Anger, Tears and Headshots...

Sunday 12th saw my 3rd shoot in 3 days.  This one however was more of a personal nature than the 2 previous.  This one was to capture my head-shots for 'Spotlight' and present a range of emotions for my acting work.  My photographer of choice for this project was Paul Silver... A friend I have worked with numerous times and who knew I would not only feel completely comfortable baring my soul with but a photographer I knew who would also capture it at it's most beautiful. so first things first... Those damn head-shots!

I did a variation of 'hair up' and hair down shots in order to give myself a range of options when marketing myself.  The standard mean n moody expressionless shots were pretty quick to capture.  The subtle smile shots however proved a different matter entirely... With Paul eventually shooting me several times with his £4 Nerf gun! Y'know what... Worked a treat! LOL! :oD Below are some of the results.

Next up was the section I expected to be hardest... The grief shot! Not so... Seems I could detach and get into character quite quickly and Paul captured a series of shots that although painful to look at are stunning to behold for a true snapshot of human pain.  I am personally very proud of these and am pleased to say I switched back to normal instantly.

I say instantly... Though I went a little further than that. Pulling of a series of happy shots which were quite the contrast and following through to explore further emotions such as anger, curiosity, lust and determination amongst others.

Click here to see all the photos from the shoot :)

Aside of being a thoroughly enjoyable shoot which is always the case when working with Paul it was also one of the most difficult and intense projects I have undertaken, given the drain on myself emotionally. I don't go easy when getting in character that's for sure.  But it is without question one of my most favourite collections of photo's I've ever produced, which not only tested me as a model but stretched me as an actor and left me with no doubt that there is far far more within me to explore.  I truly look forward to sharing my innermost self through both modelling and acting as I continue forward in my career.

Thank you again to the legend that is Paul Silver who I highly recommend you commission for work.  His results speak for themselves and always enable me to be captured at my best :)

If you go down to the woods today...

Saturday 10th March found me back in Winchester some 18 months after first visiting to shoot with the awesome Gary Holmes. First time round we got some beautiful images so I was very much looking forward to working with him again in his chosen woodland location as before. During the shoot I certainly had a few vivid moments of de-ja-vu it has to be said with flashbacks from this beautiful and fitting location! :)

We had a list of desired shots to work through and started with shooting stunning scenic underwear shots for the delightful Adam Davies of 'Dead Good Undies'. We worked our way through a few pieces of select underwear and captured a few beautiful shots to do the brands justice.

Next up I had a couple of ideas I wanted to explore... The first being 'Chameleon', where I was not to be the focus of the picture, but simply an element that was part of a beautifully captured scene.  My intention was to appear very secondary in the image... That I was there and my presence important but simply because I complemented the landscpe and not to dominate it.  I feel we captured some fantastic results.

Secondly... 'Action', Instead of just posing I wanted to capture movement... Something natural and beautiful again set against the intensity of this magical location. This I feel was the most difficult of the three to perfect but I think we got some interesting results that have certainly set me thinking for a future shoot.

As ever Gary was wonderful and pleasant to work with and though 18 months had passed it felt like we'd shot together just the day previous.  Always a good sign of a natural and strong working relationship.  I'm looking forward to shooting with Gary again in May with new locations and ideas to indulge...

And now for something completely different...

Friday 9th March... The highly prominent day in my calendar this year! The day I had put lots of planning and forethought into! The day I got to work with a photographer who's work I've admired since first starting out in the industry. The day I found myself in a photography studio in Brighton! YES... This was the day I finally got to work with the legendary John Farrar and I was excited at the prospect! :oD Added to that and the fact John only really shoots female models, I was also highly privileged to be working with him on this project - Thank you John :)


The shoot came about when I approached him in January about a potential shoot... I was delighted when John said though he didn't really shoot males he would be happy to if we came up with some worthwhile ideas. So we set about throwing a few concepts together and finding a make-up artist/body-painter to collaborate with on the project. After much jiggery-a-do and a long story short... Enter the talented and inspirational Adam- Thomas Bane.

I threw some concepts and themes at Adam and we decided on one that was pretty conclusive, would do the project justice on the day and lent itself to a variety of interpretations after Adam had thrown his own unique input and ideas to mix. With a shopping list that consisted of a suit, ties, paint, clockwork cogs and drawing pins... This was not to be your average shoot! - Though one I finally managed to keep my clothes on for may I note! LOL Added to that... Much banter, dry humour and laughs between the 3 of us made an 11hr day with 3 concepts shot actually end far too quickly and leave us with many more ideas to explore next time.

