Rain’s in fashion

The Windmill on Wimbledon Common was the perfect location for our Elys AW17 fashion shoot. With long meadow grass and late summer sun light we were aiming for 70s retro vibe for this transitional season with it’s earthy tones, layering and cosy knits. Only a month’s worth of rain in 36 hours could have prevented this shoot from being utterly gorgeous, but not even that could hold back our crack team.

The opening shot was our priority, the rain satellite showed a ten minute break in the torrential rain so we geared up to nail this shot.

The iconic windmill looks majestic in it’s 200th year, dominating the landscape. The Windmill Museum have done an impressive job restoring the sales in time for this year’s bicentenary celebrations and we are extremely grateful to Asif Malik who generously hosted us for the day.

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It was bucketing down for the rest of the day so we had to ‘work’ with the rain, using the tree canopy as a natural of umbrella. John took a killer shot of this vampy look which ended up as the opening shot for the story.

Luckily we were able to step back in time using the interior of the Windmill Museum. The original artefacts dating back to the working windmill were fascinating.

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The team were so up for every suggestion, traipsing through the mud and rain, or climbing onto the windmill roof. The original vision for the shoot inevitably changed due to the weather conditions but the final images have a super Autumnal feel, perfect for the September edition.

Thank you to my exceptional team:

Photographer: John McMurtrie
Model: Leticia Herod
Stylist: Helen Ford Canning
Assistant: Emily Mitchell
Hair: Sean Hanna
Makeup: Bare Mineral by Dee Vasey
Nanny: Veronika from Wimbledon Nannies*

*Renate from Wimbledon Nannies was amazing and found the perfect nanny for me for the day. The process was so easy, I was put in touch with Veronika so we could chat and meet up before the day. Veronika was brilliant on the day and just fitted in – nothing was a problem and my little 5 month old son thought she was ace.

How to direct a fashion shoot in the rain

Don’t panic, devise plan b in the day(s) before

Create a strong back-up plan and communicate with your team as early as possible
Find the nearest indoor locations either for shelter or alternative scenes
Send out your call sheet with weather forecast & instructions for wet weather gear
Be flexible with your story, either create a new one or work with your photographer to make the most of the conditions on the day

On the day

Wellies and spares for the model just in case
Bring plastic bags, see-through ones for camera equipment, black plastic for model to stand on if needed
Bring lots of golf umbrellas, you can’t have enough!
Keep the model under umbrellas until the second before shooting starts
If you have time do some practise shots with the umbrellas so you can get it just right for when the umbrellas disappear
Check live satellite weather conditions on your mobile for rain breaks
Keep the team focussed on the end goal
Hot drinks and bacon sandwiches to stop spirits being dampened

Pure Family photo shoot

The best thing about photo shoots at home is that your family can simply relax and play, and allow the spontaneous nature of your young family to shine through.

Using the setting of your own home, babies are comfortable and safe, and young children relax as they can be themselves. As a photographer, my job is to help you feel relaxed and enjoy yourselves. I often start by building trust with the children so they get used to my camera, whilst looking for opportunities to be creative, working with the personalities of your children and the things they like to do. Although many of us feel uncomfortable in front of the camera, the nature of the shoot means we often have some fun!

If you have an idea of what you’d most like to capture, we can work out what you want before we start; the intimacy of family cuddles, a series of fun and games, a more formal family portrait, or perhaps a series of other photos you’ve seen.

After the shoot I’ll send you a selection of images from which you can choose your top 10 images. You’ll then receive a set of high quality digital photos on a presentation cd that you can print or turn into a photo book. They are yours to use as you wish, and as many times as you’d like.

Photoshoot: The Rivers family, 2013

Price £249
Includes a 2 hour photo shoot in your own home, 10 high resolution images (size 10″x8″) on a presentation cd

Many of the families I work with are in South West London, Wimbledon, Putney, Wandsworth, Kingston, Surrey, Clapham & Fulham. And in North London in Islington and Clerkenwell. Find out what they had to say after their photo shoot – read their testimonials.

Book a family shoot

Typography stroll down Exmouth Market

Typography prints are hot right now, but this blog is about Typography Art – ooo yeah baby.

When Jamie told me about his Exmouth Market print I was always going to be first in line to buy a limited edition, so I was stoked when he asked me to shoot it at his warehouse apartment in Clerkenwell. Life doesn’t get much better than this…

Working on a shoot with an artist-designer has got great advantages; an attention to detail and a clear vision of what he wants. When I arrived, Jamie had framed his print beautifully and hung it on the wall so that it was placed perfectly above retro sideboard. Urban chic accessories adorn Jamie and Nicola’s apartment, so we were never short of very cool props and tried out various set ups to get the perfect finished picture. We had some challenges… a white poster, in a white frame, on a white wall but Jamie used his designer skills on the image files to delicately balance out any of the quirks and create a perfectly finished image.

