Eliza- Fashion & Architecture Project:
This was a project I started in 2008 to work with London & UK designers with a specific style & look in their collections. I wanted to tie in my love of brutalist, post modern architecture and my influences from John Swannell & Helmut Newton. This particular photo was taken for PongGurl Couture on the walkway above Moorgate underground station in the City of London, but due to redevelopment of the area it is no longer there, so its an original as far as I know. From a photography stand point this location was perfect, at that time of day the direct sunlight was obscured by the buildings so the soft evening light would bounce off the concrete and windows opposite creating a soft yet still quite contrasty backlight on the subject. As with the rest of the project, I wanted to have an almost Helmut Netwon-esque theme through out but not to be the primary focus of the image. The light & architecture was my starting point, the fashion element was almost secondary.
Claire- Fashion & Architecture Project:
At this stage the Fashion & Architecture project was starting to attraction attention from other creatives and requests to shoot came in from time to time. I still wanted to stick to the tailored styling and femme fatale look of my subjects so I had Lady Bellia, a well known London illustrator & makeup artist sit for me on this occasion. With it being February, being outside for long periods of time was not a good idea, plus the biting cold was starting to show in the photos. We eventually moved inside which gave a different perspective to the photos as the space was so much tighter than the long architectural shots I had been taken earlier. The enclosed space forced me to concentrate on the light streaming in through the windows as there wasn't much of it being February in England, and a portrait style of shooting. Looking back was just what was needed to mix thing sup a bit.
Emily- Fashion & Architecture Project:
Continuing with the Fashion & Architecture project, I decided to branch out to creatives working in London. On this occasion I was shooting actors so I had Emily sit for me. She had the perfect facial structure that I was looking for and being an actress could switch off any emotion shown in her portrait. The light that day was mostly dappled, overcast and flat. For most of the morning we were just warming up and shooting wide architectural shots but after about an hour the sun started to burn away the clouds and harsh sunlight started streaming through the clouds. I was holding my 50mm prime in my hand as this started to happen so immediately turned her away from the light and exposed for the shadows giving that slight highlight on the side of her face, giving a nice rim light. I was shooting wide open so the fall of of the focus is really soft and adds to the image as its quite stern as it is.