MTV presenters & chocolate dipped strawberries......Commercial fashion shoot and the ideal corporate gift.

I am starting to become disheartened by Apple.  First the iphone 4, now repeated problems with Snow Leopard....is it that they really were this troublesome before but their big shiny Apple shaped exterior & genius marketing just plastered (very well I might add) over the cracks?  I am beginning to think so and now that plaster is cracking....is this the beginning of a few tainted experiences and now questioning consumers who before, would have stood bare chested in a sand storm for the brand.  Is anyone else feeling the strain or is it just me?

Anyway besides my Apple related issues this week I have also had a chance to collect some of the images from the 10 Sterling shoot, an up and coming mens jewellery brand providing high quality, bespoke accessories for men including sterling silver dog tags and bracelets.  The images below are unedited so be kind but they give you a glimpse of the hard work put in by the team (thank you Clive, Hareth and Ilona...not Lloyd who didn't turn up, why do people do that?!) and an insight as to whats to come.  Final images and previews of the 10 sterling site to follow.

On a different note, yes, below is a picture of cupcakes!  We all know I love a good cupcake and even better if sprinkled with sweets so I was very excited that Susie at Angelic Cupcakes put together these beautiful edible delights for a friend and colleague who is leaving their current role at an Events agency to move onto another events agency and a change of scenery - Good luck Claire!

I thought they would make a great gift and am delighted with the results....even if i didn't get to sample them!  There will also be cupcakes in association with my rebrand....exact logistics and plan yet to be decided but there will be sweetness and mid afternoon sugar rushes so keep those kettle warmed!

Sunshine money & some local business...

Yes my new twitter profile is the image that the paper didn't want to use!  Oh well...if you wish to see it I was featured in Get Reading in the Business section so feel free to click, have a giggle at the existing image but of course also read what I had to say about Carli-Art photography and business in the community.

Yesterday I was at the UK Solar Plaza conference for PV energy, what I initially thought would be a pretty much yawn subject turned out to be really interesting and while snapping away I picked up some 'really?!' facts about harnessing energy from the Sun.  The government's incentive launched in April 2010 predominantly aimed at Residential users, not that you would know as I haven't seen any information about it.  It has made me think about being 'greener' though and the shift that seems to be becoming more and more evident of business's considering in greater detail their impact on the environment.  Watch out tomorrow for some tips and some Thrifty bits on considering the eco system....no sighing please....there easy to do and you can proudly stand on that soap box and state your consideration of the trees and pretty birds and so forth!

For the moment here are some sneak previews of the conference....final images coming soon.

What a Mission...Advertising shoot & Fashion Editorial pics

Tomorrow see's the Mission Hair shoot and a 5.30am start - should be illegal on a Sunday - but looking forward to it and working with a whole team of people I have never worked with before.  Model releases   printed, batteries charged and cards at the ready.  Also the first real shoot I am completing with the new camera - exciting stuff ladies and gentleman let me assure you!

So one thing which has taken a while to get posting on the blog is the Limited Ink pictures, a fashion editorial shoot for a cutting edge t-shirt design company providing limited edition tee's with an array of individual graphics and illustrations.  Below are some pics and when I get some time I think I am going to have a play with the saturation levels on Photoshop, up the yellow a bit or something.  Anyway, for the moment enjoy.

Next week......Mission Hair preview pics, client research project and a tog review!

RWHS and an alternative view of Reading....

This weekend saw Royal Windsor Tattoo on Friday night and then a second shooter on a wonderful wedding Saturday.  Sunday my official day off was fruitfully enjoyed in bed until midday with a crash and burn of happiness when I looked at the amount of cleaning & washing that needed doing!  

On a non domestic note things are moving (ok slowly but there moving ok!) on the portfolio front and I have started really looking at images that sum up my photography, one image for the possibilities a good events PR image can offer...surely not...yes, be sure.  I have tomorrow afternoon dedicated to writing copy and have the lovely Resonate helping with marketing therefore am thankfully being forced to get back on the marketing plan bandwagon.  Why is marketing so mind boggling, its like a vast sea with ever changing currents and each slippery rock you hold onto just promises more possibility of drowning!?

Anyway enough babble, the community project I have coming up in July is keeping me focussed on at least one thing (official PR to follow) and the fact that tomorrow evening the D5 mark 2 is being purchased, yes that 'buy' button is being pressed.  Get ready for an excitement overload as I start posting those annoying look at the difference photographs!

