Festive Photography With Viking + Friends

I was lucky enough to be invited to a festive photography masterclass back in November, with Viking. Heading into Dirty Martini in the city centre meant that I was already feeling the Christmas spirit, especially as the German Market had been set-up. Walking up the stairs in the venue, I spotted tables filled with crackers and shiny things; I also spotted some familiar friendly faces, and was happy I came. The team were there to greet me and offer me a festive cocktail, and I wished that happened every time I entered a new venue; it was lovely.

I’m not the best at photography; I rely a lot on “auto” on my camera, and editing to get my lighting right when I’ve used my phone. Therefore, I was excited to learn more, with the help of Viking and what Elouisa Georgiou had to teach me. With a non-alcoholic Bellini in hand, I sat and listened to the run down of the night. There was props, lights, prisms, and plenty of information and help on-hand as we teamed up to start taking some photos. On my team was the lovely Sarah, Lizzie, and Steph; it was time to adjust our apertures, the colour of the lights, and begin helping each other get some spangly and festive shots from the table. We then started to use the prism to get some shots from around the beautiful venue.

I still found the manual side of things quite challenging regarding my camera settings; my eyesight is pretty poor in low lighting as it is, so while I was having a lovely time, I did end-up getting a little frustrated at myself. But, this is a personal trait that needs work. Elouisa really worked the room, and offered her expertise and advice; I found it super helpful. As the canapés rolled out, it was time to send our favourite pictures through to the printer. After explaining their shot to Elouisa and the other bloggers, the winner would take home a printer (well, they’d be sent one, as they weren’t expected to carry it home on the train). Sadly, I just didn’t feel like any of my pictures were up to standard, especially after checking out some of the others. Therefore, I enjoyed my tempura prawns, and listened to the others present their pics. Yes, I totally chickened-out of printing one off and presenting it.

Therefore, my feature image and the below image are actually Sarah‘s; she has kindly said that I can use hers because I told her how bad mine were (thank you Sarah; Santa has put you firmly on the nice list).

I had such a lovely evening, and it’s made me determined to try harder with my photography. So much more can be done when you move away from the auto-settings, I promise!

Thank you to Viking, Elouisa, Jennie, and the rest of the team! The evening was great, and my goodie bag had a tripod in it; what a treat!

Peace, love, and aperture, Fay x