Gillian's latest modelling portfolio headshots are head turners as I've come to expect.

We recently came together to produce some strong and I'm pleased to say not "on trend" images for Gillian's book and website. I say not on trend because "on trend" these days seems to mean flat, bland and uncommunicative imagery that is designed not to stand out, but to appease the lost, gutless people out there that are afraid of anything that says anything at all.
I want to celebrate what is different not what wants to "bland in". Today I see so many people in a powerfull position in this industry, wether art/creative directors, producers, agencies or clients that are so worried of what might put off, offend or just not please whoever they see as their target audience, that their ability to make meaningfull and definitive decisions is watered down by fear of "what if".
I've always been in favour of the "Lead, follow us or just get out of the way" school of thinking. We have enough sheep out there thank you!

"Squeaky wheel gets the oil"

My favourite model declared herself available during these past few warm days, so as I'm not able to just sit indoors slaving over my computer while the sun shines outside, out we went. Enthusiasm can take on many different shapes, as you can see here, it can be well worth the effort to oil up. There are more of course, but you will need to wait and see. But you can be sure of at least one thing, "All that glistens can be Gold"

Some images show faces that once looked our way, I shoot for ones that can keep looking out at us.

As you can see here, her captivatingly intense look can keep our attention long after the distraction of her fit and ample physique. I like shooting with her because the resulting images withstand not only the test of time, but survive swimming in today's huge volume of images out there.

Swimwear on location with Gillian Cooper

Here we see Gillian not quite washed up on the rocks, still stylishly elegant in a stunning one piece swimsuit. I liked the contrast of these textured rocks and her metalic onepiece.

Gillian Cooper seen at TAG HEUER launch of LINK watch range

The night TAG HEUER launched their LINK range, a few interesting Sydneysiders were invited to check out the Link range of watches at the new superstore in Sydney's Centerpoint Pitt street mall. Where I spotted Gillian Cooper checking out the goodies.

Dealing with Destiny premiere starring Gillian Cooper is fast approaching

You only have a few days to secure your tickets to the premiere of Dealing with Destiny, starring Gillian Cooper as part of the cast of great aussie actors. All proceeds from ticket sales at the premiere and screenings across Australia will go to the children's charity Variety. Tickets are only available online at http://www.dealingwithdestiny.com/cinemalocation.php

Swimwear to Fashion Shoot - Photography depends on the Weather

Change of Weather, Change of Plan.

Photography on location depends on appropriate weather, we had gone out to shoot some swimwear but the weather had turned grey,with a heavy overcast sky threatening a downpour.
A change of plan was needed, so I dug into my clothes/props collection that we had packed as backup and found the white top and pants that I thought would work well with the overcast tones of our new conditions.

Gillian is a great model for situations like this as she is quick to adapt and work on whatever I come up with. Alex, Gillian's brother was up from Melbourne and was on hand to help out, and was a  great help as things were starting to hot up, weather wise.

This shot required Gillian to stand very still during the exposure as I wanted the wave to be blurred on impact with her. Not an easy task considering that the impact of the wave could cause her to move, and with the shutter speed at 20th of a second, the chance of her body moving and the shot not working as planned was high. I also added a little extra light from a flashgun off to the right to just add a subtle little fill light and lift the image a touch. The light from this flashgun was contoured onto her upper body only so as not to light the wave. A dangerous place to put a $1000 flash and receiver, near the water and within range of the waves ( I have lost flashguns like this before even though a plastic raincoat covered all)


Having the foresight borne from years of experience and the need to always deliver turned what looked like a disappointing swimwear shoot into another great Fashion image. As you can see the resulting image was worth all the effort.

More Fashion Photography here on my website.