Impromptu Collaboration Part 02

So, the next day, I ventured back to the location for the shoot. Once there, I met with Tom, and the model, Nancy Harry, who was really great fun to shoot with. I've wanted to work with her before, mostly due to the fact that she's fairly tattoo'd. She's one of those models who really just gets-on-with-it, and just does what you ask, without complaining of being cold, dirty tired, etc, she was really great, we all had a good laugh, and there was a genuinely relaxed but energetic vibe for the shoot, which put everyone at ease.


We basically had 2 different locations, one was a multi-story car park, and one was an underground loading bay for a shop above. Tom's proper job, when he's not running-around filthy holes taking photographs, is a graphic designer, and the multi-story car park was actually a small part of a larger project that he was working-on redesigning so we had the whole place to ourselves. The other location, the underground loading bay, was truly one of the grungiest places I've ever shot at. It was one of those places where you walk in and you think, "Actually, am I 100% percent sure I've had all my hepatitis injections? What about Tetanus?" It really was on the trampy side of derelict. You know the kind of place with that wonderfully rich and distinct aroma of cider-fueled piss?


It was only while really shooting together that I realised just how different our styles were. Although we both lean towards the alt / fetish side of things, and kinda steer-away from straight-up glamour, our actual shooting techniques were completely different. Tom was mostly available light, chiaroscuro etc, spending most of his time with long shutters on a tripod. I, on the other hand, work mostly on punching the subject with flash, and getting (frankly) invasively close to the model with a wide-angle lens. I found it really interesting to see us both working in such completely different styles, and of course, afterwards, seeing two completely different sets of resulting images. It really was an eye-opener. Obviously, I can enjoy the privileged position of having produced the vastly superior images, but Tom's weren't too bad either. He's not bad, you know, bless his cotton socks, he's coming along...

Here's a few of the images I shot:

Most of these were shot with a very similar set-up. I was using a single SB600 speedlight off-camera, with a warming gel and a honeycomb grid, with radio triggers. The idea was to warm-up the subject, with a fairly harsh and focused light (speedlight manually set to zoom), then slightly under-expose the background, with the White Balance set to create a cooler ambient light. In some situations I was also able to use any available light sources as a rim light. There was a certain amount of experimentation on this shoot, and I'm pretty happy with the results. I'm also pleased with the various individual elements that make-up the images, i.e. - a tattooed model, grungy locations, bright colours, wide angles and under-exposed backgrounds - all of which are things I find visually pleasing in my own photography and other peoples.

We have more plans to collaborate in the future, with the aim of producing something between us, and we're definitely looking at getting together again in the near future. Interestingly, the next one could be  a really significant step-forward for the both of us. This time, the model was working TF and it was all a bit last minute. However, the plan is for the next shoot to have a much more collaborative foundation, involving hair and MUA, and maybe hiring-out a location for a day. So with a bit of luck, we'll both have something really special for our portfolios in the near future.


So, as the cool kids would say, watch this space etc etc.

Impromptu Collaboration Part 1

Yeah, so, I've talked before about the advantages of being on FaceBook, and here is another example of that. I really do believe that it offers us opportunities to engage with people we might not otherwise get the chance to meet, and recently, that's exactly what happened to me.

There's this local photographer called Tom, actually he's more of a digital artist, but he also does some photography. Basically, he commented on one of the pictures I put up on FaceBook, and so that made me want to look at his profile and have a look at his stuff. I liked what he was doing, so that led me to commenting back. Basically, over the period of a couple of months or so, we were just commenting and messaging back-and-forth, you know, offering support / critique, ideas, locations, that sort of thing. One of the biggest things that we had in common was that we were both at similar stages in our photography, and we both had similar goals for the near future. But maybe most importantly, we both had a the same kind of open attitude, meaning that he would gladly share any information or knowledge that he had with me, and vice-versa - there was absolutely no pretentiousness.

After a while, we just thought, you know, lets go for it, lets actually get our asses in gear, sort something out, get it together, and produce something. As it turns-out, he already had a shoot lined-up for the end of the week, which was 3 or 4 days away. We hadn't actually met 'in real life' at this point, so the day before the shoot, we met at the location, in Newport. We thought we'd just meet-up, have a bit of a chat, and see if we thought we could work together, plus discuss plans for the actual shoot. So I made my way over to Newport, of course, the closer I got, the less sunny it became, slowly sucking any joy and warmth out of the weather. Welcome to the wonderful, glorious city of Newport. Ah well...

