Ken McKay Photography

Harley Davidson 2010 Fat Bob CVO

2009-10-04T21:28:00.001+01:00

My Baby!!!!!

X Factor is Back!

2009-06-23T10:03:00.003+01:00

What an amazing day I had yesterday photographing the first X Factor auditions in front of a live audience. The buzz at London's ExCel centre was incredible, it felt like a concert as thousands of fans watched the first round auditions. Simon, Cheryl, Dannii and Louis watched hundreds of wannabes strut their stuff all hoping to be the the next X Factor winner. The auditions were divided into two

Alltop - A place to view your favourite blogs

2009-06-18T11:38:00.006+01:00

I've just added my blog to Alltop and it is great!Alltop is an "online magazine rack" of popular topics. Stories are updated every hour. Pick a topic by searching, news category, or name, and it will be delivered to you 24x7. All topics, all the time. Check it out!

Recording with Robbie!

2009-06-18T10:36:00.003+01:00

Well, what a great day I had yesterday. I was commissioned to photograph Robbie Williams at a recording studio in London. Robbie his crew and management were great, they made me very welcome and I found that we had a common interest in football, Crystal Palace, Port Vale and Liverpool supporters amongst us, which kept the conversation flowing into the night. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and

Estimating and Negotiating

2009-06-17T11:41:00.006+01:00

Here is the third and final part of Melissa Rodwell's excellent Business Side Of Fashion Photography series. Although this is based around fashion photography, many aspects are applicable to all types of photography business.So we went through Part One and Part Two in the last two weeks on the Business of Fashion Photography. Hopefully you have learned by now that fashion photography is like any

Price Matters A LOT (But Not To Your Customers)

2009-06-16T08:06:00.004+01:00

Sure, the cost of your services is important. In fact, it’s critical. But it’s critical to you, not your clients.Your rates are important because they need to cover your own costs, plus provide additional profit to feed you and do all the other things you need money for. Things like growing the business, advertising, equipment, training, staff, etc. Far too many small businesses fail because the

The Vendor Client relationship - in real world situations

2009-06-16T08:01:00.001+01:00

How many clients do you recognise?

Yoko Ono Plastic Ono Band

2009-06-15T17:23:00.004+01:00

Last night I photographed Yoko Ono and the Plastic Ono Band as her official photographer at the Royal Festival Hall in London. I have worked with Yoko for a number of years now, and it is always a pleasure to photograph her, last night was no exception as she triumphed on the London Stage. This was her first performance in Britain since 2005 and she was greeted by a rousing reception from the

Susan Boyle - Back On Song

2009-06-13T14:25:00.004+01:00

I was in Birmingham at the NIA last night photographing the first night of the Britain's Got Talent Live Tour.All of the acts gave fantastic performances but it was Susan Boyle who made a show-stopping comeback last night after many feared the tour would be too much for her. She returned from her health problems with a stunning makeover to give a brilliant performance which delighted fans. One

Thanks to the team!

2009-06-13T13:38:00.003+01:00

A big thanks to Steve who comes with me and wires my images from most gigs and shows that I cover, without whom today's publications in The Mirror and Sun newspapers would have been possible, and Chris my agent at Rex Features who makes my images available to everyone via the Rex site and deals with all things picture related for me!Nice one guys... I couldn't do it without you!!

Finding Marketing Partners

2009-06-12T09:17:00.007+01:00

If you're a regular visitor to my blog, you'll realise that not only do I love to take photographs, I also love to gleam nuggets of information that will help me to evolve as a better photographer and businessman. Larry Becker from NAPP has come up with a great post today which deals with finding marketing partners. I thoroughly enjoyed his post and will be utilising some of his ideas in my

Casting Call!!

2009-06-11T12:45:00.006+01:00

My good friend and colleague Neil Genower and I are in the latter stages of launching our new business venture – Genower & McKay Photography. This is our social photography business dedicated to Weddings and Lifestyle Photography. The commercial side of our business will be launched later this year. We currently require a broad spectrum of images for our website, blog

Promoting Your Photography Business

2009-06-11T07:36:00.007+01:00

Another great post from fashion photographer Melissa Rodwell. I posted part one of this three part series dedicated to the business of photography last week. This is part two and concentrates on your portfolio and marketing. Melissa has written some sound advice here which holds true, no matter what photography business you run. If you are serious about your business then this is a must read

Do You Have What it Takes to Make it to the Top?

