BSoUP Meeting - 21 March London

On Wednesday, JP Trenque (frogmansub on wetpixel) and myself (alex_mustard on wetpixel) are giving talks at a meeting of the British Society of Underwater Photographers. JP's talk is a really useful one for us digital photographers. My talk is a brand new one and features many of my new images that I have not yet put on my website.

BSoUP meetings are open to non-members, but if you aren't a member, I hope that coming to the meeting will persuade you to join up!

Alex

Here are the official details:

For those of you who can make the meeting - please get your drinks at the bar in time to start promptly at 8, the Holland Club, Sherfield Building, Imperial College, London.

This month we present two of our very favourites - back by popular demand - JP Trenque and Alex Mustard.

TECHNICAL - DIGITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT Part 2 by JP TRENQUE

Our publicity officer JP Trenque completes his hugely valuable advice on digital image management, begun in January. If you have been using a digital camera for more than two weeks, you will probably already have quite a collection of images. JP has recently discovered a new method of cataloguing and storing your photos. He will share his tips on naming, ranking and keywording your picture files to allow easy storage, access and retrieval.

JP has enjoyed increasing success in recent years not least of which was being voted BBC News Photographer of the Year 2005 and recently his 'Life beneath the waves' portfolio was featured prominently on the BBC News website. Check it out yourself at www.jptrenque.com

ANNUAL COMPETITION - THEME PORTFOLIO

Try your hand at this popular annual competition combining skills of underwater photography and constructing a cohesive portfolio. All advice and rules are on the BSoUPwebsite under competitions. Open to members only. Along with the beautiful BSoUP Theme portfolio trophy, Ultimate Sports, publishers of definitive guides for sports and adventure travel enthusiasts, is generously donating £100 to the winner.

MAIN EVENT - COMPOSITION, COMMUNICATION & COMMERCIALISATION - by Alex Mustard

Or how to get more from your viewfinder. The technical aspects of underwater photography are crucial to master, but once we have achieved a certain level of competence, where do we go? How do we make our images stand out? Composition is the answer. It is easy to think of composition in terms of rules: diagonals, thirds etc. But, this is just the beginning. Composition is actually about making an image communicate. Ideally compositional choices should work synergistically with image content, both with the subject matter and the lighting to create a strong message. The composition should reinforce the story of the image created by its content.

The intended use of an image also influences how we compose it. Some images can be jacks of all trades, but more often photos are most powerful when created bespoke for their purpose. Different attributes are required for underwater photos that are intended to please ourselves, to win competitions, to hang as prints, to sell to advertisers and for editorial content and magazine covers. Other images are required to work together, in portfolios, print galleries and for extensive collections in books. These require different considerations.

Alex is BSoUP's digital officer and a popular speaker. His photographs have won many competitions, e.g. at both the BBC Wildlife Photographer of the Year and the Antibes Festival for the last two years. They are also published widely in books and magazines, most recently in Simon Rogerson's new book Dive Red Sea, out this month. Since he last spoke at BSoUP he has also presented his photos to the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.