Lifestyle

Sunday ‘me time’

ERWhittington 5 Comments

I meant to show these a while ago, and I think they make a nice contrast with some of the recent images I’ve blogged here. The following were taken on film by Tony Ornstien, who booked me quite a few times late last year (read a previous post here). They’re very relaxed and almost candid (I was genuinely quite engrossed in the magazine I was reading) and not at all ‘try-hard’ or overly posed, which I like.

Commercial/lifestyle with Chris Rout

ERWhittington 6 Comments

I’d be meaning to work Chris Rout for over a year before I finally got around to it. I needed some lifestyle shots for my commercial agencies and have always admired the incredible way Chris captures light; his work is so fresh and natural, which was exactly what I needed, so the 5-hour trip (each way) to Middlesbrough was well worth the time and effort. I couldn’t believe how quickly he worked. We got through over 20 sets, I think, with many of them finished within just 3-4 shots! Chris also needed some natural-looking stock styles (many of which I haven’t included here), so it was a great exchange.

Also, in case you missed it on my rather smug (sorry!) facebook status (page here), the hotel I stayed in before the shoot had a cancellation and I was offered a free upgrade to an enormous room with two beds (one being a double four poster), gorgeous antique-looking furniture and a stained glass bay window. Brilliant! I hardly ever stay in hotels, so it’s always quite a novelty anyway.

Back to the images. I won’t lie, there’s a lot (A LOT) of cheese here. Good, wholesome ‘don’t you just love life?’ stuff… Brace yourselves!

(… And as you can see, I’m struggling to limit these down to just a few favourites. As the whole idea of commercial/lifestyle portfolio shots is for the potential client to see what you would look like in a given ‘scenario’, it’s all about seeing/showing yourself in different ways and from different points of view… So thoughts and opinions are very welcome, as always.)

Kicking off with ‘Casual Ella’:

‘Purple Dress (dangerously close to editorial but not allowing ourselves to go there for more than a couple of shots) Ella’:

‘Health and Beauty Ella’ (including ‘my elbow hurts’):

‘Catalogue Ella’:

‘Hanging out in lingerie Ella’ (kicking off this time with ‘my stomach hurts’/’perhaps I’m pregnant’):

‘Office Ella’ (including ‘let’s talk business’ Ella and my personal favourite, ‘really really excited, office has won the lottery’ Ella):

‘Safari Ella’:

‘Mumsy Ella’:



‘Bikini Frolics’ and ‘Action Ella’:

And ‘Ballerina Ella’:

What a productive day!

The Sea, The Sea (I ran by it)

ERWhittington 6 Comments

And I ran a little bit IN it, which was nice. Being by the sea makes me so inexplicably happy; I deeply envy those who live near it and as if it’s just some other landmark or view. The ocean excites me sooo much; partly in a perverse way, since it terrifies me slightly (think of the ghosts down there; the sailors who gulped their last watery breaths alone; the bones; the deep, thundery laps of water rolling over itself and the bus-sized creatures who lurk, glass-eyed, past each other, having changed very little since the dinosaur age; the creaking sounds of ships and debris; the hunting noises and the dull squawks of the gulls over the water…. See, I even love sea gulls). Being at the shore-line is always magical. So you can see why I was quite excited to be working with John Kent down in Bournemouth recently.

We worked primarily on some stock images; running down the beach – lust for life, that kind of thing. My calves hurt a LOT the next day. I’d forgotten how running on sand can take its toll, especially if you don’t warm up..!

Then, I spent some time spinning and twirling under an arch, wearing pretty clothes. I do love my job!