There are just 5 days left to submit your application for my FREE 2024 photography mentorship.
Thanks to everyone who has already sent in applications. It's been amazing to see the interest so far. I wish I could help everyone but it encourages me to see so many people so passionate about photography and storytelling.
Each year, I offer a free mentorship as part of my commitment to support and encourage aspiring photographers within my community.
There is no age limit to the free mentorship, but it is aimed at serious amateur and aspiring professionals who want to take their photography to the next level, but lack access to educational or financial resources to do so.
This mentorship is not just for those who need a portfolio review. It is for those photographers who want to develop their photography in order to tell meaningful and important STORIES within their community and use photography as a force for GOOD.
The free 3-month mentorship includes:
β Online video calls with me (3 x 1 hour), for face-to-face portfolio and story development over the mentorship.
β Private communication via email and/or social media e.g. WhatsApp in between video calls.
β Access to my 20-year experience within the industry as a professional photojournalist and filmmaker.
To learn more details and how you can apply, please visit my website gallagher-photo.com/mentorship/
India is in the midst of another record breaking heatwave, as temperatures are soaring across the country, in some cases reaching almost 50C (122F).
In the summer of 2016 I travelled to the Indian state of Maharashtra, to document the effects of a record-breaking prolonged drought on both rural and urban communities.
If you'd like to learn the backstory and details of how I made each of these images, become a channel member and read today's exclusive post, only available for my "super supporters". Your membership includes early access to new videos, a free copy of my FULL eBook and access to my private chat groups online. β‘οΈ youtube.com/channel/UCgYuhW-WrnAvTfJbdbcrfcw/join
Your support also helps encourage me to keep producing content here on YouTube to help you improve your photography and continue covering global environmental issues.
At the beginning of my career, it was always a dream to have my images in publications like TIME and Newsweek.
I'm back at my family home in the UK this month and am going through some of my tearsheets from publications over the years.
I came across these two magazines, both of which published my images.
The odd thing about these publications is that both magazines featured portraits of husband and wife, Bill and Hilary Clinton. Additionally, both of the photo stories are on the subject of North Korea! An odd coincidence.
Story 1 - Newsweek - North Korea's Meth Export - June, 2011
Story 2 - TIME - Global Adviser Section - North Korea 'Opening Up' β November, 2009
gallagher-photo.com/
Look for the shadows during the golden hour.
One of the best parts of photographing during the golden hour is how this time of day creates really interesting shadows.
As the sun is lower in the sky, long shadows are created, giving you the opportunity to play with them and make more interesting and dynamic images.
In the first image, I was riding on the back of a camel in the deserts of western China. The slightly elevated position allowed me to capture the long shadows created before sunset.
There are so many ways in which you can use shadows though, as shown in the other images here.
One rule of thumb I have always adhered to is to look out for the length of the shadows as an indicator of when the light is best. For example, look at the shadow created by the sun hitting a person. If the shadow is the same length, or longer, than the person is tall, then this is a good time to shoot.
If the shadow is shorter, then it's likely the sun is starting to get too high and the quality of light won't be as good. It's a rough guide but has served me well over the years. Hope it helps you too.
Don't forget to check my YouTube video about getting the best from shooting during the golden hour. https://youtu.be/rFKAKBeX6aU
π Get your copy of my eBook, 'The Camera Doesn't Matter' for even more tips how you can immediately start improving YOUR photography. gallagher-photo.com/learn/
πΈ If you're ready to take your photography to the next level, join my mentorship program and learn how I can help you gallagher-photo.com/mentorship/
When I visited the Indonesian capital of Jakarta, photographing during the blue hour was one of my favourite times to make pictures.
As well as the ethereal light and vibrant colours that are present in the sky at this time of day, working in the tropics during the day time can be suffocatingly hot, so getting out before dawn or after sunset is often essential.
Jakarta is a busy, bustling, melting pot of Indonesian culture, both traditional and modern. It's a city that faces many environmental and social challenges and I spent a long time in the city over multiple visits working on stories there.
I would often get up early before dawn to start making pictures, shoot until around 11 a.m. then retreat to my hotel. After 4 p.m. I would then start taking images again, in order to avoid the extreme heat in the middle of the day. This helped concentrate my shooting around the golden and blue hours.
If you'd like to learn more about how to get the best pictures during these times of the day, don't forget to check out my latest YouTube video which explains how you can capture unique images during the golden and blue hours. You can find it on my channel https://youtu.be/rFKAKBeX6aU
π Get your copy of my eBook, 'The Camera Doesn't Matter' for even more tips how you can immediately start improving YOUR photography. gallagher-photo.com/learn/
πΈ Take your photography to the next level by joining my exclusive mentorship program gallagher-photo.com/mentorship/
Happy Father's Day to all the Dads out there!
As a father of two beautiful children, I know how special it is to experience the day to day joy of being a Dad.
I also know many fantastic Dads, so am wishing them a great day!
