leicestershire

Hinckley & Burbage Photographed Is Going To Market

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Developing An Art Project

I’m expanding the Hinckley & Burbage Photographed project to have a physical shop front on Hinckley’s traditional market.

For quite a few years now, my project Hinckley & Burbage Photographed has been going through some major transformations. I’ve gone from making photography for fun and to practice the art since the project began in 2012 to selling art products with my photographs in 2020.
The journey has been wholly experimental, pushing myself to always do better next time.
Last year in 2019 I produced the very first calendar for Hinckley in Leicestershire, the first the town had ever seen. It all started when I discovered a supplier that operated a special scheme for photographers to produce calendars, where they only allow one per area and create incredibly good quality products.

I never intended this project to make money and it was always about the community, documenting life and the environment surrounding us and enjoying the connection between our environment, photography and humanity.

Life has changed already for many of us experiencing this new Covid world. Much the same for myself in losing all of my commissioned work for the year and haven’t earned anything, also falling through the cracks of self employment grants. I began to innovate and developed a new product range from the one thing I did have; an archive of photographs.
When I produced my first calendar for 2020, I never thought for a minute that they’d be the least written on calendars of all time!

As time has progressed, my suppliers have introduced 1,000 Piece Jigsaw Puzzles to their product line, which I went straight ahead and created my first series.

I now have 9 puzzle designs available, which can be found in my online shop…

The puzzles have really taken off and has had an influence on my style of photography. To make good puzzles, I”ve had to learn what makes a good puzzle and then translate that in to the physical landscape. It’s a tough challenge to find good ideas and I’m really enjoying the journey.
I have two collections and 9 different designs. Some of the designs work better than others and all have a puzzle rating of between 5 and 10. I think I have one puzzle that reaches 10 on the puzzle scale, which is Hollycroft Park. It’s supposed to be very difficult because of the tones, colours and shapes in the puzzle. It was one of my first ones and since then I’ve created and developed new designs that really have caught the attention of a new local audience.

This next puzzle in particular is has already started selling on a pre ordering system.

The Horsepool in Burbage.

This particular puzzle is a beautiful romantic wintery scene with snow and Christmas lights decorating the scene.

The Horsepool, Burbage, Leicestershire.

Market Stall

I’ve been building stock levels, investing in the idea of selling my new products on a market stall in Hinckley every Saturday and possibly in the week on a Friday or a Monday on occassions.

I’ll also be selling my latest calendar for 2021 on the stall.

Jamie Hunt, owner of Brookfield Signs & Graphics has agreed a deal to sponsor Hinckley & Burbage Photographed and donated this banner to use on the front of the stall.

Myself and Jamie Hunt from Brookfield Signs & Graphics, who has become a sponsor of Hinckley & Burbage Photographed. Jamie has donated this banner to help with the aesthetics of my new market stall venture.

Myself and Jamie Hunt from Brookfield Signs & Graphics, who has become a sponsor of Hinckley & Burbage Photographed. Jamie has donated this banner to help with the aesthetics of my new market stall venture.

The Cover to my new 2021 calendar.

Visit my online shop to purchase a calendar.

I’ve also created a book called Locked Down, which is a collection of portraits showing 36 different families through their windows, juxtaposing them against the reflections the world their locked away from, during the Global Coronavirus Pandemic of 2020. Accompanied with personal text about how they’re all surviving lockdown and what their thoughts were surrounding the major events as the virus broke out in the UK.

Locked Down Book

I hope to see you on the market soon.

Local Business Video Production

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Northfield Wealth Financial & Mortgage Advice

A local business in Burbage, Hinckley, Leicestershire commissioned me to produce corporate video for them.

The owner of the business ‘Clare Farrell’ approached me with the commission to create two commercial films for her business. We met to talk about what they wanted, so we could share ideas to help each of us visualise the end product within a free consultation.

Very quickly, I understood what Clare had in mind and from that moment onwards, we were able to develop the ideas in to a reality. This part of the creative process is where my skills really come in handy because often the client knows what they want but has all these visions inside their heads. My role at this point is to see in my head, the same thing.

