Friday 17 October 2014

Burberry Shoot (26/09/2014)

Burberry Shoot (26/09/2014)

I approached Ellie originally for a classic black and white portfolio style shoot, but as we developed the idea for the shoot it slowly became a Burberry Style shoot. 
Ellie brought her classic Burberry Trench Coat, and we just roamed Brick Lane - Shoreditch area to shoot!  









Ellie was a delight to shoot with. Easy to shoot with and great at posing! Check out her food blog at: Good for Bellie 


Monday 4 August 2014

Rooftop Shoot with Emma (04/08/2014)

Rooftop Shoot with Emma (04/08/2014)

I was contacted by Emma (who I'd previously shot with back in February); she wanted to get some photos for her portfolio. Like on my previous shoot, Emma was super friendly and easy to shoot with! Emma's Facebook page is here.


 We shot on the rooftop above her apartment. The weather was hot, and with the sun beating down on us made it worst. However, the view was absolutely beautiful! The rooftop overlooked the London cityscape (I wish I'd got a quick pic of it).


The wild contraption called a 'chair'. The most unstable, and dangerous prop I've shot with! When taking these shots, the chair felt like it was about to collapse on itself. 

I wanted to play about with the VSCO filters on these photos. I'm absolutely in love with the film look at the moment. I'm happy with the way these two shots came out; I might have to reprocess them though. I wanted the blues in the jeans to come out more sharper and vibrant, and the browns to be more washed out. 

   
I shot with Emma in front of the sky. The clouds acted as a huge white backdrop, and created an angelic feel to the photo. The other photo was shot in front of a white-ish wall. Emma was looking for a Polaroid look (Polaroids as in the backstage photos before a fashion show). With minimal make up and a plain wall, it highlights Emma's natural features. 


These two photos were my favourite from the entire shoot! Also my best outcome with the VSCO filters. It reminded me of photos from a lookbook. 

Monday 2 June 2014

The Five Year Plan (02/06/2014)

The Five Year Plan (02/06/2014)

So, I'm currently finished with college (in British terms it's education between high school and university) and I'm shit scared of what's going to happen next. I wrote down a Five Year Plan on a Post-it note, but I've managed to lose the note. I'll try and remember it from my memory.


1 - 3 Years: University. Try to make the most out of uni. I've applied (and hopefully got into) to Ravensbourne, it's really good for this industry and networking with clients and creative people. I really hope to build a team during my years at uni. Also, there's like two or three studios at this uni; which means - free studio space! It'll make experimenting with studio lighting much cheaper and accessible.


2nd Year: Get published. I know, it's in a bit of an awkward chronological order. In my second year of university, I hoped to get published in something, an indie magazine, a fashion blog or something more commercial (might be dreamin' a bit here).


4th Year: Stay in London. London is one of the fashion capitals and would be the best place to network. I really want to stay in London after uni, even if it means doing shitty jobs.


5th Year: Own/Live in a studio. All the greats seem to have done it; Wolfgang Tillmans, Joey L, etc. They've seemed to live in their studio, or convert their apartment into a studio. That's the end of my Five Year Plan. I think having my own studio will help to move further and present my opportunities. 

But... nothing ever goes to plan, does it? This is what I'm aiming for in the next five years; it's good to have a goal to keep me on track. 



Thursday 22 May 2014

Rooftop Shoot with Annie (23/05/2014)

Rooftop Shoot with Annie (23/05/2014)


So I came across this talented artist and model on ModelMayhem. Annie was very enthusiastic about the shoot and was very easy to work with. I met her at the Elephant and Castle station and shot around Elephant and Castle.

I thought the area would be rough, it being Elephant and Castle. It wasn't surprisingly, the scariest people we came across were a group of girls talking about boyfriend issues.


 Probably my favourite shot from the shoot. I just love the way Annie's eyes pop. 


Did I mention Annie is an artist? Her work is amazing! It's quite rare to find someone as talented as her. Her style is very unique. You can see her work: here


I'm finished with college now, and I plan to expand my portfolio throughout this summer so expect lots more posts on this blog! I have several ideas floating around surrounding balloons, and some floral ideas.


