I get to meet my daughter tomorrow and I won't lie, I'm absolutely fucking terrified.

I'm not scared of becoming a mother, or of the pain that comes along with it. I'm not scared of the change it's going to have on my life or my body.

I have a crippling medical phobia, it's not just needles, it's everything from the curtains to the uniforms to the lighting that bothers me, the smells, the sounds, the whole environment. I really wanted to have her at home but I've been strongly advised against it by my consultants and so I'm booked in for a C-section first thing tomorrow morning. 

I have quite a few underlying health conditions and pregnancy has been far from easy for me, I've been under the care of multiple consultants and a wonderful midwife from the one to one team that has been so supportive of both my physical issues and my problems with medical environments. Because of these combined issues I'll be out under a general anesthetic when she's actually born and I'm ok with that.  A lot of people have expressed opinions on this (rarely positive) but I'm a big believer in knowing yourself and sticking to whats best for you. I've found throughout pregnancy other people seem to find it hard to keep their opinions (and their hands) to themselves. If you're one of those types, just stop it yeah?

I've really not enjoyed being pregnant, the list of ailments and complications that I've had is pretty long and almost each week brought some new unpleasant side effect, diagnosis or medication. Yesterday on of my teeth fell out.  I've spent a lot of time at the hospital, had a lot of tests, scans and treatments and I'm really glad that it's over now.  I feel very ready for the next part to start.

Aside from the physical effects of this past year and growing a human, it's been a little tricky with work. I had to let go of a fair few jobs from pretty early on because I just wasn't well enough and that's been hard, being self employed and trying to take care of myself and her as she's been growing.  I do feel to an extent that I've let some people down this year but you constantly get told that you need to rest and take care of yourself, which seems so easy if you're employed in a regular job with a regular payslip and regular benefits. I'm not sure how single people do this.

If you follow me on Instagram (@shelley_richmond_) you'll know that I've also had a huge renovation project going on this year after a complicated purchase and massive flood just as we were exchanging contracts. It's been really really hard going, we've worked every single day on restoring this property to it's former glory. We still have rooms that are untouched (as illustrated above) but we also now have heat, light and power, a shower, some semblance of a kitchen and more importantly a roof, whereas we've spent most of the year without these things. We've worked so hard and so fast for her. For this little person that we don't even know yet.

One day I'll tell her all about it and show her all the pictures, I'l tell her about how we wore wooly hats inside because it was freezing cold and cooked on a camping stove for months. I'll tell her about how we had to fill the bath up with a hosepipe that came up through the floorboards. I'll tell her about how her dad fell through the ceiling in her room that I'd just spent two weeks fixing and how every single piece of wooden panelling had to be removed and painstaikingly treated for mould and woodworm. I'll tell her about the pipes that randomly exploded in the middle of the night and turned the dining room into a waterfall and I'll tell her that we did it all for her so that she could grow up somewhere beautiful that feels like home.

I'll be taking a short break from shooting anything work wise but I'll be booking things back into my diary from mid March so do get in touch if you'd like to work with me on any projects in 2019, I may just be a little slower at replying to emails for a while...

Shelley

x

 

Around a year ago I was contacted by a lovely lady called Laura who told me all about her idea for a new model & casting agency specifically set up to represent disabled people and to address the lack of representation of disability in the fashion and wider media industry.

I instantly knew that I wanted to be a pat of this as it seemed like such a wonderful and positive idea. 

The first casting day that I worked on with Laura and her business partner Zoe was such fun, it was fast paced and I got to meet some really inspiring people (and their families), one young lady that really stood out to me was Sara (below). Such a beautiful and sweet girl and boy does the camera love her! I knew that she would go on to great things and she really has, with some pretty major campaigns under her belt in her first year of modeling. One of the images we shot that day even made the cover of Possibility Magazine

I've pretty much lost count of how many lovely faces I've shot for Zebedee Management now, but every project I work on with them is always such a pleasure and it's so wonderful to see the industry embracing them and recognising the talent that they represent. There's a long, long way to go in terms of changing societal standards of beauty and normality but it is starting to happen. Laura & Zoe have been overwhelmed by applications to the agency once word of what they had started spread and one of the most phenomenal things is seeing the likes of Sara inspiring her peers and spreading her confidence and strength to others. They've inspired me no end, especially as I have three health conditions that are technically classed as disabilities.

In the past I'd always seen that word as a negative, with the focus being on what people associated with that word couldn't do. Now I hear it a little differently, now I hear about what people can do in spite of disability...

"There is no greater disability in society, than the inability to see a person as more" - Robert M. Hensel

Back in January I ran my last Day Dusk Dark Workshop with fellow photographer and good friend Jamie Sia, this was our last joint workshop for a while, though we may run the day again in the south at the end of the year.

We had a lovely day at the LightSpace Leeds Studio in Meanwood and shared our knowledge with a great bunch of photographers. Here's a few of my images from the day...

TEAM CREDITS

Models: Katie Altoft, Sarah, James & Beth of Zebedee Management + Beths lovely real life husband!

