Our recent BFC Project Photoshoot with Something New Wedding Specialists was a great day and they recently went to the 'I Do Wedding Fair' in Doncaster, which is a large exhibition here in South Yorkshire. Laura used the beautiful photographs on her stand for the fair, so we asked her about how they helped her at the fair and what advice she has.

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What does having professional product photographs do for your business?

'It was great to show the dresses actually on someone as they don't always show best hung on the hanger. They also made the promotional material look a lot more professional and eye-catching.'

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How did they help your stall at the 'I Do Wedding Fair', compared to not having them at previous events?

'They really stood out especially as they matched the dresses that were hung up to the side of them. At other fayres I've just used customer photos but there's something a bit more special about editorial shots.'

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What image and style were you portraying at the fair with your photos and displays?

'I wanted to aim for pastel rainbow shades to stand out, knowing I was going to be opposite a bridal stand. The photos portrayed a more up-to date look and showed that I try to follow trends rather than just being another wedding supplier.'

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What advice would you give other businesses standing at large exhibitions and events?

'Try to make it look as professional and eye-catching as possible. Having great shots of your product at work really can sell it.'

We will soon be showing you the finished edited photographs from the shoot, watch this space!

The first Barnsley Fashion Creatives project was back in October and it was a brilliant day with a brilliant team! We now can show you our favourite picks from the bunch, which we ended up with lots of usable photos for all who was involved. We worked with local designer Spirit Original Designs who creates clothing and accessories, make-up artist and hair stylist Nicola Whitfield, Photographer Kevin Hinchcliffe and our two models Sammi Scargill and Megan Pickering and shot our photos around the Barnsley Colliery and Jakto's Transportation yard. You can look back on our previous first project posts here:

BFC Project Brief #1

BFC Project #1 Updates

BFC Project: Profiling the Team

BFC Project: Behind The Scenes & How To’s

We are currently organising our second project for a bridal themed shoot with another local designer. You can read more about it here.

All of the below outfits are on sale and available for purchasing, you can visit Spirit Original Designs facebook page to enquire about any of the outfits, jewellery and leather bags. Visit www.facebook.com/Spirit-Original-Designs-170351533010366/?fref=ts

 

Sammi was one of our models, her favourites are:



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Nicola was our make-up artist and hair stylist for the shoot, here's her two favourites:

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'Fab team to work with, really enjoyed the day and everyone really mucked in and helped where needed. Trish was lovely and her designs are amazing, organisation by Hannah was done very well. Both models were amazing and I couldn't believe they hadn't modelled before as they both were really good and took direction brilliantly. Kevin did amazing with the photo's and my two favourite outfits were Sammi with the leaves and the pink & grey dress on Megan. Stunning, thanks team you were great.'

 

 

Here we have Megan's favourites who was one of our beautiful models:

[caption id="attachment_4164" align="aligncenter" width="500"] 'I really like how the coat drops on this photo, I think it shows off the waterfall effect really well.'[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4163" align="aligncenter" width="500"] 'I like how this photo showcases the variety of rings on offer at Spirit Original Designs. I also think it emphasises Nicola's skills with eye make-up, I like the choices she chose and this is complimented in Sam's skin tone really well.'[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4173" align="aligncenter" width="500"] 'I like this one showing Nicola hard at work. Out of the two looks I had, this was my favourite as it was a bit more grungey. I also like how you can see the glitter fading across the eyeshadow.'[/caption]

[caption id="attachment_4177" align="aligncenter" width="500"] 'I really like the colours in this dress and Kevin has done a really good job with editing the photo and angling it to get the best possible effect for this outfit. I love how the dress has a roughed detailing to hide my wobbly bits, but the belt still shows off my figure. I also think Nicola has done a great job doing a subtle look with the make-up to not distract from the dramatic colours in the dress, yet still managed to create the wow factor with the hair.'[/caption]

Something New Wedding Specialists is an amazing local business that creates bridesmaids dresses, flower girls, as well as wedding decor, chair covers and so much more! This is our second Barnsley Fashion Creatives project and are planning to do a photoshoot of their beautiful bridesmaid dresses and flower girls. We are looking for some local businesses to help us out and a couple of models. This is an unpaid shoot but all involved will receive copies of the photos to use however you like. This is set to be on Monday the 20th of February and must be available all day.

If you are a local business that is also looking to connect with others in a fun project, get in touch with us to see how we can help you out.

The Brief By: Something New - Wedding Specialists (Website)

Location: TBC, will have both indoor & outdoor shots and will be in the Barnsley area

Date: Monday 20th February (Half Term Week)

Theme: Bridal Style, Fun, Happy Times, Colourful, Girly

Check this Pinterest Board for our Inspiration:

uk.pinterest.com/laurafletcher88/photoshoot-ideas

Models:

• 2x female models


• sizes 8-10


• Ages 21+


• Preferably 1 brunette and 1 blonde


• No previous experience necessary

Photographer:

• Previous wedding photography experience is beneficial


• To shoot in an outdoor and indoor location


• Wedding style themed shoot

 

If you would like to be put forward to be involved in this project, please use the contact form at the top or email directly to hannah456@hotmail.com with your information, any relevant experiences and links to any work (if applicable), quoting BFC Project.

As we progress through the details of planning the first Barnsley Fashion Creatives project with Spirit Original Designs, I'm getting more and more excited! The main updates since we first released the brief are that we have two confirmed models with a possible third, we have a photographer sorted and make-up and hair are all good to go. We almost had our location confirmed but we've had to find another place due to the last one pulling out but hey, these things happen. This is why we do all this planning and prepping before the day to make sure the photoshoot runs the smoothest possible for us to get the most photographs from it.

