DOUBLE TROUBLE

Well to be fair, that's how the saying goes, and more often than not it is so very true. It's not often that I am fortunate enough to photograph two beautiful models at the same time. So when the opportunity presented itself I jumped at the chance. Planning the shoot seemed to be pretty much the same as I would do for a 1 on 1 shoot - choose a theme, location, and decide on wardrobe, make-up and hair. I should have been a scout.

All's well so far. The tricky part starts once you get on location. If the models arrive on time (wink wink), getting the wardrobe sorted becomes rather difficult, as you not only have to choose the clothes you want to shoot, but they have to compliment each other - so the compromising begins.

Posing also becomes a challenge, and is definitely twice as hard as when working with only one model. Shadows, which I love to work with, now become a challenge.

BUT, let me be completely honest..........I had an absolute blast, and would suggest you try it out as soon as you can. The girls were great and we had twice as many laughs and twice as much fun. The two were so different in looks and attitude, it gave me an amazing amount of creativity in trying to capture each of their personalities.

Model: Rave A & Ammaarah L from Mould Modelling Academy
Clothing: Shannon Leigh Hardman
Accessories: Lucid Accessories

Check out the full shoot at: Craig Anderson Photography

Until next time

ADIOS

CLOWNING AROUND

Still one of my favourite shoots. Did this shoot in collaboration with my mate Paul John Wright and alternative model Rochelle (Scar Raven). Although this shoot was nearly a year ago, I still find the images captivating, but understandably not everyones cup-of-chino.

This was challenging in the planning, trying to find a suitable location to portray the clown theme was rather easy - Holy Rosary Convent in Central.

For those not familiar with Port Elizabeth, it is an old Catholic school that has been left to decay and now almost seems impossible to resurrect (excuse the pun).

In 1867, 6 foundresses left Durban and sail to the missionary station in Port Elizabeth, where they founded the Holy Rosary Convent. It was followed by two other catholic schools - Marist Brothers College for boys and St Dominic's Priory. Holy Rosary Convent, Marist Brothers College and Priory High then merged to form Trinity High School, for boys and girls. The Trinity High School moved to the holy Rosary Convent buildings while a junior school remained at the Priory. However in 2000, urban decline and economic factors led led to the move of Trinity to the Priory buildings when the Holy Rosary buildings were sold.

Hopefully, the building will be saved from utter destruction, and one day transformed to the beautiful building that it is.

So, that's the history lesson over.

As you can see by the beautiful images that we have captured, the contrast of the clown with the decadence of the old building worked very well. There were so many awesome locations within the building, that we were able to achieve what we set out to do. Working with both ambient and strobe lights we were able to make use of the amazing shadows that make this shoot so incredible.

Check out all the images at : Craig Anderson Photography

Until next time,

ADIOS

THE BEACH - FOR THE FIRST TIME

So a friend and fellow photographer decided it was time to expand her photographic repertoire and venture into the realm of fashion. That's quite a big step, cos I remember I was taken on my very first fashion shoot with Paul John Wright. Don't get me wrong, I loved shooting people and capturing that emotion, and had tried some fashion shoots on my own.........well I called a fashion shoot until I had to step up to the plate, and my word it was an eye opener of note. No chance of pitching up with a model with a bag full of clothes, a camera and no lights.....HELL, this took planing, location planning, directing skills, wardrobe, make-up, the list goes on and on. And that's even before you have taken your camera out.Once the camera comes out you start to sweat bullets, cos now the real action starts and the creativity kicks in, and man that develops some heat. But what a rush, and when it finally ends, you have that crazy time between packing up and downloading the images onto the computer, when you just hope and pray that you got at least one decent shot, to make the whole adventure worthwhile.

Well I had to learn quick, and thanks to Paul, made it through to the other side.

So when I was asked to assist in a FIRST fashion shoot, all the memories flooded back, and realised that a true test of your ability, is the ability to guide someone else. That, and of course I'm such a cool guy - colon, open brackets. (for those :) )

So the planning began, a theme was decided, a model chosen, a location found and a date agreed - first box ticked. Then discussions began, and the shoot went from a 3 hour beach shoot to a 2 day monster which would have required us to eat, no sleep and drink, have at least 2 cameras (each!) and who knows how many SD cards to capture it all.

But sanity prevailed.

Arriving on location at Sardinia Bay, our first hurdle was to climb the monster dune that now guards this pristine beach we were about to invade with all our kit. But to my absolute delight, WE HAD GAFFERS - I wanted to jump for joy, but thought it would be a tad unprofessional.


Sards is a family beach with lots of kids, walkers and folk there just to enjoy its beauty. But more about that later.

As always, my first action was not to unpack the kit, but to dive into the models bag to see what exciting things were packed. Fortunately I have not been slapped, YET! Needless to say, as with all my shoots, the laughing began and could see this was going to be a good one. Especially when I unpacked the dress I had brought along - sometime people can be so narrow minded :)

The gaffers were great fun, and became the clothes horse for the model to hang stuff on - and I was the one getting flack for the dress?? They took it in their stride and we all had a good laugh.

