Organ Donor

A couple of months ago Trixie Vixen joined me for a shoot we'd been talking about for a little while:



The tattoo reveals something that Trixie feels strongly about and she wanted to record it.

Blue

I hadn't shot with Ms. Blue Ruin for a while so it was nice to catch up and work on something new:



Previously we'd done some vintage/pinup style shoots but this time it was decided that we'd go for a slightly different look. Still with a vintage theme but a slight departure with a suitably urban location (Windmill lane, again).

Sorcha

Time to catch up on recent work, so I'll start here...



This was my first shoot with Sorcha, aka BlackSwanPersona. We arranged a shoot using the walls of Windmill Lane as a backdrop. The graffiti is colourful and ever changing (as I discovered a week later!).

MarieViktoria Makeup did the honours once again, in spectacular fashion! More to come from that lady :)

Would you mind not using the flash...?

"Would you mind not using the flash...?" words that could invoke blind panic in a photographer, especially me. You see, ever since I started taking photos of people a couple of years back I've almost always relied on some kind of flash to light the scene or the model. Whether it's a studio or location shoot I've gotten used to having some kind of flash to help me.

So when Emily Aoibheann uttered those very words I did have a momentary weakness as I realised I was going to have to think differently.

The location was a small dark dressing room in Dublin venueThe good Bits where Emily had just finished a sting modelling as 'Tank Girl' for Dr. Sketchy's Dublin. So the only light I had was a table lamp off to the right of the camera. Luckily I had a 50mm f/1.8 lens on the camera!



I love this shot, it's one of my favourite portraits that I've shot so far. Its very simple, a natural, easy shot with a beautiful model. This 'no flash' thing? Well maybe it's not a bad idea after all!

Bubblegum

I've not been shooting at all so far this year, well not much anyway. So here's another shot from the recent session with Melissa & Marie:



I wanted to get a shot wiht no makep, just to see how it would work. And I was pleased with the result (in fairness Melissa has very clear skin and is naturally beautiful).

I added a little bit of cross processing, but only minimal retouching.

First of the new year...

I had my first shoot of 2011 at the weekend. This was organised by makeup artist Marie Murphy with help from Sherisan Wharmby and model Bubblegum Harley.



A fairly simple setup in terms of light (a single 580ex into a reflector brolly to the right of the camera). The makeup is impressive, the concept being Marie's idea. It was good to be part of it :)

Despair

Despair
Originally uploaded by petergriffin_1892.

Sinking to the bottom...

Aftermath

For the final series of images we wanted to look at the idea of something bad happening on the night out. The plan was to show the girl as someone who had probably been in a fight after a night of drink & drug fuelled excess.



All that hedonism takes its toll and leads to the inevitable comedown:



I guess these images are open to interpretation, I don't see the character as a victim although I can see why someone might think that.

Excellent work by Irina Rai once again!

Into the night...

Continuing the recent theme...

Ready for a night out, glammed up and getting into the mood:



And something to help the night go well...



Don't worry, it was talcum powder! :)

More...

I won't go into huge detail on these, but its a continuation of the theme from my last post:





Some fake tattoos were required, Marie did the honours:

Early

It all started with a discussion with Irina about doing a shoot with some fake tattoos and other effects. It developed into a a concept showing a girl getting ready for a night out then leading to the aftermath of a crazy evening, fuelled by drink & drugs!



This is an 'early' shot - lunchtime, maybe even morning, but an early drink. Natural light for this shot.



Same idea for this shot, natural light and me playing around with the focusing on the camera. In both cases I was shooting at the widest possible aperture (f/1.8 for the first shot on a 50mm lens, f/2.8 ay 28mm below) so the depth of field is pretty tight. It didn't really matter for the lower image.

Available Light

My latest collaboration with Irina Rai came about after a discussion we had when setting up our recent beach shoot. Having shown her some of the work I've been doing with Sedition Industries and Dr Sketchy's she asked if we could take some of those influences and come up with an interesting theme, something different for her portfolio. So the challenge was set and off we went...

I'll be uploading more shots as I get through them but to start with I really liked this portrait/profile:



Rather than resort to using a flash I decided to take advantage of the soft, natural light coming through the kitchen window. A 'nifty fifty' 50mm f/1.8 lens was chosen (shooting at f/1.8 so the depth of field was pretty tight). And once again the title was inspired by Rush!

Makeup duties were once again provided by Marie Murphy.

Lareina

Lareina
Originally uploaded by petergriffin_1892.

This is from a shoot with model Lareina and makeup artist Tracey that I worked on at the weekend. It was a wedding theme, with the emphasis on the makeup.

The setup was pretty simple, 2 speedlites for this shot - a 580ex on the right via a white brolly and a 430exii to the left with a diffuser.

Hot Zombie Girls from Outer Space!

Hot Zombie Girls from Outer Space!
Originally uploaded by petergriffin_1892.

The inaugural meeting fo the Dublin branch of Dr SKetchy's Dublin which took place at the Twisted Pepper in Dublin.

Dr Sketchys is a life drawing class with alternative models, and is run and promoted by Sedition Industries. And I got to shoot it :)

The two lovely ladies are Lucy Rhinehart and Alex Dixie Tobiass.

Irina

Irina
Originally uploaded by petergriffin_1892.

Another shot from the recent session with Irina Rai. Keeping it simple with one light in this shot.

Another Rock Chic(k)

Rock Chic(k)
Originally uploaded by petergriffin_1892.

Continuing the theme...

Agnes was actually the makeup artist on a recent shoot with Irina Rai, but she's also an accomplished model in her own right. So while we had a quick break in shooting she stepped in front of my camera for a few minutes...

Rock n' Roll Star

Rock n' Roll Star
Originally uploaded by petergriffin_1892.

Another shot from the recent session with Sfera. This time I've played around with the colour settings to get a slightly cross-processed feel to the final image.

I really like the wind effect on the hair in these shots, the fan worked really well :)

Guitar Chic(k)

Guitar Chick
Originally uploaded by petergriffin_1892.

Another image from last weekend's shoot.

For this one I got to shoot with model Geraldine Farrell.

I've been a fan of her work for a while so it was nice to finally get to work with her on a project.

Makeup was again provided by Tracey Conlon who did a really top class job on the day (which turned out to be a long one!).

Rock Chic(k)

Sfera
Originally uploaded by petergriffin_1892.

An idea I've had for a while - guitars & girls! I've probably been watching too many old Whitesnake videos or something...

Anyway...last weekend I finally got to put these ideas into action with the help of two models, Sfera & First Hourglass, and MUA Tracey.

Sfera came along to add a more punk/alternative look to the session. Lighting was pretty simple, two strobes either side of the camera and another behind the model with a blue gel for the background light.

More shots to come...

Jessica

Jessica
Originally uploaded by petergriffin_1892.

A combination of laziness, lack of opportunity & being busy in my real job have meant that photography has taken a bit of a backseat in 2010 so far. So I was glad to get back into the swing of photoshoots recently with a simple but very enjoyable shoot with the wonderful Jessica recently.

I used two lights here, one in front and another behind the model to add some separation from the darker background.

Makeup artist Catherine Weldon was also involved in this shoot (and did a great job!).