Another idea is brewing and I would love your help actually.....if you are a small business undergoing a rebrand or a start up company what is the one area photography wise you would like covered? Websites, portraits, twitter, your blog, a newsletter? Tell all....I have something exclusively for you guys but just want to put that cherry on the top!

Oh...above...some alternative views of Reading for your PR perusal

English Music Festival....

The end of May brings the English Music Festival, a highly respected charitable event where hidden English Classics are bought to the forefront and celebrated over a number of days and concerts.  I will be there this year snapping away and capturing some imagery suitable for marketing and PR use in the future but to get things started I needed to get a few snaps of the founder, Em Marshall.  We took these in a beautiful pub in Richmond.

For more information on the English Music Festival visit their site here.

Useful procrastination...

Writing a business plan I knew was not going to be easy but seriously...what?!  I believe the marketing plan is going to be harder as I have so many ideas its reigning them in to a suitable plan and strategy....at this point the answer is less procrastination(better make this a short post then) and more just getting on with it.

I have come across some great opportunities recently though in order to help Small Business's with things such as this besides the obvious Business Link - will the Tories' really replace this with another worthwhile and accessible initiative?!  They are below therefore for your viewing pleasure and I hope to see some of you there!

20th April - Small Business and Politics, meet the local MP

28th - 29th April - RSVP London

30th April - Keeping Business Local, Basingstoke

13th May - How to get a press release published

Sweet things....

If you don't already know I am a great fan of anything sweet....cakes, candy, pastilles, more cake...I just love the sweetness!! Therefore as a special treat for all my lovely fans on Twitter, Blogspot and Facebook I am now giving you sweets....yes free as a bird jellybeans and rock candy!!

Just post a comment on the Carli-Art fan-page wall with your favorite image from my portfolio and I will do the rest.  (Contact you and get your address for postage basically!)  So don't miss out....there are a limited number of treat packs to go around!

Bzzzzzz....

A few photographer friends of mine sell their prints online, I have considered this but never really thought my work was anything that people may like to purchase due to it not really being of that nature.  However after receiving a few comments (ok they were in the pub!) I have decided to take that step and started a profile on Arty Buzz.  This is a site dedicated to visual artists where you can browse and buy great artwork but also get involved yourself.  The prints and canvas's are high quality, they offer sculpture (nice!) and they even offer advise every step of the way if needed.   

Right, time to get fully updating my profile!

Create a Boom....

I am sitting here surrounded by paper, files started two years ago now adorning an attractive jacket of dust and various items of my wardrobe that didn't quite make it on to a hanger.  I am having a sort, a big one.  Its my start to my now full time self employment status.

A good start however with a feature in the Reading edition of Creative Boom, an online magazine dedicated to showcasing the creative industries in Reading and surrounding areas, I was very proud to have been asked....check out the feature here.

I have pictures to follow over the next couple of weeks of the Bagatelles Look Book and also the opening of the new Factory 311.  Held last night at their new Mowlem Street location the party was kicked off with a live DJ set and images from the best of their represented talent displayed proudly throughout the space, which is light, modern and fits snugly into the surrounding culture rich patchwork that makes up East London.

Creative Boom...

Creative Boom Reading are a regional online magazine about the creative industries in Reading and the surrounding areas.  They cover everything from fashion, film, gaming, photography and art and design, animation and marketing. The site is managed by Creative Boom - its parent and national magazine, designed to celebrate, inspire and support the creative industries.  In partnership with jammmedia (a quite awesome design studio - great site) who are a young, energetic creative studio based in Reading.

The lovely Lucy from Creative Boom wrote to me last week and asked if she could do a quick feature on her site about some of my images.  Of course I obliged and having no clue about which images are being chosen or what has been said I await nervously until Monday morning (around midday) when the feature goes live.  

To check out the site (which is fab I must say!) then poke the page here.

I'm Late, I'm Late........

With the goal in mind to refocus this weekend I am trying my darnedest to keep reminding myself that my marketing ideas, plan, practice, action and results cannot be put into place and produce results within a month.  Sounds silly but I am impatient (at times only of course) and seem to believe I am capable of such mean feats, I know I am not but it doesn't stop me wanting to achieve them.  

With only 2 weeks left until I take | Carli-Art photography | full time I am getting what I can in place and leaving the rest until I actually have enough hours in the day to produce something of substance.  Jeremy Kyle and Loose Women may be featuring heavily in my first few days in order to aid the mind and prevent a soon to be burn out for a few days, something I understand many small business owners / freelancers suffer from.  (I read somewhere it actually has a name now but cannot find it again anywhere - if I do I will post or if you know, feel free to comment!)  I have heard however that small business owners work twice as much as employees with 54% feeling they are overwhelmed with things to do)

My post therefore brings you an update on the impending full time status and your chance to take two minutes out, ooo go on have that cuppa and cheery bakewell, treat yourself.

