Shoots of January 2014! So far so good....

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Well January was a pretty horrid month. I lost my car and my children have been poorly because of how damp our house is so I am feeling guilt to the 1000th percent. Luckily the car accident wasn't my fault and it should be sorted I'm just waiting. 

My first shoot in January, I included in my last blog. It was with my lovely friend Meg at Spellbound Imagery, unfortunately I haven't got to see Meg since this shoot and I had started going to visit her every week for a chat on a relax on her massive couch with her massive doggies! This shoot was so cold, the wind and hail battered against my face and my boobs. The shot was great though and also gave me a chance to use my Christmas Day dress.


My next shoot of 2014 was with the epically talented and beardy BURNOUTBRIGHT, he was so much fun, I love his unique and dark style and I'm going to be shooting with him indoors for the first time next week (maybes). I think these images looks almost cinematic and considering were were only shooting for an hour, and I got changed in and out of 4 outfits I'd say this was an awesome success!


I had my first shoot with Anthony Simpson and the lovely April Miele did my make up and I shot in one of Chris Niari's dresses. I was something completely different and I rarely get the chance of having someone skilful getting their hands on my hair. We shot in an old quarry type place in the centre of town. It was a chance to do something where I looked powerful and almost regal which was a nice change for me.


It was my husband and I's first Wedding Anniversary in January. At the risk of sounding soppy I never in my wildest dreams imagined I couldn't find someone as utterly perfect, beautiful and soulmate flavoured as my gorgeous Nicholas. I hate being apart from him, if he comes to meet me from work I have to run towards him and hold him and smell him. It's such an amazing experience to find someone that you can gel so well with, I'm so lucky! However we got our good friend Jonathan Keys to do some portraits of us on film, I really want to get all the square ones printed and put into a frame, they are capturing lots of little smooches and us just surrounded by the city.


Next shoot is with a team I have been dying to work with again for ages, our last shoot was a Pop Art shoot which was a massive success. Josephine Birkett did such an amazing job of my gold and black make up and Sam Corban did an class job of capturing my face and how amazing Jo had made my skin look. I love catching up with them both though although I don't think I was on top form mostly because of my car nonsense. I always look forward to seeing their new work though, they are both super talented! I think this might be one of my favourite images of me ever. 



I got to work with a brand new female photographer! Brand new to me anyway, we did a quick shoot on a super cold morning in town. I got to wear my little minty frock that I got for my Christmas party and I was concerned that I looked stupid. The lovely lady photographer was Tena Gibson, and I got some super fresh and natural portraits and I'm excited about the prospect of shooting with her again.


I did do one more shoot in January but I didn't get the images until February so I'm going to whack them in my next blog! I have an insane amount of cosplay shoots to do, I really need to get on it! :) lots planned I think 2014 is going to be a creative and colourful year!

What 2013 Taught Me About Hobbyist Modelling!

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It was a year full of ups and downs. Had quite a lot of work stress which meant that I haven't got to shoot as much as I would of liked. I work weekends now which I thought would cause issue but I have got more shoots booked up to February than I ever have!

Here are a few lessons I learned from shooting in 2013

1. I enjoy cosplay shoots!

I have always loved to dress up I just didn't realise quite how much. I clocked up quite a few cosplay shoots last year ranging from Disney, to Scooby Doo, Superheroes, Dexter! I had so much fun doing it. I also went to a convention as April O'Neil and loads of people commented on how cool my costume was. I'm such a geek at heart, I'm kinda rubbish at computer games thought unfortunately, but this gives me an outlet for my geekery. I'm going to share my image with Graham Kenneth Short in this blog, it took quite a bit of planning and he is such an epic photoshop whiz that this image packs a real punch. I'm looking to work with him again for a Psylocke shot next month!


2. Sometimes shoot arranged a day in advance are the best

 In November I got a random message from Richard Hanley, photographer who just lives round the corner in Delaval. He basically asked if the weather was ok could we shoot the next day. I said yes, we didn't travel far maybe just a couple of miles down the road, we shot for maybe half an hour tops, most of which was catching up and putting the world to rights and I was really happy with how the pics turned out. Sometimes you can plan and plan and plan and shoots just don't work but sometimes you do it on the fly and it just clicks.


