My logo says ‘established 2006’ and it’s now good old 2026. The time has gone fast but what a ride it has been. From my humble beginnings with film photography, then moving to digital photography and my trusty Sony DSCV1 compact camera in 2003. I still have the little guy. It has a 1 GB memory stick in it, and used to take a day and a half to charge up, and half a day to use a full battery at somewhere like Australia Zoo. The light purple 1 GB memory card cost me $1,000 New Zealand dollars. To compare with 20 plus years later, I’m sporting a 128 GB card in my camera that I paid A$35 for on sale late last year.
I had a telephoto lens for that Sony compact camera but unfortunately or maybe fortunately, I lost it beside a river in New South Wales at low tide, on a family camping trip. It fell out of my bag and was never seen again. I searched high and low the next day for about 4 hours. In the end I had to let go of ever finding it, and husband said to not look back, move forward. He also made up a song about it. I purchased a silver Canon 350d SLR camera and a zoom lens. It was my first actual interchangeable lens digital camera. I have upgraded my camera body and lenses a few times since those days. From 350d to 400d to 50d to 5d mk 3 to Canon R5. And from basic kit lenses to L series lenses to mirrorless native lenses. Plus a few small travel cameras and numerous iPhones with increasingly better cameras onboard. I’m proud to say I still have each and every one of my cameras, film and digital. I never sold or traded any in. Just starting my own museum really.
Just before I bought the Canon, I started to attend a camera club where I went on a 13-year journey to learn everything I could about photography. I made some great friendships I still have to this day. I learnt from judge’s critiquing images at the club monthly competitions, and from conversations with other photographers. I entered my images at the club, locally, nationally and even in international competitions. The competitions had printed book style catalogues they sent to entrants, so this was a further source of inspiration, along with digital photography magazines I would buy or get from the library, and then moved onto YouTube videos and later on, social media for inspiration, learning and ideas. In my heyday, I won a lot of trophies, certificates, prizes, awards and ribbons and had many photos printed in newspapers and magazines including a front cover once of a prestigious glossy sailing magazine, and a regular cover spot for a local newspaper.
Sometime in 2006 I grabbed the domain name of Purdie Photography dot com and got a friend to help me create my first website. Being quick off the mark, I was able to beat out other photographers around the world who had Purdie as a surname and wanted to call themselves the same thing. They were too late to the party. Since those days I now do all my own website design and maintenance and enjoy it.
Photography has taken me lots of places. To hundreds of weddings, events, parties, celebrations, capturing history, meeting and photographing some famous people, on boat trips, road trips, to speak at events, to explore the dark country skies out west doing light painting when it was all the rage, and night sky astro photography in pitch blackness.
It has had me traipsing the city streets in the evenings searching for light, texture, composition and subject matter, interacting with drunk young people who wanted their photo taken. Searching for Brisbane’s tiny doors and photographing many city landmarks especially the bridges over the river.
Into the bush in total darkness with a head torch on, to search for frogs and even had a brown tree snake almost land on top of me, or maybe I nearly stood on it. Sure did make me scream, and others laughed at me as I proceeded to yell “Snake!” Sometimes these bush frog adventures were in the rain, just to add to the craziness.
I have seen kids grow up that I photographed, and have babies of their own. Couples get married and divorced and get married again. It was a little de ja vu for me seeing the same bride’s family twice but with a different groom. I have photographed many people’s pets, their homes, cars, boats, buses, planes, and businesses.
The key to starting my photography business, was to start practicing on friends and family, then expand out to friends of friends and word of mouth. Then I just had to say “Yes” to jobs even if I was terrified, then set about researching good ideas to make creative images. So whatever shoot it was, I would just say yes, then get busy researching ideas. Fake it till you make it. Pinterest helped a lot for ideas.
I would show up early and be mentally prepared, do my set shots I had planned, and gradually expand to include more free style stuff I saw at the time as I was in the moment. Learning to look for light, texture, composition, objects, subjects, poses, action, backgrounds and everything else that goes into a single shot. Watching how people interact with each other and being ready to grab that moment in time. Sometimes having the courage to ask people to do that cute thing again, so I could grab the moment.
I remember the exact time I was in a very disorganized bride’s parents house once, doing her pre wedding photos and I realized the viewer of the image, only gets to see what I choose to show them in my viewfinder by the way I compose my shot. It was a pivotal moment in learning composition and dealing with obstacles on the job.
I have worked with quite a few assistants over the years and we always got on well and had lots of fun, and I have been an assistant working for other photographers too.
I have always been diligent of sitting down and editing straight after a job on some occasions, or the next working day, and not letting the images sit for days. Recharging my batteries for my camera and flash, and preparing my bag for the next photography job. I was, and still am, bag ready, to head to a job if needed. Many times, I got to fill in last minute for another photographer who got sick or double booked themselves. I have always aimed for having a fast turnaround on images, especially wedding images.
