Portfolio Shoot – Page 2

September 8, 2013July 21, 2018

Ray Byrne in Studio

Ray Byrne is back with a bang on the blog. Ray is another DIT buddy of mine. We have seen Ray before on the street and the beach. Now its time to shoot in studio. He came down with his partner in crime, Rachel Kenny for a fun filled day in studio. The main aim of this shoot was to try out try out some different shoot ideas and to update Rays book. He current portfolio on his agency website still only has the old photos form my last shoot with Ray, so these shots should really help improve it.

We done some shots in studio as well as outside the studio to take advantage of the nice weather we had that day. It’s always good to get out of the studio to take some shots out doors. The shot up top is one of my favs from that particular set.

Back in studio, we got down to business trying some portraits and high-fashiony poses……. mostly just messing around, but it was fun. If you follow my work, you will notice that I am not generally into fashion and the art side of shots. My current style of shooting is to keep things simple. However, its is sometimes good to step out ones comfort zone and try something different. The last time I done something similar was with Ricky a few months ago and that turned out pretty good.

After we finished doing the fashion stuff, we went back to spend a few minutes shooting some headshots. Although not an actor, its always good to have some headshots for a commercial book. My style of headshots that I am working on is with a plain background in a horizontal / landscape format. I may do up a post on my headshot techniques at a later date when I have more time and when I perfect it a little. But for now, you can see a setup shot below.

As you can see above, I shoot headshots on a 70-200mm lens, roughly around 100m. I shoot at F4.0 as at F2.8 at 100mm on that lens, the depth of field is so small that getting the eyes in focus along with the tip of the nose is tricky. Another thing you will notice is that I use light panels on the left and right of the face for light. I have a light behind these to turn them into a nice big soft light source, along with creating big catch lights in the eyes.

Thats all for now, don’t forget to get in touch to book your shoot if you’re looking for headshots, model portfolios or general portraiture.

September 8, 2013July 12, 2018

Rachel Kenny in Studio

Galway Girl Rachel Kenny gets another feature on the blog now. Rachel who we first met as a model in the DIT fashion now, is now studying to be a make-up artist ( https://www.facebook.com/RachelCKMakeup ) We got in touch again to do a fun shoot in studio a while ago and this is the result. Both Rachel & Ray came down from Dublin for the day. It was a chilled out day, all about the fun and the excellent Fried Chicken afterwards 🙂 You can Check out Ray’s shots in the next post.

Being a Make-Up Artist, Rachel done her own make-up on the day. She also done her own hair and styling for this test shoot. One thing you will notice about her hair is that she has the side of her head shaved off which I think really suites her. It suited this shoot too as we were doing for a sexier look.

One of the things that work with on people is the eyes. I say a “Hint of the Squint”, some people say “Smile with the Eyes” and some know it as “Smouldering” …. it has lots of names. The end result is to try to get that twinkle in the eye, that look of confidence. Nailing the look can be hard for most people, it can take a lot of practice. But once a person nails it and gets that muscle memory, they can nail it on demand!

Below is a shot of Rachel with one of her proof prints from the shoot just before she headed home…… one happy camper 🙂

September 8, 2013July 12, 2018

Kelsey Flood’s Portfolio Shoot

If you shop online and have checked out Ismodo.com, then you will reconise Kelsey Flood ( @KelseyFlood). She works for Ismodo as their in-house model along with working in the sales department. Kelsey has being doing shoots with various photographers for a while now… a quick google search can help you find a lot of her previous work to date. Kelsey booked her shoot with me looking to get something a little different for her portfolio. We shot a couple of varied looks that morning, what you see here are kelsey’s favorites from the shoot.

Kelsey’s first pic was this shot in a beige leotard. The first thing you notice about this shot and Kelsey in general is her hair. Her hair is her pride and joy…. and it is all natural. Not Great Length or Hotloxs extension in sight. Seeing hair like this is truly rare in models these days as most have some form of extension.

The first look was shot on my new ( at the time) Infinity Curve ( post coming soon). An infinity curve is basically a white floor connected to a white wall via a curve to give a seamless effect…. or infinite background. They can also be called cyclorama, Cyc Wall, endless wall … along with a few other names. I built a 6.5m wide one at one end of my studio. You can use white background paper, but doesn’t last forever and is expensive. Paper is limited in its width, so you can not shoot large groups on it. I use a lot of background paper for various reasons, so the curve ( or stage as my non-photography friends and family are calling it) will pay for itself.