"Chillax and look forward to the Roller Coaster...."

Frantically finding time to work and relax is not the easiest of things however after having a weekend away in Wales to 'chillax' as a friend put it really has put me in better stead.  There I was refusing to believe relaxation and getting away from work was feasible or even necessary and here I stand before you a converted woman!

I am gathering info and working hard at the moment to really hit the ground running come April.  A new luxury booklet to go out to clients showcasing some work, a potential redesign of the logo, an actual real business plan and yes some hard cash from the bank (or someone willing to lend!) to follow.  I have a lot of plans that are going to need some capital and having funded the business solely for the past couple of years I felt the full time move deserved to be treated with respect & enthusiasm.  

I have quite a few networking events in the diary so if you are looking for some yourself then visit Berkshire Networking, they have a full diary from various groups.

Other tit bits of news involve confirmation of me photographing the well renowned and highly respected English Music Festival held in Dorchester Abbey in May.  (Sneak previews of corporate portraits to follow as a start)  The Look Book shoot for fashion designer Bagatelles is coming up next week and hopefully we will see those Limited Ink images soon as well.  I am also excited to be taking part in something very local to me, the Burghfield May Fayre.  Not only will I be photographing the event but I have been asked to judge a new addition to their schedule this year, the photography competition.  More details to follow of course but I feel pleased that my goal to get to know more local business's and the local community as a whole has started well.

Keep those eyes peeled for the Sneak Previews plus a whole heap of behind the scenes stuff.  (Oh plus the newsletter in April features a free 'Light Up Ideas' download.....oooo!)

3 minutes of satisfaction...Networking....

Somewhat behind with the blogging this week so apologies.  Honestly, where is time going?  The last few months have been madness...yesterday I was waking up and waiting anxiously for Father Christmas to eat my homemade mince pies.  I am not a fan of this whirlwind in which time travels.

I attended a speed networking event today at Donnington Country Club with the lovely people from Berkshire Speed Networks, Catherine and John.  Having been to a few events I feel I have a good overview of what they are all about now & can honestly say that not only are these events enjoyable but they offer a great opportunity to get to know other local business's, get out from behind that desk and quite possibly, create future leads.  If your intending on going, dropping a hard sell and walking out with confirmed deal then think again.  This isn't about force feeding your business to someone or expecting a sale after talking for 3 minutes across a table in a crowded room.  This is about creating a positive first impression, starting a relationship that could lead to future opportunities and just learning about other companies and people around you.  

This is something I love doing.  I love absorbing information about other people's business's, their livelihoods, every day experiences and lets face it, their passions.  My brain starts ticking straight away about ways I could help or image ideas that could represent them, or most importantly what biscuit they would have with their tea. You can tell a lot about a person by the biscuit they choose.

Either way, I met some fantastic people today and am looking forward to the next event and the next lot of biscuit guessing!

Who said you can't be satisfied in 3 minutes.....just click here.

(Image courtesy of residents.com)

Loreal Colour Trophey...

I was asked to take pictures for the entry of the Loreal Colour Trophey on Sunday and met a great team.  I worked with Lucy (MUA) who I have worked with before on a couple of shoots and we had a great catch up and as per usual she did an amazing job.  The model was new to the scene and this was one of her very first hair shoots - mine too then!  

I used a lighting scenario I had never worked with before and chose to use 3 heads.  The main light was quite close to the model and we used a medium sized soft box, a snoot was pointed on the background and then there was a fill light which I was bouncing off an umbrella back into the frame.  Studioxill helped with this set up and really looking forward to doing some more experimenting with the help of their layouts.

Here is wishing Julia all the best in the Awards...I look forward to my dinner and drinks invite on winning!! ;-)

(Words to follow from cast and crew)

Eye Eye Captain...

Foto Tip Friday actually on a Friday....what is the world coming to!

So just a quick one this week but essentially its about improving skin in your photograph.  I only tend to really work on skin for fashion or beauty images but you can go overboard and that clone stamp can create a lot of softness.  This is purely what I do to improve texture, remove blemishes and so forth so take what you will out of it.

