Christmas Greetings

Thank you for your support this year and I would like to wish you all the very best for Christmas and the New Year.

Black and white portrait photography

Here are two photographs that I produced this year. They both tell very different stories but they both tell exactly the story that was requested. They were both designed to be produced as black and white images.

The first image was photographed to be used as a professional profile image, on platforms such as LinkedIn etc. The brief was to show an engaging, professional and approachable person. I lit my subject very simply, choosing beautiful summer evening soft natural lighting and contrasted my clients features against the dark background. It is a very classic type of image, but her dress, hair and simple makeup give it a beautiful contemporary feel.

The second image was designed for an editorial feature on the “new” Irish in Ireland. My subjects journey to his new home had not been easy and this affected how I both lit and directed the photograph. A single flash angled at about 45/55 degrees to the right was used with an additional unit lighting the background. My subject is a very highly educated man and I positioned him to look directly into the camera and tell me his fascinating story. It was then up to me to choose the right moment to press the camera shutter. I think that the image worked really well.

While most of my work is in colour, black and white photography can say so much about the person being photographed, as well as about the skill of the photographer. This is why choosing a professional and briefing them thoroughly is so important, as is making sure that the photographer actually understands what it is that you, the client, wants and needs the photograph to achieve.

Commercial photography for packaging in Ireland

It was a privilege to be commissioned to photograph father and son milk delivery family, Tom Gaskin Snr and Tom Jnr, for the commemorative Premier Milk 50th anniversary carton, in recognition of their 50 years serving the community.

Tom Gaskin Snr started his milk round in 1966, delivering glass bottles from a milk float on behalf of Premier Dairies. Tom Jnr then joined his father in the family business in 1988 and eventually took over the milkround when his father recently retired.

New Website

My new website at noelhillis.com has gone live with thanks to my good friends in Photoshelter. The general look remains the same, but it has been set up to look good on mobile devices and can also house more portfolio images than before. It also links to my instagram and twitter feeds. Let me know what you think.

Event and editorial Photography in Dublin

It was good to see how well this low light image looked as a double page spread in the recent edition of Estates Gazette, which covered their Question Time event in Dublin. You can learn more about my conference and event photography services here.

Photography in public places - Freedom of Panorama

The Linesman" by Dony MacManus - City Quay, Dublin

Last year, the European Parliament rejected a proposal that would have restricted the photography of copyrighted buildings and sculptures from public places and recommended the European Commission to not restrict this freedom. (freedom of panorama)

This year, the European Commission is holding a public consultation until the 15th of June, to hear our opinion on this topic. For anyone taking photographs or using images depicting buildings, sculptures and monuments, this could have potential ramifications. 

Irish copyright law permits photographers to photograph sculptures, buildings, and works of artistic craftsmanship that are permanently located in a public place or premises open to the public, and to publish such pictures in any way.

At present certain EU countries (e.g. Greece, France and Italy) can restrict the use of photos showing copyrighted structures in public places.

So while I am free to photograph and publish this photo of my favourite Dublin Sculpture, "The Linesman" by Dony MacManus, without infringing copyright, I cannot photograph or upload a photo of, for example, the “light show” on the Eiffel Tower at night, as it is copyrighted in France. During the day with no lights, it is fine to photograph the building.  

While copyright and licensing of our work is vital to all artists, (including photographers) can you imagine the chaos that could be caused if a permit/license had to be obtained for anyone to photograph in public, even with an office block/sculpture/work of art in the background, without breaking the law? 

If we consider the photo above, there are at least 2 pieces of art and at least 2 buildings visible, that are possibly still within copyright. Thats 4 licenses that could be needed, if freedom of panorama was abolished in Ireland. How would I know? How would a tourist know?

So perhaps you might want to think twice, the next time that you upload that selfie, in front of that piece of sculpture when abroad. You may be unwittingly breaking the law!

The European Commission has to make its decision, taking into account the Parliament’s recommendations from last year. It will also take on board the direct views of European citizens. By having your voice heard, you can help save the Freedom of Panorama or even broaden it to those European countries which don’t have it yet.