Hair: Emily Hawkes 

Make Up: Amy George

Sarah's Dress: Luna Organics

Flowers: Leafy Couture

Styling: Pamella Dunn

For a long time I've wanted to shoot portraits inspired by some female icons like Frida Kahlo, Joni Mitchell and Vivienne Westwood and this is the first in the series with the wonderful Julia Jeckell hair and make up artist. Thanks to Anna of Swallows & Damsons flower shop for the incredible blooms and our beautiful model Asha of Boss model Management who couldn't have fitted the brief more perfectly...

HMUA: Jenn Edwards & Co | Model: Laura Urbano | Styling: Natasha Lyons | Clothing: One Hundred Stars/ Kate Beaumont Wedding Dresses/ Asos | Accessories: Tilly Thomas Lux

I was recently invited to write an article for Exposed Magazine about the importance of good band photography, in case you missed it, here's the full piece...

"I’ve been working as a professional photographer for 5 years or so, over the years I’ve shot all sorts of stuff from editorials for magazines and PR for local brands to weddings and private parties. I’ve also photographed a lot of bands and musicians, mainly contracted by magazines, promoters or venues, rarely the band themselves. Alongside this I do a little design work for venues hosting gigs, creating posters and flyers for their events. Nine out of ten times I’m given images to use in the design process that are so low quality they are frankly unusable.

So, musicians, we need to talk about photography. About why you should invest in it and why a screengrab or download from Facebook is just not good enough…

Your band is awesome, you know it, and your supporters know it. You sound great, you look great on stage live, you’re booking gigs and in your media pack the images you supply are low res phone shots of your last gig, pulled off your facebook page. You are letting yourself down.

You’re not presenting the best image of yourselves possible, literally. Present polished, well styled high resolution images that you’d be proud to see promoted online and blown up in print, you don’t want to look like an 8 bit rendered human (unless that’s the look you’re really after).

We all live our lives through images, we consume them daily in vast quantities through social media; these images sell your service, your music and the experience you’re providing. These images are your brand. Think about your favourite brands, what is it that draws you to them? I guarantee a part of it is the imagery they use; the way that they present themselves.

The good news is this: It’s a lot less expensive than you think, an investment of a few hundred quid (divided by all your band mates = bargain) can give you a set of images that will make your PR kit stand out, make your social media look super awesome, consistent and well styled plus (with proper licenses) get you featured on blogs and in lovely magazines like this one!

After you’ve got yourself a set of lovely PR images you might want to think about investing a little more, like booking a pro to shoot an upcoming gig.  When I work for venues they generally have a rule of “1^st three songs” in which time we have to shoot all the images that we need for the client to represent that gig. The good news is that means professional gig photographers work fast and can get you some awesome images in a tiny timeframe (9 minute job anyone?!) meaning costs aren’t astronomical to book a pro to shoot a gig for you.  These images are valuable content for your website, blog and social media and are highly versatile assets. Content is king when it comes to marketing and these photos are a powerful and versatile form of content when it comes to self-promotion.

Finally, investing in professional images shows folk that you are serious about what you’re doing, if you don’t invest in yourself it’s hard to see why anyone else should…"

 

 

 

Fancy a shoot? Get in touch www.shelleyrichmond.co.uk

 

Model: Lily Gaskell | Florals: Kesali Flower Studio | HMUA: Jenn & Helena of Jenn Edwards & Co

Rachel is a flower grower from Sheffield, based on a beautiful farm on the edge of the city she grows all manner of British blooms for various occasions. You can buy them by the bucket full, freshly cut from her greenhouse and flower field. I took a trip up to the farm on a late summer afternoon to grab some shots of the field and its produce for Rachel's new website (coming soon!) and social media presence.

I adore shooting for local independent businesses in and around Sheffield and I offer a special affordable package, if you're interested in booking please do get in touch via my contact page

(NSFW)

HMUA: Jenn Edwards & Co

Model: Hannah Lamare |

HMUA: Jenn Edwards & Co |

Model: Ivy Watson |

Styling: Natasha Lyons |

Gowns: Kate Beaumont |

Florals: Swallows & Damsons |

HMUA: Jenn Edwards & Co |

 

Models: Katie Altoft & Izzy Grace Rose Lindley |

Florals & Botanical design: Campbells Flowers |

HMUA: Jenn Edwards & Co |

Wardrobe: ASOS & River Island |

I'm currently pushing myself to create more documentary and editorial work and yesterday I spotted an opportunity...

Yesterday evening I went along to a campaign rally in North Sheffield where Jeremy Corbyns campaign bus was calling in on the Shirecliffe Community Centre. The atmosphere was wonderful and I met some really interesting folk. I decided to take a series of portraits while I was there, I want to show the diversity of the supporters that came out to cheer and wave, the people that the campaign is built for. The many, not the few...

