trixtaphotography

Sometimes it just works

trixtaphotography — Sat, 05 May 2012 19:12:58 +0000

I have had one of my best photo-shoots ever today. It was the first time I had worked with this particular model who is a dancer and so we had agreed to experiment with more of the lighting techniques I had learnt at the workshop a couple of weeks ago. From the very first test shot which amazingly was perfectly lit to the last set of images I could tell that everything was working – the lighting was catching just as I wanted it to and the model moved naturally into great postions that showed off her fantastic body. There were around 300 shots during the three hour session and it was really hard to select a top twenty that I agreed to share with the model but here they are below and I hope you enjoy viewing them as much as I enjoyed taking them.

There are some elements of nudity in some of these images, so please don’t view the gallery in your workplace.

Never stop practicsing

trixtaphotography — Sun, 29 Apr 2012 06:03:31 +0000

My last blog covered my experience at a lighting workshop where the group took advantage of some really nice set-ups and a beautiful model to learn some techniques. Whilst learning is really important, I think the real pleasure is putting that learning into practice. Fortunately, I have a beautiful friend who happily agrees to pose for me at a moments notice – she is wonderfully creative, the make-up is all her own work, and looks stunning in front of camera. With a great subject I really wanted to set up lights that accentuated her amazing figure. I used three gridded lights with two just slightly behind the model, one a snoot with a blue filter creating a rim effect on her left hand side and the other a standard grid with a blue filter catching her torso on her right. In front was another standard gridded light slightly above her head pointing downwards. The diagram below gives you an idea of how it looked.

Never stop learning

trixtaphotography — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 18:21:28 +0000

I’ve spent the day at an excellent workshop organised by Calumet in Edinburgh and ran by Jon Gray. The workshop covered figure and art nude as well as some boudoir to end the day and gave me some great tips on how to really get in control of lighting which I am dying to start to put into practice as soon as I can. The model, Fiona York, that accompanied Jon was also fantastic and as he said at the very start of the workshop, great images are made so much easier when you have a great model that knows exactly how to hold her body. I think these training events are excellent for any photographer regardless of your experience levels – it was great to hear Jon’s tales of his professional career and how he has managed different situations, equally though, it was also worthwhile to speak with the other delegates who all had their own tips and techniques which I am sure will prove valuable in the future.

Yelp’s Springtime Spectacular

trixtaphotography — Sun, 08 Apr 2012 15:15:26 +0000

I’m really pleased to be asked by the website Yelp to take part in their Springtime Spectacular which is being held at the Malmaison at The Shore in Leith. Yelp is hosting an afternoon to showcase and celebrate some of Edinburgh’s finest food, drink and funtimes and I’ll be there with my mini studio taking photographs that you will have e-mailed or tweeted within seconds of the image being taken – for free!

How do you get to have the opportunity of a free professional image? It’s easy simply sign-up on the Yelp site and you are on the list for two hours of the best food Edinburgh has to offer, some wonderful drink companies and some great entertainment. Places are limited so make sure you get on the list as soon as you can.

I’m looking forward to seeing you there!

Great locations

trixtaphotography — Mon, 05 Mar 2012 19:07:03 +0000

I’ve continued my boudoir work with a shoot over the weekend with a local model. The shots for her personal portfolio work really well, and were helped by a fantastic location. We hunted around for a location that could fit with a classic 1950′s look and the stunning Oakhill Apartments certainly did the job.

Comments on the images would be welcomed. Any models who are looking for similar styled images should contact me in the usual ways.

Torture Garden Edinburgh

trixtaphotography — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 22:17:43 +0000

I’m really fortunate to have a huge circle of friends from different backgrounds and sometimes this brings me opportunities for photography that I wouldn’t otherwise have come across. A great example of this happened at the weekend when I was asked to photograph the Torture Garden Edinburgh event. For those who aren’t aware, Torture Garden is an international club night with a particular leaning toward the fetish scene, there are strict dress codes to prevent people entering using ‘standard’ club gear and so the standard of outfit on view on the night is amazing to get some great photos. There are strict rules for photography in the club with photographs only allowed of willing participants, so the images you see here has been staged and posed although some of the other images available are performance shots of the varied acts on show during the night. I have been careful to only publish entries here that could be considered safe for work, however, if you go to www.tgedinburgh.co.uk there are more of my images there.

The message I can give you is never to turn away work that you think could be uncomfortable as a photographer, embrace every opportunity, and enjoy the results that you may get in return.

Fredau – Model as a Mannequin

trixtaphotography — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 18:21:37 +0000

I am coming towards the end of a project that has been running for around 6 months now which has been going under several names, but the latest is The Model as a Mannequin. I’ve just completed an excellent shoot with a model based in Edinburgh but known internationally for her magnificent art nude work. It really is a pleasure to work with a professional model like Fredau who can make an image come alive and then be able to re-create the pose for the nude element of the project. In many ways the project has been a revelation to me in opening up opportunities to work with models I wouldn’t otherwise have done and in return I have learnt so much more that has pushed my photography forwards.

I hope you enjoy the image from today’s shoot and this will make you want to come to the exhibition of the project in 2012. I am on the lookout for somebody who would be able to loan me a mannequin to produce a promotional image, particularly if you are a small fashion designer in Scotland – I will be happy to offer publicity throughout the exhibition.

It’s good to be good, charity working improves your photography

trixtaphotography — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 09:29:33 +0000

Neil Lennon and Michelle McManus

Like many photographers, I balance a full time job with my hobby/part-time business. One of the things I have done over the last 18 months though is to donate some of my time to Marie Curie Cancer Care where I take photographs at various events around Scotland. Not only is it a good thing to work with a charity, it’s also a great testing ground for you to try different things with your photography. The events I have covered challenged me with all kinds of weather conditions from the harshest sun to the wettest rain and from the perfect lighting of the golden hour in Fort William to low light photography on Thursday evening at Kelvingrove Museum and Art Gallery.

So if you want to get additional experience by volunteering you need to also practice the skills that a professional photographer needs. An ability to take control of situations using humour and good people skills – when you have a volunteer who has ran 9km, covered in mud and is just about to jump into a freezing river it takes a personable smile and a bit of encouragement for them to not mind having a camera lens in-front of them. Again great experience for a want-to-be photographer.

The benefit I have seen from volunteering is getting your name recognised for doing quality work and then enjoying the publicity of word of mouth that then opens up other opportunities. If you are trying to gain experience in the world of photography, perhaps even wanting to progress into the professional world of press photography then I can highly recommend contacting a charity and volunteering your services – you’ll find it is good for your photography to be good.

Welcome

trixtaphotography — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 20:35:00 +0000

Thank you for visiting the new website of Trixta Photography. Over the next few days you will start to see more galleries appear showcasing the many and varied types of photography that I produce. The launch of this website also enables me to interact in a much better way than previously with the introduction of this blog – I can keep you updated on the many and varied exciting projects that I am working on as well as share developments in the wider world of photography. Please let me know if you think there is something missing from the website or if there is something that you think could be improved – there are plenty of ways to contact me and some of these are listed at the top of this page.

I hope you enjoy the developments of this site over the coming days, weeks and months.

Rich