Tom and I actually got on really well, which was a bit of a bonus. I mean, at first there was that thought in the back of my mind, "Hmmm...so you've decided to meet a complete stranger you met on the Internet, in a disused car park? Smart. Maybe just make-out a quick will before you leave home, as you probably won't make it back " you know? Fortunately, he didn't even try to murder / rape me, which was lovely. Bonus!

So we pretty-much just kinda chatted for a few hours, and it quickly became quite clear that he was a lot more technically proficient then I am (in just about every aspect conceivable!) but, despite that, we were both at very similar stages of our photography, and we both wanted to achieve similar things in the near future. We talked about the layout of the shoot, and any ideas we had, then went back home.

That's it for this post, but I will be following-up on this story in the near future about the actual shoot. The point of this post was to show what came out of a chance encounter on FaceBook, an encounter which will hopefully lead to some great photography, but in the very least, led to me meeting an interesting and artistic contemporary.

By The Way, You're Supposed to Enjoy It...

I'm not sure if this is going to sound stupidly obvious or obviously stupid, but it seems to me like a lot of photographers need reminding - You're Supposed To Enjoy It."

A lot of photographers get into photography almost by accident - someone gives them a camera, they take some pictures, they don't stop, they (eventually) turn pro - that kind of thing. I don't have a problem with that, I think thats great, I love the idea that some event or person nudges you in a certain direction, and then some innate un-tapped passion just takes over, and consumes you. That is a true joy. Wonderful!

However, I don't want to sound patronising, and I'm (very much) aware of the fact that I'm not exactly a seasoned pro, but vast swathes of the articles I read on photography are constantly focusing (yeah that's right, I'm punnerific, puntacular, and puntastic) on the negative aspects of photography. To be completely honest, some of it seems to be boardering on fear-mongering. And I just find that kinda strange...


I'm aware of the uncomfortable-yet-true, cold, hard facts. For example, yes, it is a completely saturated market, yes, its difficult to make a lot of money from it, yes professionals are under-fire from amateurs / Flikr. But lets not forget, some photographers really do make a veritable shit-load of money from photography! Whilst doing something they love. I understand that just because you enjoy it, that doesn't guarantee success or money, but I'm not entirely convinced that the people who make money from it could do so without enjoying it, or at least having some passion for it. Yes they have to work hard, but I honestly beleive that nothing drives you harder than passion and desire. Actually, that last sentance is sounds like an Alfa Romeo advert, but, you know what I mean.


Personally, I liked tattoos before I liked photography. I would go to tattoo conventions with my girlfriend, and whilst there I would snap away at all the stuff going-on. Before long, I saved for my first DSLR (Nikon D60), and started getting creative and experimenting. I then realised that what I was really shooting wasn't the tattoos, it was the people. So I followed that thread, and started shooting portraiture. Now, my preferred area of portraiture is latex, fetish, and...drum roll...tattoo! So its kinda come full-circle for me. Lovely.


Anyway, my point is, don't forget to enjoy it. Even if the commercial side of things bores you, set yourself projects for your free time, shoot the stuff you want to shoot, then build-up a portfolio that will get you the kind of jobs you really want to shoot. Get that fire on-the-go, get excited, be inspired!

Easy! Right? Well, obviously there will be complications and compromises, and I don't want to sound like I live in some dream-land where all your wishes come true and elephants can fly, and spanners can drive cars, and Jeremy Kyle contestans are culled, but there's nothing wrong with aiming high, and being a bit of an idealist. 2 or 3 of my tattoos are essentially indelible notes from a younger, more idealist self. The fact that they'll be there forever means that I'll forever be constantly reminded of the passion (there's that 'Alfa' word again!) I had when I was younger. I don't think thats a bad idea, and I think that approach can be used to drive (another 'Alfa' word) your photography forward.

Anyway, thats enough tenuous puns and metaphors for now, just remember what got you started, and why you enjoyed it so much, and go from there.