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Aoife Walsh – Miss Ireland 2013

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Tipperary Teacher, Aoife Walsh was crowned Miss Ireland for 2013. She was a very deserving winner too in my eyes and one of my favourite Miss Ireland’s to shoot. Her fantastic red hair adds to the quintessential Irish’ness about her and would do her proud on the Miss World stage. Unfortunately that didn’t work out for her, but she still had a great year as Miss Ireland and has plenty of modeling work here to keep her going.

140312_aoife_877It was great to get her down in studio for a shoot. We had done the usual Twitter and Facebook chats about doing a shoot and it eventually came together.  A lot of time when trying to organise a shoot with people online, the interest can fizzle out. But not this time.

140312_aoife_772We had a great team on board for the shoot. Fellow Wexfordian Laura Mullett (http://www.lauramullett.com/) styled the shoot. I have worked with Laura before  and she always brings fantastic style to shoot.  Sophie Wong was at hand for fantastic Makeup for Aoife as well as Hair Styling. Sophie is also Wexford based, so it was a nice local team in studio.

It was a great shoot, covering lots of looks from some Raceday looks to some fashion and headshots. The shot above with the blue bodysuit from American Apparel is one my favs. It was actually a test shoot that turned out great. I just really liked Aoife’s post and expression…. I can’t remember what I was jabbering on about at the time, trying to keep her entertained while doing the test shots. I used my white setup and flash bracket for this shot. You can see other posts on the “White Wall” HERE

 

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Emma and Caoimhe Fogarty Vogue

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Emma and Caoimhe Fogarty dropped down to me again for a quick shoot a while back. Our first shoot turned out great so we got in touch to do something else. The girls are very fashion savvy and knew what they wanted, so I went along with their ideas. I just built the sets and worked around their vision. It all worked out pretty well and we got some cool shots.

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I was working with Michelle Murphy on hair for the first time today. It was her first time doing hair on a photoshoot and she done a great job. Chantelle Thomas was the makeup artist for the day, again my first time working with here, but she did a great job.

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Leah Duff – Test Shoot

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Here are a few images from a super quick test shoot with Assets Model, Leah Duff a while ago. Leah dropped down with her sister Carla for two hours of shooting. Carla studied fashion at Portobello and so was available to put together a few looks for Leah.

We actually shot this a few months ago, when I had just finished building my Cyc wall and needed to do some test shots with it. Like any new photographic equipment, a lot of testing with it is required in order to be able to see what it can do etc. Nearly 9 months on since I actually finished it, I am still learning new things with it.

Once I get a bit more free time and get updated with my other blogs posts, I will do up a post on the Building of the Cyclorama.

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Rebecca Maguire – Miss Ireland 2012

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Rebecca Maguire is the stunning Belfast girl who won the Miss Ireland 2012 title. I first worked with Rebecca when she won the Miss Wright Venue in 2012, and from there she went on to win Miss Ireland. We shot this in June as her reign was coming to an end. We were shooting for the double page feature in the Irish Sun and for the cover of the Sunday World Magazine.

We assembled a great team for the shoot. Rebecca came down to my studio from Belfast for the shoot. Aimee came from Dublin for make-up. Edel drove down from Baltinglass. Laura popped out from Enniscorthy and Jason joined us also to video the shoot. The team worked great together and we got some fantastic images.

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This was my first time working with hair stylist Edel Jones. Edel works in Tecknicolour saloon in Baltinglass. Edel done fantastic job with Rebecca. My favourite hair look from the day with the one above… there is a hint of a Cheryl Cole look going on I think. Combined with the fabulous dress, it is a very hot look. Rebecca really rocked it this look, which you can see in the video below.

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As you can see from the shots, there was a lot of colour going on. It was the height of summer, so why not. Laura done a great job with the styling here I think. I am no expert on styling, but it all looked good. For a detailed breakdown on the styling and Laura’s train of thought for it all, you can check out her own blog post on the shoot. Check out on Lipstick Gossip – Meeting Rebecca Maguire

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Below is a behind the scenes video shots by my assistant and DE Photo Staff member Jason Ennis. I kind of throw him into the deep end on this one as it was a last minute thought.  Jason shot it on one of my Canon 1D mkIV bodies. I later edited the footage together and below is the result.

