Basement | Photography

*So this shoot was a long long long long long long long time ago... like April but I wanted to share it with you anyway as it was the main reason that I stepped up my photography and started working with poses a lot more.*

Kendra and I have been spending a lot of time together recently because she's wonderful and I love her. We were doing another test run to placement and we were going to go back into Leeds and try again with shopping for smart yet casual placement attire but we kind of got distracted.

We ended up having a full blown photo shoot day, topped with costume changes and numerous locations. It's often the unplanned shoots end up being my favourites, we ended up risking our lives to get some shots on the side of a very busy country road.

I have never really worked with chairs so it was a little bit of a struggle to think of poses but we just worked together and with the help of google it turned out so well. I love the shots they are beautiful and they really worked. It has a very urban feel to it and I think that is the location - which was my scary-ass basement.

Thank you Kendra for once again standing in front of a camera and allowing me to tell you what to do I very much appreciate it. Lets do it again soon.

Fallen out of love

Woah woah woah calm down this isn't going to be a lengthy post about a break up I've just experienced with my soul mate, its hard enough trying to get a date but then again I'm not even trying. This is plain and simply a relatively short post about why I broke up with blogging.

I stumbled into blogging about 4 years ago when I didn't have much else to do, I was bored and fascinated with writing. Back in 2014 I would write three page long posts about seeing one direction or my aunties stunning wedding and that was it. I had dabbled in make up and have 0 fashion sense and that was that. I once wrote a post about foam bananas I was clueless.

58 thousand views later and I'm still clueless.

Over the next 2 and a half years I was trying everything from beauty to lifestyle - I even had an app at one point. Baring in mind it was only for andriod and maybe 7 people downloaded it.
But I had an app!

So what happened? I was busy.
Is the lamest excuse I've ever heard, I was busy but I had time. I fell out of love with me. With the content I was putting out there I hated it, I would find myself posting it and praying no one would read it. I'd gone from 3 page posts to 3 line posts. I was ashamed.

Now nearing the end of 2017 and I haven't posted a blog post since July Im here to change that. I have completely and utterly fallen head over heels in love with photography. Its my number 1 passion and the thing I want to spend the rest of my life doing. From now on I am going to take some responsibility and get back on the blogging road full speed ahead and make this work.

Focusing on broadcasting my work and hopefully pleasing your eyes. Wish me luck.. I'm gonna need it.

Courtney | Photography

Did I really find a random trolley and force my model to sit in it? Yes, yes I did.

Today I wanted to share with you a shoot I did with my work friend Courtney, as soon as I met Court I knew I wanted to shoot with her as I think she is absolutely stunning and I love her "edgy" style.

We set on a date and decided to shoot, we didn't really have anything or anywhere in mind that we desperately wanted to shoot but we decided to just wing it and see what happened and I love the outcome.Anyone who has ever shot with me knows I never fully plan my shoots as I don't like to structure creativity. 

We did a couple of locations and outfits and came out with some really cool and interesting shots. I wanted to work outside my comfort zone and try new things - I want to improve with every single shoot I do so trying new things is never a bad idea, even if they completely fail. 

At first Court was a bit apprehensive to be in front of the camera but once we started getting really nice cool shots she was getting more and more into it and working with me, coming up with new ideas and being so much more confident in front of the camera. This allowed the photos to be more creative and turn out so much nicer. There's nothing better than team work between you and the model.

I really enjoyed this shoot and I hope I can shoot with Court again before she leaves for London *hint hint* 

 I have done so many shoots recently and haven't had a chance to write about them so check back soon for some new posts as I am trying to get them up ASAP.

Photography FAQ

I get a lot of questions about photography on social media so I decided to write a post answering a lot of them. I am in no way a professional photographer... yet it's within my life plan, but so far I have taught myself everything I know and I wanted to share some of what I know with you.

What camera do you use?

  Canon 550D 

What Lens do you own?

   I have three different lens, my 50mm, Zoom Lens 200mm and my kit lens 18-35mm. I tend to use my kit lens the most even though it is awful in low light just because what I use it for its perfect. 

What editing software do you use? 

     I use Adobe Photoshop CC but I also really love the app Vsco Cam, it's free in the app store and it's a really useful app that I use for pretty much every shoot. 

What camera should you buy?

   I get asked this question practically everyday, it's something that seems so simple but there is no simple answer. It's all down to personal preference and what you need it for. For example, I love Canon's but Amy likes Nikon's, I shoot portraits whereas, others shoot landscapes. 

I recommend you work out what you want to shoot and what you enjoy shooting first before investing in any expensive equipment. 

How long have you been doing photography?

    I have always been the friend who takes all the photos and all the holiday photos were taken by me but it wasn't until 5 years ago I started really having a passion for it and I would take my mums digital camera with me everywhere, I'd use my phone camera a thousand times a day and I just knew I had an eye for it. I got my DSLR about 3 years ago now and use it whenever I can. 

Whats your inspiration for shoots?

     My inspiration comes from loads of places; films, lyrics, other peoples work but really I just think about it. I often get inspired whilst im on the shoot with the model, I look around me and see what I can use, what locations around me etc. 

How do you get models?

   This is what took me the longest, I worked out I loved shooting portraits but had no one that would model for me. I finally convinced my friend Ellie and for months she was my only model and it was something I only did with her, but once my other friends saw my work and how much I was improving they asked me to shoot with them and now I have a portfolio to show my friends and hopefully soon models which encourages them to want to be in front of the camera.

How do you pose your models?