2009-06-09T08:38:00.005+01:00

Just found this article by fashion photographer Melissa Rodwell about the business side of photography. It applies to all photographers and is worth remembering. Check out more from Melissa hereIf you want to make it in this business you not only have to be a great shooter and a highly inspired image maker, you also have to know the in’s and out’s on how to survive the business side of your

Marco Pierre-White Portraits Shot with SB800's

2009-06-06T14:02:00.008+01:00

I was recently commissioned by ITV to shoot publicity images of Marco Pierre-White for the series Hell's Kitchen. As Marco was being inteviewed by the press on the day of our shoot, I was aware that his time with me would be limited and that I would need to work quickly to get my shots. I met Marco (a thoroughly great bloke) between interviews at his restaurant in Chelsea and chatted to him

Remote Cameras Help To Capture Britain's Got Talent Auditions 2009

2009-06-06T12:15:00.006+01:00

I had the great pleasure of photographing Britain's Got Talent this year, one of the jewels in ITV's crown. Shows of this nature are multi-camera events and can have upwards of 15 cameramen recording everything that happens, so how do I, as the lone stills photographer go about covering a show of such magnitude. A little forward planning Pocket Wizards, Sound Blimps and a few other tricks help

Multimedia Journalists Discover Life After Newspapers

2009-06-05T12:28:00.008+01:00

Photo District News features Multimedia Journalists Discover Life After Newspapers, an online story about former newspaper photographers with multimedia skills finding a way to make a living. The article shows the way forward for many of us in this business. Full article here.

What is a Sound Blimp?

2009-06-02T08:21:00.007+01:00

One piece of specialist equipment sets apart a stills photographer working in the film and television industry from most photographers.... The Sound Blimp.If I had a penny for every time I have been asked about that strange box that my camera is housed in... I would be a very rich man! The Jacobson Sound Blimp is a housing for professional 35mm Canon and Nikon cameras which effectively

Britain's Got Talent Final 30-05-09

2009-05-31T17:32:00.004+01:00

Images from Britain's Got Talent Final which attracted an audience of 19.2 million viewers!!

Britain's Got Talent 5th Semi Final 29-05-09

2009-05-30T10:23:00.003+01:00

Britain's Got Talent 4th Semi Final 28-05-09

2009-05-29T11:52:00.003+01:00

App that Lets You Trigger Canon DSLRs from Your iPhone

2009-05-29T11:40:00.005+01:00

Just found information about this iphone app over at Photo District News.Now AvailableThat Apple iPhone app we broke the news about last week from onOne Software that lets you to trigger a Canon digital SLR from your iPhone or iPod Touch has been approved by Apple and is now for sale in the iTunes App Store. Called DSLR Remote, the application lets you trip the shutter and control camera settings

JVC 42" Monitor For Photographers

2009-05-28T11:41:00.010+01:00

How many times have you spent hours creating a presentation which looks fantastic on your computer screen but is unrecognisable when viewed on your TV screen..... Well JVC may have the answer - if you have deep pockets!Terry White from Terry White's Tech Blog explains further..In the studio I’m almost always shooting tethered to my laptop right into Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. Although I’ve got it

Britain's Got Talent 3rd Semi Final 26-05-09

2009-05-27T19:38:00.003+01:00

Pricing Thoughts

2009-05-27T17:57:00.006+01:00

I've found this great post over at Photofocus - what-photographers-can-learn-from-apple/ It explains all you need to know about pricing!

Britain's Got Talent 2nd Semi Final 25-05-09

2009-05-26T14:10:00.005+01:00

Britains Got Talent 1st Semi Final 24-05-09

2009-05-25T15:35:00.005+01:00

Britain's Got Talent 1st Live Semi Final

2009-05-25T12:57:00.005+01:00

Wow! What a great 1st semi final we were treated to last night on Britain's Got Talent. Susan Boyle was amazing and Diversity were on fire! Congratulations to both acts for reaching Saturdays final. Commiserations to those that didn't make it...your time will come!The press team worked tirelessly to make sure my images from the show made deadline, I swear I saw smoke coming from Steve's

Britain's Got Talent 2009

2009-05-22T10:47:00.003+01:00

Next week is going to be very busy. I will be spending most of my days, evenings and nights! at Fountain Studios shooting the live Britain's Got Talent Shows. I have a great team helping and supporting me. Sara the brilliant publicist for the show and Steve (my fantastic wire man) will be editing and sending my images to all national newspapers and magazines throughout the week of transmission.