Wedding Dress Shoot

Working in the photographic industry, and mainly within the wedding photography sector, there is a bit of a new craze sweeping the industry - Trash The Dress.

Originating from the States, Trash The Dress is wedding photography with a bit of a difference. As the name suggests, in most cases the dress gets trashed, although put loosly, Trash The Dress is a shoot of a bride in her wedding dress in a scenario not normally associated with weddings.

So, imagine a bride in the middle of the woods, on the back of a horse, running around in trainers or sat having a drink in a pub....not your usual wedding shoot! In extreme cases, and as the name does suggest, Trash The Dress can also involve muddy puddles, paint balls or scissors, and this is where the dress well and truly gets trashed!

Wanting to have a little go at Trash The Dress shoots myself, I did a quick search on Ebay and purchased a second hand wedding dress for a ridiculously cheap price. The dress is currently in immaculate condition, but not for long!, so before trashing it, I asked my model mate Tracy Kiss to come along to a studio shoot and model it how a wedding dress is normally modelled, so to preserve the memory of how the dress used to be.

In a few months time, the wedding dress is certain to look a bit different, but for that you'll have to watch this space! ;-)

Full gallery now available in the main website gallery!

Dave Wall Seminar

Had the pleasure of attending a Calumet 'Prefect Portraits' training seminar at Calumet's London branch yesterday, and it was another good learning process for me in my quest to improve my photographic skills and ideas, etc.

The talk was headed by top commercial photographer, Dave Wall. Dave has won many awards and is best known for his no nonsense approach to photography - saying it how it is and giving his honest and frank opinions about equipment and techniques.

Representatives from Fuji Film, Sigma, Lastolite and Perma Jet were there to help give more body to the event and it was good opportunity to catch up with John Grayston from Fuji Film and Nick Procter from Perma Jet.

Emma Delves Broughton Seminar

Went along to Calumet London last week to attend a seminar by top glamour photographer, Emma Delves-Broughton.

Emma specialises in all things glamour, but mainly lingerie and PVC shoots. Having started to photograph strong, sexy women during the early nineties, Emma's work was first featured in Skin Two magazine and Amateur Photographer in 1998. This was shortly followed by her first solo exhibition entitled "Lipstick & Lashes" at the f-stop gallery in Bath. Most recently her work has been on show in London, with a solo exhibitioin “Kinky Couture” 2007 at La Galleria Pall Mall, followed by “Seduction” 2008 also at La Galleria.

Emma can also boast her work has been published in a variety of magazines, such as Loaded, Maxim, GQ, Front, Kerrang, Skin Two, Marquis, British Journal of Photography, Practical Photography, Amateur Photographer and Professional Photographer, and also in National Newspapers.

It was really interesting to hear about Emma's rise from photography student to a leader of her field, finding out what inspires her, how she conducts her shoots and hearing some of the stories behind her favourite photographs.

Personally, Emma's style and nature of photography is not a style and nature I am looking to concentrate on, but it was still a very worthwhile experience, picking up on some general tips and tricks and appreciating how other areas of photography work.

ADL Reserve Cup Final

Went along to watch the village football team in the Aylesbury and District League Reserve Cup Final on a mild Monday night and took along my camera for a few shots to help capture the evening.

Sadly, it was defeat for the village team, but I managed to get quite a few good shots to remember the final by.

With the majority of the match played under floodlights, it was difficult to capture technically great images in such low light conditions, as the low light doesn't allow for very fast shutter speeds to freeze the action, but photography isn't always about being technically great - it is about capturing the moment and the emotions.

Unfortunately it was the wrong emotions for all the village supporters' point of view, but there has to be a loser, so maybe next year???

Jen Fashion Shoot

My mate of a mate (who can now just be called a mate I suppose?), Jennifer Jones, really has the modelling bug now, as having not done any modelling before MSW-Design's first shoot with her last year, and after a second shoot with her just last week, Jen was back at MSW-Design again at the weekend for a slightly different shoot to normal.

Jen's mate Harriet is a fashion student, and nearing the end of her current project, needed a model to showcase a variety of dresses, necklaces and shoes, so Jen was on-hand to don the clothing and accessories.

With my classic black background and Elinchrom lights set up as a temporary studio, and well over a thousand pounds worth of clothing and shoes laid out on the table, Jen worked through each outfit, with Harriet even taking control of the camera for most of the shots, so to ensure she got the exact poses required to show off the appropriate article of clothing.

Therefore, MSW-Design acted as more of a consultant for this shoot, providing the equipment and expertise, and allowing the client to control proceedings to their own requirements.

The result was a very happy Harriet, very much liking the shots she had got for her project and leaving very pleased with her MSW-Design experience.

Full gallery of pics on the main MSW-Design website!

Shoot with Ray Ray

Having previously done a shoot with Ray Ray (Rachel to anyone that doesn't know her through MySpace! lol) in her home town of Weymouth at the back end of last year, a change of hair colour and signing up to a model agency prompted Ray Ray to get in touch with MSW-Design again for some new pics.

This time, having now moved to London, it was a case of setting up a temporary studio in Ray Ray's Islington flat and shooting a variety of different outfits against a classic black background.

After an interesting drive-by of Arsenal's new stadium on route to the flat, a 'quick' 2 hour shoot was classed as very successful, with Ray Ray loving the shots, and a selection will now be sent to her agency for use on Ray Ray's online portfolio.

Full gallery on the main MSW-Design website!

Jennifer Jones Shoot

I yesterday had the pleasure of shooting my mate Jen for a second time. Having previously shot her in a typical white/black background studio environment, this time we went for a location shoot, and chose my local sports and social club as a good place to get some pics.

So, armed with my new Elinchrom lights, we set up in the bar area first and got some pics around and on the pool table. We then moved on to the bar itself, before then moving in to the football changing rooms for some football kit related pics.

As you can see, Jen has a great look, but surprisingly she hasn't done much modelling before. However, after the two shoots she has had with me, she really wants to try and get in to it more, so if anyone would like to work with her, you can contact her through me.

The full set of pics from the shoot will be available on the MSW-Design website galleries from early next week.

MPA Cherubs Day

I had the pleasure of attending the MPA (Master Photographer's Association) on Tuesday 1st April 2008, held at the Hilton Hotel in Coventry.

Despite working at the event as part of my 9-5 job with Spicer Hallfield, I was able to take the opportunity to have a look around the other trade stands and listen to some of the seminars - most notably the seminar by american award winning photographer, Bambi Cantrell.

Bambi is regarded as one of the best wedding photographers in the world, ranked in the top 10, and having met her, listened to how she works and seen the photos she produces, I can see why!!!

I can only aspire to be just half as good as Bambi, but having contact with photographer's of Bambi's calibre is sure helping me pick up tips and tricks to apply in my own photography and helps with my own personal learning curve.

Hello to everyone I met at the show, especially Bambi and Chris Burfoot from The Flash Centre.