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Emma and Caoimhe
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Emma and Caoimhe Fogarty

I have been neglecting the blog a lot lately but I plan to try to keep it up to date a lot better in future ( I have said that before 🙂 ). One such shoot  to catch up with is from back in January with Emma & Caoimhe ( pronounced Keeva), the twin models from Meath. The girls were my second shoot of 2013…. so that will give you an idea as to the back log that the blog has… so let’s get to it.

The girls have been modelling for 2 years with 2 different agencies. In that time they have worked on many things from TV3’s Xpose, to shooting a cover and spread for the Irish examiner, so they are not taking things lightly and getting stuck in. They are confident and determined to do well. They are also fashion and style conscious, which is advantageous being a model. The girls styled this shoot themselves, coming up with the concepts and sourcing the cloths them selves. In comparison to other models who may not be able to style a shoot them selves as they usually have a stylist do it for them. Being able to style a shoot is great, especially for when you want to do a quick test shoot or try out something funky.

Emma and Caoimhe

I always wondered about identical twin models, mostly about the unique-ness aspect. Would Kate Moss be Kate Moss if she had a twin sister? Not likely. Not only working with some one who looks identical to you…. having to work alongside a sibling must be tough.  “I really enjoy having and working alongside my twin. It gives me a lot more confidence knowing I have her by my side all the time, but it’s not always fun and games, things can get a little heated sometimes, because we spend so much time together. but at the end of the day we love what we do, and love that we get to share the experiences together” – Emma.

Emma and Caoimhe

Aside from modelling, they are extremely busy dividing their time between two of their passions Fashion and Exercising. They are studying fashion buying and merchandising and Personal training. If you follow them on twitta, you will frequently get the gym updates. On the modelling side, the girls are currently with Assets, each with their on page Emma – Caoimhe …. although they could prob just share a page seeing as they are identical… well kind of identical.

They have one feature that makes them not so identical and it was my saving grace for the day to help me “Spot the difference”. That is because Emma has a beauty spot on the left side of her face ( as you look at her), only for this, I would not be able to tell the difference. They did tell me they have slightly different shaped faces etc., but the spot was a much quicker way to tell the difference.

Emma and Caoimhe

Emma and Caoimhe

From a lighting point of view, the leopard print shots are a one light setup. Again… I’m slacking in the setup shots photos the last few months so I can’t show you, but it is just a single strobe with a 6″ reflector, which is placed above the girl’s head height. It is placed just high enough to create shadows under the chins, but not too have to create too dark an area. There is no formula to it, no set way to do it, it is just the way I did it on the day to try it out. The ideas behind using one light is to great the harsh shadow, editorial look that is popular these days.
The two shots above are a cool idea the girls came up with. They were the last shoots of the day as we were getting a bit tired. The idea behind them was a theme of opposite. The girls are looking fierce with the wet hair look while wearing the same cloths except for opposite colour jackets. We done the shots  multiple times, alternating who was in front and in focus etc.
All in all it was a great day meeting and shooting the girls. Aimee Connolly was as hand to do another fantastic job on Hair and Make-up. Let me know what you think in the comments below, it’s always great to get feedback.
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Lynn Kelly – Ninjamode

Lynn Kelly, the former Miss Universe Ireland (2008) has been causing a bit of a stir lately with her workout regime. Posting workout photos on her Instagram Feed was getting a Lynn lot of attention, and rightly so as she looks incredible. Lynn trains in No. 17 Personal Training, in Merrion Square, Dublin. Indeed since she started training there, a whole team of her fellow Assets models have started to train there, including Hazel O’Sullivan. If you follow Lynn on twitter, you will get the #ninjamode reference 🙂

Lynn had gotten in touch about a year ago to get some new shots for her portfolio, I was really looking forward to it as back then I was still getting my name out there in the photography scene (still am). To work with high-profile and experienced models like Lynn would have been a great addition to my portfolio. However, between different things happening and scheduling conflicts, we kept putting it off… until recently. I got in touch with her again and the timing worked out great for both of us and we made it happen. We planned out a shoot with the aim of getting it published and took it from there. I called up Aimee Connolly to get her on board for Hair & Make-up, she did an amazing job as always.