HTTPS://GALLAGHER-PHOTO.COM/
I am pleased to announce that applications for my FREE 2024 mentorship are now open.
Each year, I offer a free mentorship as part of my commitment to support and encourage aspiring photographers within my community.
There is no age limit to the free mentorship, but it is aimed at serious amateur and aspiring professionals who want to take their photography to the next level, but lack access to educational or financial resources to do so.
This mentorship is not just for those who need a portfolio review. It is for those photographers who want to develop their photography in order to tell meaningful and important STORIES within their community and use photography as a force for GOOD.
The free 3-month mentorship includes:
β Online video calls with me (3 x 1 hour), for face-to-face portfolio and story development over the mentorship.
β Private communication via email and/or social media e.g. WhatsApp in between video calls.
β Access to my 20-year experience within the industry as a professional photojournalist and filmmaker.
To learn more details and how you can apply, please visit my website gallagher-photo.com/mentorship/
Yesterday I posted about my experiences interning at the photojournalism agency, Magnum Photos, at the very beginning of my career.
By day, I spent my time filing slides, organising prints and making coffee for some of the world's best photographers. By night, I would slip out onto the streets of London and make photos.
Like a young child who watches Lionel Messi on TV, then immediately wants to rush outside and kick a football... I had the same compulsion with making pictures after spending all day looking and great imagery.
Often I would come across interesting scenes, or events, such as these Diwali celebrations, pictured.
I would embed myself in the crowds. Try to blend in. Searching for those fleeting moments.
Words echoed in my ears from books I had read in the daytime at the office...
"I prowled the streets all day, feeling very strung-up and ready to pounce, determined to βtrapβ life β to preserve life in the act of living. Above all, I craved to seize the whole essence, in the confines of one single photograph, of some situation that was in the process of unrolling itself before my eyes." Henri Cariter-Bresson
Looking back, my photography was very raw then and impulsive. I was just discovering photography and falling in love with it.
We all go through these journeys of evolution, both professional and personal. Sometimes it is fun and interesting to go back and have a glance at the past, to see where you have come from and reflect on the journey you have taken.
Perhaps it may remind you of what you have overcome to get you where you are now, and maybe it will help spark ideas for the path to take ahead on your continued journey.
π Get your copy of my eBook, 'The Camera Doesn't Matter' for even more tips how you can immediately start improving YOUR photography. gallagher-photo.com/learn/
π If you are ready to take your photography to the next level, join my photography mentorship program and learn how I can help you. gallagher-photo.com/mentorship/
In 2002, as a fresh faced university graduate, I was at the very beginning of my career and unsure what to do with my life.
I has just earned a Zoology degree and had recently discovered photography after my mother had lent me her old film camera. I had this crazy idea about becoming a professional photographer but I had no clue about how to become one.
As I trawled the (very basic at that time) internet, I stumbled upon this photography agency called Magnum. I didn't know much about them but I wondered if they accepted interns, so I called them out of the blue and asked for a job. To my surprise, I got one! An intern had just dropped out of their program and they asked me if I could start the following Monday morning. I seized the opportunity and said yes!
For the following month, I slept on a friend's couch in London and spent my days filing prints, slides and making coffee in the Magnum office.
As I sorted through images each day, I was suddenly exposed to some of the best photojournalism of the 20th century. It was a revelation to me.
From this brief internship, I was invited back to do a 1-year internship at the agency. This experience of being immersed in some of the best photojournalism in the world shaped my future vision about photography.
I learnt so much from the staff at Magnum and became a sponge, soaking up everything I could learn. I assisted the photographers on shoots and observed how the best of the best worked.
As the internship ended, I knew that being a photojournalist was the only thing I wanted to do with my career.
As I visit my home in the UK this month, I revisit these books which I have from that experience. Signed souvenirs, symbolizing some very fond memories.
π Get your copy of my eBook, 'The Camera Doesn't Matter' for even more tips how you can immediately start improving YOUR photography. gallagher-photo.com/learn/
πΈ If you're already a competent photographer and are ready to take your photography to the next level, message me for more information about my mentorship program and how I can help you. gallagher-photo.com/mentorship/
On my channel, I share with you tutorials, podcasts and livestreams about photography and photojournalism. I want to share with you some of the knowledge that I have learnt during my professional career to help YOU improve YOUR photography.
I'm a professional documentary photographer and filmmaker, producing work with National Geographic, The Guardian and the Pulitzer Center. I am a fellow of the UK's Royal Geographical Society and for the past 20 years, I have travelled across the world documenting environmental issues surrounding the climate crisis.
If you want to improve YOUR photography, don't forget to π & SUBSCRIBE to the channel and let me know if you have any questions in the comments sections of my videos.
πΈ Learn more about my work here: gallagher-photo.com
Join my private communities on WhatsApp and WeChat when you download my new eBOOK: 'The Camera Doesn't Matter - Professional Secrets for the Amateur Photographer' β‘οΈ gallagher-photo.com/learn