can have on studio lighting and how having the right tools for the job are mandatory for the best results.

The Bowens Universal Spot Attachment

There are a huge number of lighting modifiers out there and some of them do a very similar thing to many others, the Bowens Universal Spot Attachment is definitely not one of them. This modifier produces some of the hardest lighting I've seen and with a little experimentation you can create some quite unique shots too. Check out this review on some of the ideas I tried.

Which is better, Speedlights or Strobes?

Here I look at one of the biggest decisions you will make with your photographic equipment, which flash system do I go for. You will likely have your lighting far longer than any camera so it makes sense to invest wisely. In this article I look at dispelling some of the pricing myths about speedlights and strobes and price up your first studio kit.

How Copying Other Photographers can Help Develop a Personal Style

A look at how we all should be more open about copying others work. In doing so we actually develop our our own personal style far faster by an inherent need to have an individual creative voice. In this article I look at how famous fashion photographer duo Mert and Marcus have capitalised on this very idea.

Testing your lighting attachments for light fall-off

Its important to know your kit and knowing which attachment does what in the studio is crucial to not only being efficient but also planning and actioning a set-up. Sometimes we think we know exactly how an attachment behaves but as I discovered, I was certainly surprised to learn some interesting things.

Photographic Competitions - Should I be entering them?

We can share our images online with everybody instantly so are photo comps a dated way for us to get seen by others? I cover a few of the more important Pros and Cons of entering photo contests in the digital age.

Explaining Tilt-Shift Lenses and the Lensbaby Composer Pro

Here I take a few words to describe what the origins of the tilt-shift actually were and how they were popularised in filters and apps to the now new lease of life we see from companies like Lensbaby. I also give my thoughts on one of my most used lens last year, the Lensbaby Composer Pro.

Coloured Gels Exposed

An article on how to correctly expose your lights for coloured gels within an image. To achieve the desired look within your shots whilst using gels there is a few key points you should first consider.

Hidden Gems from The Photography Show 2014

The UKs answer to a Photokina and Focus on Imagings replacement. This is a brief discussion on some of the more hidden items from the event and my thoughts on how it compares to its predecessor.

Interview with Photographer Magic Owen

An in depth and enlightening interview with internationally published photographer Magic Owen. Magic very kindly explains her creative thought process and how her experience on the other side of the camera early on in her career helps to shape her work today.

Stay Focused - Choosing the right focusing mode for each shoot

In this article I go over the four main focusing selections most modern DSLR cameras offer. Knowing which to focusing mode choose to for every given scenario is key to ensuring sharp images every time. I also discuss when not to shoot in auto-focus on model shoots.