When planning out a shoot to get it published, what I have learned so far is that there are two main things to take into consideration…. back story and pictures. The back story is the text of the spread, the hook of the shoot. A spread being a double page spread, usually 3/4 of the space is pictures and text and the other 1/4 is adverts. Timing the shoot to coincide with something interesting in the models life will help with getting a shoot published, i.e. the ICA Boot Camp with Rachel Wallace or Tallafornia with Kelly Donegan. If there is nothing interesting happening with the model at the time and if they are not that well-known, then the chances of getting a spread are reduced… you might get a quarter page out of it. If the models are of a higher profile, then you have a better chance of landing a spread. Of course, it goes without saying that back story alone won’t land you a spread, the pictures are going to be the main part of it.  The main rules of thumb that go for the pictures is that sex sells and give the photo editor choice.

For Lynn’s shoot, we decided to focus on her super hot “ninjamode” body that she has been sculpting with the help of John Belton and Sophie Kavanagh… who are now known as #Team17. Initially we were going to shoot in My Studio but Lynn sent me some shots of the gym and I liked the look of, in particular the outdoor gym section. I liked the outdoor section as it is different to a normal gym shoot. There is a big climbing rope out there too and as soon as I saw it I knew the type of shot I wanted to do with it.

Shooting on Location is always a challenge…. but a fun one. It’s great to get out of the studio and to be able to have shots that are different from your usual studio stuff. For this shoot, I decided to keep it as simple as possible in terms of lighting. All of the shots were lit with a single speedlight in an umbrella. Using speedlights is easier and faster than using my Elinchrom studio lights when on location… and in particular when space is tight. Another reason for using the speedlights is that I wanted to shoot at 1.4 for these shoots and the studio strobes would not stop down enough to obtain correct exposure. Helping me out with the light and gear on the day was Jason Ennis. Jason works for me in my School, Sports and Events Photography Company, DE Photo Ireland, so it was good to have him on board and giving him some experience.

Big shout out to John, Kevin and Sophie for helping us out on the day. They have a great setup, go check it out if you’re looking for a gym in Dublin. Thats if for now on the shoot. It was published in the Irish Daily Star and Irish Daily Mail on November 29th. I will be hopefully shooting with Lynn again in January, in studio this time. Stay tuned for that 🙂

In the mean time, follow Team17 on twitter:

https://twitter.com/Lynnkelly_

https://twitter.com/No17PT

https://twitter.com/Johnbelton 

https://twitter.com/KevNo17

https://twitter.com/Courtneyohara

https://twitter.com/soph_no17

 

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Orla Murphy in Studio

Orla Murphy was back in my studio recently for some fresh shots for her portfolio with Assets Book. It was a great opportunity to try out some new ideas while perfecting old ones. It has been over a year and a half since my last shoot with Orla, things have changed a lot for me since then in terms of now having a studio. It was great working with Orla, Julie and Umit on that shoot. This time around, were going for  an “on white” look . On white being a simple white background and putting all the focus on Orla.

 

Shooting on white seemless is very easy and hard at the same time. It’s easy to do, lighting wise that is. You have a few options in which to do it, but it usually goes along the lines of blasting the background with light to blow it out and then adding a key light. Another way to do it is to just use one light and allow the background to drop to a shade of gray and allow a shadow on the background. The option for this shoot was the super bright white one.

Julie Caulfield was onboard again this time for hair and make-up duties. Julie is doing great these days. She is doing a lot of Make-up work for tv and she has a little fashion business on the side also, selling Vegas Showgirl Costumes. Check it out: Love Jewels

 

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Rebecca Maguire – Miss Wright Venue 2012

The “Miss Wright Venue” title is a highly contested accolade. It is one of the most popular entry paths into the Miss Ireland. The 2011 title holder was Faye Fooney and she represented the Night Club  very well, so well she is now an employee in fact. The Belfast Beauty Rebecca Maguire was crowned Miss Wright Venue 2012 last month.

Rebecca is no stranger to the world of pageants or fashion. She is a hot favorite to win the 2012 Miss Ireland title as she came second last year after been beaten by Holly Carpenter. It was a tough contest last year as both were great contenders, but only one could win. This could be Rebecca’s year though.

