Personal Information:

Name: Wayne Johns

Explanation: My theme was ‘Birds of summer’ – The designers collection was all black, so I wanted the shoot and models expression to be a little moody and for the rich blacks to pull through. Almost a bit like a Tim Burton movie…

I had the hair piece especially designed to my specification to suit the shoo, and the texture of the clothing just finished it off beautifully.

The ‘summer’ part of my theme is only the violet colours of the make up, which was a strong colour from SS10 catwalks.

Melissa Rodwell’s Critique: How can I pass this shot up?? The fact that Wayne had the hair piece especially designed just for this shoot really shows that he has a great eye and he is very determined to execute a stellar shoot. I absolutely agree with the Tim Burton reference, which is one of my all time favorites as well.

Wayne also did a great job in lighting the coarse black fabrics, kudos to you, Wayne! I had to laugh when I read the “summer” theme part….violet colours in the make up! Summer is probably my least favorite season to shoot for, I’ll have to remember that one for the next editorial I have with a summer theme! Great shot, overall. It just stood out to me, and I love the lighting and the designer. Who is it by the way?

Personal Information:

Name: Jacqueline Kent

Explanation: My daughters just had there braces off and we wanted to do a shoot with them smiling. We got a few but this was one of our favorites! (not smiling)

Melissa Rodwell’s Critique: The beauty lighting on this shot is really well done! I love how Jacqueline posed the model, who also happens to be her daughter. I like the clean styling, directing our attention to the strength of the look on the face and making for a very strong beauty shot! Well done, Jacqueline! And isn’t that the way it always go….we go after something in our minds before we shoot and we end up being surprised by something totally different!

Personal Information:

Name: Laura Johnston

Explanation: I’ve been going back to basics lately. Simple lighting, simple makeup, natural models in normal clothes with minimal retouching. On this shoot I just wanted to create a shot that was raw and beautiful and real.

Melissa Rodwell’s Critique: I don’t know, I just keep going back to this shot. I know it’s not a fashion shot but I just love it. I can feel the emotion coming from the model, her expression is so powerful to me. Her eyes pull me in. I think it’s a really good capture of a person, a great portrait and sometimes portraits tell enough of a story if they’re powerful enough. I adore the simplicity, I love the fact that Laura went for simple and kept out any heavy retouching. Great job, Laura. I can tell you that your portrait work is great, your models/subjects feel comfortable with you and you are able to capture a moment with them that is timeless!

Personal Information:

Name: Indi L

Explanation: I wanted to recreate the mood of an old club the woman on the picture is the owner of this private club that exists in Paris for decades

Melissa Rodwell’s Critique: This picture stood out. For a number of reasons. I love the way Indi captured the environment. The pattern on the wall piece behind the model is so interesting and the way the light is hitting it really adds interest to the image. I love the vintage feel without being forced or too played out. The model has a great body for lingerie and the pose is nice, relaxed and sensual. I also love the white shoes, it makes my eye wander around the image because of the carefully placed light objects against a dark environment. I like the sepia tone to the image. I also like the lighting, I think it lends itself to the era that Indi was trying to convey. It’s just a really interesting image. Great job,  Indi.

Personal Information:

Name: Oliver Prout

Explanation: The Make up artist i work with (jonas Oliver) wanted to create a set of images about temptation,
For Adam to be Eves temptation, but still making the girl the focus of the fashion shoot. I had never shot male nudes before, and now i had 10. At first i was apprehensive In the end it was a lot of fun.

Melissa Rodwell’s critique: Love this shot! There’s just so much energy, it pulled me into the photo! And I know from experience that handling this many models on a shoot is not an easy feat! But Oliver did a great job making all of them look beautiful! Love the girl and the styling, her attitude is fun and it’s believable! And of course, I love the men…they all look fantastic! Great job on lighting, directing, styling! Overall, Oliver nailed it on this shot and it was an easy choice for SOTW!