What I’ve been up to | Lockdown

2020 has taken a turn that no one expected.

For the purposes of the future 

- We are currently living through a global pandemic due to a virus called COVID-19 aka Corona Virus. As I am writing this we are currently on week 7 of lockdown which means not going to work/working from home and only going out for essentials. it's been weird. 

- As I am posting this I have no idea how many weeks it’s been I mentally disassociated in March. It's currently September and I'm back at work after having 12 weeks off.

I wanted to share a couple of things I have been doing during lockdown, not going to lie I wanted to be a lot more productive than I have been. I have been in the mindset of "i'm never going to have this much free time again..." so I cant decide whether to relax or be productive, i've decided to be a bit of both.

Driving

In January I passed my second test and bought a little red Suzuki Swift named: Taylor McQueen and having a car has been a real life saver for me this year. During lockdown I was able to safety travel to the supermarkets as well as I had somewhere I could be safe but out of the house. I went on endless drives as-well as just spending time at the beach in my car. 

Now we can socially distance within our bubbles it's been perfect as myself and my friends have been able to go for drives, go through drive thru's and just be in each others company without having to venture into the outside. 

Reading

I love reading and I kept wanting to just pick up a book and turn off for a while but I never knew what I wanted to read. The world of books is so vast I didn't know where to start, I decided to google 3 things I find intresting;  the 1920's, superpowers/fantasy and murder.

I found the book; The Diviners by Libba Bray 

I am about half way through and I am really enjoying it so far. I always find that reading before bed helps me switch off easier therefore fall asleep better so I've been loving that.

Entertainment 

Althought I've been trying to limit the time I am using screens, before lockdown I was doing really well due to being a work all day and then driving for 2 hours a day. Within the first week of lockdown my phone told me my screen-time was up around 300% I was gagged. 
Aswell as watching TikTok's for hours on end I have been watching lots of Disney Cruise Vlogs and Disney+ think im just bitter my Disney Land Paris trip was cancelled.

Evening Walk

I have been using my hour of government alotted hour of exerise to go on an evening walk and have a good natter on the phone. I've been trying to go a little later around 7/8 to try and limit the amount of people I could come into contact with not trying to get corona. I have loved this time to just chat with my friends and get some fresh air.
Due to lockdown restrictions starting to loosen I have been going in walks with my friends, meeting up for coffee or chilling in back gardens. Being able to see friends and family again has been a real game changer.

Gaming

I'm not the biggests gamer in the world my main gaming achievement is 100% in both Lego Harry Potter games, that being said Animal Crossing has once again taken over my entire life 200+ hours spent and really not that much to show for it. I used to love animal crossing on my Nintendo DS so when we were going into lockdown my want for a switch grew astronomically and my mum very kindly bought me one as an early birthday present and I have been addicted.
For my birthday in May my brother kindly bought me Luigi's mansion and my auntie Claire has kindly lent me some of her games to try out and I am loving it!

Volunteering 

My mum works in the NHS so once I was furloughed I decided to do something with all my free time and help out. I have been going into the practice two days a week (8 hours a week) calling patients ti see how they are doing during this time. I am really enjoying helping out, thankfully having previous work in a call centre has been really helpful!

Mental Health & Covid

Anyone with mental health issues will know that some days are better than others, I want to be more open and talk more about how my brain works on here as I find it helps me a lot to publically admit it to myself, my twitter can sometimes be a personal diary.

Covid has really been a rollercoaster in regards to my anxiety, I really struggled at the beginning panicked beyond belief I was going to catch it, as I think many people were. As the world started to change it and masks and social distancing have started to become more normal my anxiety started to calm a little.  

I am taking each day as it comes, we'll be alright.

Please speak up if you have any mental health issues people are great and they will help.


I want to remind you all that we are living in a pandemic you do not have to be productive! Use this time to do whatever you need to do, if that is sitting on the sofa watching Netflix all day, starting your own buisness or writing a book. Take this time to do what you need to do.

Stay safe and stay smart.

Universal & Islands of Adventure | Travel

There is simply no words to describe how much I was looking forward to visiting Universal (I was excited for Disney too obviously but I love Harry Potter). As a big rollarcoaster fan I have always dreamed of  going back to Universal as when I was 8 years old I was too short and couldn’t ride anything. I have a vivid memory of crying about being too small to ride the Hulk so at the ripe age of 22 I rode it twice and almost cried of joy - yeah I'm that type of person.

