Stacey in the woods

Here are a few images from my shoot with Stacey a couple of weeks ago. Stacey is new to modeling but she was enthusiastic and a very lovely, chatty person.

She was a pleasure to work with.

More images from the shot can be seen on my website in the gallery 'Stacey'.

New Packaging Presentation

I have finally decided that I am no longer going to use the same packaging and presentation for test shoots as I do for paid shoots. This is for a number of reasons but mainly because it is not cost effective especially when you consider all of the elements involved including; ink, dvd cases, labels, postal packaging and pricing etc etc.

I am still very conscious of the presentation of my work, so I have replaced the DVD boxes with plastic sleeves which only require a small insert rather than a full A4 printed cover. This also means that I no longer need to use a jiffy bag for postal packaging and I can send discs out as a standard first class packages. This means that discs still retain a personal touch - I don't want to loose this, as most models that I have worded with always comment on my presentation!

The original boxed presentation and packaging will remain on all paid shoots for the time being.

I would be interested to hear your comments on the changes in packaging. It will change again at some point - I am currently investigating recycled packaging that is more environmentally friendly.

Beauty Shoot Part 2: Kim & Helen

Helen was the second model of the day and we had planned 3 different looks for her.

Helen holds the current title of 'Miss Black Britain' as well as 2009's 'Miss York'.

The first look was the most complicated - a leopard print pattern across Helen's eyes.

The second look was a 'mac barbie' styled look, using bright pinks and greens.

Once again, the final look involved quite a lot of glitter so it was saved for last and the glitter ended up everywhere!

Helen was up for a bit of crazyness too...

So the shoot went well and everyone had a good laugh.

Both Kim and Helen love the images :)

Beauty Shoot Part 1: Kim & Laura

I have been chatting to Kim, a local makeup artist for some time now, discussing ideas for beauty shoots and fresh portfolio shots.

Kim is in her final year studying Make Up Artistry in Bradford. Kim specialises in Airbrushing and often provides make up for weddings as well as fashion models.

We eventually agreed a shoot date and found 2 local models who were willing to be painted up; Laura and Helen.

Laura was up first and had 2 different looks. This was the first, inspired by feathers (hence the feather lashes).

The second was a blue glitter look. This had to be done last as the glitter can get quite messy.

We then decided to add another punch of blue to Laura's lips and I used a completely different editing style for variation.

I was quite concerned that both Kim and Laura may not be too keen on this style, but to my surprise they both really liked it!

The shoot went really well, everyone got along amazingly and I hope to work with both Laura and Kim again soon :)

I will post Helen's images soon as I am still working on them :)

Courtney: Model Shoot

Last week I had a studio shoot with Courtney. The idea was to get some basic studio based shots (both fashion and lingerie) for her portfolio to add a bit more variety.

Having not shot lingerie before, I was a little nervous and not quite sure what to expect. I also found it quite hard to give direction, despite having researched and prepped as best as I could.

Courtney was really pleased with the images and her response was;

"There are a lot of great sots in there! They should add a little something different to my portfolio - thank you!"

Courtney had brought her boyfriend to the shoot but in reflection, I think that this was a mistake. I will ask models in the future not to bring a chaperone as I feel that it impacts upon their ability to model too much. I can quite understand why some models prefer to bring a chaperone, but when a shoot is in a public location or a University studio, I really don't think that it is necessary.

Although it doesn't always cause a problem, I felt that the shoot would have been more productive and Courtney would have been more confident and modeled much better to her ability without the distraction, as was evident when her chaperone left the room for a few minutes!

Ideas ideas, ideas...

Ok, I have been working hard on this now and finally I have some ideas - yay!

I still haven't decided exactly what I will be doing for my final uni project, but I'm hoping that a couple of shoots will give me the kick start that I need right now. I will post some more on this next week :)

Lacking Inspiration

Ok, so it has been a while since I have done many self initiated shoots, this is mainly because I feel as though I am suffering from a severe lack of inspiration.

I'm not quite sure why I am feeling like this but it is very frustrating and in turn, I am struggling to find the motivation to organize anything. Perhaps it has something to do with the time of year, its cold and despite taking a trip up to the Dales, there wasn't much greenery about yet.

I'm also not sure if I should be taking up a different direction with my photography as I'm now starting my final major project before I finish my degree - I just need to work out what I want from it...