(this is the part where I realise we don't have a picture together, lets fix that please)

So, my beloved Tip Top Towers is moving and last night they hosted a leaving party sale, which I of course had to go to, not only to see what treasures I could find but also to say hello to Steve, Deb and Shelly and bye to the studio where I learnt SO MUCH about photography and it truly ignited the spark I held for photography.

I miss working in the office with the team as I felt it was something I could definitely do in the future and their lovely personalities made me feel welcome and at home every time. I can't wait to see the new place and scramble to find some free time to go to another tip top training day for the model workshops I love so much. As I look back at some of the posts I've mentioned the team in, I can see how I get better with each workshop and when I think about it, my confidence is growing as I let my love for photography bring me out of the shell. Along with Steve's repetitive advice "be confident!"

I find myself thinking back to my times at Tip Top studios while at uni, I've certainly mentioned it to my friends a few times but mostly the lessons in manual shooting which certainly aid my photography today as I actually know what I'm doing thanks to Steve (and Timm, Mark and Paul my lovely lecturers of course), but hey, as Steve and Debbie are also taking courses at BCU [Deb's new fashion blog as a mature student] I look out for them everyday - only to find out last night they are in the days I have off, typical! - and I hope to either bump into them or meet up with them and see their work soon.

I could rave about these lovely bunch all day, but I wanted to take a moment to thank the guys for the life changing work experience, which as I said, ignited my photography spark and sent me on my way and continuing to be supportive and just plain friendly. Also a humongous thank you for the box full of treasures last night I am truly grateful for your kindness! The box handles did give way but Dad felt it go and softened the fall so thankfully there were no casualties, they certainly have come to a good home although I do still need to sweep my shelves clean to arrange my new collection of cameras in it's own special place.

They are still running business as usual if you are interested, only without hiring out their now smaller studio space, check out their swanky new website to see: www.tiptop-photography.com

I am proud to be part of the Tip Top family, and I wish them all the best in the new office "The Lighthouse", and a sad cheerio to "Tip Top Towers", the studio where it all began.

 As you can see, there is always a lot going on all at once. While one model has her hair and make up done in the back, Steve and Debbie shoot the other two models sitting at opposite ends of the table.

I loved this little shoot so much it sort of feels like I was the only person there. I'm going to split up my abundance of photos into two blog posts - this black and white one, and some coloured ones next week. I do hope you enjoy and as always please let me know your favourites and even show me some of your photos if you've ever done anything similar. :)

This is a sneaky shot from the first - I have no idea what to call it, a segment? - first segment of the whole shoot which was outside on the metal steps. Another photographer was shooting at this moment but while waiting I took a few cheeky shots.

 

Here is my black and white image from this very urban look, I LOVED the setting of this "segment" and I'm sure I'll find something similar if I did a shoot like this again in the future. To be honest I much prefer two of the colour ones but you'll have to follow to see that next week! Oh what a tease I am.

A couple more cheeky shots from the next set - SET! That's the word! This was a sweet vintage look and I think it's one of my favourites as we did it in two different areas, the first of full length shots and the next using a bit of wall for some closer up images. I loved having so many photos from this look to admire and edit.

I loved this outfit, so simple and vintage-esque. Elle was saying how a friend of hers made the skirt for her, which looks very pretty, you can see the lovely colourful pattern of it next week with the coloured photography post ;) I'd also like to take the delight in pointing out my marvellous editing skills as the corner of the light was just poking out behind the pillar - "what light?" you say, exactly!!

I like this one because I feel like it has a bit of character and story to it, the black and white removes the distraction of colour and focuses on the emotion and many different stories that could possibly go with this photo.

When the ever lovely Debbie (hi Deb) flicked through my photos on my camera afterwards I distinctly remember her saying "I love moody and sultry but you just can't beat a smile" - which I hadn't really considered before but I totally agree, I think this picture looks so sweet and pure, the smile topping it all off!

I think it was a general agreement that black and white would go beautifully with this set because of the contrast with the black outfit against the white wall.

I loved how the model - Elle - would change pose every time she heard the camera click, and with the contrast of this set, I really like how her beautiful figure really stands out and makes the image.

I'm fond of shots that look down walls, I just think it adds something a bit more interesting and as my mom often advised to me: "look at things from a different angle rather than taking a picture of things just as they are, it makes it more interesting to look at."

It's pretty amazing what just one long light can bring to an image.

Another bit of contrast were these dramatic "character shots" as Steve aptly called them, getting us to concentrate on some concept photography was new for me and all the more interesting, as well as watching Elle do some much more different poses and facial expressions than I'd seen before.

Steve told me to say in this blog post how clever, organised and brilliant he is, but I do agree with that as I think he's a great photographer and teacher, and I learnt a lot about lighting/reflectors and where to place it from this shoot. It was quite something to see how two simple yet well placed flash guns totally changed the pictures from what it looked like in real life. I'm also going to be a tease again and tell you that the coloured images form this set look very cool too.

This last set is up there with my favourites, I loved how casual the model dressed and styled herself as well as where the little location was - I think it's very H&M, which I love a lot so that probably contributes to why I love these pictures so much. (And yes it greatly annoys me how I missed the focus from her face and onto her legs but I still love this shot and I won't let it defer me from sharing it although I will double check where my focus is in the future.)

Such door very lean.

I like how casual this scene looks too, with chipped paint and the dusty windowsill, I feel like it really adds to the casual ambience. I'm still in awe at her cheekbones look at those bad boys!

 I decided to split up my photos across two posts as I didn't want to bombard you with so many pictures all at once. I wanted to split up the colour from the black and white not only to entice you in for next week's blog post but also so you could enjoy the beauty of black and white photography all by itself. A lovely quote I always remember when thinking about black and white photography is from Ted Grant: "When you photograph people in colour, you photograph their clothes. But when you photograph people in Black and white, you photograph their souls!”

And on that note I shall love and leave you. Oh and a quick thank you to my friends who I constantly asked if colour or black and white looked better for some images when I just couldn't choose! A happy Saturday to you all !