At the beginning, Clare had devised a script that she felt told her customers what they believed they needed to know. At this point I consulted with Clare to explain how it translates in a video and this helped us to shape the script so we were delivering just enough and the right information to entice new and prospective customers to seek more information from them, keeping the video short and sharp enough to maintain viewer interest throughout and to the end with a call to action.

The service I offered also included several edits to the film, so that we could design the production exactly as they wished.

The way this worked was best was with a consultative approach and open door policy. My aim was to complete satisfy my client and this is what Clare had to say afterwards.

Thank you to Paul Hands for our fantastic corporate videos - We were all very nervous which hopefully doesn’t show too much, Paul put us at ease and gave us some great advice and put together what we feel is a professional showcase of the team at Northfield Wealth. Thank you to Paul Hands at Hinckley Photographed.

Clare Farrell

https://www.northfieldwealth.co.uk/

Hinckley Photographed is a long term project that I’m well known for creating locally.

I have approximately a 5,000 strong audience that often buy from me things like calendars, Christmas cards and other artwork. I always promote my recent work to my audience because it’s the best way for me to gain new customers. This helps every business that chooses to work with me because not only do they get good quality marketing material for their website and social media, they’re also promoted to my audience of over 5,000 local people.

I’m currently looking for new clients and need some more work asap. I have a young family who rely on me for food and other essentials. So the the added beauty of working with me is that you’ll be buying local and helping a family to survive through such tough times.

If you have the slightest bit of interest in having a commercial grade film creating for your business at cost effective prices, please get in touch with me for an informal chat asap.

Tel: 07854 956 970

Email paul@paulhands.co.uk




Photography Service For The Self Employed

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Photographic Content Creation.

A service that gives you regular photographic content for your social media.

It’s commonly known that to maintain a strong image on social media, you need to continually update your social pages with attractive visual content and strong supportive text.

Karen Webb @ KJ Interiors

  • A picture is worth more than a thousand words

  • Research proves that to get good engagement on social media, you must use good photography.

  • Photography offers an 87% engagement rate on social media.

KJ Interiors, Hinckley

Karen at KJ Interiors in Hinckley is the first to book me for this new service and it’s going really well.

The service consists of one visit each month to create bespoke visual content for the business owner to use on social media and their website.

It’s a straight forward subscription service that delivers professional photography at a price that is extremely affordable for any self employed business owner.

£150 per month.

For that, you get 10 professional photographs every month, designed to target specific audiences and for particular reasons.

You also get inclusive marketing on Hinckley Photographed.

This service is only available to the self employed and businesses with fewer than 5 employees.

The Bulls Head, Leicester Forest West

The Bulls Head Leicester Forest West

The Bulls Head Leicester Forest West

Take a look at what some of my customers have said about my services…

“Paul is a highly skilled professional photographer for all types of stills or video, and we can recommend him.”

Steve Wegerif, Hinckley BID

The Bulls Head, Leicester Forest West

“I worked with Paul on a recent commission and was impressed by his enthusiasm and attention to detail. He took time to understand exactly what we needed and delivered some fantastic quality photography and video for us to use in our marketing. He made everyone feel relaxed and comfortable on the shoot and has great customer service and follow-up.”

Kate Addison, Diabetes UK

I’ve discovered that small businesses need to boost their social media more than ever because they’re 100% reliant on themselves to generate their own work and social media is a solid route to your customers.

The best thing to do is get in touch and we can share ideas.

Amstreetdam

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A Street Photography Project in Amsterdam

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines landed me on a motorway bridge on the outskirts of Amsterdam in the Netherlands and with a short train ride to arrive at Centraal Station, taking in the track side views of rural, residential and industrial landscapes.

Paul Hands (2018).

Once settled in the hotel, I hit the streets ready to put my new Panasonic LX100 to the test.  Up to this point, i'd only used the LX100 a few times but not under any pressurised commercial situations.  It was only up on writing this blog that I discovered a fast AF setting within the menu's.  I'm kicking myself now because I spent the whole time in Amsterdam, anticipating photographs because I was worried about how slow the AF was.  I put it down to being spoilt using a dslr with almost instantaneous focusing and having owned a Fuji XPro 1 for a short part of its life.

