On 21st September he was given time on the catwalk at the Vauxhall Fashion Scout Ones To Watch menswear show for London Fashion Week. Nim invited me along to the show to cover behind-the-scenes photographs and his show. Here are some of the catwalk photos I took -

CATWALK SHOW -

© Sarah Bird Photography 2011

http://www.sarahbirdphotography.co.uk

I recently heard the news that I was the winner of Sussex Fashion Photographer of the Year 2011! I was so excited to win this award! I was publically nominated for the award and chosen by a fashion industry judge.

The Sussex Fashion Awards ceremony was held last week at the Royal York hotel in Brighton. Here is me being pictured with the very beautiful Sussex Designer of the Year award winner, Suzie Turner -

(wish I’d done my hair properly now!)

Finding a location proved to quite an easy task for this project. I had been recommended Hotel Pelirocco by a couple of friends as a possible quirky location. I was looking for a setting that resembled a girls bedroom – it had to look quite girly, so the Pin-Up Parlour was chosen!

Boutique Princess had already chosen a model that they wanted to work with from some of my previous fashion shoots – the fantastic Tess Dimos. I’ve worked with Tess on a number of occassions now & she’s always a pleasure to work with – very professional & gets what you are after straight away with very little directing from me.

The stylist, make-up & hair stylist was the good ol’faithful, Lauren Eva – we’ve worked together on so many projects now & make a very good team.

The shoot day was great fun & I’m hoping the images reflect that. I know I’ve had a lot of great feedback from people about these shots & the clients loved them. I hope you do too…

All images © Sarah Bird Photography 2011

Video of Tess on Helium

On the shoot day – we took over the bar from 7am! The client pieced together a number of looks, with BBS jeans, shoes from TaskPR & various tops, jumpers & jewellery that was brought along.

We used plain backgrounds for the product shots – making full use of the black curtains & plain white walls for the product shots. And chose more interesting areas of the bar for the main look book shots.

Here is a selection of images from the shoot -

We’ve all got an idea in our heads of what the typical beauty pageant scene must be like! Or have we? Are these documentaries a true representation of what it is like to be a beauty pageant queen? Are we just being very judgemental about the whole thing? Are these children being exploited? These questions & my initial thoughts of beauty pageants kept going through my head after our conversation.

So what better way to confront my views on the pageant circuit than to do a photography project on the subject!

I wanted to create a photo project that explored my vision of what a beauty pageant queen might look like – the fake tans, fake hair, fake nails, lashings of make-up, blingy jewellery, meringue dresses… and then contrast it with what they actually do look like during a pageant. It was my vision to photograph pageant queens of all ages and to create an exhibition of my photographs later this year.

My first venture into the project was at the start of April 2011 with 10-year old pageant queen, Chloe Stedman from Portsmouth…and suddenly my views on beauty queens changed…and bizarrely for the better! I may well be proven wrong by the end of my project, but Chloe & her family’s refreshing attitude & outlook on the pageant circuit certainly changed my mind. I was almost expecting a pushy mother & an over dramatic, self-obsessed little girl to turn up at my studio…but in came a completely down-to-earth & friendly family – Chloe’s mum, Alison; her grandmother, Jeanette & of course little Chloe – full of smiles, excitement about the photo shoot & a love of Miley Cyrus!

We started the shoot with Chloe’s true pageant look. I wanted her to look exactly how she would if she were competing in a pageant. Her mother, Alison, did Chloe’s hair & make-up – as she always does at any competition & Chloe wore dresses that she had competed in.

She was a complete natural in front of the camera – smiling and laughing naturally on request. We dressed her up in all of her winning sashes – of which there were quite a few! For a little girl who has only recently joined the pageant circuit, she has most certainly won the hearts of the judges – and from spending the day with her – myself & the team can certainly see why!