OK, so remember the family beach thing earlier. Well, there was a young couple with their 2 young kids. The model was bikini clad, and as the evening drew to a close, the young mom was keen to leave, but the dad was adamant to stay and play with the kids until the bitter end. One eye on the kids of course. I am sure that was a very silent trip home in the car. We had a good chuckle.

So the shoot was a huge success. The model was perfect, the gaffers were a hoot and the images look amazing.


Me......well I think I got my one shot!

Go check out the ones that made the cut and let me know what you think.
Craig Anderson Photography

Until next time

ADIOS

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BOUDIOR - Not just another biscuit

Boudoir (/'bu.d.wa.r/; French: [bu.dwar]) is a lady's private bedroom, sitting room or dressing room.
The term derives from the French verb bouder, meaning "to be sulky" or boudeur, meaning "sulky."

The word "boudoir" has been used throughout history as the name for various rooms used by women. The boudoir is always related to the bedroom and is regarded as a private space. It has been used to refer to a dressing room, a traditional bedroom or sitting room within a bedroom.. These uses have led the modern short definition of boudoir photography as "bedroom photography," though it may be set in a variety of environments.

There are many elements that can be used to identify boudoir photography. Generally the subject is in some state of undress, whether wearing something revealing such as a dressing gown or even partially nude, perhaps obscured by an object in the room or hidden by the angle of the camera. As such, many boudoir photographs play on the idea of teasing the subject, suggesting more than is actually shown.. This is an important distinction from erotic photography, where the emphasis is very much on the reveal.

Boudoir photography is often set in an idealized environment, such as an elegantly decorated bedroom or naturally beautiful outdoor space. Boudoir photography is often commissioned by the subject as a gift for a lover or a spouse.

The women who act as subject for a boudoir shoot are unlikely to be professional models. Boudoir subjects may differ in age and appearance and form a more diverse group that is more in keeping with the general population.

Boudoir photography became popular with the onset of new commercial printing methods in the 20th century and was a major part of the pinup craze of the 1940's and 1950's.

If you would like to see some of my work, please feel free check it out at: Craig Anderson Photography

Until next time

ADIOS

Shiny Cube & Deck Chair

So strolling along the beachfront I come across this shiny cube with a deck chair. Couldn't quite fathom what it was all about and where it had come from. It looked shiny and amazing, and I wanted to shoot it right away. It had so much potential, ideas where flowing through my pip.

As soon as I got home I began phoning around to see who was available for an early morning shoot the next day. Fortunately I managed to find two willing bodies to adorn the shiny cube.

The next morning we had a later start than expected, and found the shiny cube not so shiny at 7 in the morning - it was damp and sticky from the sea air and the morning clouds were desperately trying to hide the sun. Needless to say we were already sweating as if just exited a sauna.

The shoot turned out to be more difficult than I imagined, and had to really dig deep to try and capture what I wanted. Needless to say, I am gonna have to go back and try again.

The models were great, and struggled to hold their poses and gazes, trying desperately not to laugh. No one can ever say my shoots are not fun!!

From the shiny cube we moved over to the Skate Park and finished off there. Lots of laughing (especiallCheck out the whole shoot:y at me trying to slide down into the pool, and then trying to get out) Fortunately no pics were taken.

Check out the gallery - hope you enjoy as much as I enjoyed capturing them.

Click to check out the shoot

Until next time,

ADIOS

Skate Park

Watching these guys fly through the air is phenominal. The mood down here is always one of coolness. The diverse groups of guys that spend their time here, one can just get lost in observing how they interact together. The skill levels also range from WTF to "just got my board yesterday".

The amazing thing to watch is how the hardcore skaters are willing to help the not-so-stable and take time from pulling radical manoeuvres to help out the youngsters.

On any given Sunday, the park is full of skaters, bladers, BMX's and even that little black bike we all have ridden at some stage in our lives. Now consider, with all this mayhem going on, with the tiny tots on their black bike, riding like they own the whole park, oblivious to what is going on around them, you would guess that there should be a near fatal accident every 2 to 3 minutes. There should be more blood flowing, more wailing, definitely more explitives and a lot more emergency room visits.

BUT NO.....everyone seems to magically miss each other as if they were repelling magnets. Sometimes it's hard to shoot because you spend your time trying to predict the next collision of flying skate boarder on top of dreamy black bike rider. I must add that there are some really close calls but all credit to the skaters for their talent of changing direction in mid flight. The best of all is watching the black bike riders's faces as they are completely oblivious to how close they came to a ride in a Netcare ambulance.

If you get the chance, pop down to the park to watch some of the controlled pandemonium happening on our doorstep. Thanks to guys like JOFF (Steven Carter) Steven Carter too, who has adourned the park with some of his amazing street art. He is a true talent and his work adds so much more colour to the already colourful and diverse group of 'parkers'.

If you see me down there, come and say HI.

Until next time,

ADIOS