One of the highlights of being a portrait photographer, is meeting so many interesting and inspiring people. As such, this latest shoot for Country Life to capture a portrait of Alice Temperley in her new studio in Ilminster, Somerset.
The 28,000 sq ft semi derelict victorian building Alice bought cost the same as one year’s rent in her Mayfair office! Not only has this move provided her with a lot more space for a lot less cost, it has enabled her to connect with local artisans and producers, which is wonderful for the local community economy.
In due course, Alice plans to convert the rest of the building to include a restaurant, art gallery and a spa. Somerset born myself, and based in Dorset, it’s great to see this injection of glamour and culture in the West Country. Now I just need to win the lottery so I can indulge myself with one of her fabulous designer dresses!
Morwenna has always flicked through each issue of Country Life Magazine to see who was the latest ‘girl in pearls’. So when she got engaged to Phil Bush, it seemed like a rite of passage. However, she chose to wear a stunning Vivienne Westwood dress, with black boots and and a black manicure.
She was a total joy to photograph. She looked incredible in every single image, my favourite of which you’ll find in the portrait section of my website.
This editorial photoshoot of David Morgan-Hewitt, Managing Director of the Goring Hotel, was commissioned by Country Life Magazine to accompany a feature on ‘Desert Island Wines’. I met David almost a decade ago, at the Goring, when I was photographing the Duchess of Cambridge’s wedding! A very memorable experience for us both so we had lots to talk about. I love to chat to my models, and hear about their interests and passions. This enables me to capture ‘real’ portraits, which ooze personality, spirit and genuine emotion. I am hoping this portrait portrays his charm, wit and kindness.
The shoot took place at his home in Wells, Somerset, with his cellar providing the perfect backdrop. It also provided another talking point! I LOVE wine and was in my element learning about all his favourite wines.
We chose a sitting pose to keep it informal and show off his red socks! I then placed my camera on a tripod to avoid distorting horizontal and vertical lines, and to enable me to engage more freely in conversation. The room was quite a squish, with barely any room for a light. So I removed the soft box and bounced the light off the top corner. This lit the room and his face perfectly.
For more examples of my portrait and editorial photoshoots, please do have a look at my adult, commercial and editorial pages on my website. Please don’t hesitate to contact me should you be interested in booking a portrait shoot with me.
This week’s Country Life Magazine‘s frontispiece features the highly talented and utterly beautiful actor Kate Phillips, who appears in the Downton Abbey film as Princess Mary. You might also recognise her as Linda Shelby in Peaky Blinders.
A special thank you to Paul Ellis who assisted me in this shoot, Mach Management for make up, the Ritz London for providing a fabulous location and a much needed supply of coffee, and Lucy Editor, the picture editor at Country Life for this wonderful commission! Feeling very blessed.
Meet this week’s stunning frontispiece for Country Life Magazine – Princess Adebomi Adewale, from Nigeria, photographed at the Church of St Mary & St Nicholas, Wilton in Wiltshire.
A joy and honour to photograph – Bomi was beautiful, vibrant, intelligent and great fun. What more could I ask for? Thank you Country Life for another wonderful commission. Lucky me!
I was very sad to hear of the recent passing away of the legendary boating pioneer Robert Braithwaite, founder of Sunseeker super yacht boats. I had the pleasure of meeting and photographing him in October 2012 for my book Great Faces of Dorset.
Sadly his parents died early so together with his brother John, who was still at school, he started the business in the 1960s – a business which went on to become a leading superyacht powerhouse. His boats were featured in four consecutive James Bond films, one of which (Quantum of Solace) was actually driven by Robert himself.
Robert was an undeniably talented entrepreneur, full of humility, kindness and charm. He will be missed by many. My condolences to his family and friends. May he R.I.P.
Fabulous issue of School Notices Magazine – ‘Noticed’; Their best yet. And lovely, as always, to see my images donning their front covers.
School Notices is a new company offering parents, pupils and schools a fabulous way to communicate. Taking the principle of the old-fashioned school noticeboard, they have created a cutting-edge website where parents and alumni can connect with other like-minded members across a network of schools in the UK. Members can buy and sell within a trusted community; businesses can reach out to our members; and schools benefit from the fundraising support from advertising revenue.
What a privilege to return to photograph Kate Adie in her home town in Dorset, this time for a feature I was covering for Country Life Magazine, out this month. At 71 she looks incredible – perhaps her secret is keeping busy. Although her days of being a war correspondent may be over, she is certainly not one to sit still. Indeed she still works as a freelance journalist and public speaker, she presents ‘From our own Correspondent’ on Radio 4, is ambassador for various charities, and has written 5 books – including her best selling autobiography, ‘The Kindness of Strangers’.
I think this photo captures the essence of this remarkable lady – intelligence, humour, integrity, determination, strength and charm.
Not exactly your usual frontispiece, but this is one of my favourite photos for Country Life. My great friend and hugely talented make up artist, Amanda Jackson Sytner, and I headed down to the dark depths of Devon on a cold wintery day in early March.
Publication was set for the end of April, so I’d been briefed to capture the colours of spring. but there was not a flower let alone a bluebell in sight. Fortunately the yellow derelict digger, aka “Custard”, caught by eye and invited some quirky compositions, and worked particularly well with Freddie’s bright green dress. The red wellies provided the final touch.
This portrait may not have captured any spring flowers, but the bright colours made a pretty good substitute on this bleak midwinter’s day!