Model: Priscilla

Hair: Jenn Edwards

MUA: Natalie Manlove

Wardrobe: River Island

Model: Keira @Jadore

HMUA: Julia Jeckell

Styling: Amanda Vickers

 

Model | Sofia

Hair | Jenn Edwards

MUA | Natalie Manlove

Wardrobe | ASOS

Model | Ellie Pawlett

HMUA | Elizabeth Daisy

Wardrobe | ASOS // Topshop

Model | Laura Urbano @Boss Model Management

HMUA | Julia Jeckell

 

Model | Megan Lindop

HMUA | Elizabeth Daisy

 

Model | Elle @Boss model Management

HMUA | Julia Jeckell

Florals | Campbells Flowers

Cheeky little test shoot with Julia Jeckell

Models: Izzy @ Boss Model Management & Sadie Straw

Headpieces: Imogen's Imagination

 

Today is World Mental Health Day. 

Mental Health issues need to be talked about more honestly and openly, but it's hard often for people to feel able to talk about them for fear of being judged. That's not to say that people will openly judge those with mental illness but more often people will subconsciously alter their perceptions of them. I believe that the majority of people are generally understanding and kind and do their best to help when friends or family are suffering with mental health problems but often there is a mixture of shame or embarrassment on the part of the person suffering and those around them may find avoidance the easiest route for coping.

Why am I blogging about this...

Early this summer I had a breakdown. I haven't spoken about this to many people, it came on very quickly, seemingly from nowhere but now that I look back I see what was maybe contributing to it. For a couple of months I didn't actually recognise myself. My concentration was completely gone, my vision was blurry, it took me days to edit sets of images that would have previously taken an hour. I forgot things, not just things like what I went upstairs for but where I was, where I was going,  I would forget that I'd done things and go to do them again, announce I was going to work when I'd only got home an hour ago. I have epilepsy and I started to have absences again, petit mal seizures, because of the stress. My emotions where all over the place. I couldn't face going to places that I loved going to previously. I had huge amounts of anxiety and I basically wanted to give up on pretty much everything.

I wanted to write about this because I think it can be particuarly hard for people who are self employed, it's hard enough having to work when you are physically ill, there's no support, no sick pay, no one to fill in for you when you feel like shit. So you pull yourself up and get on with it, pockets stuffed with tissues and a bag full of pills and potions. When you have mental health problems, you feel you can't talk about it for fear that people will think you can no longer do your job, that you are no longer capable.  It's hard in this industry, people expect you to be strong, to be confident, to have all the answers, to be on top of everything, to be an awesome business person and to share all the beautiful stuff that you create. When you can't even face going to the post office it's tricky to keep up that projection.

It's alright to feel low, it's alright to not have a reason. I was so annoyed with myself this summer because I thought I had no justification. My business is going well, I have a really good life, a lovely husband, a beautiful house and some really great friends. No one died, nothing terrible happened to me, but I still developed mental health problems. Anyone can, anyone.  Just like anyone can fall over and break their arm.

I wanted to write about this because I'm feeling much better now, and I wanted to share what has helped me. I took a little time off from any work that I didn't NEED to do. (The hardest part was admitting that there were a lot of things that I didn't need to do) Most of the pressure on me was placed there by myself. I let go a little. I saw a doctor. I spent time outside with friends. I traveled with my husband and I cleared out my home of all the clutter I'd been holding on to. I spoke to people, I asked for help. Time spent looking after yourself is not time wasted. My business wasn't damaged by taking time off, I didn't fall out of the loop like I thought I would, I didn't forget how to ride the proverbial bicycle just because I put it in the garage for a few months...

If this resonates with you, talk to someone, take time, take whatever you need to feel better. You'll come out of it stronger, promise

Shelley

x

 

Recently work has been getting on top of me and exacerbating some health issues, so I decided to take a break, I'm rebalancing my life a little and reshuffling my priorities. For a while I need life, fun and happiness to come first rather than endless work so I'm cutting back a little for the next couple of months. I'll still be honoring all my commitments (don't worry) but for the rest of the summer I'm going to prioritise my own happiness...

I spent this past weekend with my husband and a lovely bunch of friends, new and old, at Wilderness Festival and I had a wonderful time and I just want to say thanks, you've helped me more than you'll know by just being yourselves, being kind, being fun and being there...

Model: Lucy Eckersley

HMUA: Jenn Edwards

Venue: Yellow Arches

Styling: Felicity Hoy

Florals: Moss & Clover

Lots and lots of people have asked me over the past few months about the co-working, shared studio space that I've set up in Sheffield City Centre with two friends (Felicity & Ellie). Light Space Collective was founded late last summer and came about after a conversation with a Felicity who ran a large co working business in the city who wanted to start a smaller space with like minded people who worked in and around the same industry. It can get very lonely being self employed, working on your own, often from home, and you might not see anyone during the week, especially if you live alone and you're just starting out with your business.

I was lonely. I had a small space in a creative building, but it was very much a closed door sort of place, you'd see others in the corridor on a morning and last thing in the afternoon but apart from that you were still working alone.

So I was very much up for starting a new space with other creatives and I am so glad I did. It has changed my working life completely, I regularly collaborate with the other people that share the space, sometimes completely spontaneously. So much more than that however, it's genuinely changed my life, my mindset, my happiness levels... I get excited about coming into work now, honestly. I can't wait to see everyone on a Monday and hear about how their weekends were and to see the beautiful work that they are creating. I can't remember how I worked without this support network, without someone there to help word a tricky email, without someone bounce ideas off, without someone sat next to me who understands exactly all the little things that crop up in our business that can drive us completely crazy. So I want to tell you all how you can do it. It really is a lot easier than you think...

