Shooting Holly

No, its not another bloodsport dreampt up by the countryside alliance, this is about todays shoot with Holly.

I arrived at the stated location, the railway station, at 9:15 this morning to find the best spots, was'nt difficult as it is only a small station, and Holly arrived with her mum just a few minutes later.

I had my head screwed on today, and as soon as we all met i broke the ice by hugging her and her mum which they both found hilarious. And that was it. We instantly hit it off, and was chatting constantly throughout the shoot.

We began at the station, with Holly dressed casually in ugg boots, jeans, a long white blouse with thick black belt and a grey cardigan.

After that we took the small drive into town for the riverside shots.Even though it was just 10am, there were a hell of a lot of people around, Rememberance Sunday (note to Obama/Brown, enough is enough, bring our boys back home, shame on you). But the crowds didnt faze Holly in the slightest.

Even though she is very young, just 17, she has bags of confidence, as well as personality.

And aside from her obvious good looks, she is very pretty in my opinion, she also has a cheeky sense of humour, as do i. I didnt have to ask her to smile, they came freely. A photographers ideal subject.

For the riverside images i wanted Holly to wear something a little more sexy, so we rummaged through her bag and finally decided on her black tailored trouser suit, keeping the blouse on but tucked in. She bought out some very pretty red heels which really complimented her outfit.

Now, one image i wanted was of her on a narrowboat, so i worked my magical, irresistable charm on an old gent who was about to sail off, but i politely asked him if i could borrow the boat for a few images, and explained briefly what we were doing.Bless him, he agreed.

Kerrrching.I was a chatterbox, every three or four exposures i paused to carry on with the banter.

I was thoroughly enjoying myself, and so was Holly.I must point out that her mum was also chatting away with us. Both very friendly,sweet people.We then had a wonder over the bridge to the park that ran beside the river to continue the shoot.

By now we were like 3 old friends, laughing and joking along the footpath chatting about homelife and shoes.

More images. I held her hand to steady her on the slippery steps, with damp leaves waiting like lethal weapons on the wooden steps, and i saw how cold her poor little hands were so i wrapped up the shoot there and then, i really dont like to cause discomfort to others specially when i am bossing them around.

Got some really great images, well i got really great images throughout the shoot, well i like them.I was much more assertive this time round, but she didnt need very much direction.

Sometimes i did the pose for her but most of the time she struck perfect poses, all i had to do was ask her to turn in another direction, to look this way and that, lower her head, or look up slightly and occasionally where to put her hands. But on the whole she was very good, she has a natural poise anyway which helps, and a great slim body which carries off any pose.On the way back to our vehicles i asked questions.

Apparently this was her second shoot too, which shocked me because she was so damn good at it. She said that she had not had any offers from togs for work, another shocker because as i have already mentioned, she is an incredibly pretty teenager, with the most captivating blue eyes and cheeky smile.

Holly told me that she would love to take up modelling professionally in the near future, and that she likes to pose for the camera.

What more can one wish for?We got to our vehicles and i gave her my vistaprint business card, discussed prints and CD's, had another hug, yes all thr3e of us, and we said our goodbyes.

I came away buzzing like a bumblebee on a promise.

I knew i had all the shots i wanted, and more besides. Driving those 9 miles back home i was so tempted to have a flick through the images but i decided against it, i dont like distractions when driving, its probably illegal and i knew the images would be alright. But i was definately on a high, no doubt about that.

I have not looked through them all yet, not individually, and there are juust over 300 images in the folder, but i looked at a few, resized them and sent her a few to look at.

The reply was good, better than good. She adores them. Another shoot done and dusted. Would i work with Holly again? Certainly, no questions.

Like i said, she is a natural. Ok i am no expert, but i can see a pose when its staring me in the face, and i know when someone is genuinely enjoying themselves, which makes the job a whole lot easier. She is a smashing kid, and a very well bought up young woman.The light was yet again, perfect. Been blessed, very lucky, i choose my shoot dates wisely it seems.

Yesterday i thought there may be a little rain but there was not a single drop, just moisture from the night before lingering in the shadows and foliage.

Personally, i cant think of a better way to spend a nippy novembers morning. Yeah ok, but that does'nt count