Book review: DIY Fashion Photoshoot Book

Photoshoot in Brighton 2010 Image by: Nick & Jolekha Shasha

The aspect of Selfie culture I like the most is these days the average person is so much more creative when it comes to taking photos. It's no longer just about standing in front of a building to remember you went somewhere, even if you're not a photographer, photography is an accessible form of creative expression. I'm not on Instagram but I do enjoy taking and starring in photos; especially when there are colourful backdrops involved. A few years back I directed myself in photoshoot just for fun one Saturday afternoon in Brighton (my brother-in-law and sister had the honours of being behind the camera.) This was a random wall we discovered down a random street, which just happened to have half my name on! Sometimes you can't plan for when and where a great photo could take place....but with a little help from this brilliant new book, you can make sure you're prepared for it. 

Aimed at the teenage market this is the book I a) wish I had when I was younger and b) wish I had written! Filled with kooky, crazy pictures and ideas, craft projects and inspiration about creating your own fashion shoots, it's the ultimate book to put to use over the school or college half-term holidays. It's written by We Are Photogirls, an organisation that engages young girls through the media of fashion, style and photography and is run by Emily and Celia who met at art college. Printed on sketchbook style matte paper and with a clean yet quirky design, it's good for flicking through as well as reading page by page.
These are some of my favourite sections. Be warned. After reading, you most likely will want to grab the nearest camera and take some photos!

MANIFESTO

The first page in the book sets the tone. There is no right or wrong in photography, it should be treated as a full-on creative experience without ever feeling intimidated by the professional industry who they point out is all airbrushed anyway. It's a positive message and one you can read over and over again.

IDEAS

Every page in the book has ideas but the one that I remember the most is this - taking a drawing and trying to recreate it just because of this remarkable example - a live installation of what was originally a children's sketch. I absolutely love this concept. 

MAKE-UP

Make-up isn't just about contoured cheekbones and false lashes...I've always been a fan of make-up but for this age group, it's often not explored in the right way. Instead of copying celeb looks as most mainstream magazines talk about, the books looks at make-up in a much more creative way like experimenting with face-painting techniques. 

Craft Projects

There's also an informative section about Art Direction which explains about the visual composition of an image like considering whether it's indoors or outdoors, what backdrops may be needed and if you can't source the props, tips on how to make them yourself. 

ORIGINAL CONCEPTS

It couldn't have been easy deciding which imagery would make it into the book but their choices are spot on. They've selected some seriously cool pictures to provide the visual eye candy. 

INSPIRATION

I love this concept too. Rather than just keeping scrapbooks filed with ideas from magazine clippings they, suggest taking one photo a day of something that grabs your interest. No need for flashy snaps either a quick mobile phone pic does the job. I need to follow this advice myself.

STREET STYLE

Finally they haven't overdone the street style element. They could have filled pages with it but limited themselves to the best street fashion in the world, Japan....oh how I wish I had a rubber duck necklace!

DIY Fashion Shoot Book by We Are Photogirls is out now and is published by Laurence King. 

Oh I do like to be beside the seaside...

Bins of Kolkata

I wasn't expecting to ever publish a blog post about public litter bins, but since Kolkata has a lot of unique 'garbage cans' I thought it was worth a share. 

These images were mainly taken in a particular park but that was only because the light bulb clicked at that moment to capture them. I had previously spotted creative bins around town, particularly in public spaces. 

The jaw shape on this croc isn't the most practical of designs...

Not all the public bins in India are overflowing with litter as one may be led to believe

This one would have been happier stationed at a swimming pool rather than a park

Conclusion? The bins in Kolkata are far superior to the bins we have in London! 

I should point out. Indian fire extinguishers are pretty cool too:

Highlights: Asiana Bridal Show & Catwalk 2014

It's that time of the year again when I get to blog about the Asiana Bridal Show (which took place yesterday). For the initiated it's an annual wedding show aimed at Asian couples and features four catwalk shows during the day featuring the glitziest, most sparkling outfits you'll possibly ever see.