In 20 years, I only missed one major booked job and that was a small second wedding on an island out in the bay, because I was in hospital with kidney stones. I was doubled over in agony and had to have an operation, and got transferred from our local hospital to a big city one. At first, I thought it might have been my appendix so in my brain foggy stupor and in between vomiting sessions, I thought I could have it out by keyhole surgery, and be on the island the very next day shooting. Once I realized that wasn’t going to be the case, I called my old camera club mate and he covered the job. He shot the wedding and I did all the editing. It really does pay to have photographer friends that you trust. He got a free boat ride and a night’s accommodation on an island, for himself and his wife, so he was happy too.
One memorable event was managing to break my Speedlight flash, my camera lens UV filter, my hip mounted camera holder called a Spider Holster, and my ankle all on the same wedding day. It took a while to recover from that fully, but I was back to another wedding a week later with a little black dress, two assistants and a pair of crutches. At one point it started raining and I was lying in the park stretching out, bossing around my assistants and worrying about a wet plaster cast.
I always analyzed all my images after a job, as I went through the editing process, and told myself off if I saw any mistakes and vowed to correct them next time.
I learnt along the way, that communication is key. After one wedding I was worried I hadn’t photographed the bride’s garter under her dress. I told myself off for it later that night, probably around 2am, when my overthinking brain got started. At the image viewing meeting, when I talked to the bride again, and said I’m sorry I had missed it, she replied she didn’t want anyone looking at her feral legs. Communicating is essential to find out what people do and don’t want photographed. It was also the wedding where I managed to step in doggy doos and tracked it into the bride’s mother’s house. I had a few ‘swallow me up earth’ moments over the years and that was one of them.
Along the way developing my photography skills, was learning computers, editing, printing, spreadsheets, emails, social media, marketing, website design and maintenance, customer service and all the pitfalls that can come as a business owner. Dealing with scammers, spammers, dishonest people, those out to make your life difficult, and to spot customers that would never be happy no matter what you do. Learning how to navigate people, set boundaries in place and stick to my business policies. I learned a few very valuable business lessons from customers early on, that served me well for the next two decades. One important lesson was always to get paid before you either do the job, or hand over the files. Once the files are handed over, it’s amazing what excuses people come up with to not pay you.
It’s been interesting to see how Photoshop has affected some people’s perception, that a photographer is a magician and can fix everything. Each image is after all, just made up of pixels, but it’s time consuming. If a woman hasn’t been to the hairdresser and wants you to just ‘touch up her roots’ in a whole portrait sessions worth of images because you can, or a bride’s mum used to be a model so please touch up all my wrinkles in every shot, or a guy is losing his hair and wants you to Photoshop it back in, this is unrealistic, but is often asked of photographers, along with other bizarre requests.
Out in the wild with my camera, I had a couple of instances of people accosting me. One thought I was up to no good and took a mobile phone photo of me to send to the Police, one thought I was a threat to national security, and another thought I was working for the Police as some sort of undercover spy. I had one guest at a wedding tell me firmly not to photograph her under any circumstances. Upon chatting, I found out her ex-boyfriend was after her with a shot gun. She had shaved her head, was wearing dark sunglasses even later at the reception, and laying very low.
On a happier note, I had a few funny phone calls from swingers and guys wanting special wink wink shots. I turned all those jobs down, because you are never sure what you are walking into, and your safety as a woman photographer should be top priority over any money you might gain. Even taking an assistant with you can put them in danger too. Does make for some funny stories I now tell when I am giving presentations to photography clubs or conventions.
When I started making digital prints they were $1.00 for a tiny 6 x 4 inch print. These days they are 10 cents each, if anyone ever even prints these now. I certainly haven’t printed any for a long time but I used to for the kid’s baby albums.
I became a photography judge in 2012. I have judged at the Ekka a few times and even an international competition. I love the judge friends I have made from around Queensland, and those that work on the committee with me as I head up the JE committee for the Photography Society.
I have learnt that everyone who is a photographer is on a journey. So their sunset photo at the beach might be the first sunset photo they have shown to others or put on social media or into a photo competition. People have seen thousands and judges have too, but it’s important to give every image you see as a photographer and judge, the time of day. Respect their work like the baby it is to them. I have witnessed judges tear apart people’s images to the point that people quit photography. People do need to have a thick skin and be prepared to take critique in order to learn as a photographer, but kindness and the way the critique is delivered, goes a long way.
I’ve seen lots of photographers lose their passion over the years and hang up their cameras, as I have too for a while at times. It helped me to take a break, do other things, become a photography judge and change my focus from competing with others to helping others, and to learn how to teach photography. From the kid who didn’t talk until she was 4 to the photographer who thrives on a room full of people laughing at my jokes, as I teach, tell funny stories, and inspire other photographers. I’ve come a long way.
I taught myself how to fly a drone a few years back which has been both fun and giving me grey hair when it goes up, a flock of birds come at it, or the battery low alarm starts sounding. It does give you a unique perspective.
