It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...

A few photographs from Christmas in my household this year...

Aaaand my present to myself, which I took all the images above on. I've been lusting after this lens for probably about a year now and I decided to take the plunge as an early Christmas present to myself because I've had a fantastic year Photography wise... plus... It's about time I added a telephoto lens to my brood! So far, I am so pleased! I've not had time to use it properly but I'm sure that will be changed in the New Year!

There would be more photos of tinsel and likewise Christmas festivities however, the adorabley 'as if butter wouldn't melt in my mouth' Kitten at the top is experiencing her first Christmas therefore everything is very much chewed!

Fluid Sculpture; Lucy Symons Collection

Fluid Sculpture; A Collection by Lucy Symons

Models; Victoria @ Gingersnap + Annabel @ Room 3 Agency

Make up by Brodie Kate & Scarlett Jones

Photo Assistant; Mike Sharpe

I had the pleasure of shooting for Lucy again on this fabulous collection which she designed + made herself, which completely astounded me with such gorgeous texture, colour and tailoring.

Lucy is a wonderful girl who completely lives and breathes fashion and is so talented, not to mention a total sweetheart. It was so lovely to collaborate with so many talented ladies and have such a lovely afternoon shooting with plenty of tea to hand!

A big thank you to the girls for being such fantastic models and to everyone involved on the day!

Lucy's Facebook Page

http://www.facebook.com/CharlotteStonePhoto

Moda de la Mode Magazine; Issue 2

Last month I had the pleasure of being published in the fantastic Moda de la Mode Magazine!
The two images that were featured came from a beauty shoot that I did with gorgeous Oxygen/Sanda Reynolds model Katie and the talented make up artist Katy Pheiffer. One of my favourite things about shooting is the way you are able to meet such genuine and inspiring creatives to make these lovely images.

I sometimes find Studio work quite tedious - especially my own, as my studio isn't too big and I'm limited to the set ups I can use but I love these images! 

 Sadly I didn't make it to the launch party of Moda de la Mode's second issue which was an utter shame - I look forward to meeting the lovely Editor Grace in the near future, I'm sure our paths will cross again soon! 

 You can check out Moda de la Mode on the website & on twitter here

Katy's work is on Facebook here & also on twitter too!

Having a lens at; 50mm 1.4

I'm someone who tends to go through phases with things, my lenses especially.
Recently I've been using my 85mm the most after some thought and I hate having kit just sit in my bag, I really like to make the most of what I have - time to reacquaint myself with it!

I have the Canon 50mm 1.4 and previously had the Nikon 50mm 1.4G & before that, the Nikon 50mm 1.8. I will always say - if you can afford to, get the 1.4!
The price is SO good for such a fantastic performing lens and is light, nice & wide on a full frame camera and 1.4 which I adore. The difference in optics from the 1.8 to the 1.4 is astonishing, although I only can compare from the Nikon side of things I will imagine it's similar for Canon - let me know your thoughts!

Anyway, I took myself on a Photo Walk, with just my 50mm. The weather was pretty lovely and I've been so busy lately that I've barely had time to pick up my camera and I really have missed not taking any photos so it was glorious to just have time to take some summery photos below.



As you can see - it's a lovely lens! I adore the bokeh it creates and it's fairly wide for my preference of shooting especially for facial portraits, but I really love it as a walk around lens.
What do you shoot with your 50mm or are you someone who isn't fussed?

Facebook Page

www.charlottestonephoto.com

Lucy Symons

I love finding like-minded creatives and collaborating with them - especially those who are doing something slightly different to the norm!

I met Lucy via Facebook and was blown away by her designs & creativity. We her eco-concious collection just before her degree show with the help of beautiful model Sara and make up by Scarlett.

Lucy's skirt was made of wood shavings & looked absolutely unique with it's dip hem, not to mention the cute little laser cut bra let!

Model: Sara Lou Thomas @ Gingersnap

Designer: Lucy Symons

Make up: Scarlett

I'm going to be shooting Lucy's next collection this coming week which I am very excited about, I can't wait to see her new collection on set.

Lucy's Facebook Page is here / Click though for My Facebook Page

Pixie Lott, June 2012

I'm not usually much of a gig or live music photographer, I've done a handful of gigs over the last few years and I think I find it quite frustrating as I'm usually the one to direct on a shoot and this kind of Photography is far from directional!

I got a press pass for the Jubilee Concert at the Mall which had Pixie Lott as headline act and even though it poured and poured (so badly, I had my camera actually inside my top for fear of it getting damaged that I resembled a drowned rat after!) the atmosphere was fantastic as they often are at Charity gigs.

After shooting this, it's really gotten me inspired to shoot some more! I love how unpredictable, tricky, and rewarding it is to get one solid good image - and the simple fact that the image has to portray more than the artist, but the atmosphere too!

When I was told we'd only get the first 3 songs to shoot, I didn't think it would be long enough - funnily enough at the same time it whizzed by it also felt like forever - perhaps it was the rain but I was pretty glad to get back to the sound tent after being soaked!

www.charlottestonephoto.com

www.facebook.com/charlottestonephoto

Boutique 33 Spring Summer '12

A few months back along with a lovely creative team we shot the Spring Summer Lookbook for Boutique 33 - a boutique in Clifton, Bristol that's had a beautiful make over by owner Naomi.

I was incredibly inspired by Clifton Village where the Boutique is located and I really wanted the images to stick out that Clifton was where it was photographed - if you're a local, you'll certainly recognise landmarks!

Sarah S @ Mustard Models
Make up by Katy Pheiffer
Hair by Amy Harding

Boutique 33 Website

www.charlottestonephoto.com

www.facebook.com/charlottestonephoto