Last week, I enjoyed having a little brand shoot with my good friend, Dave Hackney, in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire. Dave is a fantastic videographer. Check out his website (Dave Hackney). Dave has recently been a guest on a few podcasts and has been showing his face more. He asked if it would be possible for me to do a little brand shoot for him.

I love photographing creatives, so this is a big YES from me. Dave is very busy, so time isn't his best friend, so this shoot was pretty spontaneous.

We both live very close, so it was easy for us to meet. I suggested that we go to a little derelict location that I know for a few headshots before heading over to another little gem that I have in my bag of locations to get something more epic. We decided to head out for the last hour of the day (golden hour), and the first location was brilliant as the sun was making the location pop; I guess it's one of those things: you can create beautiful pictures, but you are constantly battling with where to use the sun as winter sun can be pretty harsh. You have to try not to have your subject be too dazzled; backlight is always the get-out-of-jail card; however, I like to be different.

Dave was brilliant as a creative. We don't like our pictures being taken, but Dave embraced it like a true champion. I freeze up when someone aims a camera at me. We were only at the location for about ten to fifteen minutes, as we wanted to ensure we had enough light for the next location.

After a quick ten-minute drive, we arrived at our final destination. This was the location that I had in mind for something a little more epic. I wanted Dave on a rock with his camera and tripod, and I would use a little lighting to make him pop.

I have certainly been in some locations in adverse weather conditions, but oh my word! The wind chill factor was absolutely freezing. The wind was strong, but it was so cold. I knew we couldn't faff about on this shoot, so I managed to set up a quick light while Dave got his big beast of a camera out. By the time Dave was ready, I was just about ready to go. It was going to have to be quick.

It was so cold that I couldn't even feel the buttons on my camera, so I was worried about focusing. Dave is a trooper, though, and he is one of those people who don't feel the cold. I took pictures for at most 5 minutes, shouting quick instructions, and then it was done! I had something. Ideally, if the conditions were more favourable, I would have created silhouettes and got many close-ups, but this was just survival. After the shoot, I couldn't even take my flash triggers off my camera, as my hands were too cold.

Thankfully, I got a brew when I got back to Dave's, and in the end, the photos were great, and Dave was more than happy.

I'm looking forward to photographing Dave in the future, but hopefully, I can do so on a warmer day.

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