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.
I had the chance to be involved in a Leicester studio photoshoot recently using ultraviolet light and paint only. This was a new technique for me as a photographer, and took a bit of trial and error to get the correct camera settings and lighting position. The combination of UV light and specialised paint on the model gives a very unique look. The colours certainly pop against the dark shadows. Very different results to my normal style of photography.
I had the pleasure of shooting with Lady-Viper from Purpleport recently. We were looking for a mix of a gothic look with slow-motion for an eerie / haunting style. Lady-Viper brought a wonderful selection of outfits and accessories, and we had fun experimenting with camera settings and motion to get the look we were after. All images in-camera, with Lightroom and Photoshop for cropping and colour grading.
I was fortunate to spend some time in the Leicester studio with local model Charlee recently, trying out some different lighting setups. Charlee has a great look and is a pleasure to work with.
All three images were shot on a white background, but controlling the amount of light falling on the background to keep the background as light or dark as required. The addition of coloured gels on a light helped create a different look to the same setup.
Local studio ‘Boss Studios’ recently organised a group shoot with a very special guest. Group shoots are a great way to meet local models and fellow photographers and collaborate in a relaxed informal way. We had the pleasure of working with an Albino Burmese Python, accompanied by his handler. The famous saying ‘Never work with animals or children’ generally rings true, but conducting a photoshoot with a snake in the equation was not as troublesome as imagined. Snakes do like to move around a lot, but the with the expertise of the handler close by we managed to capture some great images. Once the snake had departed for a rest we captured some more ‘traditional’ images sans snake.
American football is obviously not something synonymous with UK sporting traditions, but as a kit became available to use during a recent photoshoot in Leicester with Louisa we put it to good use with some carefully positoned lighting and a black background.
I do prefer this style of portraiture – partially lit with rich colours and shadows. Painting with light. It makes for an interesting image. Great for an editorial in a sports magazine.
Laumina was visiting the UK recently and contacted me to arrange a photoshoot in Leicestershire. I had done a photoshoot for Triathlete’s World a while back at Beacon Hill. I had always wanted to go back for another photoshoot as the location is ideal with its backdrop of large rocks, rugged terrain and open skies. I used a combination of natural light and off-camera flash to create dramatic images to suit the landscape. It was windy on the day of the shoot, but we persevered and captured a great set of images.
I spent a recent Sunday in a studio with a selection of themed sets. This American set was one of my favourites, and I tried out a two light setup with a gridded beauty dish as the main light and a gridded reflector as a secondary light on the back wall, with Charlotte as my model. Lit with Bowens Gemini lights and shot with a Fuji X-Pro1 with XF35mm lens.
I had a first time shoot with local model Nicola Jayne recently in a close by woodland area. We tried to schedule the shoot for dusk to incorporate a colourful sky, but being mid-February the light falls really quickly and we resorted to finding a nice area in the wood away from the mud. Although the evening was very cold and dark, we managed to get a few shots completed before we called it a day.
This is my favourite image from the shoot, using my Nikon D300, Nikkor 24-70 F2.8 lens, Bowens Gemini 500 flashhead and travelpak, with an Octabox. Triggered with PowerWizard MiniTT1 and TT5 receiver.