The above shot is another of Kelsey’s favourites. It’s a classic topless, yes beautiful shot. Shots like this are simple and effective. I used the rugged look of one of the studio corners as a background, a single light on Kelsey. Shooting at F1.8 on a Canon 50mm throws the background nicely out of focus and isolates Kelsey… and all that hair 🙂

The last look of the shoot, and most shoots is the wet hair look. Kelsey loved this look as she had never done anything like this before. It is funny that a lot of people do not want to do the wet hair look on the day, but after a bit of convincing, it usually turns out to be their favourite shoot. This shot in particular I really like Kelsey’s expression. Her eyes are confident and her slightly open lips soften up the whole look. Some people may purse their lips which is generally unappealing.

The make-up in the shot above is fabulous, another reason why I like it. Aimee Connolly done the make-up for Kelsey along with her hair for the shoot. If you would like to book in a shoot with the dream team in my studio, check out my next available dates on my “Book Me” page. Remember, you don’t need to be a model to have beautiful pictures of your self 🙂

Kelsey in the make-up chair with Aimee

June 5, 2013July 12, 2018

April Fitzgibbon

April Fitzgibbon, the Cork lass booked a shoot a while ago to update her portfolio. She was looking to approach an Irish model agency to be represented over here. She mentioned that she was currently doing her modelling work in the UK, but now she was looking to work more at home.

After her shoot in my Wexford Studio, she took her pictures to the Assets Agency Munster open day. This was a day where they search for potential models in the Cork and Munster area. This is a good idea from an agency point of view as a it adds a bit of balance to the location of models. Unfortunatly with the industry as small as it is in Ireland, most of the work is in the Dublin area. April impressed on the day however and she is now signed on the Assets Munster Section

Fairly soon after meeting April ( or if you follow her on Twitter or FaceBook), you get a sense of her pride of being a model who is “100% Natural, from head to toe”. She does not even have hair extensions….. her super long hair is all her own work. You will also get a sense of her intelligence as she is a self-confessed science lover and wannabe astronaut ( See the Sunday World recently )

April’s mom came along to the shoot with her for drive…. all 4 hours of it. It was a first for me having a parent in the studio during a shoot, but it was great support for April. Other people on set on the day included Nicole & Shauna Spain of Flutter By Styling who provided some of the clothes, April provided everything else her self. Aimee Connolly was also there available for makeup. April prefered to do here own make up, so Aimee was there for touch-ups.

April has been in the press lately with some of the other shots from this shoot. Check her out in the Irish Daily Star and the Sunday World. You can also see her on Joe.ie

June 1, 2013July 12, 2018

Greici Rosa – Rock Chick

Greici Rosa is a Brazilian fun-loving rock chick who booked a shoot a few months ago. Greici loves her piercings and tattoos, which you can see from the pictures. She had just finished off her latest tattoo and wanted to do a shoot with her new leg ink….. which looked like it was painful to get done. I’m not sure if I could ever go down that route of piercing or tattoo. If her leg was painful, then the tattoo show below must have been agonising. It reads “Give me Love ….. Like never Before” , which is an interesting piece of text….read into that what you will.

It was great working with Greici. She is a super confident person and comfortable in her body. Before she shoot we talked about all the ideas that she wanted to do for her shoot, some of which we managed to do and some we didn’t. It makes such a difference when you have a plan going into a shoot. I always try to have a good exchange of ideas with people before a shoot to make sure we are all on the same page etc. A lot of Greici’s ideas revolved around a music theme. We were not able to get a guitar for the shots she wanted, but she did have some drum sticks and a t-shirt of a band who she is friends with.

Greici has got on the Books with Fraser Models & Actors to try her luck at the commercial model and world and acting. She is also currently in a competition for Chunk.ie FaceBook competition to be Ireland’s Next Top Alt Model ( Vote Here). You can also check out Greici’s Tumblr Here. Greici’s

Hair and Make-up for this shoot was done by the lovely Julie Caulfield, check her out.