Along this journey in the last 20 years, we all had to adapt to using Zoom for meetings and this has been such a good tool to have for communicating with clubs and committee members in other parts of the country. We have had to adapt to new ways of doing things, new photography concepts, new photography fads that come and go, editing styles, editing programmes and technology itself.
Being on the cusp of the invention of AI to help with everything from editing to writing marketing concepts, has been interesting too. A lot of fails in its infancy such as 6 fingers on a hand, but is moving along at a rapid pace, improving itself each and every day. I once dropped in a photo of myself holding my big camera in my hands to an AI editing programme, and asked it by prompt to make me beautiful. It took my camera strap and turned it into long brown braids, gave me perfectly nice skin, and my camera became a pigeon. By the way, no AI was used to write this blog post 😊
Among the good times, there’s been lots of differences of opinions among fellow photographers. I’ve seen fights and broken friendships. In the beginning of digital, there was an outcry from the film photographers or purists. They called us cheats. Then there’s the invention of AI and Photoshop that blur the boundaries of real art, to prompted art and introducing filters, textures and other elements computer created, rather than by the actual photographer. It’s a case of being left behind if you don’t jump on board, just like when digital photography started. There’s not really any room for head in the sand attitudes, and people need to adapt as best they can. It does need to be contained though, so clubs and exhibition committees, have had to rewrite rules to not allow prompted photography to appear alongside genuine images taken by a photographer, that is all their own work. Something like putting in a couple of flying birds into a landscape image you have taken if the birds were AI generated, is something that is a definite no go under the general rules. It can be hard to pick often by a judge, so it boils down to the photographer’s integrity.
In a business sense, a commercial photographer told me he had to jump on board with AI and really the tool has become his partner. For example, instead of travelling to a place with a salt lake to showcase the car he photographed, and the logistics of getting the car there, he just creates the salt lake background on the computer and merges it with his car shot.
AI and mobile phones have affected some parts of the photography industry, and there are apps you can use to turn your quick phone selfie into a professional looking headshot. Some photographer’s businesses would have taken a hit, just like a lot of people no longer hire professionals, and just get their mates with a phone to video or photograph an event to save money. I have seen this go pear shaped a few times and have fixed up images that ‘Uncle Bob with his big camera’ took. Professionals know how to pose people, work with light and obstacles plus know how to edit to a high standard and care for the images afterwards. There’s much more to it than just aiming your camera at people and clicking the shutter button.
Mobile phone photography is another point of contention among ‘real photographers’ but I love taking mobile phone photos and have a workshop I teach on it. It’s never going to go away but only get better so best to embrace it and the apps that make our life easier.
Seeing phones develop from the big bricks they used to be with long aerials sticking out, to having a portable computer in your hand that can do almost everything.
I’m glad film is making a comeback for art’s sake, but at the end of the day, a cool film print has to be converted to digital in order to share it. Otherwise, the print stays in your home and is never seen. Film is cool, but digital is convenient and still where my heart is.
I have seen a move towards photobooths at events too like weddings and school formals. While studio sets with big seamless pretty backgrounds and professional lights, get some of the young people in for formal photos, the lines for a photo booth is normally long. It’s because at the photo booth, they come away with a little print instantly that they can hold and enjoy. Not waiting weeks for their professional photographs to be downloaded, edited, uploaded, paid for on a website and downloaded again. It’s the instant gratification society we live in, which is also why mobile phones are so popular. You take an image and can share it immediately. Little Polaroid cameras that produce an instant print made a comeback a few years ago, and I have one. The quality is pretty poor in low light but it’s fun to use. I have used mine at weddings and given the couple a Polaroid taken on the day which they loved.
A few years back I used a cord, or you can use Bluetooth, to transfer wedding images to a Groom before I left their wedding for the evening. You put selected images from your memory card onto your phone, do a quick edit, then from there you can send them to the couple via email, or if you have an iPhone and your bride or groom does, it’s even easier to just “Air Drop” them a few photos, so they go away from the wedding with some fun and creative shots. It was also a little backup plan by me just in case I got mugged walking through the Valley alone on a Friday night trying to find where I had parked my car. I knew the couple had at least 8 of my favourite shots already on their phones. Especially photos that are taken during your creative couple photography time after the ceremony and family photos. These are shots that normally no one else has and they can be instantly uploaded to their Facebook profile or whatever they like. Nothing like doing a wedding, working 10 to 12 plus hours, only to get home, flop onto the couch, pull out your phone, start scrolling and see the couple have updated their Facebook profile pics with the blurriest mobile phone photo that some drunk Aunty took. People instantly think it’s your work.
Photography on the whole, despite some frustrations and steep learning curves along the way, has been such a wonderful business and hobby to be involved in. It’s creative and keeps you learning. It gets you out meeting people, making money, and having fun.
I have no idea where the next 20 years will take us all in terms of photography, cameras, phones, apps, competition rules, judging, AI photos and videos, and the like, but it is sure going to be interesting.
In time to come, I will probably become one of those photographers that start a sentence with, “Well back in my day…”