Photography

Hi, I'm Chris Cookson, the founder of Create IT. I've been photographing Marlborough since a teenager, when I contributed to the Marlborough Boys' College annual, the Marlburian, and I've published two coffee table books featuring photography of Blenheim's iconic Wither Hills and Taylor River. In the process of developing websites for clients, I've found many people struggle to put together a decent portfolio of images for me to use to build their sites. I find plenty of people who wouldn't know ISO from aperture, but when it comes to telling your story in a visual medium, you need great photos.

Visual communication is an important part of getting your message across to the world. If you are selling a product or service, the old saying "a picture is worth a thousand words" holds very true. Although just about everyone has a camera in their pocket these days in the form of a smartphone, actually taking great photos takes a bit of technical knowledge and the right gear for the kind of subject you're trying to photograph. Making stunning images can also involve quite a bit of post processing work or 'Photoshopping', as you might know it. Good post processing doesn't mean doing weird stuff like messing up people's body shapes, but can involve enhancing lighting, judicious cropping and a range of other careful enhancements so that an image tells an effective story.

Create IT can meet your photographic requirements in a variety of ways, whether you are a photographer yourself, or need someone to create or edit images for you.

Photography Portfolio

Here is a selection of some of my favourite images.

• Marlborough Landscape Photography
• Portrait Photography

Do you do photography if it's not for a website, or if I've already got one?

Yes, sure. If you need photographic images for a specfic project, I can create them for you. My primary focus is outdoor scenic and architectural photography, however I can also work with other subjects and have some lighting equipment for studio style portraits, so if in doubt, ask. In addition to capturing images, I also provide post production work to bring the best out in your images.

What about wedding photography?

Short answer, yes. Long answer, read on.Weddings are pretty high pressure, because there's only one chance to get things right, and it's a special day. For that reason, I'm a bit cautious about photographing weddings, as there are too many horror stories of people not getting good photos of their special day. Weddings aren't my specialty, but I have done them, and if you're happy for me to shoot your special day it would be a privilege. I'll charge my normal hourly rate of $85 + GST per hour, including travel time to and from the venue(s), plus travel costs; if you want a wedding in some exotic location that's only accessible by helicopter for example, you'll need to organise my transport. There's also  post-processing time on the computer, so as an absolute minimum, you should be budgeting for around $500, but if you want pre-wedding portraits as well, that can add time, and to really be sure every precious moment is captured, it's a good idea for me to bring a backup phtographer, as one person can't be in two places at once. That obviously immediately doubles the cost.

Do you have any Marlborough Stock Images?

Create IT has a huge collection of images of the Marlborough region of New Zealand. If you need images ready to use for print or web projects, ask, and we'll see what we can do to help.  Pricing and details

I want to take my own photos. Can you help?

If you prefer to capture and edit your own images, but need assistance with any aspect of photography from camera settings to selecting or using software, contact Create IT for help. I'm actively involved and support the Marlborough Camera Club, (I built the clubs website at no cost) as this is one of the best environments to learn about photography, however if you want paid support, I'm happy to help.

I have access to a range of professional photo printers and scanners from Canon and Epson. If you need help choosing a PC for photo editing, or assistence with your existing computer, I can help. I have extensive experience with Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom and can provide support with installation and hardware issues.

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