1) Find your tribe

It doesn't have to be big, we started with 3 directors. You need 3 to be able to set up a Social Enterprise, which we chose to do. At the start it was me and my friend (a wedding planner) and we brought in another photographer friend as our 3rd Director. Make sure you chose people you trust, who have a similar work ethic and drive to you, but most of all make sure you love spending time with them.

2) Find your space

We looked around for a couple of weeks for a space and viewed a few but we quickly found the ideal spot that we knew we could transform. Contact local commercial landlords, walk around the area you want to set up in, look up, look for those to let signs. Look out for buildings or offices that have been empty for a long time. Our spot had been empty for 7 years which meant we were able to negotiate a really good deal. Remember, rent is not set in stone, landlords would like empty spaces filling and will sometimes do a business rates only deal because empty properties are costing them money. If you set up as a Social Enterprise or CIC (Community Interest Company) you are much more likely to be able to get a good deal. You can also try contacting the local Council to find appropriate empty spaces.

(below image by Ellie Grace Photography)

3) Who do you want to be?

Deciding on your spaces name/ ethos and intent is really important, do you want to make money from renting desks or is it more important to you to have affordable spaces for new business owners to rent? One of the reasons we chose to set up as a Social Enterprise was so that we could access funding to be able to run workshops and offer support to others. Before becoming a photographer I worked in the arts and one of my main focuses over the years was on providing free activities, workshops and inspiration for young people. Felicity came from a similar community minded background and had been accessing various funding streams for some time so we had a good pool of combined knowledge on how to go about all of this and we knew right from the start that this is the direction we wanted to take.

4) Check your numbers

Work out how many people you need to bring in to share the space to cover the rent and bills, and to make any profit, if you want it to be a profit making business. We applied for our first pot of funding at this point and each of the directors invested a small amount (£1000 ish) to set up/ decorate and furnish the space so that it would be a place that we knew we wanted to spend hours working in. If you decide to go down the SE/ CIC route funding is available to you but you have to make it count, you have to offer back to the community something of value, our initial grant came from the National Lottery Awards for All scheme and you can find out more about the scheme and how you can apply here. To get a grant application in quickly we set up our business account with Credit Union, which is the quickest way to set up a business account.

5) Get out there

Build your website and social media, use your networks to find others that may like to come on board, tell people about what you're doing. You'll be amazed at how much interest and support you get.

6) Get in there

Start working! One of the things that has changed the most for me is that I don't work until 1am any more. I come in at 10am and usually leave by 5pm, I have normal working hours because I have a structured place of work and I've fallen into a routine. You'll get your evenings back and you won't take work home with you. I often leave my laptop and camera there ready for the next day. My evenings are mine again and I can do what I want with them!

 

It really is that simple, the only thing stopping you from doing it is you

 

Shelley

x

Model: Millie @ The Model House

MUA: Natalie Manlove

Hair: Jenn Edwards

The only person standing in your way is you...

Models: Izzy @Boss & Sadie

HMUA: Julia Jeckell

Sylist: Anna Straw

Flowers: Campbells Flowers

Last week I worked with the amazing Sarah Gray who I've been dying to shoot with for ages! We worked with one of my favourite models, Jess, on this little Secret Garden test shoot out at a beautiful hidden garden on the edge of Sheffield.

I wanted to create a soft feminine look to these images which are intersperced with some shots I've been collecting as the spring flowers have begun to blossom in the gardens around my city...

Last week I worked with the fabulous Julia Jeckell and beautiful model Hannah from Face. We were testing a look for a future ballet themed shoot (which we're actually shooting today!) We shot this set in our little shared studio office Light Space Collective.

I hand painted a watercolour background for a few of the shots and also had an experiment with some old fujica lenses that I picked up in a local charity shop for just 50p! That's right FIFTY PENCE!! I'll be using those again today for sure...

 

Everything is appropriation.

...or at least that's what I learnt at art school

I get increasingly frustrated as I get further into my life as a photographer at the notion of copying and the effect that it seems to have on some people. It's been a topic for discussion of late down at the shared studio I work out of.

I recently read this article about Tyler Shields whilst I was in the midst of considering the notion of copying in my line of work, and while this sort of illustrates some pretty obvious rip offs of some very very well known artists it does make me think, isn't imitation supposed to be the sincerest form of flattery?

I see friends and colleagues that get genuinely worried about being seen to be copying someone elses work, be it because of the shade of eyeshadow they are planning to apply, the placement of foliage or flowers, the colour of the backdrop in the studio or the location at which they want to shoot... whilst at the same time scouring Pinterest and happily creating inspiration boards.

