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

Rachael in white.

Young Rachael returned to the studio just recently to take part in a shoot for which I’d put together a white set; comprising a simple set-up of backgrounds, covered furniture and some silk flowers.

Rachael’s bright energy and terrific looks made the shoot ‘happen’ as usual, but the set was given some extra punch by make-up artist, Jade. This was the first time I’d had the pleasure of working with Jade and, of course, the first time Rachael had been professionally made-up for a shoot.

We did some ‘before & after’ images and the results were startling and, I have to say, the make-up actually drove the shoot to a certain extent.

Jade is now on my list of people I have to work with again and again and again.

Rachael:

Cloud dodging

Shooting outdoors these days has more to do with flipping a coin to second-guess the weather than it does technique and composition, and so it was with more than a little trepidation that I organised a shoot on the shores of the Forth

Fortunately, that trip out to South Queensferry along with Graeme, Rachael and Graeme’s custom-built Mini-Cooper saw us get almost the entire set consigned to efilm cards before the rain forced us to police all the equipment back into the car.

Model material

One of the great things about being a photographer is that it does afford you the opportunity to work with some interesting - and often very pretty - people.

A couple of weeks back I had the opportunity to work with rachael again; a young, Bathgate based girl who has some real potential for making it in the business.

I also had the opportunity to work with Lisa in Helensburgh (pictures still to be processed) with whom I think I managed to capture some interesting work.

The following Youtube effort is constructed from some of the pictures I got from working with the aforementioned, Rachael.

Rachael returns

I had the pleasure of welcoming young Rachael and her mum, Maggie back to the studio for another fashion shoot.

Rachael’s confidence in front of the camera continues to grow, as does her portfolio of poses and looks. She knows she still has loads to do, but she’s improving all the time and her appetite for the work remains keen.

Now that the weather is – at last – beginning to turn, I’m hoping to set up some outdoor shoots with her. If you happen to pass us while you’re out, I’m the big fellah with the heavy coat, gloves and hat with a camera stuck to my face. Rachael is the pretty girl with the sweet summer dress and goose-bumps ;-)

Rachael:

Busy busy busy!

I’ve got lots to do at the moment, and the accumulation of tasks (and the prevailing weather) is keeping me indoors and denying me the opportunity to get out there and harvest some ‘Christmas Card’ images :(

My most time consuming task at the moment is printing off the prints order I received from Iain & Laura after I shot their wedding on 30th January; Laura says she’s delighted with the pictures, and has backed that up that sentiment with a very healthy order. I’ve also received further orders from Laura’s family; hence the fact that I don’t get to leave the house (or the printer, to be more precise) these days. It may sound as though I’m complaining but, in fact, I’m really enjoying revisiting the shoot and turning the electronic files into hard-copy existence; it was a lovely wedding (despite the weather) and Iain & Laura were favoured by the attendance of a very supportive family. And, besides, I just love weddings :)

I also had another shoot with young up-and-coming model, Rachael, last week, and I’m really pleased with the initial Raw-file images. But, rightly, Laura’s wedding portfolio takes precedence at the moment, so I’ll have to resist the urge to process the images from Rachael’s shoot for the moment.

Along with the photography side of things, I also have a comprehensive order of Wedding Stationary to prepare for Robert & Julie’s wedding in August, as well as an order of table place cards and other pictures to produce for an anniversary party taking place this weekend.

My new range of wedding stationary seems to be gathering some interest, but I’ve neglected the marketing side a bit over the last few (busy) weeks, so that task is another on my growing agenda.

Still to come, I have a family portrait shoot to undertake this weekend, and a wedding in March to prepare for. So, now that I think of it, I really shouldn’t be typing this entry – I’m far to busy! :)

Rachael increases her portfolio

I had great pleasure in working with young Rachael and her mother, Maggie again recently. Rachael is such a pretty young girl and with such an effervescent disposition that she’s always a pleasure to work with.

Rachael’s own portfolio of my images is growing into almost catalogue proportions but, with such a great range of images to choose from, picking what to ‘leave out’ is the biggest problem I have.

We’ll be working together again soon, and I’m looking forward to the better weather when we can get out of the studio and see how photogenic Rachael is in natural light. I expect she’ll continue to radiate.

Rachael:

Variations on a theme.

Cropping a photograph is one of the hardest of my post-production tasks, but it can also be one of the most revealing.

My photo-manipulation software allows me to zoom into the picture on the screen and, in many instances, it offers – purely by chance – a whole new perspective on the photograph itself: details – previously unnoticed – can command a new prominence; physical and facial aspects can be changed, altered and re-defined. It’s when something strikes me in that way that I tend to get lost for hours in manipulating the image in question – often with some striking results.

The following pictures are all re-workings of the first image; one of my favourite models, Rachael. Though nothing of Rachael’s pose or expression changes, I think each alternative rendering has its own appeal.

Rachael

Whoosh ... that was Christmas!

I don't know where the time has gone; the build up to the festivities seemed to take so long, but it passed far more quickly, and I'm left with gigabytes of unprocessed Raw files to work on - I do tend to get a bit trigger happy when the grandchildren are around :)

First up though, I'd like to post some more of the pics I took during my first session with Rachael and Mum, Maggie.

As I work my way - very conscientiously - through my backlog of work, I'll assume that everyone who reads this blog had as good a time as I had through December, and here's hoping 2009 brings us even more good days.

Youthful ambition

I had the pleasure - on Tuesday evening - of welcoming Maggie & Rachael to the Studio for a portrait shoot.

Rachael is still just a youngster but, despite her years, I think she has the neccessary ambition to have a go at a career in modeling.

That ambition shone through in the shoot; it took her just a few minutes to get used to the set-up and then she was trying different poses and expressions of her own, which made the task of directing a lot easier. She also had her own views on how she she should pose and asked to try a number of different sets. Mum, Maggie. also got into the act and helped me deliver what I think should be some very good Mother/Daughter portraits. I'm still processing the raw files, but the following are the first two of about six shots that I'm happy with.

Thanks again, Maggie & Rachael.