Have you ever wondered about how I created some of the beauty images in my portfolio? If you have then now’s your chance to find out some of the lighting techniques, equipment and tricks that I’ve learnt over the years to create my beauty portfolio. I’ve teamed up with The Flash Centre (https://www.theflashcentre.com/) to bring you ‘The Basics of Beauty - 8 simple lighting setups to get you started building your beauty photography portfolio.’
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RESTART
OK, so I guess I’m not having a break from blogging this week! In fact, I’m releasing a couple of blog posts this week because I’ve got some exciting news! I’ve had a slight rebrand of the blog here on my photography website. Creative Nowhere Land (https://www.creativenowhereland.com/) now has it’s very own shiny, new website, due to launch on the 1st June 2020 where all sorts of creative things will be happening in the future, so I can’t call it that anymore. So, I thought I would give the photography blog a bit of a new look as although I won’t be blogging every week, as I was before, I still think it’s something I’ll keep up and continue to share bits and bobs of interest with you all from time to time.
The other exciting news is that I’ve also teamed up with The Flash Centre, UK’s leading studio lighting specialists for over thirty years (https://www.theflashcentre.com/), on an exciting new project that you can read all about in the next blog post. It’s been a while in the making and it’s taken me a little out of my comfort zone but I’m really looking forward to sharing it with you so keep your eyes peeled in a couple of days time. We are launching it on the 20th of June 2020!
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Creative Nowhere Land Blog - Taking a Break!
Taking a break from things is not the worst idea from time to time, even when you’re a workaholic like me! I was only talking to someone the other day about work-life balance or my lack thereof! I don’t really have that balance as if I’m honest I very rarely switch off. My job is also my passion and my creative brain runs wild most of the time with ideas and new ways to create or take my business forward. To most people that might sound like a nightmare, not being able to switch off that is, but because I love what I do I don’t really think about it too much until it’s brought to my attention by others!
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Creative Nowhere Land Blog - Waxing Lyrical
I’ve postponed the blogging break as I thought some of you right be interested in this… someone let me on their podcast! I know what your thinking, they must be mad but yes, my good friend, Gurdas Singh invited me on to his new podcast, Brand is Strong a week or so ago and now it’s out there in the world I thought I would include the link for you lovely lot to have a listen if you’re interested!
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Creative Nowhere Land Blog - My Morning Routine!
I turned to social media for some inspiration and asked my Instagram followers for some possible blog topics this week and this is what they wanted to find out a little more about, ‘My morning routine’. Find out how using the ‘5 Second Rule’ and Bobby Mcferrin and his 80s track ‘Don’t Worry, Be Happy’ help me get up in the morning…
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Creative Nowhere Land Blog - Critical Impressions
So back in June of 2018, I decided I was going to revisit a project that I did back when I was at university. It was a classic university/college project and the first project of my second year, way back in 2003 (that’s a long time ago!). The self-portrait!
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Creative Nowhere Land Blog - Can you pivot?
Can you pivot? The answer is of course, Yes! Should you pivot? That’s up to you but sometimes you don’t have a choice.
At the time of writing this the UK, and most of the world is in ‘Lockdown’ due to the COVID-19 virus and everyone has to stay at home and obey strict rules on ‘social distancing’. That means no shoots and therefore no income…
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Creative Nowhere Land Blog - The Monkey Mind!
In my quest to stay productive I’ve used my time to create an email newsletter for Creative Nowhere Land using Mailchimp. Monkey Mind, Mailchimp, you see what I did there? Anyway, it’s been something on my list of things to do for a long time but something I’ve always put off. It only took a global pandemic to finally get me to do it!
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Creative Nowhere Land Blog - What's Your Story?
So something completely different this week! A couple of weeks ago I was shooting a commercial job, on location in the centre of Birmingham, and I was approached by this guy to have a picture taken. Find out a little more about this guy, the picture and also some of his story as I get in front of the camera and out of my comfort zone, asking the questions!
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Creative Nowhere Land Blog - Every little helps!