I fell in LOVE with the catwalk as soon as I saw it! I have a thing about lights and the colour red but this combination designed by decor company Maz of Leicester hit the spot and set the theme for a Moulin Rouge-Bollywood-Dhoom 3- Ram Leela inspired extravaganza.

The gorgeous hair for the show was styled by Aamir Naveed who also did my mop, while the make-up was provided by Ambreen and her make-up team. They also had their own catwalk segment, pictured above. Despite the fact I am happy with my current cropped hairdo, it did give me a pang of jealously about having long hair. Still, I've not ruled out having extensions one day! 

I arrived at 8.30am when catwalk rehearsals were underway...

...as was hair and make-up. My first task was to track down, with the help of fellow lifesaver Amna, breakfast for the models. (Yes they do eat crossaints and most amazingly they even eat fried toast...and fruit and healthy stuff like boiled eggs or course!)

Then I got mic-ed up and set to work! My task was to present the official Asiana Bridal Show video, a role I also took up last year. (Was rather sweet that so many members of the public stopped me to say hi as they recognised me, bless them!)
My crew was from Kat Films and together we got through 40 interviews over 4 floors...all whilst wearing heels. OUCH!

It involved stopping by some of the major exhibition stands including make-up artist Ambreen who was demonstrating her skills on some of her previous real life brides.

Like this one. In the photo behind is the bride on her wedding day and here she was again several months later, having the chance to wear her wedding outfit and get her make-up done again!

The catwalks shows were chockablock - and inevitably the entire audience were snapping away throughout!

In true Asiana style, it wasn't just fashion on the runway but some rather chic entertainment too like a hot male fire eater...

...and even hotter models carrying a gorgeous floral canopy. I saw it afterwards back stage, it was made by Flower Escent and it smelt divine as well as looked lovely. 

They also created stunning floral umbrellas too which aren't really captured well on my camera, if I can find a better photo from someone else I'll share later.

Being with a film crew also gave me special access backstage where I was amidst the crazy world of stying, last minute touch-ups and rail upon rail of gorgeous clothes. 

Anisha Vasani, pictured next to me, the Editor of Asiana Wedding Magazine was the Creative Director of the show. She styles incredible fashion shoots, one day I'm going to blog about some of my fave as they really are works of art; her vision for the catwalk was just as mind-blowing. It's great being able to work with such inspiring colleagues. 

The full catwalk line up was:

Kyles Collection
Frontier Raas
Frontier Bazaar
Khushboos's By Chand
Sona's Couture
Bibi London
Ziggi Studio
Ahsan's
Stuush Studio
RDC London
Monga's
Amir Naveed and Ambreen MakeUp Artiste

When the official photos are up on Asiana.TV I'll share the links. In the meantime here's a peek at what happened in a short video by Implausible Blog. Enjoy!
p.s my GORGEOUS dress is from Jones & Jones my fave dress designers!

The Poush Mela in West Bengal

At any given point somewhere in India there is a Mela going on; as I discovered on my recent travels. It's no exaggeration that there was a community celebration going on every single day of my trip from energy companies sponsoring live concerts to religious devotional marquees erected in town centres to kite flying and illustration festivals in parks. In West Bengal, the biggest event of the year is the Durga Puju where the state celebrates a five day holiday. The second biggest celebration (although Christmas in Kolkata is a close tie) is the Poush Mela, held in the region's cultural centre Shantiniketan (which is a three hour train ride away from Kolkata.) It too takes place over Christmas (24th-26th December) and sees thousands of families turn up in their finery to enjoy the following:

Markets 

Essentials like gifts, clothes and toys can to be picked up at bargain prices, including posters of your favourite celebs.

Music 

Poush Mela is known for attracting Bauls; wondering, travelling musicians who entertain visitors with their impromptu folk songs. Once one begins to sing, crowds gather round and it turns into a frenzy of live performances, where you can slip between sets or join in with by showing your appreciation in the form of hand claps. There are also various stages and marquees set up where you can take a seat and get hypnotised by poets and speakers.

Theatre

Performers are everywhere, as are costume clad folk ready to pose for snaps and take your cash (kids especially), but this particular man was happy just scowling at my camera.

