All parents tend to think their kids are exceptionally photogenic but mostly, this is wishful thinking. However, when I was recently asked to photograph two brothers by their proud mum, I was inclined to agree that despite the inevitable teen insecurities and first-shoot-nerves, both lads were a dream to photograph. Here is “Son #1” – Dominic. I think you’ll agree that he has a real “fashiony” look and model potential.
The last (as in final) FOTO-CLUB workshop at Strangetown Studio was a fashion shoot featuring the beautiful Bethany Reynolds, a young model I’d wanted to work with for some time. I think it’s safe to say that it was a successful evening with everyone walking away with a selection of tremendous images.
Here is a quick selection of images that I took during the evening (all shot on my Nikon DSLR)…
The recent “Strangetown Booster” shoot that I ran through FOTO-CLUB gave a small group of photographers the opportunity to photograph four models in my Strangetown Studio and around the Telsen building in which it’s based.
I was more than happy to have an excuse to bring back the gloriously beautiful Charlotte “Lottie” Locke for the event and as it was mid-summer, the light evening meant that we were able to use both natural window-light, studio flash, and ambient light (augmented with our own LED lighting) elsewhere in the building.
Always an utter delight to work with, Lottie managed to cover everything from classic high-key beauty to grungey urban rock-chick in a single evening. Note to self: Book her again soon!
I’m very proud to announce that I will be opening a second studio later in March which will be called Strangetown Studio and will provide an alternative shooting space for my bigger shoots (especially where more headroom is required) and workshops but will also be my first foray into studio hire since I left the Regent Parade Fotofilia premises a couple of years ago.
The studio is on the third floor of the wondrously industrial 1930’s Telsen building in Aston, Birmingham which is already home to several photography studios including River Studio, owned by my good friend, the top photographer Richard Battye.
Strangetown will be nowhere as big as some of the others but will provide hourly hires (minimum of 3 hours) for just £15/hour. It will feature everything you would expect of a professional photography studio but in addition, the building has a host of nicely grungy corridors, stairwells and old gated lifts that I’ve used for shoots in the past and can be used by Strangetown hirers too.
I was introduced to the building by Richard a couple of years ago when he moved in and I’ve been visiting regularly since as the band I play in – also called Telsen – have a rehearsal room there. Here are a couple of shots I took in the Telsen building about 18 months ago…
Savannah in the Telsen lift.
Ryan in one of the stairwells.
Ryan in one of the many corridors
I’ll post the website/booking details as soon as I have a moving-in date from the landlord (they’re sorting the electrics as I write).
I always look forward to my seasonal shoots for brilliant local designer “She by Sophie“. And there’s no better way to forget that it’s a cold February day in Birmingham than spending much of it photographing the beautiful Alex Shanks in Sophie’s swimwear collection.
I’ve been working with the wondrous Sasha quite a bit of late, mainly shooting fashion for a clothing brand. Once the “white background” studio shots are in the can we grab a few more “natural” semi-editorial shots either inside the building (when the weather is iffy) or in the surrounding streets of Birmingham‘s Jewellery Quarter (when the weather is good). This little sample were shot using a mixture of daylight and a little splash of fill from my trusty (& cheap) Yong Nuo speedlites.
And finally, as the sun started to get lower in the sky, I chanced my arm with some contre-jour shots with the flash again popping some light into the shadows (mainly on Sasha’s face).
Here are a few more images from my recent studio shoot with the exquisite Sasha. I have so many shots, you may be seeing a lot more!
Sasha by David Rann, 2016
It might interest photographers to note that I didn’t use flash on one single image from this shoot. Instead, I used just the modelling light and my 50mm f1.4 Nikon lens open to about f2.2. I think this is the first time I’ve done a whole shoot just using the continuous lighting but it won’t be the last. In fact I’m going to continue using just the modelling light until… well, until I get bored of just using the modelling lights. All of the shots are using one or two lights plus a reflector, cunningly propped up using a very Heath-Robinson contraption of my own devising.
Sasha by David Rann, 2016