• One you have messed with exposure and colour balance etc I would then start any skin work.  
• Keep editing bits and then look at what you have as a whole, its seriously easy to get carried away and not realize the difference being made.
• Take regular snap shots to see your progress
• I use quite a high opacity brush for skin cloning (between 11 - 22) and do all the work on a separate layer, i then lower the opacity of that layer if needed.
• Use a bigger brush on the forehead, cheeks and chin and then get smaller around the mouth and the eyes.
• The eyes are particularly important hence the image.  Using too much cloning can really make them soft and  you lose the impact.  It is also important to not go overboard on removing dark circles or wrinkles as these all add expression.  
• Work slowly, adding more as you go.
• I use a harder clone brush around the eyes so things aren't quite as soft and in areas where feasible i use the spot healing brush.  Again on around 11-22 and the larger the better.
• Use your history brush on 'Multiply' to accentuate the lashes and the eyebrows.  I also use it like an eyeliner to create some definition if needed.
• Use a high pass sharpen action if you want more sharpness but remember this will bring out pores and lines Don't remove all the pores in the skin, this is not realistic.  Fade some and even ger rid of some but dont remove entirley otherwise the model will look like a doll.

Got your own tips? Know a great way to improve pics...get in touch and show people what you've got!

Cotton Wool and Lighting Diagrams....

Okay so I only watched about 40 minutes of it but the bits I did see were, well, interesting.   One of the Gallagher brothers being a general idiot and throwing his microphone into the crowd, the Spice Girls becoming only 2 and Lady Gaga proving she in fact has a stunning voice and is able to demonstrate some rather flexible dance postures even while wearing the left overs of my bathroom bin in her hair.

As well as the Brits those in Fashion are celebrating London Fashion Week (booo, I missed out this year) and New York fashion week to come.  I hear all things are good if not busy.  In fact the one bit of advise i did get about attending LFW as a tog was if you were backstage don't use the same toilets as the models, messy!  Their words not mine.

On the photography front I am excited to announce that I am taking part in a hair and beauty shoot this weekend for the Loreal Colour Trophey - good luck Tom with your entry!  Photo's and any words of the crew to follow.  

While doing some research for this shoot actually I came across an amazing website that gives you full blown lighting breakdowns from a picture  I posted the link last week but here it is again as I think its so fab!  Also, here is the link where you can download your very own lighting diagram.....this could keep me amused for hours!

(picture courtesy of nymag.com)

White walls and Shadows...Sneak Preview....

Welcome Antwon Allen and Elle Coleman, the faces of the Commercial Fashion Shoot yesterday.  I have not had a chance to review all of the pics yet and decide how I feel about them as I decided to give myself most of the day off and enjoyed copious amounts of tea in bed with Hollyoaks and re-runs of Friends!  This is just a sneak preview...unedited.  (What am I doing?!)  I am thinking of maybe adding a few filters and so forth and de-saturating the pics but all to be experimented with.

Keep your eyes on the blog for the finished set of images and some words from the cast and crew.  All of whom were lovely I might add.....thank you to Elle, Antwon, Jenny, Maria and Sophie.

The Countdown begins....

I've had migraine symptoms, I have had a cancellation and a rebook, packed the car with far too many clothes and tested all the equipment. Everyone is aware of arrival times, the call sheet has gone out, Model releases are waiting to print & I have spent a rushed twenty minutes in Topshop and H&M searching through their undie department to find some 'so uncool there cool' boxers and girl shorts.  Done done and done.  So why do I feel like so much is missing?

If you are not already aware tomorrow is the Limited Ink shoot.  A Geek Chic explosion of funky graphic tee's, biker boots, school girl plaits and high waisted denim.  I have a fantastic team together (all of whom will be featuring here) and an amazing location. Keep your eyes peeled Ladies and Gentleman as these images will not only be appearing on my site, blog and fb pages but also as the brand image for this stylish tee brand.  Check them out, they have a special on at the moment and you can steal yourself a limited edition t-shirt for only £15!  

Fingers crossed for tomorrow and looking forward to sneak previews appearing here at some point over the weekend!

Casting Call.....

This time a request!  
I am looking for a Make Up Artist and Hair Stylist for this coming Saturday, the shoot is based in Buckinghamshire and is a Commercial Fashion shoot.  Style - Geek chic.  Compensation TFCD and £15 expenses, if you are interested or want to learn more please feel free to EMAIL ME.

A 4.30am alarm call...

Some new images from the Breakfast Briefing held by Engage Group London where Caroline Spelman, Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Goverment was the guest speaker.  (The hotel was beautiful, if you have never been to the Haymarket I can highly recommend it!)