3. Don't travel too far for low paid shoots or tf

I travelled to Grimsby and Liverpool for shoots this year and they were both massively disappointing. I got paid for the Liverpool one but it was just a waste of time, I would of much rather just spent the weekend at home and I would of been better off by the time I'd paid for my petrol, hotel and food I would of been in minus numbers. The Grimsby one the photographer had a go at my husband for having a quick edit process and I have still only received 3 images from this shoot (and I only like one) and this was in April. Some people need to shoot less and edit more.

4. Make Up Artists 'MAKE' the shoot

I've been lucky enough to work with some extremely talented MUAs. Locally my favourites are Josephine Birkett and Metamorphic Unique Art. Even if I feel like absolute rubbish they work their magic and all of a sudden I am a model, I'm not just a full time working Mum of 2! They are essentially the difference between an average image and an awesome one and I'm truly thankful that any are happy to work with me.
Image one by Penny Jane Photography with Jo Birkett. Image two with Andy Green Photography and Metamorphic Unique Art.



5. There are people I can rely on!

I think it's fair to say I have made two extremely firm photographer friends. Meg from Spellbound Imagery and Shepy of Richard Shepherd Photography are always there to pick me up when I am down, talk through ideas, make me feel better about myself and not only this but they are both extremely talented photographers. I have had a crazy 3 or 4 years and they have been with me through the duration. I never tire of shooting with them and spending time with them.
Image one by Spellbound Imagery. Image two by Richard Shepherd.



6. My body isn't too bad!

I am 27 with two kids. I really need to stop comparing myself to those who are almost ten years younger than me who don't have a single stretch mark on their ridiculous hot bods. I don't over indulge, I exercise a bit. I get what I pay for. I don't feel sick when I look in the mirror (unless I'm completely naked)! Image by Spellbound Imagery.


7. I should work with more models

This kinda ties in with the one above. One of the reasons I don't work with other people is my own insecurity. After shooting in the summer with Scott Henderson, modeling with Fifi Galore and Anastacia Taline it was such a blast. I had such a giggle, I think it taught me a valuable lesson with regards to being threatened by other women. It should be more of a sisterhood!
Image by Scott Henderson


8. Work with new people.

One of my favourite shoots this year was with a lovely young Hartlepool chap called Michael J Smalley. No one I'd know had worked with him but I contacted him on Purple port and it ended up giving me some of my favourite images from this year. I looked young, fresh and happy and he photographed my movement perfectly.
Image by Michael J Smalley


9. I still love latex.

Although I haven't modelled as much of it this year. I've had some cosplay pieces and a few bits from here and there. Fave companies are still Catalyst Latex, Fetasia Latex and Violaceous Latex. I'm not sure whether I'm getting a bit long in the tooth for it all though! Got to grow up sometime, maybe 2015!
Image by Richard Shepherd


10. I should blog more!

 I used to blog every shoot I did but this stopped when I started working full time. I'm attempting to do one shoot per week this year (on average) so I'm going to try and blog at least once a month. Even if I blog a months shoots in one go.

Thank you so much for reading (if you got this far!)
Final Image by Stu Glen (one of the most talented photographers I've ever worked with)










Bless me father for I have sinned....

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Feels very odd to finally be blogging this, it was actually a project I was involved in last year at about this time, infact I did this particular photo shoot the day after my birthday, so March the 17th 2011! I also performed at a burlesque event this day, and my daughter who at the time was 3 came along to this shoot which didn't particularly help with my expressions or anything.

So what was it all about? A designer called Jennifer Johnson and her partner, photographer Michael Daglish, showcasing their skills along with a poet/story teller with the theme of the '7 Sins'. So this involved 7 dresses, 7 photo shoots, 7 models (Constance Peach, Jenny Johnson, Trixie D Licious, Nicola Michelle, Katrina Darling, Betty D'Light and myself) and poems about all of the sins which was then published in a book. I wasn't able to release my set of the images until after the book launch which ended up being in January

My sin was 'Gluttony', this didn't bother me in the slightest. I think the only time this sin has been relevant to me however was when I was pregnant with my son. I suffered terribly from hyperemesis gravidarum, which is a severe form of morning sickness but because I was being sick so frequently (approx 8 times a day) I was still hungry and then filling my face. I struggled to stop doing this until after my son was born.

