A few images from my recent visit to Dubai, the first trip post COVID when travel restrictions and testing requirements were mostly removed, making life much easier to move around. It was my first trip to Dubai, and I definitely came away with the impression of a well planned out city at the beginning of its life with much much more to come. Hosting the world’s tallest man made structure by way of the Burj Khalif, fantastic infrastructure for public transport, and a very friendly and attentive workforce in tourism made for a very pleasant visit. The temperature topping 41 degrees centigrade added to the experience. And I highly recommend the Aura Skypool for a fantastic view of the whole of Dubai.
Environmental shoots with a specific theme are such fun to do. I grabbed an opportunity to do another Peaky Blinders photoshoot in Leicester with fellow creatives. Using a suitable location can sometimes be awkward, but a local industrial area was available with enough character to make the photoshoot work. A simple combination of old brick walls and amazing outfits, with the addition of some off-camera flash is enough to get the mood right. 3 hours of shooting and some dodging of rain showers and the shoot was in the bag. All images taken with the Fujifilm X100v camera and Godox AD200pro flash.
A photoshoot with local model Morgan in the studio gave me the chance to try out the new painted walls in royal blue and slate grey. Using a wall rather than a Colorama paper background gives more opportunity to play with shadows whilst keeping an even effect on the flat surface instead of the lumps and creases you can get with a paper roll.
A photoshoot with a difference earlier this year when we had the fantastic Dave Sinclair with his Swampy zombie outfits created by Clive Barzillia. A bit of minimalist lighting and smoke created a set of images with a difference.Adam England also came along with his Jason Voorhees outfit from Friday 13th, also created by Clive. No skin touchups required in this photoshoot.
A few images from an earlier photoshoot with Midlands based Italian model Valentina. We kept the lighting simple and moody, using either grey or white backdrops and letting the light fall off to control the brightness of the background, which worked well with the muted colours of the outfits.
I had great pleasure in photographing Brett (Insta: brett.melville.242) and has fantastic moustache and immaculate period outfits on a recent group shoot in the studio.
It was the first time for Brett on a group shoot in the studio, and I think he enjoyed his time, letting the moustache and outfits do most of the work with three outfits changes.
Lighting was kept fairly simple with post processing giving the images a vintage look and feel.
A black and white themed photoshoot in the studio with Remi – Instagram: _remileigh0.
We used a combination of outfits against black and white backgrounds to give a classic contrast look with simple lighting. Remi used her experience in dance to create delicate and graceful poses.
A few images from a recent shoot on a farm in North Leicestershire. Farms are full of interesting barns and machinery, providing lots of photo opportunities with different backdrops. Spoilt for choice, but time is always limited. Light levels can be low in farm buildings, so the use of portable flashheads and power packs can be useful. My first shoot on a farm, but looking forward to revisiting at some point in the near future.
Another recent group photoshoot in my local Leicestershire area, with Leila and her horse as the models for the morning. Horse photography can be a challenge with so many distractions for the horse, especially on a busy Saturday morning with walkers, but the natural light was kind to us and the horse was extremely well behaved.
Shot with Nikon D800 and Fuji X-Pro1.
It is great to take advantage of an opportunity to do a photoshoot with a special theme and costume, and for me the idea of a Warrior Princess themed shoot with a small group of collaborators in local woodland was too great to pass.
The wooded area is very popular with locals, especially on a nice day, but there is so much space that we could easily find a few areas to work away from the crowds.
The outfit, and especially the head dress, supplied by Sandalwoodpictures.co.uk and worn by local model Tracey was outstanding and made the shoot extremely enjoyable and quite different.