It’s always a challenge to keep things fresh and new in Gavin’s small home studio and sometimes that means taking it back to basics. The difference between just a small movement in the light can be really marked.
The flooring is our old recently replaced decking (up-cycling at it’s best) I think it really adds to the mood for this shoot with the awesome Sophie Daly, model and make up artist extraordinaire.
In this video Gavin changes the softbox and shows the dramatic differences. What’s the best shot? Well, that’s totally up to you.
There’s just one week to go until The Photography Show 2019 opens its doors at the N.E.C. in Birmingham, UK. Running from the 16th – 19th March, it’s the UK’s biggest and busiest photography show around 30,000 photographers, both professional and amateur, will be attending and I’ll be there for all four days.
It’s a great mix of booths from photographic businesses big and small but this isn’t just another trade show, there’s also loads of things to see and do. There’s a constant stream of free demos and talks on various live stages and that’s on top of all the smaller demos on many of the booths dotted around the show.
I’ll be there giving various free talks and demos on portrait lighting (with Meg Biffin as my model) and my consistent colour workflow, so if you’re coming along it would be great to meet you.
Saturday 16th March
10.30 am
PiXAPRO E91
Lighting kit that won’t quit ( Live Demo)
12.15 pm
Color Confidence C91
Consistent colour in three easy steps (Talk)
2.00 pm
Wedding & Portrait Stage
Small is beautiful (Live Demo)
3.30 pm
PiXAPRO E91
Portraits with character (Demo)
Sunday 17th March
10.30 am
PiXAPRO E91
Lighting kit that won’t quit ( Live Demo)
12.00 pm
Photo Live Stage
Concept portrait on a tiny budget (Live Demo
1.45 pm
Color Confidence C91
Consistent colour in three easy steps (Talk)
3.30 pm
PiXAPRO E91
Portraits with character (Demo)
Monday 18th March
10.30 am
PiXAPRO E91
Lighting kit that won’t quit ( Live Demo)
1.45 pm
Color Confidence C91
Consistent colour in three easy steps (Talk)
3.30 pm
PiXAPRO E91
Portraits with character (Demo)
Tuesday 19th March
10.30 am
PiXAPRO E91
Lighting kit that won’t quit ( Live Demo)
1.45 pm
Color Confidence C91
Consistent colour in three easy steps (Talk)
3.00 pm
PiXAPRO E91
Portraits with character (Demo)
All my demos are free and available on a first come first served basis.
Show tickets are free for professional photographers and the trade, £14.95 for enthusiasts (if booked in advance)
Ticket discount code: SPKTPS19
Gives 20% off standard adult tickets. This can’t be used in conjunction with any other offer, including concession, multi-day and group discounts. Applies to new bookings only and expires on 13 March 2019.[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rH021yRQmXY[/youtube]
Incorporating windows into your photo’s can look amazing if you know how. In this video Gavin shows three ways to create very different images.
We shot at a beautiful manor house in Rowfant, West Sussex. The location is stunning but on the day we were there (a January winter day) it was icy cold.
Jade Lyon, our wonderful 1920’s style model, was a total star and never complained about the cold. She also styled herself, including her accessories. While Sophie Daly, our fabulous make up artist, and myself were bundled up with coats and scarves, poor Jade and Gavin shared a heater and a hot water bottle between takes!
After having a recce at the amazing Rowfant House we knew that a Tudor style theme would work really well.
It also gave me a great excuse to hire a costume from a nearby theatre costume hire place based in the grounds at The Chequer Mead Theatre. The ladies running the place were super helpful and loved the prints I gave them when I returned the outfit.
To make the headpiece I used an off cut of velvet fabric and the cardboard box my kitchen knives came in! Adding the lace and pearls really made it look the part, thank goodness for the glue gun! I also added a length of elastic which helped keep a good shape once it was in place.
As you can see it’s not always glamorous to be a model! The dress was far too large so we adjusted the fit using clamps (a studio must have). Our fabulous model Jade is also carrying a hot water bottle (the gray thing she’s holding) as it was very cold inside the manor house. Jade was a trooper and never complained about the cold, bless her.
It’s easier than you may imagine to turn your shooting space in to a circus! We got the amazing Brian in the studio to show how to create something so eye catching and different.
The background was just a huge length of white fabric that I masked off in stripes and painted with red acrylic paint. It was a very messy job which I tackled outside. I made 4 long length because we ran a workshop and needed more than 1.
If you go to the trouble of making your own circus background, you might want to check out this video of another way of using it.
Sam here and we’re back with another Secret shoot!!! If you don’t know what that is let me explain. I arrange a shoot that Gavin knows nothing about, he will just turn up to shoot. No planning, no research, a real challenge, as he is someone who is organised and likes to plan as much as possible beforehand.
I booked a unique cinema in a shepherds hut in Chichester called The Picture Palace
The venue had been recommended to me by one of our photographer workshop attendees Andrew. In fact he helped out on the day, just so happens we both managed to stay mostly out of shot!
I booked Fern as our model, I knew she would be perfect for a sassy vintage screen goddess look. She totally got it straight away. I thoroughly enjoyed getting the outfit together, it’s the little touches that can really matter. By the way that dress is amazing, perks of the job as I wore it Christmas day! (didn’t look quite the same with a pinny on too….)
Gavin had to get his creative mind working fast to bag some awesome shots before our booked time slot was up. The space was very limited and with gear (remember we also have all the video gear too) and the seats in place the challenge was very real. I loved the shots, they were what I had imagined and more.
Check out the video here. [youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUJvQ54v2z4[/youtube]
As well as a load of video tutorial photo shoots we’ve also had some great location workshops this year. I have everything crossed that we have some more amazing places to see next year as well as working with the most fantastic bunch of people both sides of the camera!
Here’s just a few highlights of 2018.
Shooting in Gloucester prison was cold but fascinating. Thanks to Olympus UK we got to spend a few hours there with some very willing inmates!
We packed up the Faded Circus workshop for the last time in September. It’s been great fun working with our brilliant team on this the last 2 years. I’m sure the props and costumes with be repurposed and upcycled for future shoots as we have rather a lot now!
Gods Own Junkyard in Walthamstow was a eclectic neon palace! We had a great time here with Olympus and a select bunch of people who were quick enough to bag a place. Working for the first time with the most awesome Meg Biffin who brought her unique look and wicked sense of style to this shoot.
This year has sped past at a rapid rate. It’s been an awesome year for photography. We’ve been to some amazing places and worked and met with some fantastic people. Here’s just a few highlights.
We shot 3 video’s in this series. A from start to finish step by step. The weather was ‘interesting’ on the day, the crew were made of stern stuff and we all enjoyed a proper Italian hot chocolate in the studio after we finished shooting!
This was a fun shoot with Liam, who we have known forever! Great shots as he got totally in character (and added some comic clips too).
It’s always a blast when If-E comes to visit. We put the world to rights with copious amounts of tea and shoot some wicked photos!
It’s always a challenge to keep things fresh and new in Gavin’s small home studio and sometimes that means taking it back to basics. The difference between just a small movement in the light can be really marked.
