Tabby Cat

So, this was supposed to be a run-of-the-mill tester shoot, but the shots actually came out quite beautifully.

This is my little model, or what I refer to as my ‘Tester Model’ since I normally get her to model in locations to see how the shots turn out before the real models come in. However, for this shoot, I wanted someone young to pose with the cat, so she turned out to be just the ticket!

The cat is mine, her name is Tabby, (yes, I see the irony in that she is actually a tabby cat), or ‘Tabitha’ as my mother likes to call her – or what we call her when she’s being naughty. She is a year old and one of the most affectionate cats I’ve ever owned.

Ah yes, what is that animal in the last shot? That is a guinea pig. To be precise, my model’s guinea pig who’s name is Prince, (don’t ask why because even I’m not sure). Oh, and no, he is not named after the singer.

If I was to be honest, I wish I’d had a better camera for this shoot. Oh well, you have to work with what you’ve got!

The Attic

As you might have noticed, the style of these new shots has changed pretty drastically. This is because I’ve edited them in different ways due to using some new software called LightRoom. I was trying to work my way around the tools and this is what came out. The question is though, does the software make an improvement to the shots? Or do we like the original, old-style way?

For this shoot, my model and I went to my grandparents' house (accompanied by a travel suitcase of clothes). This was a slight de-ja-vu I suppose, since I have used my grandparents' house for a shoot once before in the post ‘Summer Garden’ with Roz Jana modeling.

There are many reasons for why I love their house: the memories of growing up there, the annual Christmas get-together with the whole family that is hosted there, and simply the vintage qualities of the house itself and its decor. If anyone was to ask me to pick a spot in the entire world where I feel most content and safe, it would be that house.

So, obviously, I had to use it again - this time with an entirely different theme and model. Come to think of it however, there was no theme to inspire the shoot. This was one of those on-the-spot shoots where I have the model, the clothes and the house, put them all together and shoot on the spot.

I guess initially I was inspired by this image of Tim Walker's that I stumbled across:

I loved how the room was so messy and that the model was stood in the midst of all this. Of course I couldn't mess up the room and break things (although I was tempted to for the effect), it was just lucky that the house had one room that was so cluttered.

The Accomplices: Sepia

New set of shots, this time in sepia.

The Accomplices: Black & White

I guess this shoot in particular had more of a story behind it. When I told my models what the theme would be, I described it to them as two accomplices like Bonnie and Clyde or Sweeny Todd and Mrs. Lovett (Or if we wanted to get fancy, The Joker and Harley Quinn) on the run from authorities and seeking refuge in a forest. They have mutual bonds ‘If you save me, then I’ll save you.’ Each is ambitious as the other, they are both strong and fast so are able to escape together. They watch each other’s back and their own. Sometimes they will split off in different directions to confuse the opposition, but they will always arrange a place where they will meet again. They are both half of a whole.

Anyway, enough of the fancy storyline. For this shoot, I sent the models a list of clothing that they would need, which they brought to the shoot. I then, of course, sorted out the attire for the shoot out of the clothes they had brought.

The male model in this shoot is Charlie Steeds, a budding filmmaker specializing in the genre of thriller/horror. There are clips of his work on youtube so I would defiantly recommend checking them out: Link

The female model is Charlotte Roest-Ellis who stars in most of Charlie’s films and their coupling, I suppose, is close to Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter.

Guitarist Portrait 2

Guitarist Portrait