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We had a fitting with the two confirmed models, Sarah & Sammi, which was a lot of fun. The reason for doing fittings ensures that your clothes will definitely fit them, but it also helps to figure out what colours and styles suit them so that on the day you have a good idea of what other items would look great without wasting time.

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We also got to play about with some styling options like adding some Spirit Original Designs jewellery and handbags and mixing with cape ponchos and neck wraps, making sure we can make a complete outfit that customers could wear themselves.

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If you have a project in mind that you'd like to do but not sure how to do it, let us give you a helping hand and find the people you need to connect with and get the project off the ground. All we ask in return is to be able to share the project on our blog and social medias, that's it! Drop us an email using the contact form.

Barnsley photographer Liam Gilroy talks to us about styles, editing tips and photoshoot planning. He constantly surrounds himself by all the right people to ensure his authenticness in his photography and his parents old photos ignited that spark. Read the full conversation below and see some of his photos. Visit  www.liamgilroy.com



BFC:  What first attracted you to photography?

Liam: What first attracted me to photography was mostly how, when I was growing up, my parents took a lot of photos of me and my siblings just as people do now, except they weren't lost in the cloud for ever, they were actually developed and printed and acted as physical memories. I always loved that idea of archiving memories this way, and I think that's what's lead me into my love of capturing people, moments and atmospheres.

BFC: Its a shame people don't really print out their photos anymore. So how has your style developed over the time?

Liam:  I think over time I've developed a more earthy tone and started to focus in on a certain aesthetic that excites me, usually the more gritty and mysterious. I usually do this this now by creating more of a 'shot on film' feel, which perhaps relates to the last question. With fashion photography I think it's good to have models that have an uniqueness about them, which ultimately makes the clothing more desirable!



BFC: Following from your styles, where do you tend to get your inspiration from?

Liam: A lot of the time I'm lucky enough to work with people who express a theme in their products, so in those cases I can draw on that iconography and try to match that with a real world setting that helps to build a narrative.



BFC: What was one of your favourite projects that you've worked on?

Liam: One that springs to mind is a Fear and Loathing Clothing shoot we did for their Up The Dosage collection. We shot all the lifestyle shots around this huge abandoned house which was a lot of fun to play around with. We decided to run with some more unusual ideas, like building a prop satanic ritual in the barn, the location was a playground for photography. Here's a behind the scenes video of that shoot.
[facebook url="https://www.facebook.com/ArcadiaFilm/videos/1041575905887299/" /]

BFC: Oh wow that's so cool! What were your post-shoot processes after that?

Liam: I'm lucky enough that my brother Jordan Gilroy co-runs F&L and is a very talented designer, so we get to collaborate a lot and that extends into the editing of the photos, which we always agree on! Outside of F&L I still get a lot of freedom in editing (mostly in Photoshop). I think because fashion based photography is usually more dramatic, you get to take more liberties with colouring and balancing the image and it's seen as being part of an overall process.



BFC: What tips would you give about photo editing to those who want to make their own products look better? Maybe they only use their mobile phones, so is there anything they can do just to bring them more to life?

Liam: A big thing for me is not getting too caught up on gear, so I tent to find kit and software and stick with it until I feel like it hasn't done the job. For me I use photoshop, because you can always play around with depth by using layer masks or tilt shifts etc and play with the contrast a lot. I use a cool piece of software called CameraBag2, which has some awesome customisable presets for specific tones etc. Honestly, I think Instagram is great if you're working on mobile. For example, you can get a really great looking tone just by pumping up the contrast and and taking the saturation way down on your image just like you would in Photoshop. I think it's just good to experiment.

BFC: And last question, what tips would you give to someone who's planning their own photoshoot?

Liam: My advice for anyone planning their own photoshoot, if I'm qualified to give advice, would be to first create a good atmosphere, make sure everyone's on the same page about what you want to achieve and make sure that everyone's having a good time! Your shoot will benefit massively from this. Second of all I'd say try something different. With the exemption of practising before you shoot, try and do something new that you finding challenging.

We have our first Barnsley Fashion Creatives project! We have been in touch with Trish Evans from Spirit Original Designs who would like to do a photoshoot of her clothing and accessories and is looking for other locals to participate. Here is the run down of the brief with subject to changes as more details are confirmed.

At Barnsley Fashion Creatives, our main aim is to get people connected in Barnsley to work together and help each other out to further enhance our experiences and business. If you have a project in mind and not sure where to go with it, we can help. We can get in touch with the right people to get what you need, find suitable locations and help get it all organised. Feel free to enquire about your project.

Brief by: Spirit Original Designs

Proposed Location: Spring bank Farm (waiting on confirmation)

Date: October

Theme: Rustic, old, quirky, historical, woods

Who we are looking for: Models in sizes 10, 14 & 16, at least one blonde and one brunette. A Photographer and anyone else who'd like to participate. We already have hair & makeup.

Project is unpaid, all participants will get full use of the photos.

This is a fun project for people who are based in Barnsley to all help each other out and get their own use out of it as well, if you require some photos of particular areas that show your own work, we can get those done for you to put in your own portfolios.

If you yourself or if know anyone who would like to help out on the project please use the contact page quoting the brief and with any links to your work. All participants must be agreed by the project leader to ensure you fit the desired brief.