We decided to take two days out of our trip to go to Universal we stayed in the beautiful Loews hotel for one night. The main reason we did this was so we could get free express passes for the rides. Although the park was relatively uiet it was nice to be able to walk on to the rides and not have to worry about waiting in long lines. Due to Hagrids magical adventure being the newest ride we weren't able to use our express pass for this so we didn't get to ride as we had limited time but when I eventually go back I will ride it, I just wanna see a blas-ended skrewt in real life. The hotel was really nice, a bit posh for me but I would 100% reccomend.

I was looking forward to Universal for months, all I wanted was a wand. I had watched hundreds of vlogs online of people buying wands I was so excited to get my own. I ended up chosing the Interactive Ash Wand from Olivanders and I love it. Performing the spells was so much fun I truly felt magical. Just walking in Hogsmede or exploring Diagon Alley was something I had always dreamed of and I have never felt so happy as I have when I was there. Getting the Hogwarts express between the two parks was a highlight of the trip for me, yes I shed a little tear but I do not know how the Hogwarts students sat in those compartments all day they were a little uncomfortable.

Another thing I am a big fan of is Jurassic Park so the ride and area around the park was so cool I loved it all.  I loved Universal so much I often just sit at my desk wishing and dreaming about going back.

Just like my Disney post I am going to included my favourite images from our time at Universal, we ate amazing food, saw the Macy's christmas parade, went on lots of rides - a lot of the rides in the two parks are 4D rides which often makes me feel a little sick after a while but I still had a good time. We met the grinch and Claire got a candyfloss as big as her head!

Q & A | Lifestyle

In the past I have done photography Q&A’s and the occasional lifestyle post so I decided to ask my Instagram followers (all 800 of them, Miss Popular I know!) to ask me some questions and I got a couple of good ones so I thought i’d answer them today.

Any big plans for 2020? 

2020 has came round so fast I didn't have a chance to plan anything big. I guess a constant plan is to travel more and get the most out of this year seeing as many friends across the country as possible. 2019 was quite a chill year in regards to the fact I didn't have any kind of education for an entire year so this year I am putting my head down and getting to work with both my full time job and for Jessica Rose. 

I am also trying to plan as many photo shoots as I possible to improve my skills - my aim is to shoot at least once a month.

How do you stay motivated? 

I do my best to stay motivated but it isn't always easy I go through phases where I am extremely motivated to do my best with my creative career, go to the gym and drink more water but then suddenly it will just drop off and I without even knowing it suddenly I haven't been to the gym in weeks and my skin is dry. 

I think what's more important than staying motivated 24/7 is to realise when you have dropped off and find that motivation again unfortunately there is so no magic secret I can tell you to make it happen overnight it has to come from within and wanting to succeed. 

Would you change anything about 2019?

No. I don't like to dwell on things I wish I had done but I do wish I'd passed my theory test earlier so I could go in for my test earlier as well as had more planned fun. I want to do activities and days out with my friends and family not just the same stuff so I regret not doing more of that in the summer but there's always this year.

Travel Plans?

Myself and Molly are going to Disneyland Paris in March for her birthday which is something we have said we wanted to do for years and now we are finally doing it, very excited for that.

A cheeky city break with Hannah is always on the cards so potentially travelling to somewhere in Europe and as everyone knows I want to go to a cottage with my close friends and it's been months since it was attempted to be planned and yet here we are still not having plans to do that. 

Your favorite book/ movie?

It is a given that Harry Potter is my favorite book and movie franchise of all time. 

But Harry Potter aside, I have taken this question to mean a book series that has been turned into films, so on that thought I chose The Hunger Games. My favorite genre of books are young adult dystonia world filled with action, romance and people in colorful costumes and hunger games hits all of those. 

Maze Runner is a close second. 

Do you have a favorite model? 

Of course I have models I am more friendly with or shoot with more often but I couldn't pick a favorite model I have personally worked with they all offer so much and are so talented. 

Can't wait to work with new and old faces this year.

What is an accomplishment you are most proud of?

My biggest accomplishment would have to be moving to Leeds and getting my degree. Back in 2015 I was not in a place mentally to go to university but I knew I had to and I am so glad that I did. I am so beyond proud of myself for getting my degree and becoming the person I am today because of my time in Leeds. 

On a much smaller scale, just how much I have grown in a person in the last year or so I am so much more confident in myself and I don't rely on others as much as I used to. 

There you have it, some questions people asked me on Instagram, this might have been a plot to get more people to following Instagram but isn’t that what all the “social media stars” do these days.

