Saturday 19 March 2011

More Hair

Trying to catch up and blog on everything I've been working on over the past month is hard when busy but I've got a few seconds now...
Last August, I had a great time photographing for my friend Ben at Aveda, you can see the images here. This month I got the opportunity to shoot for him again,
This time he was dying the hair peachy tones with strong cut lines. I suggested a dark forest green for the background to contrast with the peachy tones and I'm glad I did as it worked really well!






I used a soft box high and to directly to the left which lit the hair nicely and also caused those beautiful collarbone shadows! A kick light from the back and to the right gave the highlights to the right of her face and a reflector from below and right to soften any hard shadows caused by the angle of the soft box.
I didn't want to evenly light the hair as there were so many subtle colours and shades to it and I think it's worked out nicely!


Until next time

Miss Rain x

Friday 4 March 2011

Millie Dollar - MORE!

Well Blogsters,

It's been a hectic couple of weeks, along with attending a family funeral I have been working LOTS and hence have a backlog of shoots to share!
Rather than bombard you with all the images at once, I'll do them on a shoot by shoot basis with a little bit of explanation on lighting.
First I'll start with the images from The Vicarage Boutique Hotel that I have been sitting on for a little while. I am so happy with these sets as it has taken me out of a slump I had gotten myself into and starting to actually think about lighting again.
Huge thanks to Tim Miles-Hayler and Millie Dollar for being so patient with me and allowing me to create the images that were buzzing around my head.



For the first two images I wanted to go for a light and bright feel so started off with using the available light. The problem was, I didn't want to compromise on the quality of the image by cranking up the ISO as even at f1.4 we were still getting a slight bit of shake.
So in comes the lighting kit!
I don't think I've mentioned my lighting kit as yet! After developing a love affair for Bowens when working for Calumet Photographic, I knew there was no other lighting that I could have. I plumbed for the Gemini 500 Classic kit with an extra reflector and grid set, as it was a set-up I had used and was comfortable with.
I'm more than happy with my choice and have had no problems so far! *touches wood*

ANYWAY, using the softbox to lift the foreground lighting worked perfectly to light Millie but it threw the background into darkness which even a lot of setting changing could not overcome. The images were starting to look fake and not at all like I had wanted so we added in the second light for fill. I hadn't up until then used a flash without some form of light modifier attached and Tim suggested simply using the reflector directly onto the wall to create a wide dispersion of light. It worked a charm and produced the natural looking images above.



For the second set, Tim took the lead on this one. He had spied the location and wanted to use this more than the others. The window was in quite a tight spot with a bath to one side just out of shot and a toilet the other side. Using one of the Bowens with softbox and me sat on the toilet with a reflector Tim shot away. I used the same set up but adjusting the camera settings slightly to cause the bright, over-exposed window. It was at this point I had wished someone was taking behind the scenes images as I was crouched up under the sink to get the shot!

The infamous outtake now not an outtake!



Tim took the lead in the final room, he went for more of a low-key look using the grid to cause a spot on Millie, throwing a lot of the surroundings into darkness.
I was still chasing on with the lighter theme again with bounced background lighting and softbox on the model. Millie decided it would be a fun shot to swing from the chandelier, Tim was on his toes pulling the background flash out of the way and I snapped! A fluke if ever there were but one of my favourite shots to date.
After being a little worried she had pulled too hard on the light fitting (it was fine) Millie was slightly more sedate for the rest of the set but no less sultry!
We packed down, and I shot the rooms, as that was the agreement for the loan of this beautiful location!
Then we headed home to meet Sali and prepare for the Day of the Dead Shoot!

Keep subscribed!

Miss Rain x

Sunday 13 February 2011

Facepaint and ropework

I recently had the privilege of working with the lovely Millie Dollar again.
During the day, we worked long and hard at the Vicarage Boutique Hotel with it's amazing rooms and wonderfully accommodating staff alongside the amazing Tim Miles-Hayler.
Tim has been bugging me for ages to let him come along to one of my shoots and being totally honest I was holding off because of nervousness! Tim has been a professional for many years and although we jovially rib each other about work and camera choices, I have huge respect for him and his work.