Then came our interpretation of what a child beauty pageant queen would look like. And our views had most certainly been very jaded by the typical American pageant queens! Stylist, Lauren Eva, sourced plenty of very large, over-sized, 80′s sequined meringue & cocktail dresses, as well as lots of sparkling jewellery from Brighton’s Pretty Eccentric (Chloe’s little eyes lit up when she saw what jewellery we were going to dress her up in!). Make-up artist, Becca Robb, took inspiration from our research into American pageant make-up & hair stylist, Kerry Hobbs, pieced together an incredible hair do from a clip in hair extension & plenty of pins!

Again, Chloe was a complete star in front of the camera. Giving us the typical fake dead-eyed-large-grin expression that you often see in pageant photographs.

As the photo shoot went on, myself & stylist, Lauren Eva interviewed Chloe & her family for an article for the next edition of Spindle Magazine. It was our way of finding out more about her, her family & their views of the pageant circuit. Much to our surprise, we found out that there was in fact a drastic difference between the American pageants that we have all seen on TV & the UK pageant circuit…thank goodness for standards! The UK pageants will not let girls wear dresses & skirts that are above the knee (in some categories the dresses must reach the floor), there are no (creepy) swimsuit categories & there is even one competition (Miss True Beauty) where girls below the age of 13 must not wear any make-up (although a little lip gloss is acceptable). And most pageants have strict age limits…so hopefully there will never ever be a chance that babies will be competing in these pageants like across the pond!

Chloe’s view on American pageants: “I think they are a bit too much…with their fakeness. I don’t think they should have it. I had an idea of what we could do – I could get a group of girls that do pageants over in England, to go over to do the American pageants, so we can show all the Americans that you don’t need to have all of that make-up and fake stuff when it’s just fun and you make friends, and you don’t always need to wear fake, because there’s no point.”

But how long will this contrast between the American & UK pageants last? I hope forever! But Chloe’s grandmother, Jeanette, believes that as the competitions become more fierce & the parents become ever more competative with one another, the American look will inevitably creep in. She has already noted that if one girl has something new…at the next pageant, all of the girls will be using it/wearing it. How long will it be for the standard of that all-American fake pageant look to become the norm? At least Chloe’s family have admitted that if that is the case, they will seriously question whether Chloe should be part of it all.

So what about the pushy parents that we see so much of on programmes like Toddlers & Tiaras? I’m sure there are plenty of them out there – and in fact Chloe’s family mentioned about one little girl very high up in the pageant scene who is sadly subject to this & doesn’t in fact want to be part of the competitions, but will cry & have a tantrum if she does not win (after being told how beautiful, talented & successful she is & that she will win!). Thankfully, Chloe’s family are nothing like these stereotypical pageant families – Chloe in fact wanted to be a pageant queen from watching these documentaries on them. Before that, her family knew nothing about the pageant circuit. So Chloe’s ambition to be part of the scene is simply being driven by herself & her family are whole heartedly supporting her. She said in one her interviews with us that, “it’s different! You get boys that play football, cricket and tennis and all that, and girls that do gymnastics and that…but this is slightly different because you get to do catwalks, be a pretty girly girl, have fun and do talent. I think it’s a good opportunity to do”.

She believes that the American pageant girls will enjoy them far more in the UK purely because of the lack of the pushy parents. “Sometimes in the American ones, their mums will say ‘You’ve got to do this, you’ve got to do that, you’ve got to have the fake stuff that makes you stand out, make you be more beautiful’…but really it doesn’t, it makes people think badly about them…about the kid, but really it isn’t the kids fault…it’s their parents”.

When I asked her what the best part of doing beauty pageants was, she replied, “Well, I like all of it, because you get to make friends, you get to do your own thing, and have fun. That’s why I like it so much.”

The article & my photographs will be appearing in issue 4 of Spindle Magazine which is on sale here – http://spindlemagazine.wazala.com/?page=product_det&id=25873

I should hopefully be attending many beauty pageants across the country & photographing beauty queens of all ages over the summer ready for my exhibition in October.

I’m so thrilled to have been nominated & chosen to be in the finals! I’ll be up against Kevin Mason & Tony Curtis Quick! Tough ones to be up against, but it’s all good fun : )

The awards are being announced at the beginning of September. Best get some of my latest work online for the judges to look at!

Model, Lizzie Duffell, was an absolute star – putting up with freezing cold floors & a basement that had been open to the elements all day!

