Finest Fashion at Embassy Club

Fashion meets music tour, Embassy Club
Bianca Bast at the Fashion meets music tour, Embassy Club

Hot on the heels (sorry for the pun :-)) of the fashion show at the Funky Buddha club came the second leg (not sorry for that on :-)) of the tour. This time at the Embassy Club and featuring two different designers, Cushh Clothing and Bianca Bast.

This time I was significantly better prepared and I was working on the assumption that come the time of the show, the club would turn off all their lights again. Sure enough, they did. One of the lessons I’d learned at the previous show was a single speedlite was definitely not going to do the job for me whether on camera or off. I’m really glad I made that assumption too because this place was like a cave. A very trendy, fashionable and up market cave, but a cave nevertheless.

This time I was determined not to be beaten and only walk away with a handful of images. The goal was at least one image, suitable for submission of each outfit.

So, what did I do differently?

Continue reading Finest Fashion at Embassy Club »

The Lady and the Tramp

Lady and the Tramp
Lady and the Tramp

The Lady and the Tramp was a really fun project to do. I can’t claim credit for the idea though, that must go to the lovely Leanna, the model in this image. The brief was to shoot two images, one with her dressed as a Lady and the other with her as a Tramp, then merge the two together in PhotoShop.

With a little thought, preparation and patience it’s actually very easy to achieve although we weren’t without our difficulties on the day. Most of them environmental funnily enough. Continue reading The Lady and the Tramp »

Funky Buddha kicked my backside

Working a nightclub fashion show was always going to be a challenge. Let’s face it, they’re not the sort of place that is renowned for brightly lit runways and clean white backgrounds. Quite the opposite in fact. The three I’ve worked in recently were dark. Very, very dark. When the show started, they all turned what little lights they had on way down.

E.g. The shot at the top of this page from the Agnes Valentine set at Funky Buddha was a full three stops darker during the show than the rehearsal (second image).
Continue reading Funky Buddha kicked my backside »

The beauty of soft, natural light

Alana - Soft, natural light
Alana - Soft, natural light
Alana - Soft, natural light
Alana - Soft, natural light

You don’t always need flash to create stunning portraits. Believe it or not, the images contained in this post were shot using nothing but natural light. No flash. No reflectors or other modifiers. Just beautiful, soft, natural light.

So, where do you find it? Soft light is all around us. You just need to know where to look for it.

Continue reading The beauty of soft, natural light »