Jennifer Collins

Two shoots with a talented young lady .. One inspired by the street artist Banksy & the other by her love for ballet ...

It's Been a While ..

I have been a busy boy of late. Started Uni on an Editorial & Advertising Photography degree in Cheltenham, got a little caught up in it all, loving it, but I am back to this diary of mine .. Thought I would stick up a glimpse of a couple of shoot's I did towards the end of the summer, it's all higgldy piggldy as inspiration was taken from everywhere and on a mix of medium format, polaroid and digital but here's a few I enjoy ...

Another Glimpse At My Stuff ..

This was a more recent set of photographs which I thoroughly enjoyed. I have taken Emma's picture a few times now & it has a habit of being fun and ending in good results. For these photo's we just wanted something different, not moody and dark, but colourful and filled with fun attitude. Emma had introduced me to Tim Walker which I loved. The colours, the fairytale-ness of the whole image he creates. The fact he never edits anything has been a huge influence to me and I wanted to do as little editing on these shots as possible. So Emma brought Mr Walker to the table, on my side I wanted the attitude and sex appeal that Ellen Von Unwerth brings to her shots mixed with bright colours & a busy location. I loved the final results as soon as I saw them and just boosted my belief that I want to get better with film, as doing these images with digital just doesn't seem to do them justice. The final image was my first try at medium format.

ink tattoos body art

As I mentioned, Barca re-hit the 'ink' nerve and my love for body art. Always been a big fan of tattoo-ing and had it in my head as many people do that 'one day I will get one'. I saw some incredible designs over there on the beach and so have been searching images and watching good old LA Ink & London Ink on youtube ever since I got home! Got to say Josh Beech has a lot to blame for this! He made a huge change in direction as far as modelling goes over the last few years being the main male model to be very popular thats covered in tattoo's, bringing back that rockstar image. & obviously Mr Beckham with his sleeves, Travis Barker with pretty much every inch covered (perhaps tad excessive but gotta love him!) So here's a few of my favourite images as I do my research..

Barca

Just got back from a little trip over to Barcelona. Wasn't quite the photographical holiday I had hoped for being a jam-packed four days but I did get a couple of nice shots. Didn't realise it was like a Mecca for skaters all over Europe which was cool to see & being on the beach rekindled my love for body ink. I do love that city, from the Gaudi House to Gardens, Beach to Bars it's all jaw dropping.

A Glimpse At My Work ..

This was one of the first shoot's I ever did. I had finally got my DSLR a few days before and was itching to see what I/it .. we, could do together. I had been talking to a mate of mine Josh Brown for a while about doing some shots. He had done some modelling before and had seen some of my images and enjoyed them. It was all very impulsive but I had told him I wanted a very London look. We raided his house really starting with his wardrobe, the background is a dirty sheet from his Dad's work van, and his Dad absolutely came up trumps when he brought that bowler hat down from the loft.

I wanted smog and soot, Oliver Twist! I had very recently watched Clock Work Orange and I think you can see how that effected the shoot too. I honestly loved these photos as soon as I took them, that feeling when you know everything's coming together can be quite rare. A lot to do with the model, but lighting, also wardrobe is a bigee, obviously me getting my eye in all have a big effect and some days it just clicks. This was one of those shoots that made me feel like this was the business for me.

Toby Burrows - Fallen

An Australian photographer,Toby Burrows, has caught my eye very recently with his new shoot 'Fallen' .. It is truly Incredible I keep coming back to it. Almost magical, very natural it comes across as almost simple but when you think of the effort that must have gone in and complexity of designing and finishing a shoot like this it is very inspiring.

www.tobyburrows.com

The UnderWater Project

I was on Coggles today, (probably my favourite boutique website) www.coggles.com and there was an article about a photographer, Mark Tipple and his UnderWater Project. The basic story goes he got bored of the average surfing shots and decided there was more to be seen and so started taking his camera under the waves, to get photographs of both swimmers and surfers. Some of the shots are incredible, completely magical as it always appears under the sea, another world! As well as fashion I have always enjoyed extreme sports photography, must be all that skating as a kid and these are worth definitely a look!

www.theunderwaterproject.com

By The Way I Think I Am In Love With U

There always seems to be two shoots that pop up as inspiration at some stage when I am planning a fresh shoot (obviously along with hundreds of photographers, stylists and models ... But these two really have a hold on me!) Number One is Pepe Jeans London, first with Sienna Miller and next with Ashton Kutcher. This was the first real shoot I studied in detail and made me want to be in this Industry. Im sure Sienna had a lot to do with it, but the simplicity of the shoot had a real tug on me. The double take editing with the colour water mark version over lapping the original image on the Sienna shots, and the almost oil colouring effect and lighting used on the Ashton pictures. Every time I look I know they are simple but they are effortlessly cool and you notice something new every time. Minor details.

Number Two is the Levis Live UnButtoned campaign with Josh Beech. It has Rock&Roll oozing out of it. There's no other way to say it, the tattoo's, the attitude, the girl, but I love the fact its not aggressive. Josh has done a few different shoots for Levis, along with some short films. However this one is the main one that stands out for me, again because it is so simple. The white studio background and the poses are not brash and in your face but subtle and kinda of elegant. But you can't get away from the fact that his tattoo's make a statement as much as it does that he is nothing but jeans and it is advertising to leave them undone. Levis, in my mind almost have a reputation for being dull, against labels like Diesel (best denim going in my book) , PRPS with their very cool design & Increasingly Humour the jeans can often seem bog standard. But I adore this campaign and I think it really brought them alive a little bit.

Robert Joseph's

Another project that is very much a work in progress! I am working to design a label that creates clothes in small amounts, so almost feels like a 'One Off'. Everything from dresses to dungaree's made to fit as snug as'a bug in'a rug while being different to anything else you have seen on the market, and as hard wearing as the jeans you have been reppin' since back in the day. To fit neither a niche nor category, I enjoy styles from all over the world, from rock to hip hop from Adidas Originals to Vivienne, which I want to show in the clothing. Not as out there as couture but definitely something you would need to look at twice, I am working to Introduce Robert Joseph's - Back Alley Couture with Robert Joseph's One Off Shop .. Coming Soon!

Robert Joseph's One Off Shop will be an opportunity for the customer to have the main say in the garment they are buying. You, the customer will supply me with an idea or image you would like on your t-shirt/ hoody. I will then draw it in my personal style and screen print the design for you along with embroidering the Robert Joseph's logo to the garment and then will sell you your, literally, One Off piece.

By The Way I Think I Am In Love With U

Pepe Jeans London, Sienna Miller. Travis Barker. Nicole Richie Shoot. Keith Richards, Annie Leibovitz Shoot. Pepe Jeans London Denim. Tim Walker. Ellen Von Unwerth.