Who am I?

My name is Kerry: I'm female and live and work in and around South Shields, a town set on the north-east coast of England. I am married and live with my husband, dog and 3 cats who I love dearly. Beyond photography, I'm fairly eccentric: my interests include animals, fantasy, mythology and folklore and history. (I am a history graduate with a particular interest in England's Dark Ages through to the Victorian era.) I enjoy incorporating my interests in my photography wherever possible.

My Goals:

I have recently completed my BTEC National Diploma in Photography and am very much hoping to launch my business some time in 2013. But for now, I am currently working on a voluntarily basis with a variety of models, make-up artists, hair stylists and other photographers, in the hope of forging new, valuable contacts and gaining further practical experience.
I believe practice makes perfect and I will be spending a lot of time over the next year just exploring, refining and experimenting with various techniques.

My Interests and Projects:

I am especially drawn to surreal and fantasy inspired photography and am currently working on several projects, one or two which I hope to exhibit someday. My first project is a fashion piece entitled, 'Whatever Happened to the Fairy Tale?' (You can see more of my current work by following me on Facebook. Please see the link at the foot of this text.)

What do I look for in my models?

Personality, personality, personality!!! (With a dash of eccentricity!)
I like my models to work WITH me which results in expressive and vivid images. In my opinion, beauty comes in all shapes, sizes and genres. I just love the variety in faces and people, generally, and find it easy to see beauty in them all. My models therefore don't strictly adhere to a set 'type'. Beyond their physical attributes, I prefer to work with people who are serious enough to appreciate the time that everyone else is putting into the shoot. Anything else...? Just be friendly, brave enough to try new things and above all, have fun on the shoot! :D

How I work:

In addition, my models may require an imagination in order to create some of my visions, but will never be asked to do anything that would make them feel remotely uncomfortable. I need my models to trust me implicitly so that they can relax and be themselves.
My 'directing' is fairly loose and informal, (I probably need help with this side of my photography most of all!) But I do largely prefer to use my model's natural responses, as opposed to strictly posing them myself. Awkward, 'stiff' poses usually don't look so good! :(
I do like to use Photoshop, particularly for my surreal/fantasy images, but also to retouch, enhance colour/contrast or create a focal point.

IMPORTANT NOTE TO POTENTIAL MODELS:

I work from home (depending on the assignment), on location or at my client/model's home. I do not have access to a designated studio, unless my client expressly wishes to shoot in a studio and is willing to cover the cost of hire, up front, themselves on a day that is mutually suitable. In Newcastle this is between £40-£120. (http://bananastudio.weebly.com/rates.html)

While I am working without financial recompense, I work on a very tight budget and therefore regret that I cannot afford cover travel expenses or pay to hire hair/make-up/wardrobe services: my models will be entirely responsible for these. I do however offer my time for a CD of images, which I usually post/link (according to preference) to my model approximately 7-14 days following the shoot.

I prefer to work with models 18 years and above, but I will work with models under 18 years old, providing I have their parent/guardian's full written consent PRIOR to the shoot. (Please contact me prior to arranging a shoot if this is the case, as I will need to send you a copy of a model release form for your parent/guardian to sign).

Down to Business...

I am looking for models of all ages, experience levels and most genres. If there are any models out there who would perhaps be interested in mutually working together to gain more experience in exchange for a copyright CD of images, I'd love to hear from you. Please send me an inbox or better still, visit my Facebook page to see more of my work and keep up to date with my current projects:

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Phoenix-Photography/214145218617445

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