Thursday 24 April 2014

60s Summer shoot (19/04/2014)

60s Summer shoot (19/04/2014)

This photoshoot is part of my final piece for my current A2 Photography project. The shoot was at Victoria Park in London. The theme of the shoot was surrounding 60s fashion, specifically the cat eye sunglasses. I wanted to edit the photos in the style of a film effect, with off colours. As you can see, I added a reddish hue to the blacks, and added a creamy yellow to the highlights which gives it the perfect, or imperfect look. I provided the mood board to Tegan, she picked an outfit that looked similarly. I got the sunglasses from Topshop for about £16.




This is my favourite shot from the shoot. I didn't realise that Victoria Park had cultural buildings like this.




It was really chilly, props to Tegan for bracing through it. We switched to a warmer outfit toward the end of the shoot. 

Saturday 5 April 2014

Nora (03/04/2014)

Nora (03/04/2014)


Last Saturday I collaborated with Nora, who is a fantastic model on a photo shoot.  We took some shots around this beautiful plot of land behind the Luton Airport by some farm fields. The theme of the shoot was about a girl who is lost in out in the country field. It fits within my project theme of Growth and Evolution, I shot with three cameras; my D90, the Canon EOS 500 (film slr), and the Polaroid SX-70. I wanted to capture this shoot through three different mediums. For the outfit, I asked Nora to come in a simple white shirt or summer dress and some shorts. I found the floral headpiece on Etsy - it added a bit of detail and a natural touch to the outfit, which works well with the white top and the Rapeseed Field.





My favourite shot from the shoot

I had some issues with the roll of film. I got them developed at Snappy Snaps and their developing contraption got scratched my film and there were some patches of orange undeveloped bits. Anyway, here are the shots with the film camera:



Finally, the Polaroid scans:








Saturday 22 March 2014

Digital SLR vs. Polaroid (22/03/2014)

Digital SLR vs. Polaroid (22/03/2014)

It's been awhile since I've posted. I'm still working on the theme of Growth and Development. I'm steering it towards the development of photography, specifically three main mediums; Digital format, Instant cameras, and Film format. This photo shoot was based upon portraits, and how these three formats handle detail and how it operates in a studio environment. I shot the Digital and Film images in a mimic way (models were posed in the same way and the lighting was the same), but for the Polaroid shots I tried to shoot in an aggressive way. By aggressive I mean harsh lighting, I had this mental image in my head which was based upon 90s Grunge fashion, and the way it was shot. The lighting was quite harsh, and the photography style was rather candid. Like Terry Richardson's style, but it's best not to get into that controversial debate...

Here are the images:

 This photo surprisingly got great reception on 500px, and made it to the Popular page which made my day! 





I aimed to capture a harsh contrast and sharper detail, that's why I chose people with quite striking facial features, with beards and such! I placed a light to the right of the camera and had black card to block light from bouncing back onto the left side of their faces. In terms of manageability and accessibility I found that Digital was a lot easier to use; I could take test shots to perfect the lighting, and I could edit the RAW files in such a large way. 

 Here are the Polaroids:


This was my favourite shot with the Polaroid SX-70, I got James to 'flip the bird' at the camera, and the way film developed sort of censors the gesture.




The film I used was the Impossible Project PX-600 black and white film (with a black frame). Because the film was intended for the Polaroid SX-600, I had to use an ND filter to measure the light properly. However I think I should've just shot it normally and turned the light meter to +3 on the darker side. I shot this with the SX-70 Mint Flash, I set it to full power and got them to pose from about 1.5m - 2m, however there is still a lack of detail in their facial expression and the clothing. It has a rather greyscale finish than a black and white one. In terms of reliability the SX-70 lacked it this time, the flash failed to fire three times. I do like the effect the Polaroid cameras have, this isn't high fashion, I aimed for Grunge style, which is quite crude and raw, which these shots look. I find that the Polaroid images is aimed at a lighter part of fashion, a younger, hip version, but not for serious brands and magazines. 

I don't have the film developed yet. When I do I will conclude this studio comparison. So keep an eye on this page for an updated link to the film comparison. 

Wednesday 26 February 2014

Polaroid Shoot (26/02/2014)

Polaroid Shoot (26/02/2014)

I forgot to upload my Polaroid scans from my previous photo shoot. I took these with Impossible Project PX-70 film and I used the Polaroid SX-70. Here they are:





This particular shot was sort of in the style of David Hockney's "Polaroid Joiners", but I didn't have enough film (or the budget for the film!) so I opted for a smaller scale version with just two frames.