Supplier Spotlight: Michael Barrow Photography

 




Well another week flies by and it's Wedding Wednesday again! That means it's time to meet another one of World of Wedmin's fabulous suppliers! This week we have the awesome Michael Barrow of Michael Barrow photography to tell us a little bit about him and his work (including some outrageously fun looking colour smoke bombs!). 

 

Introduce yourself, and your business

My name is Michael Barrow. I’m a photographer and artist working in and around the Manchester area.

Why did you start your business? And how long has it been going?

I graduated in 2010 in Fine Art. There was NOTHING out there, particularly in the North West. I didn’t want to sit in an office or behind a gallery desk - I’m very stubborn that way. So i exhibited, wrote short stories, tried my hardest to stay creative. This worked but still didn’t bring in any money. After 2 years I decided to buy the equipment I needed to get into freelance photography and that’s where it all started. It’s only been 2 years ‘professional’ but the work continues to grow and with it my knowledge. You never stop learning in this game.

What is your greatest achievement to date?

I remember my first ever product shoot was for a Didsbury based coffee supplier. I went for breakfast at the PostBox in Chorlton one morning to discover a swing board out front with one of my shots on it. That was pretty spesh. I always feel proud exhibiting and knowing my work is seen and judged by people I don’t know. I also shot the album art for Los Campesinos!’s latest record ‘No Blues’. That was fun. Lots of smoke grenades and leaping through bracken.





How would you describe your photography style?

Quick, enthusiastic, sporadic but never lazy.

If you could shoot a wedding anywhere in the world, where would it be?

Iceland, Norway, somewhere in/around the Arctic Tundra

In your opinion, what makes a truly stand-out wedding?

The people.

From your industry experience, what’s your top tip for couples?

In the Wedding environment? Just be yourself and trust your photographer(s). If there’s no trust there, then there’s going to be tensions, worries and all sorts of other ugly feelings. You should be sure you’ve picked someone who is not just professional and knowledgeable, but has common sense and initiative, and a sense of humour, and fantastic rates and that is now taking bookings for 2015....

What do you think is one of the most common mistakes people make with their photography?

I don’t like answering questions like that really. I’m my own biggest critic. I think that’s important though. One thing I found, when upgrading from medium format and 35mm film cameras to a several grand pro DSLR, was that you’ve a tendency to become lazy. It’s very easy to take a ‘nice shot’. But this is because a sensor is doing it all for you. I found it important to keep myself looking at composition, light, and almost have an idea of a shot before I shot it. So maybe, if anything it’s people’s inability to convert what they see into an image, before adding all their filters and post shoot editing etc? I dunno.

What can we expect to see from you in the future?

I’ve absolutely no idea! Hopefully heaps of different shoots from all kinds of genres. I love a challenge. I’d like to do more video also, which I’ve recently been getting to grips with.

What is it you enjoy most about your job?

The freedom. The feeling of knowing what you’re doing all by yourself is actually working. It’s terrifying sometimes, but that’s a good thing!