How to do Classy Topless...

...I couldn't think of a better title!

For the current couple of weeks, I have been working together with my long-term collaborator, Deborah Lawson, on putting together some funky creative studio shoots.

We are constantly striving to keep the portfolios fresh and try out new ideas and techniques and this is the first of a small series that will see us pushing on previous concepts.

These Black & White images are of the model Kitty Chu.

The following images are of model Lucienne Perry...

Photography © Christopher Perkins 2008

Make-Up and Styling: Deborah Lawson

Trash The Dress Beach Video

Last weekend was interesting!

It saw the third part of our ongoing 'Trash The Dress' project take us to the beaches just north of Liverpool.

The day had been in the planning for over a month with everybody booked, but in the week leading up to the shoot all we were having was bad weather.  It was raining and raining and forecast to continue.  Now I don't much rate our weather forecasters so I preferred to stay optimistic.  However, we did decided to go out and recce some backup locations.

The day came though, and the weather didn't look too bad.  We would go for it!  We grabbed some studio shots first, cos Deb had done an amazing creative job with the make-up, which had to recorded in all its glory.  Then it was off to the beach...at the first location it was very windy but thankfully not wet.  The second location though was slightly different, by thew time we arrived it was bucketing it down.  What to do, what to do?

Well we'd come this far and the intention was to destroy this dress, we had to do it.  I say all this because I need to give huge huge credit to our superb model for the day, Kitty Chu.  I cannot imagine other models going to the lengths she wanted to to get the best images we could.  So Kitty, THANKS!!

Enjoy this video, the final images shall be up here soon....

(They now are...click here)

(Video editing by Deborah Lawson)

Fierce Creatures!

Sometimes you do a shoot and you just know from beginning to end you are producing something cooooool!!

I absolutely love this job when everything is coming together and as a team you can feel greats shots coming at ya, wham, bam, thank you mam.

On this shoot our aim was to create some really fierce looking images but that still retained a great, sharp, fashion look about them.

I'd actually been inspired by a set of photographs I saw Tyra Banks taking on 'America's Next Top Model' a few seasons back.  I wanted to give the concept a go and see where we could take it.  Here are the results...

Photography © Christopher Perkins 2008

Model: Stephanie Hopwood

Make-Up: Michelle Robinson

Emotional Times

As an extension to the shoot you saw earlier, the 'Fierce Creatures', we decided to keep with the drama but change the scenario somewhat...

Stephanie cranked up the emotion to show her acting abilities, and did a great job of conveying the feeling we were after.  It should be self-explanatory, so I'll just say enjoy...

Photography © Christopher Perkins 2008

Model: Stephanie Hopwood

Make-Up: Michelle Robinson

Lake Windermere Fashion Story

I would never have imagined when I first decided to get my photography business up and running, that one of my first paid jobs would see me with such a big team, up in the Lake District, shooting a fashion story, and riding aboard a luxury powerboat but thats what's gone and happened.

The shoot was to promote the new Harris Tweed Handbags, and as such our brief was to create a number of different scenarios, which would make up the day-in-the-life of a beautiful woman, and show the versatility/diversity of the bags.

It was a long day of shooting, as we had to try to cover around 12 different scenarios.  However, we had the best weather imaginable, our first blast of summer!

The story was shot around Storrs Hall, a beautiful country hotel with stunning surroundings, on the edge of Lake Windermere.  Now this would have been pretty impressive alone, with the history and the views and the possible different locations.  But everybody's highlight of the day was to come in the afternoon, when we went to shoot aboard a powerboat.

Now I had a feeling this thing was going to be nice, but when we arrived, it was liking rolling up in St. Tropez, this boat was huge and it got everybody obviously excited, thinking, 'Now this is why I got into this business'.  Needless to say, a fun day was had by all... Exhausting, but fun nonetheless.

Now bring on more!!!

The team photo, aboard the luxury powerboat.

From left: Me, Jim (The Client), Jenny (My Assistant), Andrea (Hair & Make-Up), Martina (Model) and Tom (Model for the day!)