Julie Hrudova (2015).

Julie Hrudova, a street photographer based in Amsterdam became a source of inspiration for me prior to my trip.

Julie Hrudova (2012).

Julie Hrudovae (2012).

When I first discovered the pictures by Julie, I was blown away by her presentation, modernity and classic style of street photography.  I recommend taking a look through her Flickr website.

Jonathan Higbee:

Jonathan lives in NYC and has recently collected the amazing recognition he fully deserves with his coincidental work around New York in what Jonathan describes as his love letter to New York.  I've included Jonathan here because his work is so cool that when I'm out on the streets looking and searching for scenes, backdrops, places and people to photograph, I always have some of his strongest images in the back of my mind but I never ever come across similar.  

I can only put that down to different minds and a different set of eyes.  Proof that it's the photographer that makes the pictures as opposed to the camera!

Don't take my word for it anyway, please head over to Jonathan's website and see how good he is for yourself... https://www.jonathanhigbee.com

Jonathan Higbee

Jonathan Higbee

Jonathan Higbee

I'm currently influenced by many photographers and with all good work, it's informed by others.  

 

So this is my Amsterdam project...

 

Amstreetdam:

I've created this work from a perspective full of influences from street photographers that I've discovered around the world.  Julie Hrudova, Jonathan Higbee from New York City and many of the artists showing their work with the Pure Street Photography collective.  These photographs are intended to show my view of the quirkiness of the streets in Amsterdam, day and night.  I've found myself being drawn to almost surreal, graphic and intimate stories at the side of the canals and narrow roadways.  Amsterdam really is a beautiful city and a giant habitat that just keeps on giving, which ever direction you walk in.  With a good eye for a a photograph, it's difficult not to find something you can make great photographs of.

So this is my visual story of Amsterdam.

Black and White Street Photography

I also made some in colour because Amsterdam is too colourful that I couldn't resist having a play with the beauty of the city.

Colour Street Photography 

I still feel like I've only skimmed the surface of Amsterdam.  There's so much to explore and I only had three days to look, learn, discover, feel the heart of the city and show that in my pictures.

As this was a test for me working with my new LX100, I feel compelled to tell you what I think of it.  Had I discovered the fast AF setting, I may have enjoyed this camera more.  I still enjoyed playing with it and am learning new ways to work the streets with it. I found the light meter to be accurate and I shot in RAW, knowing that I didn't fully trust the camera, I wanted that flexibility.  The manual controls are very intuitive and I found it easy adjusting the iso, shutter speed and aperture to suit each scene.  

The challenge as always with street photography is not so much the technical side, but more the story and visual impact.  You can't just make a good picture, a view of the world develops in your frame and if you're ready with your camera and become part of that moment in time.  It's an honour, especially if you can overcome the initial anxiety of pointing your camera at people on the street.  Breathe and feel the world living.

The photographs that appear in this blog can be made available as artwork and I've discovered new suppliers for my prints, who offer excellent quality.

Prints available poa.

Contact me.

You can subscribe to my mailing list which is managed by Mailchimp and abides by the new GDPR rules.  Meaning you can unsubscribe and there's a double opt in to make sure that you do want to receive my blogs.

Croft Hill Photography Workshop

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December is usually rich with golden hour sunsets during mid afternoon that bring the best light for landscape photography.  Sure there's the small risk of rain but often that brings drama in the skies as well, so it's hard to not find good photographs that have that ability to transport your viewers to see and feel as you did making the picture.

It's not all about the location, nor is it about your equipment.  Photography is a direct reflection of what you see.  So we choose locations that present us with enough material / elements and compositional promise to help inspire us.

Come and join me on another of my photography workshops but this time, on Croft Hill.