For a couple of years now I’ve been volunteering for, Birmingham based charity, Let’s Feed Brum. Every Monday night I grab my volunteer lanyard and head out to Old Square in the city centre to help the rest of the ‘Monday Night Crew’ (Official Shout Out!) give out hot meals, supplies and, sometimes, more importantly, to be a friendly face and someone to talk to. It’s not something I shout a lot about for fear of being ‘that guy’, but it feels good to help even if it’s a just little. Also, since meeting and becoming friends with Bob, who you might have read about in a previous post I felt like I needed to do something more to help…
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Creative Nowhere Land Blog - Don't give a f#ck
I’ve spoken about mindset before and that’s it! That’s what’s changed! I don’t give a f#ck what people think anymore! That’s not me saying I’m going to become some crazy, sociopathic monster, or at least I hope I won’t. But it’s me accepting that it doesn’t matter what other people think.
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Creative Nowhere Land Blog - The Breakfast Club
For a few months now I’ve been working with a couple of guys who run a successful networking event in Birmingham called ‘The Breakfast Club’, Gurdas Singh and Omar Rashid. They wanted to raise the profile of their event so they got me in to start documenting their monthly gathering of the whos who of the Birmingham business world. We built a great working relationship straight away despite us all supporting rival football teams haha! ‘A Spurs fan, an Arsenal fan and a Chelsea fan walk into a networking event…’ I’m not sure how that joke is supposed to end but I digress…
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Creative Nowhere Land Blog - Creative Evolution Part 2
So a while back I wrote a blog about my Creative Evolution. I spoke about how the blog was helping me evolve as a creative and also how I’d been thinking about expanding the blog into something more. Well, here we are in the few first weeks of January 2020 and I have done just that! Creative Nowhere Land will have its own website. There I’ve said it! It’s out in the world!
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Creative Nowhere Land Blog - Got the blues?
Have you got the January blues? I hope not as it’s only really the first week back into it! If it’s that bad already then I would suggest some sort of career change maybe? And if it is that bad you will hate me haha, I’m that annoying guy and I’ve been itching to get back to work. This week I have a couple of shoots, with new clients, to start the year in a positive manner!
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Creative Nowhere Land Blog - And the winner is...
Earlier in the year, I was asked back, for a second time, by the team at the Midland Fashion Awards to judge their Emerging Fashion Photographer 2019 category. The competition level was extremely high and after selecting 3 finalists and some serious deliberation I chose Lee Leyland as the overall winner…
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Creative Nowhere Land - I Don't Have Time!
I don’t have time! It’s a classic excuse and one that we’ve all used at some point or other I’m sure. Sometimes maybe it’s true but maybe at other times, not so much! We all have those things that we put off or don’t do under the guise of not having enough time in our busy lives, don’t we?
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Creative Nowhere Land Blog - Iconic
You may not have heard of him if you aren’t a photography fan but you’ll have probably seen at least one of his photographs. Don’t worry if you haven’t, this isn’t a test but maybe you will recognise some of the famous faces that he’s photographed over the years. He has shot everyone from the Beatles, Elvis Presley, Michael Caine, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Amy Winehouse and even the Queen. The list goes on! The images that Terry O’Neill created speak for themselves in terms of a photographic legacy.
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Creative Nowhere Land Blog - Make Another Person Aware
It’s still October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and these women and their stories are so inspiring that I wanted to share some more as a continuation from last weeks blog. It is such an important message for both women and men and I hope that this project has helped to ‘Make One Person Aware!’.
Read more inspiring stories from these awesome women below…
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Creative Nowhere Land - Make One Person Aware!
October is Breast Cancer Awareness month so I thought I would share some of the stories of some of the incredible women who I was lucky enough to shoot for Anita Lingerie UK again a while back.
My wonderful client Jemma, from Anita, got in touch with me and told me that they had teamed up with the National Hereditary Breast Cancer Helpline. They wanted to showcase the stories of 12 incredible women who have faced hereditary breast cancer gene choices and create portraits of each one that would sit alongside their stories. The project aimed to help inspire other women who may be going through similar stories as well as raise some awareness at the same time…
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Creative Nowhere Land Blog - Podcasts
I’m going to be honest and say that I’m pretty behind the times and I’ve only just discovered podcasts. That’s not to say that I didn’t know that they existed, it’s just that I’d never really listened to many. 6 or 7 months ago I found a couple that were great and since then I’ve been consuming more and more podcasts and finding that they’re a great source of inspiration. I thought I would share a few of my favourites with you. Hopefully you can get some value from them just like I have…
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