My personal project I am currently shooting is based on tattoos. Watching the Miami Ink TV series way back sparked my interest in the subject, and especially the personal reasons why people decide to have a tattoo (or three), and why they choose a specific design with the amazing colours and artwork. Most tattoos will have a very specific meaning for people, either a personal tragedy or a connection with their outllook on life.
Some people have one small tattoo, maybe hidden in a discrete area of the body, and are done. Other people have one and get bitten by the bug, and have tattoo after tattoo after tattoo.
If you are interested in being photographed by me with your tattoos in my Leicester studio, give me a shout at paul@paulhurstphotography.co.uk
I think I have probably completed my last urban shoot of the year now the weather is decidely more Autumnal. Cold, rain and wind are not a pleasant mix for a photoshoot. This was the first time I hve worked with Danielle, and we managed to find a small backstreet in Leicester which I had never used before. A quick bit of research on Google’s Street View helped me pick the location, as it appeared to have a few areas for possible backdrops within very short walking distance.
As it happens we were spoilt for choice and ran out of time before we ran out of street.
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 received a phone call a while back from a man named Adrian Natzel. Adrian is a Focus Coach who was about to undergo a weight loss program and was looking for a photographer to document his journey.
I am always interested in new challenges so we setup an initial studio shoot to document Adrian’s starting point with a variety of photographs.
We recently shot the second studio session and looking at the starting point photos against the recent shoot it is very apparent that the weight is coming off. I am looking forward to doing a composite image using photos from each session to show Adrian’s journey, and will get it on the blog as soon as the program ends.
You can follow Adrian’s journey on his personal blog
I have always been fascinated by the visual effects of Tilt-Shift photography, creating the illusion of looking at a model on a real world scene.
The iPhone has a great app for doing this easily without having to invest in expensive tilt camera equipment. To create an illusion of scale you need to pick a scene with large and small objects and ideally photograph from a high point looking down on the scene. With the inclusion of strong colours the model world effect really takes shape.
The image below was taken on top of Warwick Castle looking down on the street below. Taken with an iPhone 4 and TiltShiftGen app.
Great fun and a nice twist on your average vista.
Another successful model shoot last Saturday at Superfly in Leicester. I used the opportunity to try out the new Bowens Beauty Dish in anger, and it is a real beauty. Very soft light but with harder shadows than you would get from a softbox.
The models were great, and the weather was kind enough to us to allow me to shoot outside on the fire escape with a powerful Bowens flash to overpower the sun and create very moody fashion images.
I am now marketing urban portraits as ideal gifts for all year round. These 2 hour portrait sessions shot within Leicester are unique gifts for birthdays, Christmas, weddings, anniversaries or celebrations. These sessions can be for an individual or family looking for a highly stylized and ultra modern set of portrait images which would not look out of place in a glossy fashion magazine. This new concept in portrait photography is steadily becoming more popular as the word spreads. Book your session today or purchase a gift voucher at Paul Hurst Photography.
I attended my second group model shoot at Leicester’s Superfly venue last weekend. It is all extremely well organised by gorgeous Nicole who also models. The 4 hour shoot is attended by up to 10 photographers and 15 male and female models and we all have the run of the three story nightclub for the Saturday afternoon. The 4 hours soon fly by as we all concentrate on creating the fashion images we have in our heads using the nightclub interior as a backdrop.
By the end of the shoot we all have fantastic images we can add to our portfolio to help us along in our photography and modelling careers. Thanks to all and look forward to meeting you again.