My frock was amazing, so much detail, and I actually adore the colour orange, along with purple they are probably my favourite colours. My shoot also featured some pretty rotten fruit which I had the joy of squishing into my hands. Anyway I just thought I'd share a couple of my images and I highly recommend hunting down everyone else's for a gander.




Popping Genuis!

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So Sam Corban was all 'There is studio slots free on Thursday' and I was like 'I'm free' and then Josephine Birkett was like 'I'm free also' and that is how this all began. I'd say this is probably by far my most favourite shoot of 2012 so far and may continue to be for a long while.

So after we established we were all free we passed some ideas around and because I am a massive fan of Pop Art, especially that of Roy Lichtenstein I suggested we plotted a shoot around that idea. My friend, Shepy, had also sent me an image feature mega garish make up a few weeks previously saying it reminded him of me and it stuck in my head.


Josephine practised on her sister a couple of times and the results on her pictures looked pretty cool but it didn't prepare me for how well it all worked at the shoot. It was one of those shoots that involved about 2 hours of make up and approximately 25 mins of shoot all in all but it just totally worked and the images are....I would go as far as to say powerful and a really excellent addition to my portfolio. I hope the other members of the gang feel the same.

I didn't really know what to wear for the shoot, I had decided however my normal black hair wasn't going to cut the mustard so I just took along my turquoise cosplay wig and it didn't look as ridiculous was I had first anticipated! Such an amazing shoot and I can't wait to work with both these amazing peeps again. It's just occurred to me how many of my favourite images in my port are actually taken by Sam now.




Shooting with Doug Durham

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Darn tootin' totally forgot about this shoot! Naughty naughty Dee! Last month I show with Doug Durham in the Studio of Light in Sunderland. It's an excellent varied studio, lots of sets, lots of props, only real complaint is that it's always freezing and the toilets are out of order, sure this will all be sorted in due course though. It's still an excellent place to shoot and the owners have always treated me with massive amount of respect.

I headed down to Sunderland one frosty December to shoot with Doug and the gorgeous foxy lady that is Sophie Land. She is an absolute stunner, sadly no pictures of us together where you can see our faces but take it from me she is an absolute fox. I didn't really head to the shoot with any specific images in my head that I wanted to get but Doug had some definite ideas. 

He is an awesome photographer, so enthusiastic and he brought a massive case of stuff for me and Sophie to have a rummage though. I found a stunning orange vintage bustier that fit me like a dream and Sophie found various items that made her knockers look fantastic. 


Doug specifically wanted to use natural light and use places in the studio that hadn't been use previously by other photographers for example a disused gents loo which is in the picture above. I think this is one of the first pictures of me that drew attention to the tattoo on my arm. 


Hopefully I will get to do a mother/daughter shoot with Doug sometime in the New Year, I'd also like to wish him and his lovely fiancée a huge 'Congratulations' as they got engaged over the festive period, in Paris! Romance x 1000! :)






Groupshoot-gasm!

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Got to shoot with some lovely photographers at a shoot I arranged towards the back end of last month. Amazing film photography fanatic Jonathan Keys, all round funny man Sam Corban, stunning lovely lady Meg Franklin of Spellbound Imagery and my boyfriend Nicholas Gray.

We booked a four hour slot, three other models came too (Rosa La Rouge, Bronagh Todd and Princess Pandora). For the most part the mood was fun and upbeat and most people got to work with most people, and I'd like to think it was beneficial for everyone's portfolios.

This is probably my favourite image of the day, from Sam Corban, he was mostly there for the craic rather than to get images, he was very much doing a behind the scenes kind of deal but I am really happy that he got this shot of me, it's probably one of my favourite images from 2011.


I ended up shooting with Jonathan quite a bit too, sadly his film had got all soaked so he ended up shooting a lot of digital which isn't his fave. I like my moody facial expression in this shot it kinda looks like I am saying 'What of it???'.


Meg I have only really shot with once before. Me and Nick popped down to play around with her home studio but we didn't really do many pictures. They had an retro mic at Bananastudio so I decided to give it a bosh, I sang for about 5 seconds before I started to blush.


Lastly, shooting with Nick is always easy, we just bounce of each other. BAM! Got the shot what next. One of the best things of having a boyfriend as a photographer is the honesty, he can tell me if things are unflattering and tell me which way to move to make it better. However Nick wanted to take some corporate style images, I don't believable I look like the slutty bitch of the office. At least I tried.





