AN INTRO is the bit at the beginning of a story that makes you want to read the rest of it. Doesn't sound much but it's actually incredibly important in almost all types of writing. That's because in most cases the reader is under no obligation whatsoever to carry on reading. So it's necessary that the first few words, sentences or even paragraphs, do enough to grab, tease, enchant, inspire, seduce or compel the reader to keep on reading.

• Here are some intros I wrote recently to kick off magazine stories on a variety of professional photographers. The idea is to dive into each photographer's world as quickly and dramatically as possible – hopefully taking the reader with you....

Just dropping in

Chris Wordsworth meets freewheeling fashion/advertising/editorial photographer Soulla Petrou

Three guys tumble out of the sky plummeting towards the earth – or is that the sea? It’s a shot you can’t not notice. But hang on a minute, why do they look as if they’re enjoying it? What’s really happening and who are they? In our image conscious age, it only take a second or two to realise that there must be some sort of digital trickery behind the picture. But by then it doesn’t matter. Because the shot has already achieved its objective. It’s made you look.

Photographer Soulla Petrou created the picture as a publicity shot for Defected Records, a major label in the dance music sector. The guys are two DJs called Copyright (don’t ask!) and a producer called Dennis Ferrer. The job of the picture is to make them look wild, wacky and above all, noticeable – whether the image is used on packaging, in publicity or ‘placed’ in record magazines.

• You can't always rely on this, but sometimes the subject's own words can make a dramatic opening...

Keeping the passion

Chris Wordsworth talks to Roy McKeown about his lifelong romance with landscape photography

“Photography is my passion – otherwise I could not do what I do,” Roy McKeown tells me. But just in case that sounds a bit obsessive, he adds, “I suppose being a landscape photographer seems romantic, but when you are waist deep in freezing water for an hour waiting for the light to change, it feels a little less idyllic!”

McKeown caught the bug early. “My big brother James had a darkroom when I was a kid,” he remembers. “He banned me from ever going near it. But it was the heady mix of chemicals, hint of red light creeping around the edge of the door frame and its forbidden nature that first got me hooked on the magic of the art. For me, there’s still something exciting about seeing a print appear in a dish of developer…”

• On the other hand, since photographers are the subject of these articles, why not start with a powerful image?

A cut above

Chris Wordsworth meets hair photographer Steve Howdle

The hair curls in scrolls like metal shavings. The skin is pale and flawless. Edged with blue make-up, the eyes stare at us, black and inscrutable. A reflective silver necklace completes the look. The effect is arresting and slightly disturbing – as if the model herself is only half human.

Welcome to the world of hair styling photo contests – where the primary objective is to stand out with a hair creation that is both eye-catching and surprising. It’s a team job: hair stylist, art director, make-up artist, models and of course, to capture all that creativity in one stunning image, the photographer and his assistant.

• Finally, it can sometimes pay to take an unexpected approach. Here the real subject – creativity – is not easy to pin down so I decided to open with another topic very familiar to photographers – their reliance on batteries.

Recharging the creative batteries

Portrait photographer Jo de Banzie tells Chris Wordsworth how she keeps her work fresh.

These days we rely heavily on batteries – most of them rechargeable. Digital cameras, flashguns, mobile phones, laptops – the essential gear of the modern photographer – all need topping up. But what about our own creative ‘batteries’ – that spark of inspiration which keeps our work fresh and our clients buying it? Doesn’t that need ‘recharging’ too?

Jo de Banzie is an intelligent photographer who thinks about this kind of thing. “I certainly don’t think it’s possible to be creative in isolation,” she tells me, “it needs feeding and stimulation.” How does that work? “I place a great deal of emphasis on creative refueling,” she explains. “When I’ve been working flat out on a project I really do feel drained creatively. So I make a point of spending time on personal work as well as messing around with old cameras or playing with processes in the darkroom – without any external constraints – that’s my way of putting back the sparkle.”

• This longer example is actually an 'intro' to the recently published book 'Professional Wedding Photography' by Damien Lovegrove. Did my foreword help? I've no idea. But the book has been incredibly successful so who knows? Certainly it pleased the publishers: extracts from the foreword have been used in marketing.

Foreword

When Damien Lovegrove asked me to help edit this book, I didn’t know quite what to expect. Of course I was aware of the powerful reputation that he and Julie have built up in a very short time. I’d also been impressed with their work and working practices when I interviewed Damien recently for a photo magazine. But despite all this, did we really need another book on professional wedding photography?

I needn’t have worried. Editing a book in progress can be an exciting process. As Damien emailed me the words and pictures, chapter by chapter, the project began to take shape. The more I read, the more I realised that this isn’t just another professional guide, it’s a blueprint for success. What separates it from other wedding books is a coherent message which pulls together, in a frank and honest way, every aspect of the business – planning, photographic style and techniques, lighting, people skills, selling, marketing, business strategy, post-production, presentation, even how to prepare a business plan for investors.

Becoming a wedding photographer is the easy part. Amateurs start up every week. All you need is to buy a camera, find a few clients who don’t want to pay much and muddle on through. What’s difficult is joining the élite, the top wedding photographers who earn big money. Even then it’s not enough to be a good photographer. You’ve got to be good at everything else too.

That’s where this book comes in. Every chapter derives from the hard-won experience, attention to detail and determination that took the Lovegroves from deep in the red to massive success as one of the UK’s top-earning wedding studios. All in just five years.

Twenty-five years as a photographic journalist have taught me a lot. In the course of editing several professional magazines and writing books on wedding and portrait photography, I’ve interviewed most of the top wedding practitioners about their photographic styles, business techniques and what makes them successful. That’s how I know that this book is the real thing.

So find out for yourself how you can transform your business and dramatically increase your earnings. I won’t promise that the journey will be easy. Just like the Lovegroves you’ll need lots of drive, persistence and hard work. But you’ll have fun too and this book will give you all the guidance, wisdom and inspiration you’ll need along the way.

Bon voyage,

Christopher Wordsworth