Twenty-eleven

2011 has been a great year. I've met and had the honour of collaborating with and getting to know some truly wonderful people, graduated, gone past milestones I never thought I'd have the confidence to do and produced work I can honestly say I'm proud of. The last thing I want this to sound like is one big gloat, but it has meant a huge deal to me to finally end a year on a high note and be proud and happy with my accomplishments in my photography as I usually end up hating every piece of work I've produced by the time the year is up!

Ansel Adams once said that "12 significant photographs in any one year is a good crop". Now I'm sure my favourites wouldn't exactly count as significant in his eyes, but here are what I'd consider to be my 5 most significant shoots (12 would just bore you all to tears!)


FOG: For me, this is more than just a picture - it's a memory. There are no woods to describe how much fun Graham and I had going out to shoot this early in the morning in front of bemused onlookers!


ROKIT: I think this is the first shoot where I first truly felt my photography had a place in a commercial sense. It was a wonderful combination of styling, location and great creatives and overall great fun!


ELLA: My first agency test was a massive milestone for me, not only in terms of my career as a photographer but also in terms of my personal development - it gave me a much-needed confidence boost and a jumping-off point into a new chapter of my career.


KATIE: Various photo days this year have enabled me to get to know so many wonderful souls, including the lovely Katie. Words cannot express how much I've loved and appreciated being able to meet up with like-minded people, so here's to a 2012 full of continued collaborations!


TO BE REVEALED: This 3-day shoot for a jewellers was a huge challenge for me but one I'm incredibly appreciative of - an opportunity to develop my commercial portfolio and retouching skills also. I can't share a lot at the moment but as soon as I can I'll be releasing the pictures in a two-parter blog post!

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So here we are, the end of the year. I've decided to take a little break from shooting at the beginning of 2012 to catch up on my retouching and have a good think about my goals for the year, so keep your eyes peeled for a steady stream of new pictures coming your way!

Wishing you all a 2012 full of happiness, prosperity and beautiful pictures, and finally a giant thank you for taking the time to follow my work!

Fog

A few weekends back, I woke up to find the most beautiful fog I'd ever seen outside my bedroom window, so the most natural thing to do was to grab a bag of clothes, my camera and tripod, head on over to the nearest lake and wade into it for the sake of my portfolio, haha!

What's the most bizarre or silliest thing you've ever done for your own photography, self portrait or otherwise? I'd love to know!






And some good old behind the scenes shots thanks to Graham!

Jaymie

Two weeks back I collaborated with Siobhan again on a test with the gorgeous Jaymie. I've absolutely fallen in love with her look and am dying to work with her again on some editorial work so expect to see a lot more of her face in the future!

Model: Jaymie @ Leni's
MUA: Siobhan Drew
Styling: Myself







And finally, BTS shots featuring a ridiculously tame squirrel which we couldn't resist photographing!

Collaboration with Katie Eleanor

Just over two weeks ago a shoot came about that I've been dying to do for months - a collaboration with the crazy talented Katie Eleanor. The shoot came about remarkably quickly as we split the tasks of organising it: Katie organised the model and make up artist, I sorted out the styling and we both chose the location together; and as a result before we knew it we were shooting away with the gorgeous Francesca!

Model: Francesca @ Bookings
MUA: Siobhan Drew
Styling: Myself
Assistant: Lily Fulvio-Mason









And finally, here are some BTS pictures courtesy of the lovely Lily!

Katie

A few portraits of the beautiful Katie, taken a few weeks back on a wonderful day spent in London catching up. We also met up last Friday to collaborate on a shoot with a model so keep your eyes peeled for a new editorial on its way soon!

Amber

A few weeks ago the lovely Amber came over to my house for a good old catch up (and of course, to take pictures too!), and although the weather turned out to be not-so-great we still went home with full camera cards and smiles on our faces. I hope you like the results!

Ellis

In September I met up with the gorgeous Ellie for our annual catch up and shoot. We've known each other for years, and ever since I started out in photography we've been meeting up every year for a shoot at the end of each summer. She was my first proper model, and the way my shoots with her enable me to see how my style is changing year-by-year fascinates me.

This is also one of the first shoots I've had with my new lens, the Canon 135mm f2 L, and I must say I am very impressed with the results and it's performed exactly how I wanted it to: cutting my model out of the background with ease whilst keeping their body sharp. I'm in love!