Category Archives: All Portfolio

All Portfolio, Blog

Spark Your Creativity – Type.

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Everyone seems to be so busy, always on the go, overwhelmed, drained. There needs to be an escape. We carry multimedia do it all devices with us daily but who wants to be distracted in the middle of crafting something epic?

Let me take you back to a simpler time, when we had dedicated tools for dedicated tasks.

Creating something on a typewriter gives you the sensation that can’t be achieved from any other device. Physically using your power to press metal against paper to imprint your thoughts that create feelings and emotion. That marvelous “ping” when you reach the end of your sentence and have to return the carriage home.
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They are making a comeback… for the very reason they were forgotten. Typewriters.

If you look at a document created on a typewriter, you know there was a real investment of time and attention by the writer. In that moment the writer is concentrating on one thing and one thing alone – The Reader.

Want A Typewriter? – London Typewriters

@ZulfPhotography

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All Portfolio, Blog, Tips

The Importance of Motivation

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A business is only as good as its workforce. Great companies improve their workforce through training and education.

A lot of companies have never considered using motivational speakers to try and enhance their team’s motivation. Bringing an established business speaker to your company or event is a great way to educate and inspire your employees and industry partners.

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Motivational speakers have been popular across many countries for many years. However, what benefits do motivational speakers give to people and their businesses?
The best motivational speakers not only inspire and motivate, but also offer ways to fuel employee and business growth.

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Motivational speakers work with your company to identify and strengthen your goals and objectives.
Most business objectives are clearly displayed in most office communal areas and online. A motivational speaker, however, will bring these goals and objectives back into focus.

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Speaker: Rio 2016 Olympic Gold Medalist and London 2012 Olympic Bronze Medalist, Crista Cullen, is widely recognised as one of the best hockey defenders in the world

@ZulfPhotography

All Portfolio, Blog

Digital Window Shopping – Is it the same?

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To answer the question, no, it is not the same at all. But I don’t mean this in a negative way. For the most part, we enjoy traditional but passive window-shopping.

Leisurely walking past the stores on a street, it was just a way to pass the time. But the thing with window-shopping is…

Zulf_Photography-896787840..that it rarely ends up in a purchase. You may pass by a store and see your favourite dress, but you’d probably put it for later, maybe owing to the crowd in the shop or just because it’ll take time to do the transaction.

All the people who haven’t watched the 2002 Sci-Fi movie ‘Minority Report’ might have never thought about another way to window shop, but the technology gurus were way ahead of us. Apparently, they are into the movie and so not only did they invent the technology, but it has started to successfully operate in many stores.

Zulf_Photography-8156 How is it any different? For starters, it enables you to interact and complete a transaction at the storefront. I find it quite an attractive feature, simply because it saves times and is plain cool. The launch of eBay’s interactive windows was the starting point, other stores followed suit. Adidas Neo has incorporated a touch-enabled interactive storefront in some of their outlets in Europe.

Ebay Adidas logo

The windows functions as a virtual store and has life-size digital products that are quite fun to go through. But the best thing is that we can easily purchase the products via our mobile phones

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I would love to see these services in my town, considering the crowds in shops. This technology has changed the dynamics of our shopping experience, though the old schoolers might miss the traditional ways.

All Portfolio, Blog

Published Photographers, the Best of Both Worlds?

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Do you really get the best of both worlds when working with published photographers?

In short: yes!

Published photographers have a tendency to think differently when composing and taking photos. They will have a track record of working with various editors and printers to perfect the format and print quality.

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This is what sets them aside from unpublished photographers.

In this digital age many photos never make it to the print stage. It’s not easy to have images accepted for print, making it more of an achievement when images are published.

Great images always have the upper hand when it comes to acceptance rates. That’s why studying the various types of format and colour profiles needed is what really counts.

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If you ever work with a photographer it’s always a good idea to make them aware of the intended use for the final photos. It can determine the level of work the photographer will need to put in the final image and possibly save you time and money.

Above images are some published photos taken and edited by Zulfiqar Ali

All Portfolio, Blog, How to

Photographers block

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This is a touchy subject, “photographers block” or rather I should say blocking the photographers view.

It does happen, but when it’s the mere mortals who have paid to attend the show who are getting in the way of the official photographer…. not to mention they are using giant IPads or a mobile phone tut-tut.

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Acknowledgement -blocking the photographers view

If I paid to go and see an event the last thing I would be doing is photographing it. Enjoy the atmosphere the live sensation. To be fair I can’t remember the last time I saw a show which wasn’t through the eyecup on my Canon DSLR.