   This is something I didn't experiment with until very recently, I tended to only do head shots or hope my model would do something, but I quickly realised that my friends aren't models and if I wanted interesting and new photos i'd have to direct them myself. I started working with sitting and standing poses and the photos are so much nicer and feel more structured. I often type in to google "model poses" and have a look at them, I also tend to look at other peoples work (it's not copying I swear). 

How often to do you have shoots?

    I try and have shoots as often as possible but it just depends on when i'm free, when my models are free and when we have an idea. 

What makes a photographer stand out to you?

     I am naturally drawn to the type of photography I do, Landscape photography and item photography don't appeal to me as much as portrait and fashion photography so I am drawn to that, but what makes a photographer stand out to me is someone who shoots beautiful and interesting photos.  

Who are your favourite photographers?

     - Jessica Kobeissi 

     - Derrick Freske 

     - Brandon Woelfel

     - Cory Wright

Make sure you check out my photography instagram; @rosejessphotography which I constantly post on whenever I do any new work as I am not very good at keeping up with my blog!

If you have any other questions feel free to ask me, if I know the answer i'll tell you x

Every Flower is a soul blossoming in Nature | Photography

It's been so long since I uploaded to this blog and I am so sorry about that I have been so busy and this little place on the internet has become neglected and covered in dust. I am now off for Summer so going to try and upload as much as possible over the next 15 weeks. Yes I am off for 15 weeks and no I have no idea what I am going to do during that time.

Today I have another photography post with Kendra and I am so happy with how these photos turned out - it was pouring with rain and it was freezing temperatures but that didn't stop us. We headed literally 5 minutes from my house and found a cute little over grown branch and made that our location.

I had been on the lookout for these fake glasses from Primark as I really wanted to shoot with them, I think something as simple as a pair of glasses can make a photo really interesting without looking odd. Plus it creates a beautiful reflection that I really enjoy!

Shot with: Canon  550D 18-55mm
Edited using: Adobe Photoshop Pro CC
Model: Kendra Callaghan

Keep an eye out for more photography posts coming soon!

Kendra | Photography

Meet Kendra, she is one of my favourite beans in the entire world. Be nice, be kind.

Kendra and I are doing placement together again this year however, it is in Harrogate which neither of us know very well so we decided to do a test drive see how to get there and how long it takes. We were taken right from the city to immediate countryside, it was a shock we really didn't expect the long windy country roads we were immediately driving on.

For my placement I am going to be doing photography so I also wanted to do a test run for that, I wanted to explore near the place we are based at for placement to see if there was any immediate locations. I was happily surprised.

We came across an allotment only a few minutes away from the car where we decided to set up camp. Whilst taking pictures we were approached by 3 different men who all happened to own lots and were all photographers at different levels. We met someone who had just started and used a bridge camera and we also met an older man who had the longest lens I have ever seen (it was the length of his passenger car seat) who had been doing some nature shots.

It was nice and a little bit weird to meet these people, although they were all lovely and let us stay even though we weren't meant to be in there in case we stole peoples veg. It was weird to meet so many photographers in the space of 15 minutes as that has never happened to me when I've been on a shoot but I have to say it was really nice.

As we were driving home I was eating my popcorn and looking out the window and I saw the most beautiful little path with daffodils along the long pathway and I turned to Kendra and said "that would be a great location" and as we carried on driving I couldn't shake how badly I wanted to go down there so I forced Kendra to stop and apart from having to run away from the marsh and ruining our new shoes I am so glad we stopped the photos are beautiful.

Here are my favourite shots from the little shoot we did, for Kendra's first time being a model I think she did a pretty good job!

Update + Photography

Did you forget I had a blog? Yeah...me too.

I keep telling myself I need to get back into blogging but somehow I always end up burying at the bottom of my to do lists. Second year is nearly over and the assignments just don't stop, I feel like if im not sleeping im staring at my laptop and hoping for the best. 

When it comes to summer i'm going to spend my life focusing on my uni work for next year as sadly I am going into my third year in Leeds which is honestly the scariest sentence I've ever said. 

Today I wanted to share some of the recent photography I've done with Ellie and by recent I mean like a month ago and I'm sorry. 

I promise I will try harder but I mean my career comes before anything else in my life. I love you all thank you for not giving up on me! You can always follow me on social media if you want to keep up with my life. 

Ellie came to visit me in Leeds so naturally we decided to do a photo shoot around the city. 

 Also, whilst I was home we decided to try something new and do a Hollister inspired car photo shoot I have to say it's not my favourite but I feel like we need a re-shoot and try it again.

Long time no speak | Photography

I am finally going to be sharing some of my recent photography shoots with Ellie, I am so sorry I have neglected this blog and left you hanging about my Disneyland trip but I have excuses don't worry!

I am now in my second semester of second year and life and uni are getting on top of me but I wanted to show you some of the work I am have been doing recently.

I don't have time to edit them so here's the raw files!

I love doing shoots with Ellie, she is a great friend of mine and a wonderful model!

Modern Renaissance Palette

I am so excited to announce that I finally have the palette I've always wanted.

When I answered the door to the delivery man I was so confused I thought it'd made a late night beauty bay purchase and I instantly thought "not again"  but it turns out my wonderful friend Kendra had surprised me.

Starting off can we talk about how flawless the colours in this palette are! It is so far out of my comfort zone but I love it, I never thought i'd say I loved the look of pinks so much.

The quality of this palette is extraordinary all the colours are so pigmented and easy to blend.

I have wanted this palette since the day it was announced and I want to thank Kendra for surprising me.
Here's more photos of it!