I sponsored a photoshoot for the winner of Miss Wright Venue 2012. The shoot styling was also sponsored by Nicole Spain of Flutter On By Fashion Styling. Go check the out if you are looking to do a styling course. The Hair sponsor for the shoot was Shauna Spain Hair Styling. Go check out here great deals on a blow dry at the moment. Aine Cahill was on hand to provide her Make-Up artistry skills. Aine a graduate from LA Make-Up Academy did a great job. Finally, the dresses were provided by The Ivory Closet Dress Hire Limerick. The Ivory Closet are a popular name these days when it comes to quality dress hire.

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I was delighted to meet Rebecca and her Mum (Hey Charlotte) and Auntie Karen in the Wright Venue Penthouse for the craic at the after party. We started to plan the shoot straight away to get the ball rolling on it. The aim for the shoot was to shoot some elegant shots with Rebecca modeling the fantastic dresses from The Ivory Closet along with some classic swim ware shoots as well as a lingerie look. Time was limited for the shoot and we had a lot to get through. I think we managed to cover the plan fairly well though 🙂

Rebecca looks great in these swimsuit and lingerie shots though, as I am sure you will agree. You can check these shoots out in the Irish Sun Paper .

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We shot on location at the Wright Venue…. well Rebecca is the Misses of the place after all 🙂 . The WV is a fantastic venue and top class club. It has some lovely features and unique places that make for a great shooting location / background. However, here in lies the problem. It is now hard to shoot there while doing so in a creative and new way. The last thing a photographer want is to be shooting a model in the same way as 2 or 4 other photographers. That is a common problem when shooting at popular locations….. how do you make it look different? Well in this case, it’s not so much about making it look different persay but trying to shoot from either a different angle or by using different lighting.

For example, the Scarface room is a cool private VVIP part of the venue. It has been shot by so many different photographers with so many different models in many different ways… its hard to get a unique take on it. Coupled with that the time limit that we had ( there was a fashion show on later), it’s often under pressure that the solutions come about. My solution was to use my Magic light a.K.a the Orbis Ring Flash. Check out all the black and white shots to see the effect of that.

The Miss Ireland Final is on the 28th of April, so there is not long left for it now. I want to wish Rebecca the best of Luck with it…. I know she will do great.

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Alyson Boyle in White

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Alyson Boyle is slowly becoming a regular in front of my camera. This is the 3rd time that we have shot together now and each shoot gets better and better. She was one of my first subjects when I was just starting out on my own, nearly two years ago. Alyson has come along way in her modelling career since our first shoot. She is one of the busiest models with Assets Agency and you would have seen her on TV several times. Check out Alyson’s Assets Page Here.

Alyson is fantastic to work, and this time was no exception. She came down to my studio with fellow Assets girl  Nicola. The rest of the style team on the day were Danilo Taveres on Hair, Ann-Jean Fitzsimons on Make-up and Gill Keogh on styling. Check those talented guys out.

Follow the Tweeps
http://twitter.com/NicolaMHughes
http://twitter.com/AlysonBoyle
http://twitter.com/AJ_makeup/
http://twitter.com/gillkeoghstyle/
http://twitter.com/RichieButtle/

We did not have a whole lot of time on the day for the shoot, so we managed to get two looks in. I had this ideas for the first one after seeing various high key lighting / bright shots. One shot in particular was of Rihanna, shot by Michael Thompson. The shot is shown and lighting broken down here by Guess the Lighting.com. Obviously it’s not really near that effect, but it was a starting point for the experimenting. For a first attempt, I’m happy with the results. I will definitely be trying this out again with some changes, one of those being would perhaps be with a brunette model.

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It’s good to be able to try something different like this. It’s great to be able to have the studio space in which to do it. If the experimenting works, then is a look that I have in the bad if I ever need it.  If it doesn’t work, well then it means that I know where to start from when trying it again. I will be posting up a Lighting Setup Shot of this look soon.

The other look that we shoot that day with Alyson was this shot below with Danilo. We wanted to shoot an uber sexy shot of a couple, with a nod to Calvin Kline. It’s a simple shot, style and lighting wise. What makes a shot like this is the models and their expressions. Out of about 20 shots, this one was the winner for me because the expression of Alyson & Danilo’s faces are fantastic. Look into their eyes and try to imagine what they were thinking in that scene.

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As usual, any comments or questions on my shoot, post them below here. Follow me on twitter @richiebuttle and check out my FaceBook page and “Like” it.