Photographer Showcase #3: Caught In Action Photography

I shot with Dave at The Pit & Pendulum in Nottingham on Saturday, and have already received these lovely retouched images from him! It was both my first time shooting with Dave and our first time respectively shooting at The Pit, but I think we made the most of our time together.

The Pit is a big, old, wonderful Victorian location with high ceilings, huge windows, peeling paint, worn floorboards, secret rooms and mysterious symbols drawn on the walls, managed by a super lovely, friendly and helpful chap called Danny.

These are my favourites of our "shiny" shots. I did the hair, makeup and wardrobe styling. Skincare was provided by Bareskin Beauty. NB Both photographers I shot with on Saturday specifically complimented me on my "clear, glowing" skin! Thank you, BsB!!

As usual, click the images to see larger versions!

^ I originally typed that as "lick the images to see larger versions". Don't do that, you'll probably get a tongue-zap.

 Latex catsuit: Murray & Vern. Corset: Heavenly Corsets. Boots: Fabulously Fetish

Latex gloves: Kaori's Latex Dreams

This is the reference Dave wrote for me:

Anita creates that winning recipe. Mixing excellent pre-shoot communication, preparation, professional positive attitude, attention to detail and versatility to create stunning results.Your shots will sizzle and leave you wanting more.

For any models or others looking for a photographer, this is the reference I wrote for him:

I worked with Dave at The Pit Studio in Nottingham, shooting a mixture of different fashion looks. He is friendly, professional, punctual and really cares about getting lighting right. Highly recommended 

To see more of Dave's work, check out Caught In Action.

If you are a model wanting to shoot with Dave, you can also contact him on PurplePort.

#FetishFriday flashback to my first shoot with Restrained Elegance and Ariel Anderssen

I found these from my first ever shoot with Restrained Elegance, who I've worked with many times since, as you probably know! Apologies if you already saw me retweet these on Twitter this morning. It was just a fun reminder for me! There is a wonderful core of really nice fetish producers in the UK who I work for regularly- you'll tend to see me popping up repeatedly on a handful of sites. They are run by genuine people who treat models and actors really professionally and make shoot days fun :)

These photos make me smile because I remember it as the first set I shot with Ariel Anderssen. Ariel is a trained actress as well as a model. She is SO lovely and friendly and bubbly in real life that she put me at my ease the second I arrived. The shoot concept was that she was a model who had been booked by me, a sinister photographer, who has the tables turned on her!

It was hilarious because Ariel genuinely scared me for a second when she turned mean for the movie. It was like I had turned my back for one second and there was a totally different and very intimidating person standing there! It really blew my mind and still inspires me to up my game a bit when it comes to the acting-on-video portion of my job. Ideally, I'd like to take a course of Voice & Movement lessons, but it's difficult to commit to a regular class schedule when you know you're going to end up getting booked on the same days as the classes!

Anyway! Here I am being the "GWC" shooting lovely sweet Ariel...

And here Ariel is scaring the living daylights out of me turning the tables by tying up and shooting her photographer!

The actual photographer, Hywel, wrote a really interesting piece on the ethics and politics of shooting fetish material, which is definitely worth a read :)

Today is the last day of the tour! I'm meeting my father for dinner tonight while he's visiting from France, then home to Somerset tomorrow. Can't wait :)

Anita x

The flip-side of modelling culture #MondayModelBiz

I just found this blog in my 'drafts' folder- I guess I started writing something and then wandered off. I'm not sure what point I was trying to make... I think it was something to do with challenging the idea that modelling makes everyone feel more insecure about their appearance and more prone to body dysmorphia, eating disorders, drug abuse and so on.

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Having your appearance commodified, critiqued and capitalised upon can indeed make you more self-critical- especially if you actually give a damn about providing the best service as a model, or making the best money- but models are certainly not the only women holding themselves up to unattainable, airbrushed model standards. Good lighting, posing and Photoshopping are BIG deals. All women are potentially negatively affected by this but models less so because a) we UNDERSTAND what went into making that girl in that photo look impossibly perfect and b) we are constantly seeing these perfectly lit and airbrushed photos of ourselves, which kind of has the opposite effect of seeing these photos of other women.

Many sole traders, the self-employed and young entrepreneurs suffer from depression and anxiety triggered by their hard-working and high-responsibility lives, and models are no different, except that we are, a bit. It is much harder for us to lose ourselves in debt when we don't have any employees, business premises or other expensive start-up costs. It is also, when you think about it, harder for us to get into drink, drugs or over-eating as a result of stress, because our physical appearance is so closely monitored by our clients. One too many beers or takeaway food packages when we're feeling tired and stressed out isn't really an option for a full-time model on the road. Come hell or high water, we must get a good night's sleep, and will devote time and effort into prioritising it in a way that other businesspeople might not, because they might think  it weak or lazy to waste time on their physical health instead of growing their business. For models, I think these two things are most obviously one and the same.