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

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.

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??!

'No More No Less' Degree Show

 

I am currently busy making lots of preparations for our degree show which will be from the 10th-15th May at 'The Strand' Gallery in Charing Cross. There will be a large range of work showcased and recommend everyone to come down to have a look sometime throughout the week. Including myself there will be three photographers at the show, graduating from our BSc Media Production course in Photography at the University of Surrey.

Two of my fashion projects will be exhibited. "All is Vanity" is an editorial series highlighting the dualistic relationship between beauty and narcissism, influenced from both Renaissance painting and high fashion. The second series is commissioned for 'Fashion Insider' Magazine; a playful set of images emphasizing the excessive decadence of high fashion. 

Please check out www.nomorenoless.co.uk for more information.

"All is Vanity" Behind the Scenes

I know its been a little while but I would like to share some behind the scene shots from my last shoot for my degree project "All is Vanity". This project by the way is inspired by Renaissance art, taken from the phrase 'Vanity of Vanities, all is Vanity' reflecting the emphasis society places on the physical forms of excessive beauty.

I had a really amazing team! Natalie James MUA, Chris @ Toni & Guy Swindon, Lauren Eva the talented Stylist and stunning models Emilie Osborne and Gisela Kouker! Not to mention my amazing (not to mention dedicated) team of assistants which I couldnt do without on such a large scale location shoot.

To see the final results of this shoot and others in this series check out my website: www.aliceluker.co.uk

Sacré-Coeur Paris Shoot

A few weeks ago (end of November...) I travelled to Paris and during my trip, really wanted to do a shoot outside in the cobbled streets or near a Parisian landmark. I had a number of ideas in my head however some were weather dependant...Firstly I love Paris AFTER it rains (not during!) as it creates this other worldly effect on the streets if you look beyond the fact that its wet and miserable! If it rained I was planning on playing with reflections and different textures as the glossy, water touched streets look fabulous as shown in many images in Paris during the 1920s. Unfortunatly it didn't rain so I slightly altered my ideas- heading more towards a pure fashion editorial style than abstractly composed as rain would have otherwise determined.

I was particularly inspired by Helmut Newton 'Le Smoking' and also an exhibition of work by surrealist photographer Andre Kertesz the previous day. The exhibition wasn't fashion related but elements of artistic composition and raw beauty were so clear that I couldn't help but to be inspired.

It wasn't organised in the same way as my regular shoots as I had no access to lighting, no makeup artist due to a cancellation and the model brought her own clothes in a similar style to how I explained. If you look at it like this it kind of makes it more of a portrait shoot but I had a great time shooting this series as they still retain an editorial effect.

I will admit though, the ISO (for all you camera boffs) was accidently set to auto (agggghhh) so even though I was choosing it manually, it selected an automatic setting which tended to be extremely high, causing a large amount of grain on the images. They have been salvaged and transformed from the originals but I had a hard time doing so- I didnt carry out all the usual checks I tend to do with more major shoots so I have certainly learnt my lesson!!

I recently saw an editorial online which was in an Elle magazine using the exact same location as this (with the lamppost and set of stairs). It is a perfect location as it captures the essence of Paris and the Sacré-Coeur yet is still quiet and away from the hustle and bustle right directly outside the building. Enjoy!

Renaissance 'Angelic Portrait'

This is the second Renaissance themed Portrait shoot which I've shot since the beginning of my final year  photography assignment. I'm really pleased with the images and love the concept of the Python against the angelic otherworldly beauty (images shown below)...I wouldn't classify myself as the best photoshopper in the world so I get very frustrated sometimes when I want them to look as good as possible! These images in particular require top editing to maintain their painterly aesthetic and fashion edge, especially as they express an element of beauty photography.

Two images are shown below which I have spent a few hours editing and would love to hear some opinions and thoughts as to what you like about them/how they could improve. I'm perfectly happy with my photography in this shoot it's just the post production which sometimes needs revaluating.

I had such a brilliant team for this shoot including Karen Field and Natalie James (Hair and Makeup) and Lorna Redburn modelling who I hope you'll agree suits this look to perfection! One of the models didn't turn up for this shoot so we did both looks on Lorna (although only the 'angelic' look is shown below, the other to come soon!). I'm actually extremely pleased we made this decision as it shows an alter ego like dualism when displayed together which they will be at my exhibition next year. So...more images to come soon once I have further mastered the wonders of photoshop.

Im also having a few issues when uploading images here as they seem to increase contrast and darken so much from how they appear on my computer!

'Fashion in Motion' Stéphane Rolland @ V&A

Yesterday was the 'Fashion in Motion' catwalk show at the V&A showcasing a collection of Stéphane Rolland's beautiful couture designs. It was definitely my favourite out of the three I have seen at the V&A (the others being Erdem and Kenzo) probably because I looooove couture!

Every dress was carefully constructed with amazing materials and architectural shapes which was perfectly complimented by the MAC makeup artist team working their magic! If I'm totally honest I hadn't heard so much about Stéphane Rolland before but I was blown away by each one of looks down the catwalk. I particularly loved the jewel embellished tights and the sharp shoulder detail which stood out as key trademarks of his work which are sure to be copied soon!

Anyway, a 10/10 show and I wish I could put even more images up here as it was amazing!! I will put them all up on my facebook page (which there is be a link to on the right hand side of my blog)
Oh and the man himself showed his face when the show had finished- he looked like he had stepped out of a L'Oreal advert, his hair was SO glossy!

Proud Cabaret: Numero 2!

So... last Friday I went on my second visit to 'Proud Cabaret' where I got a little more arty and imaginative so that the images may reflect and convey a place of fantasy and escapism! Ooh lala. Using the combination of still life (of the venue) and performances it almost builds a narrative when the images are shown in a series.

Let me know what you think; if you have any ideas for my next visit please let me know- I love feedback :) On my next visit I plan to create a more abstract vision of the performances compared to the 'straight shots' that I have currently documented. This is so that when I create the book of final images they can be presented together (possibly on a double spread) to offer two alternate elements which convey different meaning!

P.S I love candles that smell of Christmas :)