One Blustery Day....

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A couple of weeks ago I did a brief and blustery shoot with lovely chap and talented photographer Richard Hanley. His work is amazing and I highly recommend that you check him out. Another bonus about shooting with Richard is that we live in the same village in south Northumberland which made this shoot particularly easy for me.

I live literally in the middle of no-where and public transport is rubbish to say the least, it's so out of the way of Newcastle I don't really like to ask for lifts either so it's nice to work with someone who lives just around the corner, and can pick me up and drop me off without me needing to feel guilty.

Again it was a shoot where I didn't really have anything in mind for the shoot, I took a pink latex dress which I had on loan from Catalyst but other than that I wasn't too bothered.


We drove about a mile and a half from the house to an interesting church, with a graveyard and quite a nice view so that was where we decided to shoot.

The weather was overcast and very windy so equipment was a concern and costume changes were cold but I am really pleased with the results also got a good winter coat shot of me which I've been after for a while.


Boudoir Times With Mandy Charlton

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I got to have a little trip to work with Mandy Charlton last week in her brand spanking new studio which you can now 'Like' on Facebook, you can also rent this studio by the hour which is good, I don't think there can be enough of studios like this when there are so many student types in the North East.

She asked me to go and do a boudoir shoot, which is sometimes something a gal can give her man as a gift, possibly for Christmas or just before their wedding, bit of a sneaky peek at what they have to come on their wedding night.

If I'm honest I struggled, I was trying to put myself in the frame of mind of someone who never gets in front of camera, someone who is maybe camera shy but I'm a model and normally I'm requested to model, I leave Dani at the door and I become Dee La Beau. I wear my confidence cloak and stride in to what ever shoot I am required to do. I don't think I performed my best at this shoot, I can only hope that Mandy got what see wanted from this photo shoot. I actually think I would have managed with the faux shyness better if I was doing implied nude, I hate my naked body.

The studio has a black background and a white background which sounds quite basic but the space is huge and the dressing facilities are really nice and there are tonnes of props to play with. Also nice to work in a studio that isn't embroiled in 'Studio Wars'! You're s
afe with The Photography Studio and Mayfield.



If you're looking to treat yourself or your partner to some pics of you looking all sexy and beautiful you should drop Mandy a message, lovely lady, great banter and I assure you she will make you feel comfortable.






That's The Difference Between You and Me and Brian

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Ok so my blog title is a bit bizarre, watch Spaced outtakes, listen to Vulva, then you will get it. I recently did a shoot with someone who is mega warm, approachable and on each occasion I've met him he's made me smile and giggle, these are good qualities for sure. I also feel I can be myself around him, I tend to talk surreal rubbish and filth and I can't get away with it with everyone.

Mr Derk German is working his way through Chris 'Mr Filthingham' Harrison's models in quite succession. He has his own style, and it sets him apart from other photographers I have worked with of late. The simplicity and originality is what I particularly appreciate from his images.

Our shoot was brief and done at the fabulously staffed Mayfield Studio in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. In about 20 minutes we were done and I got some cracking images of one of my favourite latex dresses by Catalyst.

It was quite nice to get some direction for a change, I frequently do a kinda Bam, Bam, Bam posing pattern but with Derk it was like he pictured the images in his mind and encouraged me to make the correct shapes and look in a certain direction.

I have to say these are some of my favourite images of 2011 and I really hope that I will get to work with him again, hopefully outdoors!



My Shoots with Shepy!

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Every now and again when modeling quite a lot you meet people who you click with and it's just super awesome. Other than Nick the one other photographer I've felt a working connection with is Richard Shepherd. Every time we work together I get shots that I think are original and amazing and we always have great craic and laughs aplenty.

My most recent shoot with him we hopped in the car and scooted about various locations in Newcastle, it was fast paced but lots of fun, it was one of those shoots that was just arranged the day before too but I particularly enjoyed the shots I got in the pedestrian tyne tunnel, I didn't however enjoy going down the massive amount of steps with some ridiculously epic shoes on.

Our shoot before that we went to a derelict factory/mill something something in the middle of no-where. I was a blondie then and I took craploads of latex, I was actually just going through the set of images a few days ago and I saw loads that I liked that I had completely forgotten about. The location and the clothing just all worked together, this shoot was one of the most satisfying ones that I have done in 2011.