Look closely and you can see the lovely paper texture, the indent of the press and the amazing detail that has gone into creating each one of these amazing letters. They have started selling like hotcakes locally and have sold as far as Japan and Australia. Currently priced at just £40, now is the time to snap up one of these prints before the price inevitably goes up.

You can buy a copy from Jamie’s website

“The decorated initials, spelling ‘Exmouth’, have been inspired by the rich assortment of lettering found on the street or designed to represent its past. The text is also full of little typographic details, such as historical and ornamental characters, which were great fun to add.”

Details about the print

Letterpress in silver, turquoise and black
Individually signed, limited edition of 250
Printed on Crane’s Lettra 300gsm paper
Set in Minion Pro (Robert Slimbach, 1990) and printed by Hand & Eye letterpress, London

Christmas Gift vouchers

Baby & Mum gift vouchers £99

Grab some gift vouchers for Christmas and treat yourself or someone special to a photoshoot with your little one. This offer includes a natural, intimate photo shoot at home with baby plus 10 black and white print ready digital images. Read recent customer review.

I’ve called the offer ‘baby & mum’ because so often mum takes all the photos and rarely has ones with her and the baby, but if Dad is around, we often try to get him involved too. But it could be for anyone close that you’d like some extra special photos of with your little one – Papa, Grandpa, Granny, older brother or sister.

Vouchers purchased this year allow you to take advantage of the £99 deal until end March 2014.
After the photo shoot you will receive 10 digital images on a cd, print ready to 8″ x 10″ or 8″ x 12″ presented in a box. Larger prints can be ordered to your specifications.

Photo gift box £145

10 black and white or colour photos beautifully presented in a photo box, tissue, ribbon
Choose the ten best images from your photoshoot, professionally printed and presented in a special gift box for you to cherish. Giclee 8″ x 12″ photos that will look amazing for years to come, with rich blacks and beautiful colours.

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Baby & Mum photos

Baby & Mum shoot

A series of beautiful images of you and your baby, to look back on and cherish.

Mums often take loads of photos of their baby and family and don’t have a few special photos of themselves with their baby. A baby and mum shoot takes place in the comfort of your home. Mums have been delighted with how much they enjoy the relaxed nature of a shoot.

A relaxed session usually takes around an hour, and you receive 3 black & white high quality digital files on cd for you to print or use as you wish, and as many times as you wish!

Price £99
Includes a photo shoot in your own home and 3 black & white high resolution digital images (size 10″ x 8″) on a presentation cd.

(Colour is £50 extra)

Photo shoot: Mum Claire and Syvlia Rose, 5 weeks old

PORTFOLIO

The Rivers Family, 2103

Click to view more images of Baby Bertie

Katie & Leo, 2013

A few precious moments of Mum and baby Leo, just four weeks old. Mum often takes all the photos in the house so new mum Katie was pleased to have a few of the two of them together. He looks so safe, warm and snuggly.

Princess Arianna, 2012

Baby Arianna, 2012

What a cherub! Mum told me she didn’t have any photos of her little angel smiling, so I was delighted to capture this lovely little smile. These photos would make a lovely photo book album.

Prince Baby Bertie

It was a heartwarming moment when gorgeous 10 day old baby Bertie spontaneously smiled as his mummy gave him a big kiss. Supposedly smiling doesn’t happen until babies are around one month, but little Bertie looks pretty happy to me in his mums arms.

A new baby brings a lot of joy to a family. In fact all the family were smitten with the new edition, you can just see the love on all their faces!

Find out more about my baby & mum photo shoot, book before Christmas and it’s just £99

designing dramatic fashion

Next month in T&L magazine we have this sensational shoot by Gregg Stone (www.greggstone.com) I love his intuitive style and dedication to drama which create such a strong sense of narrative in his fashion shoots. His professional work is such a dream to layout that I wanted to share my latest designs with you lovely people, before it hits the print presses next week and goes all inky.

Magazine release date 22nd March 2013. The full photo shoot story can be viewed online at http://www.timeandleisure.co.uk. Thanks goes to Gregg Stone and his team for an impeccable photoshoot and Bambou cocktail bar and restaurant, 1 Percy Street, London, WC1, for providing the amazing location for this shoot.

Gyles Brandreth bears all

It was a bitingly cold morning when we met Gyles at the London Wetland Centre to interview him for the April edition of Time & Leisure. He was rather frosty when we requested we head out to the furthest, chilliest point of the Wetlands for the shoot, but he soon warmed up when we got back inside, and generously displayed his naughty humour for the camera. Thanks Gyles, we shot a great cover for the next edition.

Which one do you think should make it onto the April’s cover of Time & Leisure?

Gyles lives in Barnes and is one of the founders of the Wetlands Centre, he is also mad about… teddy bears. His collection which is now housed at the Polka Theatre includes the original Sooty and Fozzy bear.

We think Gyles is a big cuddly teddy bear.