Lets all stop this shall we? You are an artist. You will create something different, something that is you, especially when you combine your creativity with others. Like for like copying of something is actually really hard to do (the composition, the subject, the lighting, the edit...), and what would be the point anyway if you weren't adding something to it? There are only so many permutations of beautiful girls wearing long white-ish dresses... Don't be put off an idea because it's already been done, there are very few things that haven't yet been done and I couldn't tell you what they are, just create what you want to create, what you imagine in your head, get it out there and stop being afraid of being judged, of being compared...

JUST DO GOOD SHIT

This isn't to say that you shouldn't give credit and respect to those artists that inspire you, even if they are long dead. This year I plan to create a series based on recreations of some of my favourite Pre Raphaelite paintings by artists such as John William Waterhouse & Arthur Hughes, I want to do this because I love those images and I respect those artists, they formed a great deal of my appreciation and understanding of aesthetics although they will never know that. But if your inspirations are living, tell them! There is nothing better to hear as an artist that you have inspired someone to create something.

This brings me to the concept of competition, as an artist you have no competition but photographers (some anyway) do seem to worry about this. Your cameras are your brushes, they are your tools, but you'd rarely hear of painters considering others as competition, because painters are artists. Well so are you! Whether you're a photographer, a designer, a make up artist, a stylist or a florist, you are an artist and you are equally as important as the work you create, you are the work you create and you give a little bit of yourself with everything that you create.

The studio that I share has 3 other photographers working there and the wonderful thing is that we don't see each other as competition. We encourage each others success. I love collaborating with other photographers and if you  are a photographer too and haven't done it yourself I really urge you to, it can be a lonely old job this. Don't look at others who share your passion as competitors but as colleagues and you'll feel a whole lot happier.

“Most artists are brought to their vocation when their own nascent gifts are awakened by the work of a master. That is to say, most artists are converted to art by art itself. Finding one’s voice isn’t just an emptying and purifying oneself of the words of others but an adopting and embracing of filiations, communities, and discourses. Inspiration could be called inhaling the memory of an act never experienced. Invention, it must be humbly admitted, does not consist in creating out of void but out of chaos.”
—Lewis Hyde

 

Thinking back to those Pre Raphaelites, they had a whole brotherhood thing going on, lets be like them :)

January is always a month with a slower pace and after the huge indulgences of Christmas I wanted to get out and get some air, and of course,  take some self portraits. So I headed out towards Blackamoor. (En route I almost ran over a gorgeous dog and had to take a detour to the local vets to get him scanned and find his owner! Silly hound...)

I made it out just as the light was fading and unfortunately the clouds had come over and hidden what had promised to be a beautiful winter sunset so I decided to head into the woods rather than for the views.

I lost my remote a while ago so I shot this using a tripod and the timer function of my new Canon 5D mark iii

At the clearing

The technical bits:

Canon 5D mark iii / Sigma 50mm 1.4 lens f2.0 1/100sec ISO-250 / edited in ACR with VSCO pack 06 Portra 160+1 /

 

This year has been nothing short of incredible... I feel like I've really become part of a community in more ways than one. At the beginning of this year I knew a grand total of 2 other photographers and now I have over 70 that I consider good friends. This community that I've found myself a place in, is amazing! I've also had the chance to meet and work with some other wonderful, like minded creatives, from designers or musicians to  hair and make up artists, all of my work would be nothing without you guys. I've worked harder than I ever have before this year and I know there's still a lot of hard work to come, but I'm proud of what I've achieved so far.

This year I taught my first workshop, photographed my musical hero and got featured as a Rising Star in Professional Photo Magazine. I've given talks on my personal projects, set up a studio with fiends, fundraised for my favourite charity, embraced boudoir photography, made self portraits that I like and created images with friends for no reason other than making art...

I wonder what 2016 will bring

 

This shot of Gemma was taken during my first ever workshop which I ran in Sheffield on the 5th December. It was hellish windy with the beginnings of storm Desmond buffeting us around the city but we decided to head outdoors for some shots regardless

Gemma was a total pro and didn't complain about the cold once (tougher than me!) this shot was taken in a tiny little city centre garden right next to the City Hall in Sheffield, there was some lovely foliage growing up a wall so I asked Gemma to get in as deep as she could. I didn't want the image to look at all like we'd shot it in the city so I got in very close! I shot this with my 50mm Sigma 1.4 with a bunch of other photographers watching over my shoulder. The editing in this shot is more what I want to talk about... part of this workshop was creating some very fashion editorial images so the images was very heavily retouched and airbrushed. Now Gemma is a totally beautiful person who in no way needs any form of airbrushing but to get that high fashion look I wanted to really push the editing on this shot, so this is how I did it...

Here's the frame straight out of camera...

First thing I opened the image in ACR and used a VSCO preset that I love, I adjusted the white balance for a touch more warmth in the skin and tweaked the shadows a little, I also added a touch of split toning with a little blue in the highlights and red in the shadows, then I opened the image in Photoshop. I used the spot healing tool first off to get rid of any immediately obvious skin blemishes.

Then I duplicated the background layer, added a layer mask to the top layer and blurred the bottom layer. I painted through the layer mask to soften the skin, I then added a little noise to the bottom layer before merging the layers.

The last step was dodging and burning until I was happy, especially around the eyes to really make them stand out.

