Portrait Experience; Erin

Recently, I had another portfolio building shoot with my sister, Erin.
Her and mother had come to visit for the weekend and she needed some headshots for work, so I took the opportunity to also get some images for my portfolio!

We were kind of squished in my little living room, next to the big windows, with my huge backdrop taking up most of the space! But, I'm pretty pleased with the results!
I tried out some poses reminiscent of the Old Masters; paintings that I love. I really want my work to be seen as something resembling the old painted portraits families would have above the fireplace. I want people to see my portraits as something important to hold on to; to be passed down generations and kept in the family as a memento of past ancestors. So using all the fabric and textures and colours and poses which takes inspiration from that period really makes sense to me!

I am in the process of ordering and putting together studio samples and all my marketing. So far I have my premier product as a sample and am constantly working on all the marketing and paper work that goes with running a business! It's a lot of work but I can't wait to get all my stuff together and show you all my beautiful products!

These images were all shot with natural light and I had big windows to the right of me. I also used a reflector to add more light. I did face a new problem I haven't really come across before. My sister wears glasses so there was quite a bit of glare on the glasses which needed to be combatted! I mostly tried to change the angle I was shooting at and then edited out some of the left-over glare. But, I have since read of a trick to use with people wearing glasses, so I'm looking forward to trying it with the next person!

As always, here are a few of my favourites.

Portrait experience; Jane.

A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to do a photoshoot with Jane, my partner's sister, as part of my portfolio building. This was the the first portrait shoot I'd done in the new style I'm developing for my work and wasn't sure how the images were going to turn out.
Jane wasn't sure about being in front of the camera either! So, it was a new experience for her too. But, I promised her cake after our session, so one Saturday afternoon, she came round to our house and got ready whilst I set up the background stand in the garden.

We ended up having a great shoot! The sun shone (mostly) and we got some great images! I was able to try out some new poses and test out my new reflector to use with the natural light available.

Our shoot lasted about an hour and afterwards, yes, there was cake!
I spent the next few weekends editing the images, using some wonderful new software I'd just downloaded and I'm really pleased with the results!
I can't wait to do some more shoots like this soon.

Here are some of my favourites, please let me know what you think!

FG4 by George Davies Fashion Show Launch; Durrington High.

Last week I was invited down to Durrington High School in West Sussex to shoot the launch of George Davies' new fashion brand, FG4.
George is the man behind Next, Per Una and George at Asda, so there's quite a pedigree of high street fashion there!

George is launching his new fashion brand in schools all across the country. This is an initiative created by him and his team in order to raise funds for schools at the same time as releasing his new venture. FG4 has stores in the far East but, here in the UK, the brand is currently online only.

I headed down after lunch and with an iced coffee in my hand; essential equipment for a 2 hour drive South!

After checking equipment and making sure everything was charged and formatted, we left for the high school. We arrived at about 6pm, in time to watch the dress rehearsal. This gave me a great opportunity to get some snaps of the models without having to worry about the crowd!

Doors opened at 7 and the show started at 7:30. It was packed - and very hot! But I got some great shots; I love doing this kind of work. Live gigs/shows etc. The atmosphere is always great and, with the stage lighting, you can get some really cool shots!

I met George after the show and was able to get a few shots of him and the pop-up shop which was hosted outside the hall.

For more info on FG4, click here:

Some of my favourite images from the night: