Brian & Sam's pre-Wedding shoot.

I had the great pleasure of welcoming newly betrothed West Lothian couple, Brian & Sam to the studio recently.

Brian popped the question to Sam at the end of last year and, since then, Sam’s thoughts have been focused on their July wedding. Now, with the date getting closer and closer, things are starting to move – a welcome distraction to all brides who have to suffer that becalmed period which seems to fall over everything when all the initial arrangements have been made and you’re then just waiting for things to start happening - in ‘real-time’ 

So, having previously booked in for my pre-wedding package, both Brian & Sam were keen to come to the studio – both for the shoot itself, and to chat about final arrangements for the wedding itself.

The primary reason for arranging the shoot was to capture a picture of Brian & Sam which could be displayed at the wedding reception venue. The picture is enlarged and printed at A3 size. It is then sent off to be professionally mounted. Then, on the day of the wedding, it will be set on an easel and family and friends are invited to add their signatures and best wishes to the couple.

While we are essentially looking for a very warm but informal image to display as a sort of 2D guest book, the secondary reason for staging the shoot is to have the opportunity to get back together with the couple again before the nuptials are performed.

Chatting with the couple about the wedding allows them to relax and feel at ease, and presents an excellent distraction for them as they contemplate their big day. It’s also a great opportunity for us all to get to know each other a bit better prior to the formalities of the day, when the opportunity to share a few words, a few laughs, and a bit of casual banter might not present itself again until after the ceremony is over, the formal pictures are captured and the cake is ceremoniously cut.

Fortunately, Brian and Sam are a fun-lovin’ couple; very at ease with themselves and, as such, the shoot itself went really well. We enjoyed a few cuppa’s while, in between sets, we fine tuned some of their ideas for the day in respect of the photography.

All that’s left to do now is for Brian & Sam to choose the picture they want to display at their wedding which, for all of us, can’t now come fast enough.

West Lothian Couple, Brian & Sam.

Vamping it up

I was fortunate to be invited to work with up & coming Model / MUA, Teri, recently when she suggested that we turn one of her friends into a vampire!

Now, those of you who know me well will realise that those rumours you hear of my being able to metamorphose –at will - into a bat or wolf are simply not true; and, having explained to Teri that there was no way a bite from me was going to send her friend out in search of fresh blood, she decided to opt for a make-up induced reinvention of her friend – rather than the more permanent, vampiric sort.

Terri’s friend and Model, Cara, agreed to take part in the shoot – though she did ask to bring a couple of crosses, a sharpened stake and a mallet along with her (models can be a strange breed – they usually bring water and a fruit salad?) – and Teri duly set about remodelling her cheek-bones, eyes and lips to effect the ghoulish look she was after. I thought the results were quite stunning.

The entire exercise was set up so that Teri could add a few prints to a portfolio that is to be presented to her college tutors as part of her attempt to secure a place in the next stage of her education; leading, eventually, to what she hopes will be a career in theatrical make-up artistry. By the looks of this transformation, she shouldn’t have much trouble convincing the academia. Of course, if they don’t agree with her, she can always send Cara along to bite them. Mwahaaaaaahaaaa.

Countess Cara :-)

Young Model of 'my' Year Award

Having spent a number of years working in both youth and senior football, I can say that almost every 13 year old boy I ever met wanted to be a footballer. Now, having worked as a full-time photographer for the last few years, I find that almost every young girl I meet wants to be a model.
For most, it’s a pipe-dream born of being attracted to the perceived glamour depicted by countless tv shows. But, for others – and a fair number it has to be said – it’s more than a passing fad; it’s something they actively pursue.
So, it was a great pleasure for me to be introduced to Sian. Sian, wants to be a model, and so much so that, when her Dad asked what she’d like for her 9th Birthday, Sian opted for a photo-shoot.
As a photographer, it doesn’t really matter what age your models are, what really determines how successful - or not - a session will be, is the aptitude of the model; directing every detail of a shoot, from pose to presence to facial expression can make for a long, frustrating session. That wasn’t the outcome in this case though; Sian already had a repertoire of learned poses which she animated with just the right sort of looks and expressions. At 8 years and 364 days, this young lady showed real promise, and I’ve no doubt that she has a real chance of making it as a model – she certainly has the determination.

Sian

….. and then there’s Teri.

I met Teri for the very first time at a Miss West Lothian photo opportunity being staged at the, then, relatively new Debenhams store in Livingston. She couldn’t have been more than 15 years old at that time but, with strong features, fathomless eyes and a natural, olive–oil skin which she inherited from her Italian forebears, she was already a strikingly good looking girl. Add to that heady mix a slightly shy but respectful temperament, and an obvious attentiveness to the job in hand (modelling & catwalking a series of new ranges from Debenhams affiliated designer) and the promise was clearly present.

Fast forward a year, and that slight girl has blossomed; her face has matured from ‘cute’ to ‘handsome’ and her figure has realised the classic lines of a healthy, well proportioned young woman.

We seemed to happen upon each other at yet another Miss West Lothian event: the competition final held in December last year, though on this occasion Teri wasn’t competing, but was there to support the aspirations of a friend. She told me that she’d only just heard that Nicola and I had launched our First Step Models project, and she wanted to join us.

So, skipping forward a month, Teri and her chaperone came along to the studio where Nicola did her usual – transformational – make-up, before we did the shoot.
A few examples from the shoot are appended to this post, but they do little to illustrate just how comfortable Teri now was in front of the lens. On our first meeting, last year, I was presented with a giggly, unsure and somewhat uncoordinated girl who obviously wanted to model, but wasn’t really au fait with what the camera was looking for. On this occasion I was presented with a young woman who – though she struggled a little at first – soon found her confidence and was willing to push the envelope a little.

For me, a mark of how well (or not) a shoot turns out, can be measured by the parents remarks and, on this occasion, Teri’s Mum PM’d me to thank me for having given her daughter a good experience of modelling and, as a bonus, a few good snaps to publish on her Facebook page.

I just hope that First Step Models will provide Teri and the other young girls we have in our group with a little lift into the world of modelling. If you’re a photographer and you’d like to shoot with Teri, or if you think this pretty young lady she has the ‘look’ you think could best showcase your products, the please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Teri:

Sam

Don't you just love working with beautiful girls?

Being a photographer has it's down moments, but then girls like Sam walk through the door and you realise that fashion photography is one of the most exciting of all art forms.

Of course, it does help if you can get on with the subject of your 'focus'; Sam was a dream to work with though; a young, shapely blonde with lots of verve and vitality, complete with that magic formula of having a good ear for direction and a determination to shine in front of the camera. And eyes - did I mention eyes? Eyes that burn like glacial fire and, and, and .....well, you have to look into their depths to understand :-))

This was only Sam's second experience of being photographed, but she took to it like the proverbial fish to water. And perhaps just as well, as this pretty youngster is going to be the subject of a lot of attention shortly as she has entered the Miss West Lothian 2011 competition.

Sam has also just signed to First Step Models in an effort to further her interest in modelling. Check out Sam's profile and get in touch with FSM if you'd like to work with this feisty young blonde.

Reach

I recently had the great pleasure of attending a Masquerade Ball which was organised by Stephanie Tennant on behalf of the charity, Reach.

Some of the women looked resplendent in their ball gowns and masks, and both myself and my assistant, FSM Agency Model, Charlotte, had some great laughs with those guests who had their pictures taken for posterity.

Pictures from the ball:

Amanda

Amanda is studying to find a place in university where she hopes to study medicine, but she took a little time-out from her studies to visit the studio.

A gorgeous young lady, she complements her looks with a sharp wit and a good sense of humour.

The guilded corridors of learning are going to leave the modelling world short of a real prize it seems.

Leonie

There are times when – no matter how much forward planning you do – nothing seems to work: the lighting doesn’t work, the white-balance seems out; the props don’t really suit and, worst of all, the model just isn’t up for it.

Then there are times when, with very little effort at all, things just seem to fall into place – and that’s how it worked on a shoot I did recently with young Leonie!

Leonie hadn’t worked in front of a camera before but seemed to take to it like the proverbial fish to H20. She was keen to work, eager to achieve the poses I was looking for and willing to wait patiently as I fiddled with lights and camera settings.

Many thanks to Leonie for attending and bringing such a great attitude with her. Thanks also to Frances – Leonie’s Mum – for her help and patience, and to Jade Mcmeckan for the excellent make-up.

Debenhams Debs

It was my great pleasure, recently, to work with some of the gorgeous girls currently vieing for a place in the final of the Miss West Lothian competition.

The girls gathered at Debenhams in Livingston to show some of the stores designer brands - and they did so very eloquently with two runway shows in front of a sizeable audience of interested shoppers.

The Miss West Lothian Competition is now enjoying it's 15th year and this years hugely anticipated finals will be held at 'The Club' in Broxburn on Wednesday 2nd December and I'm looking forward to adding some more pictures of West Lothians finest looking girls to my growing collection.

The walking girls:

Fasten your belts for the Miss West Lothian competition

The Miss West Lothian competition is swinging into top gear now as the competition’s Guru, Eddie Anderson gets ready to wield the axe and cut the number of entrants going through to the final in December to just 30 of the current 50 remaining girls.
It looks, to me, like an impossible task though: the ‘gorgeous-ity’ factor among this years entrants is just soooo high that I, personally, would have sleepless nights trying to whittle down the number of girls who will continue that journey to the final by a swingeing 2/5ths.

I was fortunate to be named the official photographer for the competition and, as such, have come to know a few of the girls; most especially those who took up Eddie’s offer of appearing in the runway shows he has organised on their behalf this year. I also had the great pleasure of producing portrait shots of the entrants, and these are currently hanging in Debenham’s Store in the Almondvale Centre. So, although I have to say that I’m going to be really sorry to see the current group down-sized to just 30 contestants, I’m extremely confident that those girls whose pictures are posted back on the Miss West Lothian gallery on Monday morning will offer a fantastic representation of many beautiful girls we have here in West Lothian.
One of that number will go on to be crowned Miss West Lothian on 2nd December at ‘The Club', Broxburn, but I’m really glad it’s not me who has to pick one from such a fantastic array of girls; it’ll be a bit like looking for a needle in a stack of needles.

Good luck to them all.

Pictures from the recent Miss West Lothian Workshop

Getting all torn up about it.

Michelle made a welcome return to my humble studio for another shoot just recently; she was looking for a portrait to submit - along with her application - to take part in the much vaunted Miss West Lothian 2010 competition being run by Eddie Anderson and, to help with that, I’d engaged the services of Make-up artist, Jade McMeckan.

Having bagged the portrait shots, we then went on to other things – you could say Michelle got ‘torn into it’ as we turned the scissors on her leggings and T-shirt while Jade ‘bigged-up’ the make-up with some extra eyes and full, ruby-red lipstick.

The shutter was kept pretty active for the next few hours, with Michelle either working in front of camera or chatting to Jade while I arranged (and endlessly rearranged) backdrops and lighting set-ups.

Four and a bit hours just seemed to sweep bye unnoticed, but I ended the shoot with a great collection of images, and I have to say thanks to the girls for being so patient with me xx

Michelle:

Fascinating stuff

I was fortunate enough to be asked to shoot a collection of fascinators and wedding accessories for Ritz nGlitz; a quality, high-end bridal gown and accessories outlet based in MidCalder.

The accessories - and especially the fascinators – were literally ‘fascinating’, while having the opportunity to work with – and light – such a fantastic collection of exquisite tiaras, necklaces and bracelets was a real pleasure.

Some of the resultant head and shoulders shots were used in a power-point slide which was displayed at the ‘Wedding Box’ wedding fayre held at Centrex, Livingston on Sunday 6th September.

Thanks to models Michelle and Rachael for being so patient with me, and to Make-up artist, Jade, whose skills made my photography look better than it might otherwise have.

Michelle & Rachael

If you want to get ahead, get a hat.

Caught in the rain yesterday, a plastic bag I had in the boot of the car became a makeshift hat.

As usual - due to the incredibly handsome arrangement of my facial features - anything that I put on my head immediately looks good (just simply by association)so I kept this item and, later at the studio, asked a friend (whose physiognomy is, unfortunately, not as blessed as my own) to wear it for a portrait shoot.

I think the bag came out incredibly well! Sorry, Stu ;-)

Fruit n' Finance

When I get the time, I really enjoy setting up and shooting different still-life images.

Below is a selection from a recent shoot which included tomatoes, pears and, of course, a few copies of the financial times. Well, what sort of shoot wouldn’t include at least one copy of the Financial Times?

:)

Splat!

There’s nothing more inspiring than to see your own work hung on a wall for public display, and I’m delighted to say that I have been gifted that feeling nine-fold.

Nine of my works are now hanging in the public areas and corridors of the Strathbrock Community Centre in Broxburn, West Lothian.

The well devised acronym, S.P.L.A.T. stands for the ‘Strathbrock Partnership Local Arts Team’; a collection of local painting and photography groups who have come together to brighten the walls of the Community Centre with a collection of works from members of their groups. My own works join other photographic pieces from the Livingston Camera Club.

The entire collection of works are open to the public during the Centre’s opening hours, and as well as viewing the works, they can also be purchased at very reasonable rates. It’s well worth a visit.

Further information regarding SPLAT can be found here, and further information on Livingston Camera Club can be found here.

Some of my work now hanging in the SPLAT exhibition.

Michelle, my Belle.

Fortune favoured me when my good friend Michelle joined at the studio for another modelling session recently.

Michelle is great fun, has a fantastic attitude and brings great presence (and Karma) to our shoots. She’s also takes direction very well and is quickly becoming well versed in anticipating what the camera is looking for – a real help when it comes to allowing the creative flow to run along smoothly.

I’m already looking forward to working with her again as soon we can arrange something; I’ve been promised ‘first show n’shoot’ of a whole new wardrobe she’s preparing to take on holiday with her.

Michelle: