One is my local forum on Flickr. The other is GoSnap, founded and run by Simon Smith. It’s populated by beginners, intermediates, experts, amateurs, professionals… and so far it’s a supportive and positive place where people can really thrive at any level. It’s not just a forum, and perhaps that’s why it works so well. You can get ideas for stuff to photograph, take up challenges in the Projects area, or learn new skills in the Academy.

It’s free to join, and could just give you back as much as you’re prepared to put in… which is, after all, what communities are all about.

Sign up for free at www.GoSnap.co.uk.

Most women don’t feel beautiful most of the time. Men see this a lot. Unfortunately most of them are entirely ill-equipped to help. If you’re male, you’ve probably witnessed this scene. Your favourite woman looks gorgeous, but she doesn’t feel it. This can happen for all sorts of reasons, not least pregnancy & childbirth, when she feels like a beached whale, those flowing locks of beautiful hair just get in the way, and those bounteous boobs are no longer remotely sexual. As a result, she does one of two things. Either she withdraws, or she over-compensates. She dresses down, stops looking after her appearance, doesn’t want to go out, and the one that really hurts is the loss of sex-drive. As a man you feel so helpless, so utterly useless, and alas you’re apt to take it personally. It must be you. She doesn’t love you any more. Maybe she’s having an affair. At the other extreme, she becomes totally obsessed with her appearance, and end up wearing far too much makeup, dressing in clothes that really don’t suit her and can even appear rather slutty, and worst of all she projects it all back on you. You’re a slob, you’ve got fat, you don’t love her any more.

In either of these situations you need help. Both of you do.

Of course it’s not just women in relationships who suffer from a lack of self-esteem. You can be left feeling like nothing after the break-up of a relationship - particularly the woman of a certain age left for a younger woman. Teenage girls can be affected in all sorts of ways, and it’s not just the self-harmers who have major crises of confidence. Parental break-ups, an unhappy mum, a seemingly uncaring dad, general family issues - all are triggers, not just the big stuff like rape or abuse.

The Unilever/Dove Campaign for Real Beauty thing petred out after initial promise, probably because everyone saw it as just a big public relations exercise. There have also been quite a few programmes on television that attempt to address the problem. Dear old Trinny and Susannah had a good go in What Not To Wear, but their approach was never holistic enough to my mind. But Gok Wan has really hit the nail on the head with How To Look Good Naked on Channel 4 - where real women with real bodies and real confidence crises are seen going through a formulaic process which helps them to see themselves as they really are. It’s not difficult, and I hope the formula works long-term for all the women who appear on the programme, rather than being just a quick-fix for TV. I get that feeling about the ubiquitous photographic makeover sometimes - it’s like a sticking plaster for major organ failure. The only criticism I have is that sometimes the women could do with losing a few pounds if only for health reasons, and I hope the boost in confidence they get from the programme helps them achieve this long after the cameras have gone away.

Makeover: a service provided by some photographic studios where you get far too much makeup slapped on by the girl who answers the phone and then shoe-horned into a whole load of really cheesy poses for some photos which are heavily airbrushed and digitally altered and set in soft-focus before you’re sat down in front of them and made to buy them for far too much money with the aid of bright lights in your eyes and thumb-screws before being released into the open air gasping for freedom. OK but you get my point.

I don’t do makeovers like that. I hate the term makeover because it conjours up the aforementioned makeover studio monstrosity - but I have no idea what else to call what we do at Southdown Studio. I think all women are beautiful - and all I have to do is make them feel it, because then I can photograph it. With sensitively applied makeup, custom designed for your colouring and facial structure, you start to feel more confident. I help you choose items from your available wardrobe that do good things for your figure. When I take a photo you’ll like, and show you on the back of the camera, you’ll start to feel even more confident. I’ll help you achieve poses that show off your natural shape. It may begin to dawn upon you that you’re actually quite good-looking. You’ll spend the next hour or so with growing confidence, gradually feeling more beautiful. The results will be amazing - a complete transformation. Best of all you get to hold onto that feeling every time you look at the photos. You can look at them as often as you like for free, in the comfort of your own home, and without some pushy salesperson looking over your shoulder, breathing down your neck and pressurising you into buying them. When you do choose to buy a print or CD, it’s at reasonable prices and on your terms. The most important thing about my makeover photos though is that they’re generally in no need of airbrushing or digital enhancement - in other words instead of looking great once someone has completely altered your image, you look fantastic just from what the camera pointed at you has seen. Since the camera never lies, it simply must be true. Job done.

A girl came to see me recently. Her mum realised her daughter’s confidence was at rock-bottom, and brought her along for a makeover. The young lady started out terribly uncomfortable, and quite scared. She had been looking forward to the experience but now she was here in front of the camera with her professional makeup job, she felt quite intimidated. She told me that her boyfriend rarely compliments her, in fact quite the opposite, meaning probably that he calls her fat or ugly or worse. To me she wasn’t fat, or ugly, or particularly beautiful, but I knew this could change if only she started to feel different about herself. She said she wished she’d had a drink before she arrived. So I tried to help her to relax without alcohol. Deep breaths, a good line in distracting conversation, lots of questions about her. It’s like a date really, but without the intent. She started off not liking her images but then I changed to an unfamiliar angle. She immediately liked the photo and started to relax. Of course then it snowballed - she became more relaxed and confident with each iteration and eventually went for her last change of outfit, into the lingerie her mum had bought her for Christmas. Within minutes she was looking every bit the fifties pinup, like the tasteful but ever-so-slightly risqué classic Hollywood glamour photo, where the eyes draw you in seductively past the heaving bosom and the full red lips and hold you there mesmerised by her unquestionable beauty (regardless of the knowledge that the woman in the photo had a terrible personal life). You can see the change happening through the photos, and if you compare one of the earliest with one of the last, the difference is astounding - to the point where you might question if it’s the same girl. Needless to say, the girl loved the photos, bought loads, gained a major boost in her confidence, chucked the derogatory boyfriend, gave up smoking and now has something to hang onto whenever she’s not feeling so beautiful, to remind her how good she can feel AND look.

I’ve helped female friends feel better about themselves just by giving them a bit of time and attention, usually around the shops. Patiently sitting in a shop and commenting honestly but constructively as she tries on a few outfits, perhaps. Or chatting away to her as she chooses makeup colours. Basically chaps, forget the football and the pub sometimes and remember your lady needs a bit of preening, as do you. Girls can help each other out as well. Next time you go shopping, actually say what you think as your short-legged friend emerges from the changing room with short-legged turned-up low-waisted skinny jeans, flat shoes and a wide low-slung belt. Stop saying “oh yes that’s so cool on you” and try nudging her towards clothes that actually work for her figure. She’ll might just start doing the same for you, and before long we’ll hopefully end up with a far more happy, content and confident nation that has a proper understanding of what beauty really is.

If you’re in the Brighton or Sussex area, and would like to try my version of the makeover photoshoot experience, you’ll find Southdown Studio’s makeover services for Brighton & Sussex here.

Photography is no exception. I’ve been teaching photography to people from the Brighton area for a few years now. They come along with whatever level of knowledge, explain to me where they feel they fall short of their idea, and I’ll help them get to where they want to be. It might be a professional photographer who’s great at architectural and landscape photography, but who wants to move into studio portraiture or fashion and has no idea about studio flash lighting. Or it might be a complete amateur who got a digital SLR camera for Christmas and wants to learn all about this aperture and depth of field thing in order to take better wildlife photos.

One of the most interesting aspects of photography is composition. It’s the artistic side of photography. It’s important because the composition we use at the moment we take a photo dictates the shape and form of the image for ever. But is it important in commercial photography..? Or wedding photography..?

Since we make photographs first in our heads by evaluating a scene, before we ever press the shutter release button, how we see the world is of the utmost importance. You may think you know how to spot something beautiful and take a photograph of it… but what if you’ve been asked to photograph something of whose aesthetic qualities you’re distinctly unsure? In the commercial world, can you afford to refuse a commission? Should you not be able to see beauty wherever you look? It’s even worse if you’re a wedding photographer and the bride of the day happens to fall outside your particular criteria of beauty!

Fortunately I can help to improve your composition. It’s not a magic formula, of course. I can’t just wave a magic wand and make you better at composition. The improvement comes from within you, but it’s magic to see the results, and they come quite quickly.

So… whatever bit of photography you want to learn, perhaps a few hours spent with me can help. I teach in the studio, at home, or out and about in the great outdoors. So wherever you live in Sussex (or indeed Kent, Surrey or Hampshire), look me up and give me a call.

All the details: Photographic tuition and Photography Courses in Brighton & Sussex

Jon Silver is an art, portrait & wedding photographer based in Brighton, Sussex

For the majority of my work as a photographer in Brighton & Sussex I use a Canon EOS 5D DSLR camera which suffers awfully from dust. At weddings it is carried around on a massive Canon L series 28-300mm zoom lens with a slide/push-pull zoom which sucks huge volumes of unfiltered air through my precious camera body. You can imagine what effect this has on the sensor. I therefore have sensor dust issues much of the time.

1. Swabs - I tried those swabs several times. I didn’t find them terribly effective, and it’s easy to make the problem worse, even leaving bits of stray lint snagged on sharp edges. Also easy to get the cleaning fluid into nooks and crannies where it shouldn’t go, possibly even behind the sensor filter (bad).
2. Rocket blowers - effective if the problem hasn’t got too bad. Pump the blower a few times away from the camera first to get rid of any dust that might have got sucked in last time.
3. Camera sensor cleaning companies/service centres: I’ve tried two of them - Camserve in Herstmonceux, East Sussex (fairly local to me); and Fixation in Kennington, London. Camserve took three of my camera bodies, two 20D and one 5D. They carried out the cleaning same day (total cost £105 plus my transport), but when I got the cameras back there was very little difference and I had to call them to say they hadn’t done a very good job and asked for a refund, which they promptly gave. Next I sent a single 5D (the worst of the lot) to Fixation, and they returned it to me within 5 days almost spotlessly clean. Total cost £80 including return postage. So, although Fixation is definitely more expensive, it’s the only company that’ll be getting my business in future.

Hopefully this will be useful for someone. Let me know how you tackle the problems of dust.

Jon Silver is an art, portrait & wedding photographer based in Brighton, Sussex

Brighton Pride 2007

There are previous years’ photos still up on display too - check out the Brighton Pride 2005 gallery and even the Brighton Pride 2003 gallery.