My Week With Christina - By Lauren Phillips

When I first arrived at Christina's studio I found it to be very Professional and clean. On the the first day, we had a meeting in Coventry with One Vision Imaging to discuss different types of frames and glass. Also Christina suggested they tried something different by taking certain elements of one frame and glass and changing it, creating a new product they could sell.

When it came to Wednesday, we had a group of 4 men from a very high end business company. Whilst Christina was photographing the men, I was watching and looking at all the positioning of the lights and where Christina was stood. Overall I think this day was good for me because it showed me how an ordinary day was for Christina. After the photo shoot Christina showed me, on the computer how to edit the photos and make them so that the photos were pleasing to the customer.

Later on that day, Christina took some photos of me and then I got to choose the one I would like processed and edited. Then showing me on Photoshop, Christina would tell me what relevant icons she needed to use to edit them. After she showed me what to do she gave me a little trial run to see if i remembered how she did certain things and for me to just get used to the software and her awesome pen and pad-mouse?

Thursday. Well, we were expecting a client but it turned out that she told us the wrong day, never mind. But the good thing was that the studio was set up ready for me to use with my friend (client) later on. Christina gave me some time to edit and process another photo we took from the day before, which was nice of her. When i was finally finished; bearing in mind that it did take me a long time to get used to the software and remember where everything was stored, I asked Christina for her opinion and she was very impressed with my first actual photo..edited! Phew, I passed!

It was now only 1 Hour away from me photographing my friend, Ella. I was really nervous but excited at the same time because I had never done this sort of thing before. Christina tried a few shots with me just to make sure that the lighting was right, but would soon have to change it as Ella is nearly 6ft! Thankfully Christina let me go outside and take photos so I would get used to the focusing and how heavy the camera was (it was really, really heavy). I came back inside to show Christina my photos. She took out the memory card and then we looked at them on the computer. She told me where the focus point actually was and if it was even in focus at all; which some were not.

Ella has now arrived. I set Ella up in the position I wanted her, but then we had to adjust the lights because of how tall she is. Also, Christina wanted to try something different; having a light flare coming in from one side on an angle, which was interesting.

Christina stayed in the studio just to see the first couple of shots and how they turned out. Now we were left on our own. I directed Ella pretty well I thought, but I bet she would beg to differ. The photo shoot went pretty well, we changed backgrounds and changed clothes and I even got photographed. When we were finally finished, I showed Ella how we edit the photos and she was amazed that all her flaws were gone, not that she had any anyway.

Friday. My last day. I finished off editing the best photos I took on Thursday and I am very proud of myself to have been challenged with something this different to what I'm used to. However, I have enjoyed this experience and hope to keep in touch with Christina and she is a brilliant photographer! I would recommend her to anyone and everyone who needs school photos or portraits, whether it be of themselves, family or friends.

Comments

I am Still Me: A Story about a Transgender Boy

Meet Leo. Leo is 15 and currently going through an epic transformation that has momentarily turned the lives of himself and those around him upside down. A mum who once had the daughter she always longed for is now coping with the realisation that she will be living the rest of her life with a son instead. When your child is born you have certain expectations of the typical life they will lead but most of us know and accept that it won't necessarily end up the way we imagine. Not every person wants to marry, have kids or be involved with the opposite sex. Most of us have come to accept this and can adjust to whatever comes our way relatively easily. But few of us have expected to have to deal with a change in sex. Its not that we've hoped it won't happen, but just that it never occurred to us that it might. This is a new adjustment that we as a society are being presented with today, just like so many others that have come before. When I first heard that Phoebe

Fine Art Portraits of a Beautiful Young Girl

So this is really becoming my thing lately. I am having so much fun working with children individually where I can direct and interact in ways that bring the best out of my subject. This has certainly become a process now of creating rather than taking photographs. And its what I have always wanted to be, a portrait artist rather than a photographer. I cannot put into words fully just how rewarding this is. For each of these shoots (as with nearly all of my shoots) we begin with a consultation where we discuss what we would like to achieve in the shoot. Here we will consider the type of clothing and any possible props. We will look at both the clients clothes and my ever growing collection so we can pick what will work best. In all circumstances we are heavily guided by what the child in the portraits wants to wear as I see this as vitally important. If he or she is uncomfortable its going to show and the portraits won't work. But most are happy to play dressups and wear a com

Family Portraits with Fine Art Flair

I have a love and hate relationship with family portraits. I love the finished piece and creating something that is truly special to the family. I love that in years to come something I made is going to be a cherished and valueable memento for this family. What I struggle with, is getting all members of the group to look their best at exactly the same moment in time. You would be surprised at how difficult this actually is, particularly when it comes to 6 children. But I always get there in the end, whether it is the luck of a moment or with the aid of Photoshop. I ensure that everyone in the portrait is looking their best, even the dog. Seeing as this family is actually made up now of two families we also did portraits in their respective groups which I chose to do in different style to their main group. I love adding a bit of style for the overall main group and what you see above is something that is proving popular with my clients. I love adding props and giving a sort of Vani

Its a Dog's Life

When life gets tough I always look at dogs or my cats and think how lucky they are. I know not all are treated well but those lucky enough to be in a good home, like the ones who come into my studio, have a really great life. They look so happy and its a wonderful thing to see. I honestly love photographing dogs. They are a joy to work with and its almost impossible to produce a bad portrait of a dog which does of course make my life a little easier. I am someone who really needs to love the work I create. I can't help but love the portraits I've created of all the dogs I've photographed over the years. And this shoot was certainly no exception. I found it a real pleasure using a lighter background this time too. I do often gravitate towards darker looks but seeing as this dog had a light coloured coat I thought I'd produce lighter images. This gave me the chance to use a canvas I painted a couple of years ago but never really used and I absolutely love it

My Associate Panel

As I mentioned in my last blog, I achieved my Associateship in Portraiture with the SWPP (Society of Wedding and Portrait Photographers). I just thought I would share with you the panel I submitted. Having sat through the assessment I see that there are a couple of images that I wish I hadn't chosen, more so due to not having enough variety rather than the lack of quality. but overall I am pleased with my submission. I always thought that once I achieved my Associateship I would be done with qualifications. Working towards a Fellowship just seems so unattainable. I don't think I can just sit here not striving towards a goal though. Besides, my husband has already set 5 year plan. So I guess I've not seen the end of qualifications just yet. But don't be expecting any news on this front for quite some time though. A fellowship is on an entirely new level and its going to take a lot of work.

Christina Lauder Portraits

Search This Blog