I was recently asked to shoot a young baby with mum and dad. This is 14 weeks old Chloe Dadge, isn’t she just adorable? This shoot was a joy, and just like with any other shoot involving very young children, you have to just go with the flow. It was all shot at the clients home in their lounge and all by natural light from a large window. I prefer to work this way, simplicity just works best for me, and often for the client too.
Meet Chloe. A typical fun loving teenager with great dress sense! When I was arranging this shoot, I was particularly keen to do something with the autumn colours we were having. Once I had explained my ideas to her, and said pick something to wear that will contrast the golden hues, maybe stripes could work well, she came up with this combination. I have to say, well done girl, it all goes together just great.
We all met up on Cannock Chase last November and the conditions were just about perfect. Chloe lives with her mum and dad in Austria and was over in the UK visiting friends and family, so it was the perfect opportunity to get some of those beautiful golden colours in the shots.
Although many of my location portrait shoots are in a more urban setting, its nice to use some of our stunning countryside settings occasionally too.
When I got this call from a local businessman who wanted some new headshots, my immediate thought was, sitting in office, booted and suited, pc on desk, phone there too, maybe a year planner behind him, you know the sort of thing. Now, when this type of call comes in, I always try to steer the client in the direction of something a little bit more interesting.
However, on this occasion, Mr Butler was looking for something a little different. He had a few ideas which, sometimes can be good and other times can be a bit of a nightmare. But, although he had a rough idea, he wasn’t sure exactly what to do. After a brief chat and throwing a few thoughts into the melting pot, we both came up with a plan. Pete already knew of this business centre and tried his best to describe it to me, I could tell he was keen, and although I didn’t know the place, I thought it sounded a cool location to do his shoot. When I saw the Keys Business Park, in Cannock, I could see the image in my mind straight away.
I just love working with striking architecture, this place certainly delivered just what was needed. And, for the techie guys (and gals) I used radio controlled off camera flash to give it a little more zing!
Although it doesn’t look cold in these photos, it was actually well below freezing. I had a fleece, a thick coat, woolly hat and gloves (to stop my camera freezing to my hands) and a scarf! Pete on the other hand, braved the arctic conditions with a light weight suit and an open neck shirt. To give an idea, we had to keep breaking for hot drinks inside reception. Crazy.
Well, this is my first post here so if things don’t work straight off then please be patient.
This is my beautiful niece, Becki. We took these portraits in Stafford last summer, firstly in the park and bowling green area, then into the town for some urban style images. Thanks chuck for taking time out to help with this test shoot.