Looking towards Earl Shilton from Croft hill, 2016

The workshops are relaxed and always in the company of like minded people.  I'm always on hand to teach and guide you when you need support.  My manner is to give you what you need to explore this wonderful and accessible art form.

The things I can cover during the workshop are:

  • Exposure
  • Composition
  • Technical support
  • Ideas
  • Making art with your camera
  • Not limited to any of the above and I'll be on hand offering tailored support to each person.

The Ascent to Croft Hill

This is the last workshop for this year.  I'll be organising a more adventurous series of workshops around the uk next year.

Date: Thursday 28th December 2017, 1:30pm - 4:30pm.

Workshop Price = £35

To book a place on the Croft Hill Photography Workshop...

Why is your business headshot / portrait so important?

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Professional corporate headshots / portraiture helps to put a face to your business and makes you and your employees appear human to your customers.

corporate headshots / portraiture, Leicestershire

Your image 

is so important in business

Did you know that when your customers view your website and come across photographs of the staff, the information they can get from a simple headshot is initially your look, style, type, age, occupation, professionalism, socioeconomic status, personality traits, and of course your brand, you're the brand!

So as you'd imagine it's pretty important to get it right and project the right image to prospective customers and those that already work with your business.

Some people might take their own photos and convince themselves that it looks good and if they've been trained professionally in the visual language of photography, there could be a good chance that it is but usually it isn't.

You often get photographers in my industry that haven't actually trained or qualified in photography, have just bought a camera and then watched some Youtube videos! That puts them on the same level as you, so why should you pay someone like that?  Is that what you think of your professional image and your beloved business?  

Cutting corners is always bad news in any industry.  Image making is no different.

If saving money is your goal, try to reverse your thinking.  Make yourself look more professional, get more work, make more sales and put extra money in your pocket.  That's the same as saving isn't it?  Perhaps better than holding what you have and collecting more instead!

Put the extra effort in to you!

Contact me to discuss my corporate headshot / portraiture service.

  • I have a fixed studio in the town centre of Hinckley, Leicestershire.
  • I have a portable studio and portable professional lighting if you want me to come to your business.
  • I'm qualified, have a Level three, HND and BA Hons degree in Photography & video.
  • I'm experienced and have a long list of incredibly prestigious clients of all sizes.
  • I have solid reviews, awards and fantastic reputation.

Here's some quotes from my clients:

“Our company has used Paul Hands Photography on two occasions now; the photographs produced have been exceptional quality and Paul really helped our staff feel relaxed in order to achieve some really professional looking staff portraits. We will continue to use Paul Hands for his portrait services and in addition we have instructed some bespoke commissions in relation to obtaining high quality material for our website. ”
— David Frisby, Mode Transport Planning
“We used the photographic services of Paul Hands for our Corporate Staff Photographs. We required photos for our new website. Paul was recruited as a last minute booking and he could not have been more accommodating. His attention to detail was a comfort as a client and we received great customer service. On the two days of shooting he was very professional and brought out the smile in every member of staff in his own unique way (a lego car and a gingerbread man helped with this too but I won’t let any further details slip and ruin his secrets to getting you smiling). We had the photographs returned to us within a matter of days and Paul had put each set of photo’s into individual files, per staff member, for ease of reference for us. These little bits of attention to detail really make the difference. The quality of the photographs were crisp and clear and were exactly what we were looking for. We would thoroughly recommend Paul’s services to anybody looking for a photographer, he is fantastic!”
— Rosie Iliffe, Stuart Fletcher & Barrett Wealth Management
Corporate Headshots / portraiture, Leicestershire

This is me, hi

I'm Paul Hands

Let's do business together, contact me using the link below.

A Commercial Film Production To Remember

I was booked by Diabetes UK to produce a commercial film, a trailer and a series of documentary style photographs.  They came to me because they wanted the natural candid feel that I often produce. They wanted a sense of fun to help promote their Type 1 events to the children and parents who have to endure type one diabetes on a daily basis.

