Chicago (the Musical) Inspired Portraits

Every now and again I like to do some portraits for personal growth. I use this time to try new things and to just have fun in the studio. Ashleigh is one of my daughter's dance teachers and someone who helped me come up with posing ideas for Kenzie when she modeled for me on the Bowens stand at the Photography Show back in March. So I thought why not invite Ashleigh in to do some dance portraits for her. And this is what we came up with.

Ashleigh not only teaches but still performs regularly and is currently preparing for this season's Panto down south. So when it came to her portraits we wanted something that both suited her style and would lend itself well to something a little dramatic. The first thing that came to mind for Ashleigh was Chicago. So some searching online for inspiration and this is where it got us.

My vision involved black and white, high contrast, spot lights and smoke. Seeing as it was my first time using smoke pellets I have to say I am quite pleased with the results and I will definitely be using them again. It did however make the studio rather smoky and meant we needed to take a short break to let the smoke clear a little before carrying on. In fact it probably took several hours in order to clear completely. But what a difference the smoke made. I love it.

In the image above I'm reminded of a smoky jazz club and I must say it was exactly the look I was going for. We were initially unsure about adding the hat but again I feel it works so well. It really seemed to help Ashleigh get into character for her role in these portraits.

As usual, when I have someone in who says they play guitar I have to suggest they bring it in for some photos. I love the look a guitar of any sort adds to the images and this one was beautiful. Dark wood has such an appeal to me so this one was perfect.

I choose to keep these portraits in colour, partly to due to my love of dark wood and partly to keep these separate from the Chicago style images.

As I've said so many times before, variety really is the spice of life. This session gave me just what I needed and I hope to do many more that challenge me as this session has. If you've been after something a bit different please do get in touch. The possibilities are endless and who knows what wonderful work we can come up with.

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

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.

My Blossoming Romance with a Fine Young Fuji, the X-T2

I was once torn between a 10 year love affair with my Canon and a blossoming romance with a newly acquired pre-production model of the Fujifilm X-T2. After posting my initial thoughts on the X-T2 I decided to give it a proper go, leaving the Canon sitting in the drawer, rather than shooting with both throughout sessions. It was scary at first but after just a few more weeks playing around with my new toy I can honestly say I've found a clear winner. The Fuji has the edge over the Canon in ways that leaves the Canon rather unappealing. Returning to it provides no thrill or excitement which is not how I want to feel when picking up a camera. My Canon 5D MKIII is solid and reliable I'll admit. Its been everything I needed since I bought it. I began with the MK I and upgraded to the MKIII. I thought I'd want nothing else but a Canon. I thought I'd stick with it right to the very end. It had everything I needed and could ever need. Or so I thought. I'd been hearin

My Fellowship in Child Portraiture, Baby Photographer of the Year and All Things Convention Related

Its been a very busy year for me. Hence the reason I've not been keeping this blog up to date. That's about to change though. I anticipate this coming year to be even busier but I plan on getting a lot more organised and keeping on top of things like this. For now though I'd like to tell you all about last week. I keep trying to think of some words to describe this past week and I keep coming back to 'I had the time of my life' and breaking into song in my head. Apart from when my daughter was born I haven't had a better time in my life. This week was spent at the Societies Convention where in excess of 14 thousand photographers from around the world meet to take part in print competitions, submit qualification panels and join in on various classes and events. The week began as one of the most stressful of my life. I've never felt nerves like it. I'd just spent the best part of a year planning and preparing my 20 image panel to present to 5

Christina Lauder Portraits

Search This Blog