Skip to main content

Teddy Bears Portraits

This week I had the pleasure of working with Lainy from Heirloom Bears and I had a fantastic time.  As I've said so many times before, one of the best aspects of my job is that I have variety in what I do.  Rarely are two days the same.  And this experience was truly unique and just the sort of thing to de-stress me and ignite the passion for my work again.  It was just so different to what I am used to doing these days.


I knew in my head how I wanted to represent these bears for Heirloom bears however I didn't have enough bits and pieces to complete the look.  Lainy on the other hand had a number of antiquey pieces that she could contribute to the project.  So as a last minute decision I asked if she'd like to join me in creating the images.  Normally I prefer to work on my own but in this case having her on hand made the job much easier as she could make sure I got the animals just right for her.  As they are her creations it would require her eye to determine whether or not their character was truly coming out.  And it was so much easier to have someone to bounce ideas back and forth with. 


One thing that surprised me with the bears, apart from how long they take to make (typically 3 days each by the way which is why they cost what they do), is that the limbs and head are all moveable features, having been stitched separately with each limb containing its own joints.  This means they can stand and sit quite easily, which made it much easier to position them for these photographs. 


I love each of these animals and I'm thinking of getting one for myself.  I just can't decide yet which animal I'd prefer.  I'm partial to elephants but quite like the idea of a traditional bear which could be a frequent addition to many of my baby and children's portraits.  But then the face of that bunny just looks so sweet. 

To give people an idea of just how long something like this takes to produce, together we spent 3 hours on this shoot to set up 3 different images (the one of the bears on their own was just a subset of one of the main images so it doesn't count).  Each image was well thought out and analysed to produce a composition that worked.  We tweaked and re-tweaked the bears repeatedly, often relocating a bear or changing its head direction to suit.  Then following the shoot the processing of these images took a further several hours bringing the total time spent to nearly 8 hours.  I think some people are of the belief that taking a picture involves pressing a shutter and instantly the magic occurs.  In this case it took close to a full day to produce 3 images. This is what you should expect if creativity and perfection are what is required. 


I thoroughly loved producing these images and feel it was a rather successful exercise.  If you have any such requirements please get in touch and we can discuss.  Again my number is 01455 611069. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Its a Dog's Life

When life gets tough I always look at dogs or my cats and think how lucky they are. I know not all are treated well but those lucky enough to be in a good home, like the ones who come into my studio, have a really great life. They look so happy and its a wonderful thing to see.  I honestly love photographing dogs. They are a joy to work with and its almost impossible to produce a bad portrait of a dog which does of course make my life a little easier. I am someone who really needs to love the work I create. I can't help but love the portraits I've created of all the dogs I've photographed over the years. And this shoot was certainly no exception. I found it a real pleasure using a lighter background this time too. I do often gravitate towards darker looks but seeing as this dog had a light coloured coat I thought I'd produce lighter images. This gave me the chance to use a canvas I painted a couple of years ago but never really used and I absolutely love it

Never Work With Children or Animals

Or so the saying goes. But I have to say that working with dogs has been so lovely. They have been almost entirely a dream to work with. I say almost entirely because we have had a few moments where a dog has needed to settle. And one moment where the dog had settled but one of my cats decided to have a look through the glass door which, as you can imagine, rather quickly unsettled the dog. Still, that didn't stop us from creating incredible work. In fact it was during that shoot with the cat instance when I created two of my favourite pieces, shown below. (It was while sitting on the couch here when he noticed the cat peering through the curtain) I don't know if I've just been lucky or all dogs are just easy to work with. I photographed a french bull dog puppy and I thought that would be tough as he hadn't had time to be properly trained yet. But he did everything we wanted in no time at all. And this included the props we used here (below), which to me

Teen Portraits - Prom Season is Just Around the Corner

If your child is heading to prom in the next couple of months I'd say there is probably no better time than now to have portraits created of your growing teen. With the purchase of a new (and probably expensive) outfit wouldn't it be nice to capture this milestone with a portrait created by a professional. Across the pond this is a hugely popular time to create portraits, and although I am not American (I'm Canadian) I wholeheartedly agree that this is a special moment to record. My prom was a key memory in my teen years and in fact I myself had professional portraits created also. I think I'll go dig them up if I can, though admittedly I think my mother has them back in Canada. I wonder if I can get her to scan one for me. My daughter is currently making plans for college and in the running is one that will move her away from home, as many others are probably experiencing for themselves, particularly those who are 18. This makes it all the more important to

Headshots and Portfolio Shoots: Here's What we Offer

Headshot requests are becoming more frequent so I thought I'd put together a post to share some recent work and explain the packages I offer in greater detail. Headshots are typically a simpler and quicker session so my packages are also a little simpler than what I offer in my full studio sessions. If headshots are what you or your child need its really important that you get good quality headshots that can stand out amongst the crowd. A headshot is a representation of you and often the first impression you are giving out to your audience, whether its casting directors, agents or college officials considering your application. A good headshot is more likely to get you noticed and ultimately get you further along your path. Making your headshots the best they can be should go a long way in helping you progress in your chosen path. I offer 2 different levels of service in order to make it as affordable and appropriate as possible. The first is a simple straightforwa

London in Spring, Whats Not to Love?

Well I know there is still a lot not to love but I'm choosing to see the great things about London at the moment. I am having a ball this year visiting London as often as I can. Which is unusual for me since I usually prefer the comfort of my own home, in rural old Leicestershire. Staying home and avoiding people has always been the easy option. But this year, possibly due to the wonderful weather we keep having, has me longing for venturing out. Again, just like my last trip, I headed out with my good friend Panikos Hajistilly . Living in North London he finds it easy to meet up for our shoots. This time though I had more of an idea of the sights I wanted to use as the backdrops for my portraits. With it being spring I was in search of colour, preferably flowers. Admittedly. I didn't quite get what I was looking for. The white fronted terraced houses with pink magnolia trees we did not find unfortunately. But I did make it to Peggy Porchen's which was a must see on m