I jumped at the chance because I felt that working with such a genuine and helpful charity is how I want my business to be seen.  I always offer a generous discount to charities.  This opportunity was to work a a large group of 8-10 year olds who all have type 1 diabetes and these events are designed to help the children learn to manage the diabetes on their own, and to continue to enjoy a normal, healthy and active lifestyle.

They attend without their parents and love every minute of it!

Shooting this film and producing the documentary is up there with the best commercial project I've been commissioned to do.  The children were an inspiration and genuinely warmed my heart.

I'm currently at the proofing stage and won't be able to release the film until it has been finalised but rest assured, as soon as it is, I'll be sharing it here.

Maybe a sneak peak at one of the pictures...

You can click through the logos for Diabetes to go to their website and learn more information.

If you'd like to enquire about commissioning me for other assignments, please contact me here.

An Alien Invasion

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A series of metaphorical, futuristic landscape photographs based on an imaginary alien invasion of the planet Earth.

I've spent the last 9 months creating this body of work and now I'm publicly publishing the results.  The work is not finished and will be continued throughout my career but this current collection is now ready for the first exhibition.

The challenge for this project has been finding locations and objects that fit within my criteria and also hold that metaphorical 'Je Ne Said Quoi'!

I now have a selection of images that can tell my imaginary story and are fit for purpose with regards to being hung in an exhibition spanning across two venues; Free Range at The Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane in London and De Montfort University in Leicester, both in June 2017.

This short stills film is pat of my submission and displays a series of the photographs made for this project, together with my own vocal narration and a series of sound effects.

You can see the stills from this film exhibited at the above mentioned exhibitions in June, which I will be notifying you about closer to the time.

Please watch and leave a comment on your thoughts because I've put so much effort in to making this, it would be great to hear your thoughts.

I will be part of a larger collective show that will see the students from De Montfort University's Photography and Video Ba Hons degree come together to exhibit and show off their talents, as a culmination of three years of studying the worlds best photographers and videographers and being lectured by some of the key figures in the industry today, like Laura McGregor, Nick Locket, Neil Dyson, Su Ansell, Dr Mike Simmons, Lala Meredith, Dave Soden, Martin Shakeshaft and visiting professor Paul Hill.

Exhibition Dates:

De Montfort University, Vijay Patel Building, Leicester, LE1 9BH 

17/6/17 - 22/6/17

Private View - 16/6/17 

 

Free Range, The Old Truman Brewery, 91 Brick Lane, London, E1 6QL  

22/6/17 - 26/6/17

Private View - 22/6/17 6-10pm

If you'd like to be invited to the private view where hopefully there will be an opportunity to meet all of the artists, have a drink and some grub, then please drop me a line using this link.

UBL 17 Fight Photographs from The Athena

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Welcome to the home of the boxing photographs from UBL 17 at The Athena in Leicester.

This page on my website has been specifically dedicated to the huge collection of photographs, from the unlicensed fighting that goes on between some of the hardest men in Britain.

To view the pictures, simply click on the photograph, then choose the fight collection that you wish to look through.  You will even have the option to buy and have a bespoke book designed for you as well prints and a dvd slideshow with music.  You can do this directly through my website.  Payments are secured and guaranteed through Stripe.

 

Professional Photographer Leicester, Leicestershire, Hinckley, Nuneaton, Coventry, Birmingham, Warwickshire, Midlands, England, UK, United Kingdom, Great Britain.

Commercial, Business, PR, Public Relations, Landscape, Street Photography and Documentary photographer available for commissions.

UBL 17 Highlights

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Boxing Photographs, Leicestershire, Midlands

What an incredible night of unlicensed fighting.  A large group of hardened men avoid going completely underground to fight on the shows put on by Gypsy Jerry Gorman and Elvis Hopkins who runs Kings Gym in Leicester.

The shows are that good, there'll be no time wasted on idle chat.

Watch this slideshow mother fucker...

Oh, and turn your volume up!

Tough hardened fighting men go to war against each other in an unlicensed night of brutal gloved boxing bouts. Jerry Gorman and Elvis Hopkins of Kings Gym in Leicester put on such a good show that only viewing it will tell you what it's about. So get on with it...