The shoot before that was in Studio 5000 in Sunderland (now scarily renamed Studio of Light which when you type Studio and Light into google it comes up with like a zillion results so you have to type in Sunderland). It was a group shoot, we wound up having 4 models and 2 togs because someone let me down, however me and Shepy kind just got straight down to business and it was comfortable, I don't feel he needs to give me much direction and I'm pretty sure he is used to me posing like a maniac.

My very first cherry popping shoot with Shepy was at allegedly 'World Famous' Bananastudio, it was my first shoot with blue hair and I hadn't really worked it out yet but I got some cute geeky pics with Shepy that were features on the Hot Chicks in Star Wars T-shirts blog. So that was awesome!

I highly recommend working with Shepy, he is a gentleman, he is a funny and recently he has been a great friend to me, providing emotional support for a crazy woman is a very selfless thing to do and I just wanted to tell everyone how class he is!




Shooting with Spellbound

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So I popped down to Sunderland on a pretty miserable day to do a shoot with the lovely Meg of Spellbound Imagery. It was a little bit rushed because I was trying to scootle to Sunders and do a shoot and be back to get the kids at 3pm.

I still think it was worthwhile, thought I got some super funky images. Meg has her own style of shooting and processing. She also has 3 lovely pooches, I don't think the big one was very keen on me. I didn't really have any particular ideas of what I wanted to get from this shoot, it was very much one of those 'go with the flow' type deals.


I kinda took with me a mish mash of stuff, some latex, zombie eye dress, pin up lingerie, zombie bikini but I only got to shoot in a portion of it and it's a shame that we didn't get to go outside. However I get get to play with Meg's daughter's Monster High dolls which filled me up with very immature lady joy! Hope my daughter Vee La Beau doesn't mind getting some for Christmas.







I Love T-shirts

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So the blog which has been stealing me away from my personal blog is one I do twice weekly on a website called Hide Your Arms. I have been a Threadless fan for a long while so when I got the chance to be a Threadless blogger for for Hide Your Arms, I was absolutely delighted. I also get to blog other t-shirt companies too, I have recently done one for R U Reppin and 8teesix

Threadless is a fab website where people can submit designs, they are rated and then some are printed. I've also dragged Nick into the Threadless thing too, he shows interest when I am rating designs and lets me know which he likes from the new tees and the reprints.

Here are some of my favourite tees that I own!

Jam Out With Your Clam Out : I got this one mostly because it was a bargain and the title made me laugh.

Retold with Unicorns : Star Wars + Unicorns + On a T-Shirt! I just needed it, and I love the fact I got it photographed with me holding a massive owl.

TARDamask : I desired this t-shirt for a long while and I decided to nab it when the last $10 sale was on and I have plenty of streetteam points. Gotta love a tardis.

I also really enjoyed doing the R U Reppin shoot, the tees are really nice I have worn them all a few times, lovely fit and also designed by people who contribute to the site, I just love the idea of a community. Here is my favourite image from this shoot behind The Sage, Gateshead.

Catalyst Latex - Take II

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So I got to model for Catalyst Latex again, amazing company with the highest quality latex I have ever worn. It is an honour and pleasure to model for this company and along side the high calibre of models they choose.

This time for our studio shoot we went to a small studio in Doncaster, it was really really cheap so I guess you get what you pay for. There wasn't really a place to get changed so I spent most of my time writhing around on the stairs, which was also next to a window so it was less than ideal.

I really struggled to find an MUA for this shoot and I ended up emailing tonnes finally a lovely lovely girl called Hayleigh Kingston got back to me and she was just amazing on the day, very professional and talented and I would recommend her to anyone looking for an MUA.

The photographer was my boyfriend Nicholas Gray and I was also accompanied by male model Morphine, who is 6ft 4inches of super hunky man stuff and also a close friend of my Nick. Many laughs and all sorts of ridiculousness occurred when we were shooting together.

Here are some of my favourite images from the day

We also did a short video of how the shoot worked out. It was odd seeing how I actually pose and it's almost like I could see what I was thinking at the time. Feel free to go and have a nosey at the video of this shoot on YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7uMIbUhkUSY
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