You get the idea, however this isn’t a rant it’s how to “embrace” the situation. My series on common issues faced by photographers the other was Low Light – Fashion Catwalk Shows read that one here

I made a recent “block” at my recent Asiana 2015 Catwalk into an image of its own right and even a blog post #OhYeah #GoMe

here goes, there is a four step process to follow to overcome the “block” without losing you shit. (excuse the expression)

  1. Acknowledgement – You are blocked, give them a chance “Excuse me”
  2. Repetition – They are a persistent offender “Hellooo”
  3. Embrace – Make the best of the situation “No comment”
  4. Success – You have unique view of the show “Oh Yeah”
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Repetition – Another Block

 

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Embrace – Make the best of the situation

 

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Success – You have unique view of the show

Photos: Zulfphotography

Event: Asiana Bridal Show Feb 2015

All Portfolio, Blog, Creative, How to, Jewellery, Product Photography

How to photograph cards, magazines and leaflets

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One of the most important things when advertising online is making sure that you keep your marketing coherent.

In an ideal world, you’d hire a photographer; however, many startups are just individuals working alone. That’s why we have a few tips to help you get some good photos.

Use the same images on your website, business cards and leaflets. You owe it to yourself to showcase your hard work and distinguish your product from others in the market place.

You need to think about:

  • Lighting
  • Shadows
  • Compositions
  • Props

Achieve an adequate starting point for a social media strategy; shoot your business cards. Everyone has one of those, right? Below is an example of my work: a carefully placed prop sets the scene and adds an element of elegance. I was careful not to have the card facing directly into the light as this would have washed out the detail.

In the final image I was mindful not to include too many props; this can draw the attention away from your product. It’s important to capture a moment in time with your photos. Blend a range of props to create your desired emotion.

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In the above example we are portraying relaxation, drawing attention to the main subject, the magazines and flowers.
Play with light and shadows to add depth to the image, again below we play on the fact of having a coffee and a read. You will notice we stuck with a sqaure composition as this photo was used for instagram and Twitter.

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Keep a open mind and play with layouts. You will be sure to get some stunning images.

Keep shooting,

Photos:Zulfphotography.com
Shoot: Khushboos by Chand, Oozes Couture & Asians UK Promo work

All Portfolio, Blog, Tips

Design Tips Advertising Poster

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When you need to advertise to a wide customer base, poster design could be the most preferred method. A poster is a simple means to communicate a message concisely about a product or an event.

Although we’re in a digital age, posters are print documents that are here to stay. If you are not sure how to start it can be a source of frustration. Below are a few examples of some initial versions we designed for “The Cigara Campaign” followed by our tips.

We at Zulf Photography accurately but attractively represent retailer products making us the preferred choice for clients and designers alike. The above designs are the initial design posters from one of our specific client projects. We will use this as an example to link in with the tips below. Follow the journey to the finalised poster at the end of this post which achieved and exceeded our clients expectations.

Design Tips Advertising Poster

When it comes to our design tips for advertising posters the list can be endless but we have compiled a few key areas for you to focus on when compiling your poster.

Photos or Graphics
It is important to produce high quality photo files which can be used in a wide variety of marketing communications. You want as much flexibly as possible with the product images for poster designs, so it’s a good idea to take the product photos on white backgrounds you can see the photos we used for the Cigara Campaign here “Products on White Background” This initial step plays an important role to a successful layout because the images take centre stage in the design. It’s always good to give your client “bang for their buck” so supply all the raw images on a CD for the client to use on other campaigns.

Balance the layout
It’s all about balance where poster design is concerned. Do not make one side of the poster too ‘busy’ with information. Place the information in such a manner that the eyes of a viewer follow one piece of information to the other, leading to the lower regions of the poster. You could also use a challenging question in bold fonts, to make people stop and look at the poster.

Sleek and Simple
Start the poster with the most vital piece of information, and follow up with details of lower priority. You need to put ideas across using shapes, photos and graphic elements. You could provide a website or social links for the viewers to keep updated with the clients offers.

Use Colours
Don’t be afraid to use bold colours, your choice of colour scheme is vital Learn colour theory use a colour palette to design the poster. Two or three related colours will give your poster a cohesive look. The colours need to go together well enough that they don’t conflict with your message.

If that all sounds outside your confort zone give us a shout and let us do all the preparation for you.  The finalised poster is below which achieved and exceeded our clients expectations.

Cigara Final Poster