Find out more here:

http://photoclaim.com/en/freedom-of-panorama-european-commission/

Corporate photography in Dublin

Bryan S Ryan is one of Ireland’s biggest, managed print and business technology solutions companies, with offices in Dublin, Galway and Cork. Knowing their reputation, I was delighted when they commissioned me to produce a series of corporate portraits and business lifestyle photographs for their website, as well as images for print and online marketing collateral. 

Working with the marketing team over two mornings to cause as little disruption as possible, we created a mix of commercial head shots, reportage images of people at work, as well as a number of business team group shots. The images were designed to capture the enthusiasm and commitment of this professional team, who were such a pleasure to work with. Here are just a few examples. 

Portrait of an Author

I was delighted when acclaimed Irish author, Catherine Dunne, asked me to produce a series of editorial portraits to coincide with the launch of her new novel, “The Years That Followed”.

Having previously worked with Catherine, I knew that the shoot would be fun and would also allow for plenty of creativity. Numerous cups of tea and great conversation, accompanied two hours of really enjoyable portrait photography. We ended up with a wide range of head shots and portraits, including this portrait of the author, which is also used in the book.

The Years That Followed, which has the great tag line, “Revenge is sweeter than regret…” is on sale now, from all good book shops and from the usual online sources.

You can learn more about Catherine Dunne on her website.

Enjoyable PR shoot on a cold cold day!

As a teenager, the boys’ school soccer team in which I played, used to train regularly with the girls hockey team. On more than one occasion I was on the receiving end of the back of a flying hockey stick or worse, was unable to get out of the way of a high speed hockey ball!

So it was with some trepidation, on a really cold day last week, at the National Hockey Stadium, that I photographed the launch of Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles as an official sponsor of Hockey Ireland. I needn’t have worried. Senior Women's International player, Nicci Daly and Alan Sothern, Senior Men's International player really got into the spirit of things and by helping me to overcome my ancient fears, we produced some really strong PR photographs!

My thanks to everyone involved from Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles, Hockey Ireland and Murray Consultants, for making this such an enjoyable shoot.

A review of 2015

January seems to come around all too quickly, so it must be time for my annual roundup of some of the work from the past year, that I didn’t get around to posting on this blog.

I am always very grateful to the editors who commission me to photograph their magazine covers. Here are two of my favourite corporate portraits which appeared as covers for Eolas magazine during the past year. Anne Sheehan, Director of Enterprise at Vodafone Ireland, was photographed for the September issue and Shell Ireland’s Managing Director, Ronan Deasy appeared in the May issue.

Producing commercial portraits for annual reports has become one of my specialities. Among the Reports that I that I have worked on over the past 12 months were those for Greencore and LauraLynn Children’s Hospice. Full marks to the designers of An Bored Pleanala’s Annual Report. I really liked the way that they used my environmental portraits and urban landscape images, along with the executive portraits.

I always enjoy shooting outdoors and this available light portrait of LauraLynn CEO. Sharon Morrow, produced on one of our grey days last summer, worked really well.

Another outdoor business portrait, that I think worked well on the cover of Energy Ireland’s Renewable Energy Magazine, was of Bord Na Mona CEO Mike Quinn. The designer did a great job once again, incorporating some of my corporate head shots on the cover of Eirgrid’s smart grids, round table supplement.

This editorial portrait of Brother Kevin Crowley was photographed for Eolas as part of a feature on the Capuchin Day Centre for Homeless People in Dublin. Brother Kevin and his volunteers do extraordinary work in the inner city, producing more than 750 hot meals daily and up to 1,800 food parcels weekly, for disadvantaged families in the city. It is 47 years since he founded the Capuchin Day Centre and now at 80, Brother Kevin has seen numbers availing of the centre almost triple since 2008, with no increase in state funding. You can find out more about the Capuchin Day Centre here.

Photographs of politicians can often look staged, but I particularly liked this image of Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Brendan Howlin TD, enjoying a speech by Simon Harris TD. Minister of State at the Departments of Finance PER and Taoiseach.

The annual meeting of The International College of Dentists in Europe was held in Dublin, over a wide variety of venues in October. Above, the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham made a spectacular venue for the gala dinner.

