feeling good
So many women I meet tell me they don’t have a single picture of themselves they really like, let alone one they feel happy enough to give to their boyfriend, fiance or husband as a gift.
But when pictures are taken by a photographer who’s on your side, in flattering light, using professional equipment, including lenses that don’t distort features; when your hair and make-up are beautifully done, you’re wearing great clothes, fabulous lingerie, and using the right poses to show you at your self-confident best - then you will have beautiful pictures too...
Here's some discreet examples f
a backwards look
To a city apartment block this morning for a portrait shoot with Megan in her lovely, bright home. Her fiance leaves next month for an overseas assignment, and they'll be apart for almost all of the time until their wedding next summer. Megan plans to slip a little album in his bag before he goes, full of some very personal, discreetly beautiful pictures to remind him of her. Here's one I really liked that is suitable for wider sharing!
stella's shoes
St Ann's Hospice is busy organising the annual Midnight Walk for Friday 2 July, and I visited the hospice this week to photograph pairs of basic white trainers that have been decorated by lots of different people, including some well-known celebrities, to help with publicising the event.
However, the show-stoppers for me were devised, designed and decorated by Stella, who is currently a day-care patient at Heald Green. The shoes underneath really are basic white trainers, though it's difficult to believe, looking at them held up by Stella here.
waiting...
Emma and Gareth's little boy should be with them very soon. I called round to see how the nursery was coming along and to take some pictures to pin down the memory of this final few weeks. It's hot and humid, which doesn't make it easy. We took our time. Lots of tea, and some serious inroads into a coffee and walnut cake that Emma had made.
"Infinite Variety" exhibition
Posted on Tuesday, August 23, 2011, Posted in commissioned, portrait, published, women
I'm delighted to have three images in an exhibition this week and next…it's in Southport, in the lovely, light, bright Wayfarers Arcade in Lord Street, opposite the Town Hall. The exhibition is called "Infinite Variety" and celebrates the beauty of the ageing female face. The original idea came from Dame Harriet Walter, who started collecting images to challenge perceptions of what we consider beauty to be.
Séverine
Séverine and I met on a lovely autumn afternoon at her home in Cheshire, facing south over rolling fields. What a great afternoon we had: a cup of tea here, a glass of wine there, a pause for a bite to eat... chatting all the while, moving from location to location - we got some absolutely wonderful shots, in just one ground floor room and the garden, changing outfits, using just the gorgeous natural light we were blessed with. Great teamwork, Séverine!
celebration shoot
Posted on Friday, March 02, 2012, Posted in commissioned, portrait, women
I love shoots that celebrate an event or milestone in a woman's life - perhaps a birthday or anniversary. I work with a hair and make-up artist, Roxanna, who is wonderful...very talented, with a gentle touch, bringing her film, TV and editorial experience with her. I ask my client to bring several different outfits and some favourite accessories, and we relax into a few hours of fun, shooting outside and inside the studio. Every shoot is different, but every single one is a wonderful experience, just as much for Roxanna and me as for our client, that's for sure!