Here are a few images to whet your appetite -

More images can be found on the fashion photography page.

Video shot by Abbie Stanton & Lauren Eva

Stop motion animation by Abbie Stanton & Sarah Bird

Edited by Sarah Bird

The shoot started as a concept between Art Director, Lauren Eva & Spindle editor, Heather. The idea developed between myself & Lauren Eva from a simple menswear shoot to a full concept that involved Pinatas, painting Mexican Day of the Dead Sugar Skulls onto the models, shooting in a barn (at one point we were going to hire in a load of Donkeys!) & using colours from the Mexican flag.

After a lot of location scouting – we came across Bevendean Farm, which had an ideal barn with  towers of hay bails which made the perfect backdrop for the shoot.

On the morning of the shoot, myself & my wonderful assistant (and fellow animator) for the day, Abbie Stanton, decided to create a stop motion animation as we built the set for the photo shoot. I don’t think I have ever spent so long building up a simple set before! But it was well worth it to see the animation at the end (you can see the animation as part of the behind-the-scenes video that accompanies the photo shoot).

Make-up artist, Lydia Pankhurst came to our rescue at the last minute on this shoot & did an incredible job of the face painting on the two models. We wanted two contrasting Mexican Sugar Skull designs on each of the models. When I came to pick the team up to take them off to the farm after all of the make up was done, I had to laugh – Lauren Eva with her arms full of outfits, followed by two skeletons in big jackets.

By mid-day we were off to the farm & it was still snowing. We quickly got our very cold models moving about as they jumped around like crazy things brandishing my old green broom handle & pummeled three Pinatas to death!

Two outfits each later & we were on to our close ups of the models. Abbie stood behind the backdrop on a step ladder & repeatedly poured glitter, confetti & Haribo onto the models! (you can see an orange jelly bear bouncing off Max’s left shoulder!)

Then we were onto our group shot. With the light fading & the cold beginning to set in fast – we had to work quickly to create a new lighting set up & get the models dressed &  into position.

On the whole, it was a great photo shoot. We might have been a little mad to have attempted a location shot outside in January – but the whole team did an amazing job to stay happy & they all worked incredibly hard that day.

Special thanks go to Jeremy Boateng, Max Sztyber, Lauren Eva, Lydia Pankhurst, Abbie Stanton, Mark for lending us his barn & Brighthelm Stone Ltd for lending us the stone skulls.

So here’s my 2010 round up – it’s a bit of an epic post, but should give you an idea of some of the things I did in 2010 -

January/February/March

2010  kicked off with a fashion shoot inspired by the land girls of the 1930s-40s. Working for the first time with the very talented stylist, Lauren Eva, I set her the brief to find a series of outfits that embodied the feel of the land girls but with a softer, almost nightwear feel. The models on the shoot were Kitty Peels & Meggie Mai, with make up by MAC make-up artist Brittany Jamison Lackey & hair by Gemma Souter.

Duke Street Dental Practise in Brighton commissioned me to photograph all of their staff for their new website. They wanted a relaxed & friendly feel for their business portraits, and being a busy practise – I photographed them in the main surgery.

April

In April, after the success of our last shoot together, Lauren Eva commissioned me to take a series of photographs of her styling work for the Elle Stylist Awards. We took inspiration from the long continuous fashion images that were popular at the time on the ASOS & Warehouse websites & set about planning a shoot that would see the same model repeated along a continuous backdrop. I wanted to get a strong coloured shadow behind the model, so planned to light the pink backdrop with a red gel & counteract the coloured light on the model with a strong contrasting white light coming from a high up Beauty Dish. Model – Tess Dimos, make-up by Brittany Jamison Lackey & hair by Ric Romano from SquareRoots.

May

Come May time, I worked again with the stylist Lauren Eva on a fashion editorial titled Las Vegas Kitsch. Inspired by a photo story that we had found – we set about planning a brightly coloured, fun fashion shoot that embraced the garish 1970′s. Models Tess Dimos & Rosie Cherrington both worked hard (…despite all the laughing!) to produce the very specific shots that I had in mind for the photo story. Make up was by MAC make up artist, Bebe Newson, & hair by Ric Romano from SquareRoots.