May 4, 2013July 12, 2018

Esmé Wallace – Miss Sunday World 2012

The title of “Miss Sunday World” is a prestigious one. It is one of the roads for a woman to becoming Miss Ireland. The Miss Sunday World crown has been held previously by Rachel Wallace, Niamh Cullen and the outgoing Miss Sunday World, Esmé Mansergh Wallace. Esmé won the title this time last year and done a fantastic job representing the paper. She has now just handed over her title to the 2013 Miss Sunday World, Emma Cronin who will go one to compete for the 2013 Miss Ireland Title, currently held by Rebecca Mcgauire

We organised and shot this back in January. The Lingerie company Dolls and Dreams provided us with some fantastic lingerie for the shoot. It looked great on Esmé and on another shoot with Jane Lyons ( coming soon). Check out their website http://www.dollsanddreams.co.uk to see their range and go pick treat your self to some 🙂

It was a great fun shoot. Esmé is such a lovely person to deal with. She was telling me how she had to take a few months out from modelling after she broke her arm/collar-bone when she fell off a horse. Horse Riding is a bit part of her life by the way.

Hair and Make-up was done by the Fabulous Make-up by Aimee. If you follow my little blog here, you will know that I work with Aimee a lot. She is fantastic to work with. She provides a full make-up service from big groups for parties right down to giving workshops.

Get in touch if you want to experience your own photoshoot where you can look and more importantly feel great 🙂 . There are limited studio dates left in June, so don’t delay in booking.

January 7, 2013July 12, 2018

Olivia-Tracey Hogan in Studio

Well here it is, my last shoot of 2012. Olivia is no stranger to my blog. I have shot with her a few times now and every time it has been a dream. Olivia is such a fun, bubbly person its hard not to have the craic with her. This time around, her big sis Lucci Minx came down for the spin to my studio in Wexford…. which sounds a lot further from Dublin than it really is.

The brief for this shoot was to be sexy…. which is generally easy enough. Olivia wanted to push the boat out a little with this shoot and make it a bit edgier that anything she has done before. The first thing I asked her was about the effect it could have on her TV presenting hopes, having sexy shots out there might not be the best thing for children’s tv presenter. However Olivia is not aiming for that market and plus the shots are not too sexy, so all is well in the world.

If your thinking that you recognise this girl from somewhere, then you probably have seen her on the telly box at some point as well as the papers. She has done work with the Damo & Ivor duo on The Republic of Telly.Follow Olivia on Twitter to keep up to date with her goings one. Olivia’s sister Lucci Minx herself is no stranger to the limelight, a talented Hip-Hop artist so keep any eye out for her.

December 6, 2012July 12, 2018

Siobhan Smith Musician

Siobhan Smith, Irish Fiddle player and Irish dancer booked in for a studio shoot recently to get some new shots for her upcoming album artwork. She is currently working hard in the recording studio putting the finishing touches to her new album. There is a lot of work that goes into making an album, even more so when you are doing it independently Siobhan brought down two very cool instruments for the shoot. One was a modern electric fiddle and the other was an old antique fiddle. It was a nice contrast between the two.

There was no dead set brief for the shoot, so I shot Siobhan on a white background to keep it simple for who ever is going to do the graphic design work on the artwork. Blowing the background out to white means that a few clicks is all it takes to drop in another background… or they can keep it white and just add text. We also shot some shots with a grey background also.

Aimee Connolly was at hand to work her magic on Hair & Make-up as usual on studio days.

If you want more information on Siobhan and her music, you can check out her website http://www.siobhansmith.info/ . She doesn’t have a FaceBook page at this time, but her profile is https://www.facebook.com/siobhansmithfiddle if you want to get in touch with her.

November 15, 2012July 12, 2018

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

October 11, 2012July 12, 2018

Julie Husman

Here is a quick post about a recent shoot with Julie Husman. Julie booked me in to as she was just looking for some nice pictures of her self to have. Above are a few of my favourites as I only ever put up a small selection of shots from each shoot up.

In fact, I don’t even blog about all my shoots. Sometimes a client wants to keep a shoot private for what ever reason. Some clients are do a shoot as a surprise for their partner, some do a shoot just for them selves. There is no bad reason for booking a shoot and looking fabulous for a day 🙂

Have you booked yours yet?