nigelgoldsmith, Author at Nigel Goldsmith photography & film

Trade union photography

Photography and illustration for trade unions and NGO’s

I have had the pleasure of working with many trade unions since I started as a photographer and illustrator in 1994. I have covered campaigns, mergers, strikes, conferences, festivals and almost every other area in which unions are active. Some of my photography has won the TUC annual awards.

Trade union photography at conferences and AGMs

I have worked on conferences and AGMs for PCS, ACCORD, RMT and ASLEF. The types of shots I have taken include, portraits, delegates and the lecture, guest speakers, reactions from the audience, group shots and informal shots of delegates enjoying the event.

Trade union photography - AGM conference delegate

Delegate at ASLEF AGM

Group photograph at ACCORD conference

Trade union photography - pictures of audience

Questions from the floor – ACCORD conference

Guest speaker at trade union conference – John McDonnell

Images for magazines, journals and publications.

I often take images to go on the cover of the union journal or for editorial images to go inside. These might be documentary, illustrative or staged images.

Campaign illustrations and photomontages

Sometimes a still image cannot illustrate a complex story effectively but an illustration or photomontage made from a number of separate images can create a powerful campaigning image.

trade union photography and illustration

Commissioned Photomontage for CWU created using Photoshop

trade union photography - Jeremy Corbyn at TUC Tolpuddle Festival

Jeremy Corbyn – leader of the Labour Party – Tolpuddle Martyrs Festival

Documentary photography project on medical students at Bristol University

Documentary photography project at Bristol University

I recently had to photograph medical students at different stages in their training at university and at teaching academies in Bath, Bristol, Swindon, Gloucester and Taunton. Through the five year course the students work in several different hospitals in the region experiencing a wide range of real and simulated medical situations. Some of the images in the documentary photography section of this website show students during a simulated medical emergency.

The images have been used by Bristol University in both print and screen form to illustrate the content of the course to prospective students.

Documentary photography project at Bristol University

Medical School

Medical students relax between classes

Taking bloods

There are more images from this series in the documentary section of the photography gallery.

Museum photography using mobile studio

I recently had the opportunity to visit the Carmarthen Museum to take a series of photographs of a new collection of contemporary local ceramics.

There wasn’t a dedicated studio space at the museum so I used my own portable studio which includes a full Elinchrom studio flash system and light modifiers. I also provided neutral grey paper backdrops and blackout material for the windows. The 36 megapixel camera that was used to capture the images revealed a huge amount of fine detail such as the artists finger marks or brush strokes. This level of detail is often of great interest to future researchers or academics.

Colour accuracy is particularly important for images used in the heritage sector. Once the camera and lights were fully set up a reference shot is taken of a GretagMacbeth ColorChecker. This is then used in the Raw conversion to ensure the colour is as accurate as possible throughout the workflow.

Taking test shot of GretagMacbeth Colorchecker to standardise colour before shoot

Colour checking – Carmarthen Museum

Metadata such as artists name, date of manufacture, title of piece or series and information about the media type was embedded into the images as they were imported onto the computer. Images were captured in Raw and the client was provided with 16bit Adobe RGB Tiff files for their archive along with sRGB JPEG files for an online presentation they were preparing.

The objects were all handled by a museum specialist.

Carmarthen Museum – temporary studio

The collection of contemporary local ceramics is now on permanent display in the main hall of the museum.

Contemporary jug and bowl from the collection at the Carmarthen Museum

Detail of jug and bowl showing capture detail of Nikon D800

I worked for over 8 years for JISC Digital Media (formerly TASI) at Bristol University where I provided specialist photographic advice, support and on site consultancy to cultural heritage organisations across the UK. I now offer these services as a consultant. If you would like help in planning or undertaking a digitisation project do get in touch.

Recipe and ‘make it’ videos

Recipe and make it videos

Recipe or ‘make it videos are a great way to show your customers how they can adapt or customise your product. They can give your brand a human face and the customer feels like you are sharing something with them for free. Users may wish to share your videos on social media or embed them on their own sites so it is a good idea to incorporate your brand name or logo somewhere in the clip. Videos can be trickled out at regular intervals to generate customer interest, recipe videos can themed around seasons, or celebrations such as Christmas. Videos can also be used to introduce new products or showcase established ones.
If you would like to know how we could help you to produce recipe or make it videos get in touch on 07973 631185
To view the video in HD click on the YouTube settings (Cog) button.

Three day introduction to video course

Nigel is a great tutor and has enabled me to advance my skills tenfold in just two and a half days. I would definitely recommend to any budding film makers. He’s equipped me with the competence and the confidence to go out and shoot”. Kelly O’Connor, Kinneir Dufort

Online video is becoming an essential component of the modern website. Video is a great way to convey information about your product or service or to tell a story. With major developments in camera design, software and media delivery methods, high quality video production is now within most peoples grasp and can be undertaken with a minimum of outlay. Video can be used to; introduce your business, describe a product or service, present customer testimonials and inform or entertain your audience.

Recording high quality sound for video

This three day introduction to video course covers; planning and developing an idea for a short film, camera operation, using available lighting, video lighting, microphones and sound recording, video editing and delivery. The course encourages ‘best practice’ in camera use, lighting and sound recording. This knowledge covered in the course can easily be scaled down to record videos using available resources such as mobile phones and tablet computers.

The content of the course can be adapted to suit your needs and budget.

I have produced web videos for a number of high profile clients as well as being a qualified lecturer with over 20 years teaching experience both in university and to business.

During the course we will use professional video equipment including Arri lighting, DSLRs, Sound Devices audio mixers, radio and boom microphones and video editing software.

The course can be delivered at your place of work at a time that suits you and your colleagues. Alternatively, we can host it for you.

The typical class size is 3 people.

We are based in the Bath/Bristol area but can deliver the training anywhere in the UK but there may be additional charges for travel and accomodation.

The cost is £600/person for three days or £1400 for three attendees.

For more information please send me an email mail@nigelgoldsmith.co.uk

Lighting for video

Posts by nigelgoldsmith