…taken by Richard Toplis on my day in Essex last week. We shot in the yard outside the studio we were working in, which was far from picturesque, but proves you can get superb, engaging portraits if you take advantage of the natural daylight and just look for interesting colours and textures in the background. The metal containers provided great backdrops against my red hair, and the brick walls looked great for closely cropped portraits with a bit of light bounced upward from a reflecter. The results Richard captured are so eyecatching, especially with his use of the shallow depth of field to draw you into my expression. I chose coloured knitted clothing to enhance my colouring and add extra detail, whilst the white cloudy sky acted as a giant softbox for a very flattering light on my skin and made all the colours pop. Love them! Job well done!!

We spent the rest of our 2 hour shoot trying our different styles and accessories in the studio, which I think have a very sensual, antique sort of feel. I do like brown backdrops, think they give a great warm, old style effect. I had a very enjoyable day working there (with 2 other photographers also) and I’m arranging another visit that way in February so I’ll be back to Essex soon! 🙂