This amount of air brushing is a little heavier than I would normally go for but I'm really happy with this shot!

Here's a wider shot so you can see where we were working!

The technical bits:

Canon 6D / Sigma 50mm 1.4 lens f2.8 / 1/100sec ISO-100 / edited in ACR with VSCO pack 5 Kodak Max 800

I've spent most of this week down in London hanging out with some amazing photographers. On Monday I tagged along to Rosie Hardy & Alexandra Cameron's Circus themed workshop in Hampstead. I'm running my very first workshop myself this coming Saturday so it was great to see how they ran the day and managed everything across multiple locations.

This was a shot from towards the end of the day as the light had gotten very low. I don't do a lot of work with artificial lighting but Rosie set up this shot lit with one of the props that we'd been using for another, a big beautiful light up star!

We were in a wooden panelled room in Burgh House which gives that incredibly orange glow, plus the lighting was all tungsten so it was a very orange shot to begin with.

Here's the before and after:

In terms of editing the shot went into ACR first where I applied a VSCO preset and adjusted the white balance, I also used a warm gradient coming in from the top left corner and a cool one from the bottom right. I then opened it in photoshop for a little skin retouching and dodge and burning and finished off with sharpening using the High Pass filter.

The technical bits:

Canon 6D (tungsten white balance) / Sigma 50mm 1.4 lens f1.4 / 1/200sec ISO-400 / edited in ACR with VSCO pack 5 Kodal UltraMax 800

Hair & make up: Jenn Edwards

Models: Emma & Megan

I've not blogged here since the summer which I guess is both good and bad... I've been so busy I've not had time to write about my work.

So much has changed for me over this past year but this post is not going to be one of those humble brag's disguised as an outpouring of gratitude for my amazing life. I want to share what it's actually been like to leave a career and jump into being a full time professional photographer.

I left my job earlier than I had intended because my husband was unwell and I wanted to be there for him. I don't regret doing that, I'd been whittling down my hours until I was just working 3 days a week and I'd intended to hang on there with the comfortable safety net of a regular monthly paycheck until Christmas. Things change and you adjust your plans.

I won't lie when I handed in my notice I was scared shitless, I really didn't know if I could do this or not, I didn't know if I was making a massive mistake but in the end I thought if this doesn't work out I can go get a job via an agency, go back to temping, it will be fine...

Those first few months were hard. I had a grand total of 11 weddings booked in for 2015 and as I was still charging just £750 so I was utterly skint. I worked every day. Very long days. I was forever hunting every single opportunity to promote my business and search for potential clients. I rebuilt my website and built a separate site for all my non wedding work.

I was tired and I had never worked so hard for so little, but by January it began to pay off, bookings started to come in quite quickly and before I knew it I had more than 50 weddings booked for 2015.

In April I went to my first photography workshop and basically had my mind blown by a whole host of wonderful artists. SNAP photography festival change everything for me, before that I didn't even really know any other photographers, I felt very lonely in this bed that I had made for myself. It can be incredibly isolating working for yourself, by yourself.

If I though I was working hard before April, I was wrong, I utterly over estimated how hard shooting 58 weddings in a year would be on my body, my mind and my social life. I worked constantly this summer. I missed my friends, I missed the things that happened in their lives. I missed the breakdown of one of my closest friends marriages, I missed my friends children starting to grow up, I missed one of my friends virtually losing half her self in weight. I was a very bad friend.

I had weekends where I drove 700 miles shooting weddings at either side of the country, working the equivalent of a normal working week (37 hours) in 2 days. I slept very little, my health suffered, but I was happy with the work I was producing. In between shooting weddings I spent every day editing or shooting portraits, styled shoots, fashion shoots, bands, promos; mostly for free or for very little pay all in the quest to get my name out there. I didn't have a day off for 3 months. I was so Ill I threw up at a wedding (not saying which!)

It took the death of a childhood family friend to make me re-evalute what the fuck I was doing.

Building a career and a business for yourself is great but if you have no one to share it with or no time to enjoy the money you make it's utterly worthless.

At this point I started turning work down, which seemed ludicrous. I put my prices up based on what income I would be comfortable with married with the amount of weddings I now know I can handle shooting per year without forfeiting my life and my health.  Other work I could slot in during the week as I learned how long it took me to process images and turn around orders. This whole year was a fucking ski jump of a learning curve...

In the spring I also changed my working environment. I had previously had a small studio out of town where I worked on my own, plus I often worked at home alone. With a couple of like minded friends we found a space and opened a co-working office called The Light Space Collective. This has had such an impact on my general happiness. I don't work until 11pm any more. I go to the office when I'm not shooting and I work reasonable hours, I collaborate with the people I share with; florists, HMUA's other photographers... I pass on work that I turn down to my wonderful peers. I have learned that there is no such thing as competition; these are my colleagues.  Previously I wore my number of bookings as a badge of honour (I am inherently competitive) but now I realise that this is not a competition, and if it were the only way to win would to be actually, genuinely happy.

