With the current restrictions on getting out and about, I reckon it was a good time to share some of Gavin’s creative video’s. Some of the items you may have at home, some things may make you think outside the box to create! Hopefully there’s will give you some hints and a prod to get up and try something new!
If you use any of the tips and ideas, we’d love to see the results! Tag Gavin in on any of his social media pages. Most importantly stay home, stay safe 🙂
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]
When Kerry said she was available for a shoot, even though it was only August, we knew it should be a Halloween shoot. Not sure why but most of the models, make up artists and quite a lot of photographers love this theme!
Despite the scary look, this was such a fun shoot. Also the first time I’ve had to clear up blood drops and splatters from the studio walls and floor, thank goodness all fake!!
[youtube]https://youtu.be/ScVEJfBzOJ4[/youtube]
As you’ll see in the video, the blood used was tried out first. The one used for the closest skin contact, especially on the bandages close to Kerry’s eye, was homemade. I used a mix of runny honey, a little cornflour and some red food colour gel. As it was edible and Kerry likes honey!
We started working with make up artists several years ago for our portrait shoots. It really opened our eyes to how much make up can change the look of your shots.
Some themes and styled shoots can benefit dramatically from the services of a good make up artist. In this video Gavin takes shots firstly with a quick make up coverage and then repeats the shoot after a more stylised make up look has been applied.
Our model, Beth Smith and make up artist, Sophie Daly help to show the difference achieved. Gavin gives hints and tips on how to get the most from working with a great make up artist.
It’s always fun when we get IF-E in the studio and this video was no exception. Gavin likes to push the boundaries and overcome the limitations of working in the same small space and this was another cracking example.
Some great lighting and obviously the smoke machine provide the right vibe for IF-E to bang out some lyrics and attitude (he’s great at that!).
The set up started with just one light progressing through to adding further lights for a variety of looks. The addition of smoke gives a different mood to the shots, as the smoke moves and dissipates the look changes.
This is the first of a new series where I take you behind the scenes on one of my shoots. You get to come along for the ride as I plan the shoot, do the shoot and edit the photos.
The theme for the first “Plan It, Shoot It, Edit” is Vintage Explorer.
Plan It It all starts with an idea, then there’s the preparation and planning. A location has to be found, props need making and finally there’s a test shoot to do. Of course not everything goes to plan, as you’ll see.
Shoot It Now for the fun bit… the shoot itself. The weather was cold, so I decided to get some banker shots in my studio before heading out on location. Sometimes you just get lucky and on the way home I stop off to shoot against a spectacular sunset.
Edit Here’s where the photos come alive. Adding colour and contrast is all that most of the shots needed but if you want to shoot wide shots and light the model with a softbox, there’s bound to be a bit of Photoshop needed.
Colour can really make an image pop and catch the eye and that’s something I wanted to experiment with in my small home studio. Using some colour themed props can help give the photo’s a high fashion feel and also gives your model something to use in poses. Make up can play an important part in creating the atmosphere, especially for close shots.
In this video we look at how punchy using one strong colour can be. Don’t think that you’ll need awhole rainbow of backdrops either!
Going to prison isn’t something I’d ever want to do. But going to a decommissioned prison and having exclusive access to all areas is my sort of event.
Gloucester prison is an incredible location to visit. Its last residents left 5 years ago but luckily Brianand P-J came along to play the part of prison inmates for the day. The cold, small cells with peeling paint may have looked grim but photographically they were perfect and both models really got into character.
Being a winter workshop and with small windows in the cells, we needed extra light to create mood and atmosphere in the photos. The photographers on the workshop got to work with some excellent continuous light courtesy of Rotolight Aeos LED panels and the small but powerful Pixapro Pika200 flashes.
Of course you need more then a great location, great models and great light to take great photos and luckily we also had a great group of photographers. I loved watching them take my original idea and turn it into something unique. It’s not often you get to take part in a shoot like this, so it was wonderful to see so many photographers making the most of the opportunity.
The whole thing was organised by Olympus UK and was open to users of any camera, not just Olympus users. For details of their upcoming workshops check out the Olympus Image Space events page.
Our big summer workshop is becoming something of an annual event. This years theme was “The Faded Circus” which we held at Square One Studio in Surrey on two dates in July and August. Steve, the studio owner, allowed us to take over both his studio areas and even gave us rare access to his barn for that authentic circus feel.
We were joined by 12 photographers for each date and two amazing models, Beth Smith and Brian Mansi. In order to keep the groups small and the shooting time high, I once again roped in the help of Tommy Reynolds as a group leader who did a brilliant job passing on his ideas and passion.
We’ll be running this workshop again in April 2018 (exact date TBA). Register your interest here
For the morning sessions Beth took on the roll of a show girl. We had the whole of the main studio to play with and set up various areas for Beth to sell popcorn, brave the knife throwing board and even had a little back stage area.
Brian became the circus ring master and carnival carnie. Being outside in the barn meant we could put straw on the floor and had room behind for some creative back lighting and LOTS of smoke.
After lunch it was all change. Beth was in the second studio which we’d set up as a fortune-teller’s tent. Ouija boards, crystal ball and even a little bit of fire added to the shoot. For the second shoot, we made time at the end to bring Beth and Brian together. It was a bit of a bun fight for the photographers but brilliant fun.
Who doesn’t love a clown? Well lots of us don’t and Brian played that hand to perfection. Miserable, angry and at times a little bit scary, it’s exactly what the faded circus theme was all about.
There’s nothing more frustrating to me than seeing a workshop organiser shooting photos for themselves at the expense of the attendees. As a result I only took a few shots. Fortunately, the photographers who joined us took thousands of photos and below are a few that I’ve been sent so far.
