A day with wedding photographer Damien Lovegrove

Fashion photography in Hoxton, shooting urban fashion portraits with top international wedding photographer Damien Lovegrove - who could resist the invitation to spend a day with him and 8 other fantastic photographers?

We met in The Hoxton Hotel http://www.hoxtonhotels.com/ which is a great place for us photographers to meet clients or relax in a contemporary atmosphere. And then we hit the streets, together with Rachel and Lucy-Ann. The streets around Old Street Tube offer fantastic photo opportunities, if only you have the eye and technical skill to capture them.

Damien shared his knowledge and expertise most generously. His aim was for every delegate to come away with photographs they could be proud of - and just as importantly, images that they could re-create in their own urban landscape.

Everyone was using professional kit, of course, with a good mix of Canon and Nikon cameras. Damien explained what he was doing and took care to ensure that every delegate had feedback on just about every image taken on the day. It was quite a steep learning curve for most, but top professional photographers today are providing timeless images for discerning clients.

Here are just a few of the scenes Damien set up. Those you see on this blog were simply captured on a small Canon Ixus and don't do justice to the images taken by the other photographers. But it gives you an idea of the treat in store if you book a training course with Damien. You can see what's on offer at http://www.lovegroveconsulting.com/.

We at West London Photography can't recommend Damien and Julie more highly for the contribution they are both making to the photographic industry. We wish you well in your tour down under, Damien.

More about family photographs

The past week has been spent sifting through piles of old family photographs, some dating back to pre-First World War. It's quite a collection and most of them are in good condition, lovingly mounted in period photo albums by my late parents.

Others are loose and faded, or they're badly damaged by the light. Some are incredibly battered, as if they've seen active service themselves. It will be quite a job to make them good again, but very satisfying to do.

Then there are the images in different formats, such as 35mm slides or photographic negatives. I'm not too concerned about all these because at least there is something physical there to work with later, when we have more time, hopefully.

No, the thing that most bothers me is the digital images. They're so vulnerable and hardly future proof. And there are so many now.

This last week I've started to tackle the problem, beginning with family holiday photographs. I gathered together the ones I liked the most from past happy summers in Gascony and I've made them into a book. It arrives tomorrow and I'll be happy knowing that I've got something tangible to share with my family.