December 2012

Has the Paralympics made a difference?

This is the second time I have photographed the lovely and talented Faye Povey. From Liverpool, Faye and her father (Faye is a disabled model) commuted down to the London Studio and in no time she is in makeup and hair; and ready to shoot in under an hour. There is no messing with Faye, within two or three shots we are getting what we want and Faye always brings that little bit of magic with her.

For me it is really important to get the lighting right first. I don’t believe you can make major alterations in post to correct lighting errors. I use a stand-in whilst the model is getting made up. As soon as the model is ready, most of the lighting adjustments have been made, so it’s just a question of getting the balance right for the model’s skin tones. Saving time like this is not just good business sense, with disabled models you want them to feel relaxed and confident from the off. Sometimes holding a simple pose for an abled bodied model is not as easy as it looks for a disabled model, so time is of the essence!

Both of these images are shot with a single strobe and softbox, anything else would have made it look complicated. Client: Models of Diversity