Autumn Awakening 2

The second part to Autumn Awakening, with the lovely Topshop top.

Autumn Awakening

As Jack Torrance would say - 'Been away, but now I'm back.' Its been far too long since I've done a shoot, so I decided to come back with a metaphorical bang. This time using a lovely Topshop top.

I have to be honest, with this shoot, I had no idea what I was going to do. All I knew was that I had a particular piece of clothing and a particular model. So, not knowing where I was going to stage the shoot, we decided to take a wander to see what settings would be suitable for the piece of clothing. We experimented with high rooftops with sheer drops, submersion in autumn leaves and graveyards. 

Originally, for this lovely piece of clothing, I had wanted it to be very sunny and to do a more 'Americanized' summer shoot. However, I had to work with the elements that were provided and - after double checking 4 separate weather sites to make sure that there would be no rain - decided on a particular day for the shoot, praying that we'd at least get a little sun. I wasn't very hopeful as we'd had constant rain so far. The day was generally gray but there were some lovely bursts of sun now and then which worked perfectly.

The beautiful top used in the shoot was originally from Topshop, but I picked it up from a charity shop. Every time I buy a new piece of clothing, I buy it with the knowledge that I will most likely be doing a shoot with it.

My lovely model (used previously in the Mulberry Trench Shoot) worked beautifully in the shots. I knew as soon as I had got the top that I'd want her to model it. She was willing to stand on the precipice of the rooftop, didn't complain when I made her look into the sun and even got her beautiful heels muddy. All for the good of the cause.

All in all, a great days shooting!

I will most likely be doing a second post to this, so watch out for that.

A New Mini Model

We were on a farm. I was bored. I happened to have my camera, so I suggested a little shoot. It was lots of fun running around, picking different spots to stage the shots and capturing this lovely, new, mini model's beautiful face. 

We found an old barn whilst we were there with a brilliant vintage car inside. The shots by the car didn't quite make it to the post but I was glad to find that the lighting inside the barn (utilized in the second shot) was actually perfect, and gave a lovely soft glow to the mini models.

Random Shots & Update

Do not worry my fellow viewers. I am not gone. I am always here, figuring out the next post. I feel like I haven't posted for ages but its only been about 10 days. The reason for this is that I've recently been warding of a stupid cold which - thankfully - is now gone. Now I'm just thinking toward the next shoot. Also, this ridiculously rainy weather is not helping things at all. I am very eager to get the next shoot underway though, just waiting for inspiration to strike!

Oo, as I've just remembered - there will be some new shots appearing on the blog very soon of a short shoot I did with a new mini model (thats right!). The shots turned out very nicely but now I'm going to have to refer to them as mini model number one and mini model number two, haha!

(Lets hope that I can actually find these new mini model shots. I have so many files from different shoots stacked up on several hard drives that its impossible to find anything these days!)

The Afternoon Sun

More experimental mini shoots with my mini model. The day had been absolutely gorgeous, with full sun, shining through the windows. It was casting great, strong shadows onto the setting I was thinking of using. But of course (as always), as soon as we got out there the sun decided to whizz behind the clouds. Because of this, I didn't quite get the effect I was hoping for. However, I think the shots still came out nicely.

This was styled by the mini model and includes the fake Dior sunglasses (used before in THIS post).

All Creatures Great And Small

These are animal shots that I collected in my 'summer' holiday travels. I put that in quotation marks because we all know how much sun we really got this summer.

The first two shots are from a walk I took around Chagford - A beautiful place, I could certainly see myself living there when I get to be middle-aged.

The second two are from Bath. I was sitting outside a restaurant/cafe with Roz (See HERE for the post on our trip to Bath) looking down at the swans in the river and there was this one particular one that was constantly cleaning itself. I'd never seen a swan act that way before. Didn't realize how bendy a swan's neck was either. One minute it was rubbing its head down the full length of its body, the next it was flapping its wings in a peculiar manor - I suppose I could compare it to the way that children flap their elbows when they pretend to be chickens.

The last two shots are of a lovely cat who came waltzing into my grannie's house during my stay in Devon. She didn't own the cat, only said she had seen it a couple of times. It was very affectionate. I think all it was looking for was a good belly rub.

Psst: There's another shoot coming up. Click HERE for a preview.

Noir

They're back! Me and the models from 'The Accomplices' shoot (Link here) joined up to do some more photography. It was this time held in an indoor location known as The Clifton Club - a most prestigious and gorgeous, private men's club. It is so well hidden away that before I was introduced to it, I didn't even realize that there was a building there. The inside decor is absolutely fantastic and almost seems to date back to the 1940s - hence it being the perfect the venue for the photo shoot.

The male model's clothing is his own (as well as the gun - I'll get to that later) but the female model's clothing, I supplied myself. The outfits consist of a mix of vintage, some from my grandma's collection and some from my mother's. The coat from the 1st shot and the wonderful dress from the 3rd and 6th shots are from my mother's collections.

For the other pieces, I once again went hunting through my grandma's various boxes and came back with a bag overflowing with clothes. From my grandma's collection is the black dress (5th shot) as well as the black gloves and shawl. The leather handbag (5th shot) is my own, bought from a vintage market not too long ago.

Everyone loves free publicity, so in the sprit of this: 

The female model is Charlotte Roest-Ellis, a model, photographer, musician and actress - a girl of many talents. Check out her artist Facebook page!

The male model is Charlie Steeds, a filmmaker specializing in horror. Check out YouTube for a range of clips and trailers from his films. He was able to supply the gun for the shoot, as it had been one of the props for his films.