June

In June, I was fortunate enough to be asked by world famous author, Robyn Young, to take a series of portrait photographs of her. We spent the day together, first taking portraits in the studio, and then we set off to Lewes to the Grange Gardens to make the most of the summer sun & get some outdoor location shots. Originally the photographs were intended for her new website, social networking sites & fan signing cards, but Robyn’s publishers were so impressed with her new set of photographs that they asked to publish one of the on-location pictures in her latest novel, Insurrection. The photograph can be seen at the back of the book which is being sold around the world. One of the photographs appeared in the Bookseller magazine as part of an article about Robyn.

July/August

In July, Valarie Lee contacted me to do some new portrait photographs of herself and her son – it’s amazing when you have kids just how few photographs of yourself you have! Valarie was pampered and preened by make up artist Janeen Witherspoon & hairstylist Ric Romano & we set off into the streets of Brighton & MyHotel to get the shots.

I was given the opportunity to photograph for Irregular Choice – doing product photography of their shoes, boots, handbags, clothing & accessories. Since July I have been photographing the majority of their website collection.

September

September was a busy time for my photography work! Two weddings, band promo photography, a fashion shoot & an exhibition for the Photo Fringe Festival!

Firstly I photographed Cass & Paul’s wedding – kilts & a bagpiper marching through Brighton & stopping the traffic…where can you go wrong!

Following on from the wedding,  Brighton/Cambridge-based band, Sparrow, commissioned me to shoot a new set of band promo photographs to promote their latest album, Playtime. The band wanted a very clean white background for their photographs & I suggested bringing old toys & toy instruments along to the shoot.

Mid September & I was photographing the wedding of Paul & Samantha – a beautiful village church setting and a reception at an old manor house, it was a great day!

At the end of September, with the Photo Fringe exhibition looming & a venue agreed – I had to step up my game & shoot an entirely new set of fashion photographs! Inspired by optical illusions (mainly through my love of the work of Bridget Riley) & playing with gravity – I set about planning a slightly surreal fashion shoot. Bizarre props were put together every evening after work & the clothing was from an incredibly talented designer, Rachel Poulter – she’s definitely one to keep an eye on! The photo shoot was shot in an empty office in Brighton with model Rui Liu, styling by Lauren Eva, make up by Nicola Smith, hair by Ric Romano from SquareRoots & shoes provided by Irregular Choice.

October

October saw my first photography exhibition in Brighton as part of the Photo Fringe Festival. Together with three other contemporary photographers, I exhibited my new fashion shoot at Add the Colour café.

In the same month I was commissioned to do many portrait photographs, one of which was for a set of corporate portraits and personal portraits of osteopath, Neil Sinclair. Neil wanted some images of himself for his new website as well as some portraits for his family & friends. I’m guilty of it too – it’s so easy to go through life without any decent photographs of yourself & hide behind a camera!

Mid October, author Robyn Young got back in touch with me to ask if I would photograph her book launch at Hotel Du Vin in Brighton. It was a pleasure to photograph – a great bunch of people & a lovely setting! One of the group photographs that I took appeared in the Bookseller magazine.

November

In November, I put together a huge event for the Brighton White Night Festival – projecting animations onto the walls of Marlborough House as part of a project called The Dream Machine – where animators realised their dreams through animation.

December

The end of the year & Irregular Choice commissioned me to do a fashion shoot for their latest clothing collection. Against their signature white back drop, I photographed winter capes & leg warmers for their website.

Just before Christmas, aspiring actress & model, Betsy Blue, commissioned me to produce a new set of actress/ model portfolio photographs. Hair & make-up by Dee Howland.

That was the end of 2010 & those were my photography highlights from the year! 2011 is set to be a very exciting year for me – I have just moved into a new photography studio close to Brighton train station & have already booked in a series of fantastic photo shoots, from magazine fashion shoots, to model portfolios & actor head shots. But I’ll keep you updated with any news, so keep an eye on here for more.