The image above is one of a set made during a model photoshoot in the Leicester studio. Gridded beauty dish and telephoto lens, plus another gridded light for 3/4 backlight. I have worked with Sara before, so we were able to hit the ground running and captured some lovely images from the session.
Here are a small selection of images from a recent model shoot in the backstreets of inner city Birmingham with the fantastic model Emily.
I love using run down inner city urban areas for fashion photoshoots. Theses areas are bursting with great colourful and textured backdrops – old walls, doorways, graffiti covered billboards and derelict buildings. And because of inner city regeneration projects, these areas are commonly now neighbours to new office blocks with modern architecture to create a great mix of old with new.
With the added advantage of these areas being relatively quiet, away from the main shopping areas of a city centre, makes a great location shoot with plenty of artistic options within a small area. It can be a challenge sometimes to see the opportunities within a rundown area, but it is great fun to get out of the studio and see what happens. These set of images were taken during a 4 hour photoshoot in just one individual street in Birmingham, just a 5 min walk from the Bullring.
The picture above was one of the first shots of the day, taken against a blue painted street wall using 2 x gridded Bowens Gemini flashes powered by Bowens TravelPaks.
Another brick wall, the other side of the street. Quick change of clothes to get a different look, adding variety to a portfolio.
A boarded up public house is an all too common scene in every town and city in the UK, but can be used as a great backdrop for street fashion images with the help of a couple of powerful lights.
I spotted this ‘Weekend Offender’ sign painted on the wall of a very large archway as I did my initial walkaround of the area before the model arrived. I made a mental note of the exact location ready to use when the time came. Another 2 x gridded Bowen light setup – one on the sign, the second positioned across the archway lighting Emily.
There is always a graffiti covered wall to be had in an inner city area, and this wall was just a few feet further on down the street.
More graffiti found in an old factory doorway with the ‘Weekend Offender’ sign making another appearance. Doorway was lit with a gridded Bowens and Emily was lit with a gridded beauty dish hand held just above Emily.
Final change of outfit, using the natural soft light in the shadow of a building on the opposite side of the street, shot with a Nikkor 70-200 f2.8.
I hope you enjoy these images as much as I enjoyed the afternoon capturing them. Contact me if you are interested in a street fashion photoshoot to build your portfolio or just for a different experience.
I did my second shoot with model Grace this week, trying out a few new lighting setups in the Leicester studio. Image above was shot against a bright red brick background which looked much better in black and white for this particular shot. Lit with a single Bowens head through a gridded beauty dish, my favourite lighting accessory.
I did a test shoot recently in the studio with Grace, a new local model with a great look and who is very easy to work with. I used the opportunity to try out some different lighting setups with Octaboxes and gridded beauty dishes, whilst Grace was able to start building up her modelling portfolio.
We had a very successful couple of hours in the studio trying out a mixture of low and high key lighting with a variety of poses in a relaxed environment. I am looking forward to working with Grace again in the near future.
I spent a few hours last weekend testing out some new lighting setups with the wonderful model Nicole who I have worked with previously.
We had a great big room to use so we could really spread out and go to town on the lighting. The image above was one of my favourite from the session, and was a simple one light setup with a gridded beauty dish to control the light spill. This particular setup can be created in a very small room, including a living room in a home.
Second image is the same location and same background, but lit with multiple lights to give a completely different look. this lighting really makes Nicole’s skin glow.
This last image had a subtle change to the lighting to create a completely different look to the previous image.
A great session completed, and I am really looking forward to trying these lighting setups in photoshoots over the coming weeks.
Professional portrait photography is constantly changing and adapting to new trends. This means test shoots are vital to try out new lighting setups and ideas without the limitations that a client photo shoot brings.
Charlotte is an experienced model who responded to my casting call on a model website at the last minute, and we managed a very successful three hour studio shoot in Leicester creating a set of new and dynamic images which can be translated into exciting client shoots.
Many more test shoots in the pipeline this year.
I purchased a small vintage Union Jack flag from ebay a while ago with the express intention of using it as a backdrop to some studio portraits. Really wanted a very large flag for full length portraits, but this is just about suitable for half length max. Its made from cotton and doesn’t have the horrible sheen to it that new cheap flags seem to have.
The opportunity to use it only recently came along when I did a fashion shoot with Penny in the Leicester studio. Hung from a backdrop stand with black cloth behind to soak up the light. Lit with a single EZYBox softbox with grid on a C-Stand.
The Olympics may be just about on us but I will keep hold of this flag for the studio. Will be great for dynamic child and family portraits as well as fashion and beauty photoshoots.
Did a shoot with Sam last week using a combination of a local woodland location and then into Leicester city centre for some urban portraits. The weather threatened to be a real challenge but somehow we managed to dodge the worst of it and created some great images.
This image was shot with my now favourite lighting setup of a PocketWizard miniTT1 / TT5 triggering an SB800 through a Lastolite EZYBox 60×60 gridded softbox on a stand. Ambient light provided fill.