So please enjoy and digest the fruits of our labour so far.... (More tasty photo's will be added as processed)

Thank you to both John and Adam for their time and talents on a project that stands firm in the memory. I look forward to working with you both again very soon... It was a complete pleasure and enjoyable experience with lots of fun and final images I know we will all treasure for years to come :)

A shave and nod to a bygone era...

Sunday 26th February saw the arrival of a shoot I had been looking forward to since it's bizarre conception one night in January. Oddly on reflection.... I was clean shaving my beard one night and did what I'm sure many of us have at one point in our life.  Shaved a moustache to see how it looked and have a bit of a laugh at myself. Surprisingly it didn't look too bad but did change my look completely and I thought... It would be well cool to do a shoot that made me look so different to normal. It then came to me... I'd always wanted to do Film Noir type images and that look would suit it perfectly. Having been fortunate to work with many photographers during my career I immediately called Paul Silver as I knew his style would suit  my concept and vision perfectly. He immediately said YES he'd love to do it and a date was set. Then I called Hair and Make-up extraordinaire Jean Rhema who with over 40 years in the industry I knew would be the only person up to this task of creating exquisite hairstyles and period make-up. Next I confirmed a female model whom I thought would fit the role perfectly and then set about to find suitable costumes and... Errr... Location ;) - LOL! - Thanks Paul you certainly delivered on the location! Kudos!

The initial inspiration! LOL

The venue confirmed was the wonderful 'Big Strawberry' veggie cafe in Hanley who taking gestures to a whole other level, opened especially for us and even provided catering! -  BIG THANKS to the wonderful Charli for her kindness and hospitality. Then 2 days prior to the shoot, disaster hit... The female model had to withdraw from the project due to personal circumstances and I found myself without a leading lady! DISASTER! 2 days out, everything in place after weeks of planning and suddenly it looked like the project was going to fall apart as quickly as it was conceived. After a momentary pause in time whilst the news digested I remained calm and racked my brains. I needed a model... But not just any model. I know many fabulous models but not with the particular look I was after for this.... Especially one who might not only be available at such short notice but would also  be able to find a suitable wardrobe and accessories too. I went through my phone and saw a name that made me stop and think... I just wonder.  So I contacted her and she was interested... BUT was not free that day, which I'd had to expect.  But Wait... There's more... She said I may be in luck and indeed I was! The charismatic, beautiful and perfect girl for this shoot 'Victoria Roelake', casually said... It's ok I can change my plans and have lots of suitable attire for it... Are there any accessories you'd like me to bring too? I was stunned and blown away by her attitude, commitment and compassion to this project so late in the day. WOW! Now that is what you call a friend! Suddenly it was all back on and I couldn't be more excited again.


The 26th came and myself, Victoria and Jean met at Paul's house where we had drinks, I shaved, we packed equipment and headed off to out chosen location.  It was perfect... Very retro with lots of interesting elements both inside and out for us to indulge. Not to mention the highlight of the day... A recently vacated room that had a New York Skyline. OMG... How perfect! You know when some things just feel meant... This shoot was feeling just that.  Against all odds everything was suddenly perfect! The venue... The Team... The costumes... The Female Lead and the host! We set about getting ready with hair make-up and costumes whilst Paul set up equipment. Then suddenly we realised something was missing... A soundtrack! Something to swing the shoot along in the right manner and get us all going. Then again as if fate would have it... I remembered a CD I'd bought on a whim just a week previous that I'd not even listened to... Hugh Laurie's 'Let Them Talk'. It was perfect! - And highly recommend too! LOL


My vision for this shoot was to not imitate the era but pay homage to it, a nod to it if you will.  I certainly didn't want a bunch of stock type looking images either that were clearly contemporary.  I wanted something believable... As though the shots had been lifted from a film of it's time or it's promo.  Not obviously posed... Just candid with a natural charm and integrity. It was also important to me that each photo said something different... Set a different mood... A different tone... A different look... Even a different genre. I wanted a mixture of styles and tones from that period... Romantic, gangster, comedy, tender, sensual, the list goes on. Thank you to the efforts of all involved and particularly the amazing Paul Silver, we got them and MORE! MUCH MORE!  We shot for 2 hours and got a wealth of beautiful imagery that I am personally very proud of and am delighted to share with you.  Please take a look at the selected images below and be sure to click the link and visit the gallery of this shoot which is being continually updated as fast as poor Paul can process them.

Click here to see more...

Thank you again to everyone who made this day such a success and a very fond memory, in particular Victoria Roelake without whom it would not of happened at all... You are a natural star and true friend. Thank you x