I still don't have a huge amount of confidence in my work and my business and I do suffer with huge bouts of self doubt and that old friend imposter syndrome keeps sloping back into my peripheral vision BUT I recognise that I am improving, I am still constantly searching for knowledge and to better myself and my work. I am greedy for learning. I feel only now that I have started to really get to grips with the technical side of my work (I am not technical) but I do still feel like Phoebe from Friends teaching guitar chords with her own special names (old lady, bear claw) but I'm not ashamed of that any more. Some of the best musicians I know can't read sheet music to save their lives.

I have re-evaluted for next year. I'm capping the work I take on, I've left weekends free to visit friends, travel and attend weddings as a guest, and I have enough bookings in the diary already to ensure that I have more money coming in than I did last year. I'm not going to be buying a Jag, but who gives a fuck about that anyway?

So, one year on I am sat here in my shared office surrounded by wonderful creative people (and my dogs) and tonight I've sacked off shooting Richard Hawley to go and get leathered with my friends.

Priorities.

xxx

 

This is my little sister Stefanie. She came to visit for the weekend and I'd been itching to try out a levitation shot after reading countless how-to's online. We shot this in my living room, I cleared a lot of crap out of the way and sat her on a little stool and placed a little box under her feet. I then reshot the same image with Stefanie, the stool and the box shifted out of the way. The image went straight into photoshops to be comped together. This is how the 2 started out looking...

I shot a couple of stops under as the highlights were very blown out due to the snow outside but in the end I decided to comp in a much nicer view!

The technical bits:

Canon 6D / Canon 40mm 2.8 lens f2.8 1/250sec ISO-800 / edited in ACR with VSCO pack 05 Agfa Vista 800-- /

I first met Rosie last year when I booked her for my anniversary photshoot (a little tradition that my husband Paul and I have decided to start) we got on so well that we became friends. Actually I defy anyone to not get on well with Rosie she is a wonderfully sweet human being who is just so much fun to be around.

Earlier this year we were chatting online planning to meet up for dinner and a catch up and we decided to go out shooting first. It was freezing cold and so so windy but we headed up to one of my favourite spots, Higgar Torr, just outside Sheffield. After fueling up on hot chocolate in my campervan we donned inappropriate clothing and Rosie attempted to hold a paper crown on her head without it blowing away for a beautiful 'forgotten fairytale' shot she wanted to try and get.

We climbed up the Torr and spent an hour or two shooting each other occasionally hiding from the wind back in the van. I got this shot just as the light was fading and the wind had died down a little.

Sometimes the worst weather makes for the most beautiful images

The technical bits:

Canon 6D / Canon 40mm 2.8 lens f2.8 1/1600sec ISO-200 / edited in ACR with VSCO pack 05 Kodak Gold 200 /

Hellooooo there!

This is the first of what will be (hopefully) a daily addition to my blog! I'll be telling the story behind some of my images from the technical stuff to how I edited it, to how I ended up shooting it in the first place. As it's the first of June and this image has just hit the city of Sheffield on the front cover of their biggest music magazine Exposed, I thought it would only be right to start with this portrait of Jarvis Cocker.

I was busy gardening on a bright Sunday a few weeks ago and I popped inside to make a cup of tea and check my emails... can you come and shoot Jarvis Cocker in the Winter Gardens recording his BBC6 Music show with Steve Davis... in half an hour! After a quick scrub and change I was down there in a flash, set up and shooting one of my all time musical heroes. I'm glad it was a last minute thing because if I'd had time to think about it I would have probably talked myself out of it. I shot through the whole show which included the pair of them chatting and also trying some pot shots on the table set up for the annual Snooker fest that occurs in Sheffield at this time of year.

At the end of the show I had literally 10 seconds as he was leaving to grab him, say hi, and get him to agree to pose for a portrait. He told me that he wasn't dressed for it and that he'd just been walking in Edale... I told him I wasn't dressed for it either and that I'd been gardening in Nether Edge, he chuckled, I asked him to stand in a bush.

The technical bits:

Canon 6D / Canon 85mm 1.8 lens f2.8 1/250sec IS0-640 / edited in ACR with VSCO pack 05 Kodak Gold 200 /

Then came the Spring

with all it's splendor

All it's birds and all it's blossoms

All it's flowers, and leaves, and grasses

Dresses Kate Beaumont

MUA Amanda Humphreys

Hair Stylist Kirsty Glasby

Flowers Moss & Clover

Head pieces Debbie Carlisle

Location Sheffield Botanical Gardens

Models Rebecca @ Boss Model Management & Gemma @ Mentor Model Agency

I spent the week before last at a brand new photography workshop deep in the Welsh countryside. SNAP is the brain child of Laura Babb who's work I've been a fan of for quite a while. I've never even been to a photography workshop before and I didn't really know many other photographers at all.

The line up of speakers over 4 days looked fantastic, and though I'd not heard of all of them I loved the diversity of styles & approaches on offer. SNAP was predominantly a wedding photography festival but there was so much more on offer. The setting was beautiful, I am happiest when I'm camping, nothing but a layer of canvas between myself and the stars and I got to share a tipi with some wonderful ladies.