Instagram: @7jessdavis

Photography | 2019

Another year is coming to an end, I feel like I have blinked and Christmas is here. 2018 was a rough year for a lot of people, myself included but we have all made it to the end of 2019 and I sincerely hope it was better for everyone.
This year was a big one for me so let me "brag" for a sec. I landed a job in my dream industry, I finally went on a trip to Florida spending 2 weeks exploring Walt Disney World and Universal (very magical), I learnt to drive this year I may not have passed yet but I know how to drive just not legally yet, I also made some amazing new friends this year and rekindled old friendships. As you have guessed I have also been doing some photography work this year. I purchased a 50mm lens and have been slowly getting used to using it.
I am so proud of all my friends this year they have done some amazing things from landing great jobs, moving into their own homes, becoming a fully qualified teacher, working on TV sets to completing their masters, it's been magical for us all with lots of up and downs along the way.

I wanted to do something I try and do every year which is break down and show the photography I have done this year. I usually breakdown the months but I wanted to just do a showcase post displaying my favourite images from this year. I hope you enjoy!

Here's to 2020 as Taylor Swift once said "it's the end of a decade but the start of an age"

 As always I would like to thank all the wonderful beautiful models that I have worked with this year, I hope to photograph your beautiful faces again next year!


Photography | 2018
Photography | 2017
Photography | 2016
Photography | 2015

Facing My Fears & Life Update | Career

Anyone who is trying to pursue a creative career will know just how difficult and exhausting that can be. The photography/media industry is one of the hardest industries to break into but ya girl is trying and trying hard.

Since completing my degree last summer I moved back home to Newcastle to try and make some money and build my photography portfolio but with that comes facing a lot of fears and pushing myself so far out of my comfort zone I cant even see it. My comfort zone is a dot to me. (That might be a friends reference im not sure I think so)

Since summer of 2018 when I graduated I have really pushed myself hard to try and make this career work for me. I spent 11 months (left like 4 days before a year which is annoying for CV purposes) working in a call centre for a building society - yes I am aware that is the very opposite of what I want to do but ya girl has bills to pay) and I met some AMAZING people there that I will love until the end of time. But during that time I spent weekends and evenings editing, networking and just trying super hard to work in the media.

In order to push my skills and myself I had to branch out from just taking pictures of my friends. Which has been a wonderful and magical experience and I hope to always take pictures of them but in regards to my career I needed to get my name out there.

In order to move forward my next logical step is to reach out to modelling agencies and this has been something I've toyed with for practically the entire year, since I shot with the stunning Reanna back in February. However.... it's scary and im a baby.

With this in mind I decided the next step for me was to reach out to photographers.  The beautiful model Beth Harris recommend I speak to a local photographer called Laura. Who is so nice and talented and really made me feel like I can do anything I want. I met for coffee with her and I learnt more in that hour and a half than I have on my own well.. ever. Laura was then kind enough to let me tag along on one of her studio shoots as I have never had any experience in the studio and I LOVED IT!!

The feeling I had when I walked into the studio, meeting the models, watching Laura shoot, learning about lights and backdrops was "euphoric" if that's the wrong word sorry but it was magical. I left with the feeling of "yes this is what I want to do and I am going to do everything in my power to achieve it" so that's what I've been trying to do.

Since meeting with Laura I joined a Facebook group with local photographers and aspiring models and I have done a couple of photo shoots with new faces from that and I've loved every second. Learning and progressing is something I am thoroughly enjoying.

Thank you to everyone who has helped me get to this point I am truly LOVING MY LIFE, from every person who's ever modelled for me, Beth for helping me with all the behind the scenes, my dad for helping with my portfolio and to all my friends and family who have supported me so far!

I got this!

Soooooo...... I wrote this a few months ago (I have so many blog posts drafts I just forget to post) and well I have very exciting news!!! I have recently got a new job editing clothing items to be published on the website to showcase the products. I have only worked there a couple of weeks and my lord is it difficult. I have basically been taught Photoshop all over again, everything I knew how to do well.. I don't need to do that. It is a very exciting but scary adventure and i'm having a whale of a time.

K peace out, if my new employers somehow read this please don't cringe I am very sorry please don't fire me im having a lovely time.

Classic photo - as you probably guessed I don't like my face.

You Put the Lime in the Coconut | Photography

It's been a while since I sat down and wrote a blog it feels almost foreign. I've had a lot of posts in my drafts that I just haven't posted so writing feels weird but here we go.

I have been trying to push myself out of my comfort zone with my shoots recently and trying new props and locations. This shoot started off a complete fail myself and (model) Chelsea and I could not get any shots we liked. It wasn't until we were walking back ready to give up that we stumbled across a street with stone coloured walls and a deep dark door, it was perfect.

I love these shots they're so different and feel very "high fashion" to me anyway.
I had seen on Instagram someone posing with a lemon and I just loved it so I texted Chels and told her to find her greenest outfit so this happened.