I just wanted to put out a great big thank you to all the people that have helped make a great 2011 for First Focus Photography! To all the Models,Performers Make-up Artists, Hair Stylists, fashion Stylists, Model Agency’s, production companies, Print & Press publications, event management services customers and clients…… A big thank you to you all….. bring on 2012!
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The Book “Tattoo Vixens 2″ brought to you by Skin Deep magazine is now on sale in all good bookstores! it features a six page spread of my shoot with the amazing Melissa Hayward that took place at the beginning of the year and its just great to see the shots in print at last! I will be shooting with Melissa again in the very near future and our aim this time is to get a cover shot!….. so watch this space!…..
I had been wanting to do a woodland location shoot for quite sometime, with a real kind of Gothic style pin-up shoot that would allow me to turn day into night with the use of creative lighting effects and to utalize the “Bowen’s travel pak” that I have had for my studio lights to take them on location and try them out. I had scouted the chosen location over a year ago at the end of one summer and decided to shoot there as Autumn was well underway, I mainly wanted the orange leaves on the ground and that kind of ethereal quality that the change of seasons brings. I had also been watching quite a good bit of “True Blood” on TV and felt inspired by all the strange forest wanderings that took part in the show (especially at that twilight hour and wanted to try and emulate the lighting). I had a shoot booked in with Trisha Leslie who I met whilst photographing the burlesque and cabaret scene (she is a performer under the guise of “Chelsea Smiles”) She is also a tattoo model and would suit the Gothic woodland setting quite well so off we set with my assistant Brian and make-up artist Elise in tow for what was to be our very own “Blair Witch” style encounter……..
make-up and equipment set-up on location
Turning Day into night with creative lighting technique
Twilight was quite literally becoming nightfall in the last few shots light levels faded fast and we were resorting to using iphone torches to light Trisha and help find the focus and only then we realized we were in the middle of a forest, in the dark, with a great deal of equipment and a fairly difficult uphill trek back to the car’s! iphone torch time again!
My latest shoot features Canadian Model Rex Cable who contacted me through Model Mayhem to arrange a shoot whilst he was on his travels to Ireland, he wanted to shoot with me as he said it was difficult to find a photographer who has experience shooting Male Models and that is indeed what I have!….. In fact Male Models was a specialty of mine in the last couple of years from professional footballers to Italian Armani Models and international popstars close family (Jedward’s brother to be precise !) So I hope you enjoy my new set “Jailbreak” and “New Wave Revolution”.
I am currently teaching an Introduction to Digital Photography course in MakeupFablicious Academy in Dublin, the course aims to provide a basic introduction to Digital SLR photography, camera techniques, technical settings and introduction to Photoshop. With an emphasis being on studio lighting techniques for fashion & portrait photography and what is possible from a basic home studio set-up. The course runs over a period of four weeks, week one is camera technique and technicality, week two is lighting and studio set-up, week three is an introduction to photoshop and week four is a studio lighting workshop with fashion shoot.
Here are a selection of shots from the studio sessions.
I wanted to create a real classic style Pin-up Portfolio for Burlesque performer “Bonnie Petite”, taking inspiration from the 1940’s & 50’s illustrations by Gil Elvgren and early Marylin Munroe pin-up shots.
I chose a real quirky apple green background colour for the classic style, a pink fur rug for the playful boudoir and a mid grey for the sexy bombshell look, all again shot with the Hasselblad H3D II 5o mp medium format digital system for the highest quality outcome possible, I am delighted with the results we got with a classic lighting and beauty dish set-up…… enjoy.
I have been shooting a number of alternative / Tattoo Models and performers in the last couple of months in my latest long term project “Alt Models Ink”. I am shooting on the Hasselblad H3D II – 50mp Medium format digital camera system to achieve the highest possible quality and sharpness of image, in presenting online however the camera system may seem like “Overkill” as you can easily enlarge the full-res file to the size of a house! I do have long term plans with the shots so whilst I can shoot the highest possible res…… I will! The Suki shots are playing with themes of exploitation films and B-movies as well as Atl Model Pin-up for the 21st century!
Onto shoot number three with Matylda, sticking with a religious concept once again, but a little more “tongue in cheek” this time but still quite dark in context…… enjoy, “A Certain Sacrifice”.
This is the second concept of FIVE that I shot with Matylda Bajer over the last weekend, Tempest storm, utilizing both a beauty dish and a wind machine as well as some “fierce” posing from Matylda……. enjoy.
“Act of Contrition -- Audio Visual Editorial”
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0eQoFd6nrb0
“An act of contrition is a Catholic prayer that expresses sorrow for sins. It may be used in a liturgical service or be used privately, in connection with an examination of conscience.”
My latest visual art piece is themed around the Catholic Prayer “Act of Contrition” it is concerned with the cathartic progression from sinner to saint, the piece itself is a 10 photo editorial and 4min audio/video segment.
Each print is available in a limited edition of 10 prints, framed, mounted, signed and numbered and will be exhibited in conjunction with the Dublin Burlesque festival.
Model: Matylda Bajer
Assistant: Brian Dillon
Music: First Human Ferro
