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Dynamic Jen added to the composite wall
Another photoshop manipulation gets added to the Composites picture wall. This time it features sometime DJ and model Dynamic Jen. In all there are 4 of these images, playing on her sassy attitude. 
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Thandie - a taste of things to come
I worked with Thandie a few months ago, primarily shooting for a site that has since closed down. Rather fortunate for us as the images have come back to me and I can start to work with them again.
What I like about this portrait is its natural elements. I've made no effort to attack the image with photoshop beyond a simple colour correction. And for that you get to see the textures and shadows working on her skin, a lot like the work I did with Agnes. Those imperfections, to my mind, is what makes this portrait interesting. 
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Agnes - naturally perfect
Agnes was a joy to photograph. You have to bear in mind that she'd never been photographed in her underwear, so this was a new experience for her. Of course it didn't help that the studio was freezing cold - and turning on the butane heater gave me a headache within 5 seconds!!!!
That's not what matters about this image though. A friend saw the lingerie shots and decided she was absolutely beautiful. Not an issue. But then he asked why I hadn't photoshopped the scar out.
Frankly it never occurred to me to do it.
Which then got me thinking....
As I'd photographed her she'd seemed unaware of the scar - it was simply a part of her. And as I aim to photography my models and subjects as they are it didn't strike me as something to remove from the shot post production, or get her to hide it as we worked together.
Which made me question why I, as a photographer and near-whiz on Photoshop, would even consider doing it. I've worked with guys and girls with acne, scars, dodgy stubble, the works, and I would never consider removing something I didn't like. Yes, I'll lighten a shot or adjust the contrast or whatever, but wholesale photoshopping "imperfections" out is not something that I'd do.
In turn I suspect this makes it clearer about the type of photography I do. I am a recorder, someone whose aim is to record for prosperity, rather than someone who creates "art" in its manipulated form. 
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How not to shoot TFCD
Yet another example of models on self-destruct mode....
I received an eMail, totally out of the blue, from an "up and coming model" and asking to do a TFCD shoot with me. For those who do not know, TFCD is short-hand for "time for CD" - in other words you give me a couple of hours of your time and in return I'll give you a CD with the shots on it for use in your portfolio. It's an industry version of mutual back-scratching.
Not something I usually do, but I was intrigued.
The conditions that came attached caught my eye, First was the requirement for a CD to be burnt with the images on it before she left the studio. My preference would have been to take the images way, worked on a few to bring them up to scratch and then hand the CD over. But fair enough, she said she'd had a bad experience before (whether a photographer hadn't delivered or it had gone AWOL in the post wasn't clear).
Second was the fee. She wanted x amount of pounds per hour to shoot.
At which point it all comes to a grinding halt.
The whole idea of TFCD is you - the model - trade your time for images to use in your portfolio. If you want to be paid you'll be paid and the images will be mine. But unless you're willing to work with an amateur photographer I don't know many - if any - serious photographers who would shoot TFCD AND hand over cash.
Models, if you are going to shoot TFCD do not expect to be paid. You're getting valuable time from a photographer to add to your portfolio. Insist on payment and you're likely to end up with a bad reputation and shooting with amateurs.
Photographers, don't pay for models who offer to shoot TFCD. Your time is precious as well. But do ensure you send the CD to the model promptly after the shoot.
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Before the storm
The heat brought on a thunderstorm like one I hadn't experienced in a long time. I knew it was coming, I always get a headache that gets me right in the sinuses before the thunder starts. Even more telling was the way the clouds gathered.
Quite often I take photographs of the sky. Blue skies in summer, storm clouds in the winter. But I really cannot remember seeing clouds like these before.
They gathered over London, seeming to mark out those parts of the city that would be subjected to the torrents of rain and violence of the lightening. I just sat at the open patio doors and watched and waited... 
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Jessy - portraits from the east
My meeting with Jessy was meant as a commercial shoot for a friend's website. A couple of days before, however, I got a call to say it wasn't needed anymore.
Which left me in a bit of a bind.
I didn't want to cancel the model, a willing volunteer plucked from Craigslist, so I decided to cover the fee myself and shoot anyway. What came out of it were a series of portraits that were more intimate and sensual than I'd planned. Helped, of course, by the natural attractiveness of my model.
The full set are available to view here. 
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Protect your technology
So much of our lives is held on portable digital devices. These wonders of modern technology give us access to our eMail, to our bank accounts, to the inner workings of the companies that employ us. They make our lives easy, keeping track of meetings, of things we have to do, of where we are in the world.
And yet they also make our lives vulnerable.
How easy is it to leave a mobile phone on a table at a restaurant, only to find it go missing? Or a Blackberry that we forget on a train? Or to find out pocket has been picked when we go for our iPod Touch? Suddenly our lives are no longer our own as the miscreants who find them or take them know who our friends are, where we're going, how to access our finances.
Of course you should be vigilant and careful. You should be careful when you take your new Nokia Smartphone out in public. You should use the wrist strap when you make a call or take it out of your pocket. And don't walk around with it in your hand, showing it off.
Not that vigilance will always work. The security features on your life must be enabled, from PINs to encryption. Turn off Bluetooth if you don't need it. If you must keep your passwords on your PDD use an application that encrypts them - and deletes them if need be. Don't "autosave" passwords and usernames.
Remember that your life is on the PDD. It isn't just the nuisance of losing your mobile or your Blackberry - its what some little sod can do with what's on it you should be concerned with. 
Royalty free image from my photography website
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Midday Morning - strong guitars and harmonies
Midday Morning - added to the talented london project
Midday Morning are the latest band to be added to the "Talented London" project I've been working on for the past year.
The shoot took place in North London, starting off in the flat-cum-rehearsal room, then moving off onto the streets. It was dark. It was damned freezing. It was awkward as I only had half the lighting I usually carry.
Never mind though, we knuckled down to some hard work and with a little imagination and some prompting managed to come up with a small selection of shots. You can see the full gallery on Hallimages.com 
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