After a very long six months off work it was time to get back behind the lens, and what better way to do that than with one of my beautiful best friends, and Ibizan goddess, Alex (or Girl Alex as she is now known).
I worked as a model for 12 years before I ever picked up a camera as a photographer, so shooting portfolios is still, to this day, one of my all time favourite things to shoot. Shooting first portfolios for new or aspiring models is something I love. I adore watching a new model, on their first shoot, come out of their shell. I love watching them grow in confidence and skill. I love seeing their faces when they see what we have created on the back of my camera. New models need guidance, they often have no idea how to pose, what works for their face, their body. It can be hard work to coax a nervous, first time, personality out and onto the camera, but it's so rewarding to work with the raw material and bring out a new face's inner Evangelista.
Alex is represented by www.matemgmtgroup.com
Shooting updates for professional, working models is a lot easier of course, sometimes it can almost be too slick. We all have our 'model laugh' and set of 'go to' poses for shoots. It can be all too easy to slip into our work routine for portfolio updates and miss out on that one shot that shows something that will get us booked over and over again. I never have this problem when working with, friends, no matter how many years they've been in the industry. With Alex, this started on the very first day I met her.
I booked, Alex for a shoot about 5 years ago in London. We were shooting something fabulous for www.dancingleopard.com and my first thought was that her face was perfectly symmetrical, a very big compliment from a photographer, let me tell you.
During that first shoot, two things happened which would set our friendship in stone.
It turned out we were both heading to Ibiza the following week. At the time I was house hunting in Ibiza and anyone who lives or has lived there, with very few exceptions, is my kind of person. Alex was supposed to be going for a week, but then she just kind of stayed, forever. That's a story for another time.
The moment we really knew we were meant to be friends forever, involved football hooligans, a snake print dress and a handful of smoke bombs.
Alex and I were shooting a beautiful maxi dress in Central London, minding our own business, when a scuffle kicked off in the street behind us. There was a match on and we didn't think much of it until t clouds of red and white smoke started billowing down the street towards us.
Any normal people, quite rightly concerned for their own safety would have run for their life away from the commotion, not Girl Alex and I. I would have never asked her to go running head on into a gang of football hooligans with low visibility and a lot of beer flying around, just to get the money shot, but when she jumped up and ran head on into a scene from Football Factory, you know I was right behind her.
There were no football hooligans last week, in fact the packed beaches of our favourite island were close to empty, which made our life a little easier but is very sad all at the same time.
This is just a little taste of what we shot for her new agency so keep your eye on instagram and www.tiktok.com/Zmd6QYKRF/ for more updates.
If you'd like to know more about a person who looks like this when they have legitimately just dunked their entire head in the sea, you can find her on www.tiktok.com/ZMd6Q8PXC/ or Instagram Alexandria_Anderton.
She talks body confidence, eating disorders and all things glam and Ibizan.
For your very own portfolio, update or fierce confidence shoot in Barcelona, Ibiza, London or Lincolnshire drop me a line for packages and availability.