One of my favourite images of that particular event, was this atmospheric image of the Registrar of the ICD, Dr. Argirios Pissiotis, leading this years inductees into the exam hall, in Trinity College, Dublin, to receive their awards.

As I cover a large variety of conference and event photography, I am always looking for memorable moments. Another of my favourite images of the year, is of Mrs Justice Catherine McGuinness being greeted by well wishers, at a Children's Rights Alliance event, at the Bar of Ireland. 

Being a commercial photographer, means that I get to work in some of Dublin’s most beautiful and historic venues. Among those that I have had the pleasure of working in during the year were; the Dining Hall at King’s Inns (top left), The Great Hall at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham (top right - lit in green, white and orange), the Boardroom in the Royal College of Surgeons, which over looks St Stephens Green (bottom right) and the Round Room at the Mansion House (bottom left).

I really enjoy the challenge of posting a new personal photo on my Instagram account (nearly) every week. Over the past year a new project “Roads less travelled” has started to take shape. Please follow my visual ramblings on Instagram here.

As always, I’m closing with my favourite image of the year. Is it just a simple tourist photo from Paris? I'm not so sure! I have photographed Rodin’s “Le Penseur - The Thinker”, countless times over the years, but this time I liked the composition, the lighting, the cloud and the cooperative tourist, sheltering in the shade! (By the way, the Rodin museum has just re-opened after a major restoration and if you find yourself in Paris, it really is worth a visit.)

Thanks to all my clients, followers and friends. Have a great 2016!

Happy Christmas Everyone

I’d like to thank you for your support this year and wish you all the very best for Christmas and the New Year.

Christmas Party at LauraLynn

Santa, Mrs Claus and some of their elves at LauraLynn

My thanks to the wonderful staff and volunteers who made this years Christmas party at LauraLynn, such a magical experience for both the children and adults, alike. You can find out more about LauraLynn, Ireland’s children’s hospice, here.

Corporate photography in Dublin

Here are a few of the images that I was commissioned to create by GVA, for their annual report. Working to a very tight brief, I concentrated on capturing corporate portraits and business lifestyle images, of the staff at their Dublin office.

Jane McKenna - Founder of LauraLynn - Book launch - Event photography in Ireland

Last week Jane McKenna, founder of LauraLynn, Ireland’s only children’s hospice, launched her memoir, ‘Laura and Lynn’s story – Living in the shadow of their smiles’.

Jane and her husband Brendan were Joined by Ray D’Arcy from RTE, Senator David Norris and Miriam O’Callaghan along with some of the families who have used the facilities at LauraLynn.

The book tells the story of Jane and Brendan’s beautiful children and how their loss only twenty months apart, led Jane to set up the ‘LauraLynn Children’s Hospice’ Foundation in 2001 which raised enough funds for the opening of LauraLynn House in 2011. 

Published by Liffey Press, the book is on sale from all good bookshops and a share of the proceeds from this publication will be donated to LauraLynn. 

You can find out more about LauraLynn here.

Conference & Event Photography in Ireland

Hearing inspirational speakers talk about their areas of expertise, is one of the bonuses for a conference and convention photographer working in Ireland. Here are some of the most engaging speakers, that I have photographed so far this year.

Pictured are:  Mahavir Sharma, speaking at the TIE Global retreat, at the Mansion House in Dublin, Dr Hal Duncan, speaking at the ICD scientific meeting, at the Royal College of Surgeons, Brendan Howlan TD. Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform speaking to the Irish Whistleblowing Law Society and Thomas Jakobsen among his audience, at the Public Service Reform Conference at Croke Park.

Environmental Portraits and Business Head Shots photographed on location

Environmental Portraits and Business Head Shots are similar in style to editorial portraits. These are usually photographed at my clients place of work or at a mutually agreed location. Professionally photographed environmental portraits give the sitter context and can help create more interest for the viewer. By choosing the background carefully, images like these work well on web sites, in articles, as well as for PR and promotional material. 

When cropped square, environmental portraits also make great profile head shots for LinkedIn and other social media.