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...

Halloween in Gotham City

I recently had the chance the star in my ultimate fantasy photoshoot... so I opted for living out my fantasy to the extreme..being Batgirl for the night.
I was contacted by Ian Macaulay, earlier this year, his hobby is photographing Redheads.
He finds them in all sorts of places, on the street, word of mouth, through friends or online like how me stumbled on my scarlet locks!
We met up for a tea in town and immediately I knew that this was my chance to get on my Batgirl gear and tackle some criminals.
We discussed various options, from me with a motorbike (or Batbike) to standing on the top of a tall building but in the end this alley way off Oxford Street with the BT Tower in the background was the chosen spot.
The photoshoot took place at midnight, in cold wet conditions, beside a drain so it was all very Gotham City like.
I developed a whole new appreciation for models doing this shoot as I had to keep completely still for the lighting to work and was in agony kneeling down!
Firstly Ian photographed me, and then his assistant lit up each wall in order to get the comic book style colouring. I was blown away by their creativity and commitment to making my dream shoot become real.
For me the other challenge was finding my outfit, rather than the classic purple and yellow Batgirl I opted for the darker femme fatale...a tight pvc bodysuit and I made gauntlets and a cape to match.
Not sure what I am going to do with my portrait yet. Ian suggested I blow it up and cover a wall in my flat like a proper poster girl!
But think I'll just share it here for now!
You can see Ian's other Redhead photoshoots here - www.ianshootsredheads.com.
And if you're a Redhead and fancy being photographed, get in touch with him!

Happy Halloween

Sundays were made for afternoon tea

For my birthday last year my sister promised to treat me to an afternoon tea in a posh hotel, so today we donned on our glad rags and headed to the Athenaeum in Mayfair. It was a tough choice but I settled for 'Bingo Blueberry' as my tea of choice for the afternoon.

Of course the highlight of the experience was the cake trolley!

Knowing where to start was the problem......

Rather interestingly, it was a very crafty hotel, intricate papercrafts were on display throughout including this paper dress once worn by Kate Moss

I guess this is what happens to the broken teacups, they end up in mosaics

There was a fabulous array of mirrors on display too, I wanted to take this one home

My sister preferred the mirror edges with London buses

But in the end she also had her eye on my favourite one

We started with a selection of finger sandwiches, followed by scones with homemade preserves, moved onto the cakes and finished with crumpets and teacakes. Highly recommended, though next time I will be putting on my own tea party. Anyone fancy coming to mine?