Behind the Scenes Shoot: Ruby

Myself and the fabulous model Ruby Slate Balthazar decided to collaborate on a last minute test shot on location at an old manor house in Wiltshire (my shoots really do take me all across England...somewhere abroad would be nice soon please!?)...The test shoot turned into a full blown editorial concept, further injected with a darker narrative twist. 

We are planning on submitting the images to a number of magazines- by the looks of the first image which is being retouched as I speak I think we stand quite a good chance of this!

...I will leave you to enjoy some behind the scene shots!

Kirsty, my brilliant (and dedicated!) assistant

 

Stylist Lauren making final touches

 

Lauren posing like a pro!

 Danny just looking fabulous!

Lauren and Me

PINK!

 The last look of the day

Masters of Style: Somerset House, London

OK, so at first I thought I was stepping into one big Peroni advert (the exhibition is sponsored by Peroni) but after paying my £5 entry fee I soon realised it was well worth a visit. The exhibition focuses on 5 key Italian designers and their various advertorial campaigns throughout the years.

I found it quite refreshing to find an exhibition focusing on more contemporary imagery, especially such beautiful and stylised shots that bring together the values which each designer wishes to convey. 

The exhibition also inspired me to look up Italian neorealist film. Quite a number of Dolce & Gabanna and Gucci adverts are inspired by these. A recent example includes D&G campaign featuring Madonna as an 'Italian housewife'

... I hear 'The Leopard' is a great neorealist film?

You've got to be quick though, the exhibition finishes on the 14th August which is this Sunday!
http://www.somersethouse.org.uk/visual-arts/masters-of-style

AOP Open Awards 2011

I am pleased to announce that one of my images has been shortlisted for the AOP Open Awards 2011. This image is part of the editorial series "Russian Decadence" commissioned by Fashion Insider Magazine with the beautiful backdrop of the Victoria & Albert Museum.

The image will be exhibited at the Trueman Brewery in October 2011,  open to the public from the 14th-16th October. More information can be found on http://awards.the-aop.org/ under 'AOP Open'

To view a larger selection of images from the Fashion Insider Editorial please visit my website: www.aliceluker.co.uk

Professional Photographer Magazine: August 2011

 

Wow, it's been a while since I've published a new blog post on here. A lot has been happening over the past few weeks with a lot of extremely exciting prospects for my career/passion/...obsession! I also went on a lovely break to China for two weeks which was an amazing experience. 

A month or so ago I was contacted by Professional Photographer Magazine who were interested in publishing two of my images in the magazine.

Although I have only seen one of my images in so far (August 2011) I am feel extremely honoured to be showcased in the magazine and feel that all of the hard work has certainly started to pay off!! Expect to see a lot more of me in the future as I have a lot of ideas which are developing both commercially and editorially.

Behind the Scenes: Goddess Editorial

So.. last Wednesday was the big editorial shoot at Buxted Park in Sussex, an absolutely stunning location. The whole (extremely dedicated team I must add) woke up bright and early at 3:00am to capture the beautiful morning light in the shoot. We had some really stunning designs which were sourced and styled by super stylist Lauren Eva. I have so much respect for this girl and love working with her!!

I am extremely excited about this series of images which will soon be displayed in a magazine as a full spread editorial- more details soon to come. I love the image of Gisela from the shoot in the amazing orange skirt, she is a wonderful lady and looks stunning just standing there and laughing- in addition to standing at the window in a hotel dressing gown!

Although most of us only had about an hour's sleep the night before I think we did very well indeed. It was certainly one of the best sleeps EVER when I crashed on my bed when I finally got home!!

 

  

  

 

 

 

 

Esthetica UK Magazine

 
I took my chances buying this magazine the other day at WHsmith having never heard of it before and being worryingly close to (what I believe was) the 'gay and lesbian' section... I was actually pleasantly surprised as it had quite a collection of inspirational, stylised editorials inside. There is a refreshing appeal to this magazine as although it's no Vogue, you can really see the passion behind the work.

I particularly liked this editorial referencing Marlene Dietrich a la Film Noir, exaggerated with her amazingly long talons and exaggerated brows offering a postmodern alternative.

What's particularly interesting about this magazine is that it's actually directed towards high fashion and commercial hair styling. I'm impressed with the editorial quality of the images in comparison to the more generic hair magazines and love how they focus at the images as a constructed whole instead of ignoring the makeup, styling and photography which many tend to be guilty of doing!

Art, Beautiful Art.

So I have been thinking about my photographic style quite a lot recently...after completing my Renaissance inspired series 'All is Vanity' in addition to an editorial shoot for Fashion Insider magazine I have been carefully plotting my next moves. What should I do next, what should I focus on first? So many questions...Should I continue to explore with the aid of my cinematic tungsten lighting or follow the footsteps of the 'flash trend'?! Go for more edgy themes or continue on my search for artistic, elegent perfection?

After much pondering and brainstorming future shoots (and trust me my mind is blown over with ideas at the moment!) I have set a few future goals for the next few months and roughly visualised how I see my style progressing... Magazines and creatives have contacted me for collaboration because they like my painterly and refined style..why should I be thinking about taking a different direction entirely?

I understand that every photographer needs to be versatile and adaptable which I certainly have hoped to do (my Brick Lane editorial shoot soon coming to a computer screen/ potential magazine near you!) but my continued love for art and painting hasn't yet been fed and I believe it will continue to be explored in my work for many years to come.

My friend of my fabulous Aunty Wendy recently compared my work to Alma-Tadema, a Dutch 'Pre-Raphaelite' painter often exploring the female form through his artistic eye. Of course I could never take full credit for this similarity in my work as it is also extremely reliant on the location, styling, models etc however would like to think that I was aiming for a similar aesthetic before the shoot and had  achieved what I was looking for.

I find it amazing how even though I wasn't aware of Alma-Tadema's work, the stylistic composition appears to directly reference elements of his work. Perhaps I have seen one of his paintings yet subconsciously stored it in the back of my mind?!

On another level, I strongly believe that we haven't necessarily progressed in art as such, as we are constantly approaching it in a flux; a cycle of ideals often appearing to take one step forward whilst another approach may appear to take hundreds of steps (or years) back!

All I am aware of is that art is driven by this constant search for perfection, specifically, that which searches for the 'ideal' woman- whoever she may be. What I find particularly fascinating is that she is never fully attainable (and to some extent we are aware of this) yet our hunger and human instinct for beauty and perfection is here to stay. Everyone has different opinions of beauty so we are never going to be able to accept one symbol of perfection.

Perhaps an element of what leads my subconscious search for female perfection is that I am personally aware of the pressures which we face in such an industry filled with so many unattainable ideals? Whether or not it is apparent (or even, obvious) that my images are from a feminine perspective in comparison to the traditional voyeuristic eye of the male artist (such as Alma-Tadema) and furthermore what difference this may make.. I do not know.

So to end this slightly long, essay like post, I come to the conclusion that I should perhaps follow the path which is right there in front of me. Be conscious of where I aim to be yet also allow my 'subconcious' influence me throughout my work and decision making- after all isn't this what us creatives like to believe...that our concepts come from 'the soul'?!

........

Christ, why don't I just go out and get pissed like a normal 20 year old??!