The Alchemist

Following my successful shoot with Lily I started searching for ideas to repeat the home studio concept. I'd seen paintings by old masters of alchemists and decided I'd try to replicate one - but everything hinged on finding a model who looked the part. We didn't have to look far - Mel is the father of my shooting buddy Marlies & in addition to looking every inch the wise old sage he also has a fantastic beard. He took a bit of persuading but he pulled it off magnificently. Here's a behind the scenes look at the shoot. It was great fun - thank you Mel!

The Alchemist

Setting Up a Simple Home Photography Studio

The image below, Lily, has been doing quite well for me in recent national & international competitions. That’s satisfying in itself, but all the more so because I took the shot in a simple studio I set up at home. The model is Lily Martin, the 12 year old granddaughter of one of my shooting buddies. Rather than take her to a professional studio I decided to set up a studio at home, something I’d thought about doing for a while. I think the home setting, coupled with the fact that Lily's mum and grandparents were there, helped everyone relax on the day. It was Lily’s first ever shoot & my first shoot in my home studio!

Lily was amazing & I got some great shots - it was without doubt one of my favourite shoots from 2019. Thank you Lily :-)

The short video takes you behind the scenes and hopefully you can see that it’s not too difficult to set up a home studio if it’s something that interests you.

Lily