Food

Dining, naturally, is big business with catering set up inside tents serving everything from curried crabs to deep fried sweet corn. But if you're more into snacks, street treats are aplenty. My fave, the stall endorsed by Bolly star Sunny Deol.

Crafts 

It's possible to observe and shop for all manner of handicrafts, but not just during the Mela. Shantiniketan is home to hundreds of cottage industries from basketry to illustration - but more on those to come in future blog posts. 

 Games 

You can't have a Mela without a few games. Here's one I didn't see anyone win, which sounds ludicrous as it looks easy but actually was ridiculously difficult. The aim was to  throw a small metal hoop so that it landed directly over a packet of biscuits that you get to keep. Sadly I did not take a packet home with me.

Funfair

By day the traditional fairground looked rather quaint...

... yet by night it had come alive with lights as magnificent as the Blackpool illuminations

The Mela itself was HUGE taking over hectares of land almost becoming its own mini town for three days and nights. Family friendly, cow friendly and filled with colour, it was a great place to spend a day, but it's repetitive nature meant you wouldn't want to spend all three days here, especially when the surrounding area is so interesting. Best to combine it with a trip to visiting the local sights which include a prestigious university campus set up by the legendary Bengali poet Tagore.  

The one thing I'll never forget about Poush Mela was the aisle of bargain stalls where everything cost 10 rupees; the equivalent of 10p. The quality of the products was what you'd find in your local Pound shop but the amusing part was the loudness of the stalls with audio blaring out like a London cockney market stall exclaiming 'dosh taka, dosh taka, dosh taka', and with accompanying voiceovers of a couple discussing the benefits of the rock bottom prices. It was constant, loud and hypnotising and reminded me of the annoying nature of slot machines. Inside each stall sat a shopkeeper, whose ears I can only hope, were filled with plugs. 

Wondering around the Mela was of course thirsty work and thankfully there was fresh sugar cane juice being squeezed all over the site.
Despite its size and brief mention in guidebooks I didn't see a single Western tourist at the Mela, but I did get to experience a real sense of community spirit and happiness. There were all ages at the festival from elderly folk through to kids and all of them were mesmerised by the love and laughter in the air.

The Poush Mela takes places every December in West Bengal, India

Starting the new year on a high

I've just returned from the biggest and most exciting expedition of my life. I took a few weeks off to go travelling; visiting India, Nepal and Bangladesh. Every day was a highlight from riding vintage trams in Kolkata, going for afternoon tea in Darjeeling, embarking on a sunrise boat trip in Pokhara and meeting rickshaw artists in Dhaka.

I have so many tales to share over the coming weeks on my blog and I'm working on a travelogue where Ill be sharing my travel diaries.

In the mean time above is the photo that sums up how I feel about my holiday and how I feel about the coming year. 

I always like to mark the New Year by doing something out of the ordinary.

For January 1st 2014 I decided to take a private jet flight through The Himalayas. It symbolises taking a leap of faith, seeing the world from a new perspective, discovering a new found confidence and reminding myself that I can be whoever I want to be. 

My Birthday Dress

It's my birthday today - so I made a dress to wear for the occasion...

Front of dress

Back of dress

Close up of pocket

Shoulder details

Belt tied at front of dress

Bottom of dress

Side 1 of reversible belt

Side 2 of reversible belt

The dress is extra special as it's the first thing I've ever sewn on an industrial sewing machine. It was a very different experience to the domestic machines I'm used to but by the end of it I was hooked on the speed!

It took me two sessions to cut out and prepare the pieces and three sessions to assemble it. I sewed it on Saturday mornings at HEBA, a women's training and enterprise project who run drop-in sewing sessions on Saturday mornings in Brick Lane where you can get help from the amazing sewing tutor Anjum and can use their space and equipment. 

The gorgeous fabric was bought from this stall at the Knitting & Stitching show in London which I visited in October. The most difficult part of the dress was choosing how to use and match up the patterns on the fabric. With Anjum's assistance I cut it out by picking the areas I wanted to be on the front, back, sides and pockets. It was a bit mind-boggling but this level of effort is what makes my new birthday dress look so designer!

It's just a shame it's made of a soft cotton and my birthday is in December. I think I'm going to get very cold today!