I expected to learn about how to run a better business and how to develop my brand. I expected to pick up tips for workflow, shooting and editing and I expected to be inspired by all the speakers in different ways. What I did not expect was to come away with 75 new friends (and I mean real friends) I didn't expect to bond so quickly and deeply with these people, I didn't expect to feel confident enough to get half naked in a field to shoot swap boudoir images at sunset. I didn't expect to party so hard that I fell over approximately 8 times in 1 hour, I didn't expect impromptu 90's raves in tipis at 4am, I didn't expect mind altering perception changing talks, I didn't expect to cry so much and feel so much...

Turns out we're a pretty emotional bunch us wedding photographers and maybe that's got a little to do with why we do what we do. Buying that ticket was one of the best things I've even done. I am completely STOKED for this seasons weddings and above everything that I learned at Snap it was so reassuring to hear that I'm on the right track, that I should be true to me and my style and not emulate anyone else, that there is no 'right way' only your way. This is my way...

An impromptu shoot on the edge of the Peak District with Gemma from Mentor Model Agency

Hat: Accessorize

Dress: Photographers Own

Blanket: Harris Tweed

Jewellery: Matalan

Boots: Models Own

'We are nearer to Spring
Than we were in September,'
I heard a bird sing
In the dark of December."

So it's about time I blogged this shoot from the end of last year... I've wanted to do a winter bridal shoot for a while so I popped a model call out on my facebook page and another lovely photographer tagged Katie. After checking out Katie's portfolio I knew I'd love to work with her so set about creating a mood board and getting other creatives on board. It's tricky when you're starting from scratch with no contacts in the fashion industry but social media is a wonderful thing and luckily I have lots of friends who in turn have lots of friends and now I feel like I have some fabulous go-to connections to creatives in and around Sheffield.

I wanted to create a winter floral theme with a strong nature influence, initially I'd planned to shoot out on the edge of the Peaks by Higgar Torr and Lady Cannings Plantation but on the day the weather was so terrible we went for plan b which was the Botanical Gardens, our very own indoor outdoor location.

In fact I honestly think this turned out for the best, it certainly made shooting a lot more comfortable for everyone involved and I'm so so proud of the results and the whole team.

2016xmas_009 IMG_7012a

The shoot is first due to be published next Wednesday on Love my Dress and selected images will be published in Dreamingless Magazine & Sheeba Magazine

Model - Katie Altoft
Hair - Gypsy Rose Beauty
Make Up - Amanda Bower
Dress - Kate Beaumont
Flowers - Moss & Clover
Location - Sheffield Botanical Gardens

I am really nervous about sharing this image, I think it's because the issues that I'm trying to communicate are so important to me...

At this time of year people are generally more charitable, I try to do my bit for charities that are close to my heart throughout the year but it's human nature to want to give that little bit extra at Christmas. The Band Aid debate is still dragging on in the media, is it good, is it bad... I don't know, but at least it's something.

For me charity begins at home, in my city, on my doorstep. There are far too many people struggling, homeless and lonely all year round, but especially at Christmas, the issue receives much more attention in the media, the same goes for homeless animals like dogs, rescues are bursting full across the country, cruelty and neglect increasing.

This Christmas please consider those that are struggling with homelessness and poverty (both human and animal) where ever you live, by donating or helping in what ever way you can.

Below is a list of charities and projects local to me (Sheffield UK) that do wonderful work, it's not exhaustive as I don't know them all but I'd love to hear of similar charities wherever your doorstep is...

Cathedral Archer Project - a homeless day centre based at Sheffield Cathedral (their Christmas shoebox appeal has a facebook page)

Nomad - helping people regain their independence and rebuild their lives

City Centre Soup Van - a co-ordinated service provided by various church groups on a rota which provides free soup, rolls, clothes and information to people who are homeless. Also Christmas dinner in December.

Rain Rescue - my adopted charity, they save the lives of hundreds of dogs and cats in South Yorkshire every year (their Christmas appeal has a facebook page too)

Helping Yorkshire Poundies - a tiny organisation that gets dogs due to be put to sleep into safe temporary accomodation and finds them permanent homes

Friends of Ferals - a small group of dedicated volunteers who care for the homeless cats of Sheffield

There are so many ways that you can help, it's not always about money. Time is just as valuable, the Sheffield branch of the RSPCA are looking for volunteer foster carers for their dogs over the Festive period, I can't tell you how rewarding it is, if you have the space and feel a little lonely yourself this Christmas, please consider fostering a homeless hound.

Shelley

x

So I did it, I left my job and now I'm a full time professional photographer which is utterly terrifying and insanely exciting. I have 40 weddings booked in for next year and a few more to come at the end of this one. In the meantime I'm building my portfolio with some really exciting shoots in the pipeline.

To celebrate my new found status as self employed I'm offering some mini portrait sessions {on location} for just £50. Get in touch if you'd like one!

I'm nearly ready to call myself a professional photographer. I've been making money from photography primarily from shooting weddings for a couple of years now and it's been going exceedingly well, but I've always kept hold of my 'proper job' as a bit of a safety net. Well, the time has come (almost) for me utter those two precious words...

Soon this will be my life, though I'm still only learning.