Anyway, the shots from the hotel are under wraps for the moment due to possible publishing but I will share as soon as I'm able :) Until then here's a behind the scenes image.



last minute make-up touches

Now onto the set! Make-up by the ever wonderful Ms Moo!






There were also a couple of behind the scenes pictures of this set too!

 
The make-up in progress, note the glass of red wine...









Although the back was a little messy, I'm really proud of my first attempt at rope work! I was bought a book on decorative rope bondage a couple of years back by a good friend (it was a little bit of an inside joke) and this is the first chance I've had to try anything in it. I might do more in the near future :)
The lighting was fairly straight forward to be honest, softbox and kick light. I think the highlight has given a nice separation from the background and detail on the body.


Until next time!

Miss Rain x

Monday 7 February 2011

Dr Sketchy Nottingham.

I'm proud to say that I've been part of Dr Sketchy Nottingham since the very beginning when I was approached by the beautiful women who brought it here, Charlotte Thomson and Scarlett Daggers.



An exerpt from their website...

Dr Sketchy's Anti Art School is where cabaret meets life drawing. Now in over 110 cities around the world, finally we have a branch in Nottingham, brought to you by local performance and art aficionados Scarlett Daggers and Charlotte Thomson.
Dr Sketchy Nottingham is a 3 hour afternoon event, held every other month in Nottingham city centre. We welcome EVERYONE to come and try their hand at a bit of drawing in a fun, relaxed environment. Professional artists, art students, nervous beginners and 'havent drawn in 30 years' folks, we welcome you all to Dr Sketchy!
You will be treated to the unique opportunity to draw some of the UK (and worlds) best performers and their dazzling costumes, from the world of burlesque, cabaret, drag queens, carnival freaks, fetish divas and any other interesting and curious people we meet along the way! You'll also be entertained by our performers, our DJ playing top tunes from many eras and genres and get to take part in silly drawing compeititons to win drinks and other goodies.
We also hold extra special 'one off' Dr Sketchy events to coincide with festivals, exhibitions and special occassions in Nottingham, in addition to the regular bi-monthly event.

Every time I'm there I have fun watching amazing performers pull feats of contortion for minutes at a time while some of the most talented artists I've ever met capture it on paper. Most likely I'm seen peering over the artists shoulder, getting told off for making the models laugh or crawling on the floor through glitter and pencil shavings to get a better shot.
So dedicated to the Nottingham branch of Dr Sketchy am I that I have even modelled for them! That was an experience!

If you are interested in reading about me waffle on about photography, visit their blog... Dr Sketchy Nottingham Blog

but for now I'll leave you with some of my favourite images from Dr Sketchy events in Nottingham

Amelie Soliel



Sherry Trifle

Snappy O'Shea



Lola Pops
Anna Fur Laxis and lucky winner!
Zara Ridley and the image she chose to win.
Diva Hollywood gets dirty with her chosen winner at the first Dr Sketchy Nottingham!
That's all for now! More news soon x

Monday 3 January 2011

Happy New Year!



Well hello!

After a long absence I will be trying to update this blog more in 2011. A short but sweet entry this time, I would like to share a couple of my favourite images from the past couple of shoots.


Photography - Miss Rain
Model - Aisling Grace
MUA - Ms Moo Make-up
Jewellery - Clutterfly





Photography - Miss Rain






Photography: Miss Rain
Model: Missy Malone



Keep your eyes peeled for more of mine and Ms Moo Make-up's new(ish) venture; Flashes and Lashes! Providing high quality and retro makeover photoshoots to the East-Midlands and beyond.

I hope you have all had a good Christmas and wishing you all the best for the New Year!

Miss Rain x