Before steaming forward into 2016, I wanted to take a look back at a few of my photography highlights in 2015. I've had the pleasure of working with all kinds of people. There were a couple of stand out projects and pictures I took which I am personally quite proud of. Some of you may agree, others may disagree which is the beauty of photography and art. But I wanted to share them any way with a short summary as to why I liked so much. These aren't in any particular order.

Olympic GB Swimmer Dan Speers:

I was really pleased with the results of this picture for a number of reasons. Firstly, before getting to the techy elements, Dan was a great guy, brilliant to work with, and a real inspiration to others in terms of his discipline and passion for his sport. Secondly, I'd been wanting to add a swimmer to my athletes portfolio for a long time now. Finally the picture itself. I love moody dramatic pictures and this has all of that. Also  I love the pose. We tried a couple of these and Dan nailed it. Making sure we got his arms symetrical was really important, as was working on where there light fell. I wanted just enough to show off his physique including the abs, but with some fall off. Finally, in terms of the story being told, for me this picture tells you everything you need to know about Dan. He is serious about his sport, passionate, is confident, has a real phyiscal presence and stature and means business! I have no doubt Dan will fulfill all his dreams at the highest level!

The Long Road With Cloud Duo:

I loved working with Julie and Gary. They had great ideas from the start and we quickly clicked on the concepts they had in mind. Also they wanted pictures to be created using compositing techniques which I really enjoy. I was really pleased with this background. A bit of traffic dodging in the new forest and some photoshop to remove some cars in the distance made the road empty. I love the perspective, the leading lines from the road pulling you into the picture and the dramatic clouds. What makes the picture though are the poses that Julie and Gary pulled out the hat which were full of attitude and seriousness. I love the way they are standing, and their expressions. Finally, the blending and photoshop work involved really made the picture work.

Tip of the Hat:

This picture was another composit but with a different finish hence me choosing it. It was using a portrait captured from a 2014 shoot with model Dan Holbeche, but I hadn't found a background to fit the angle of Dan until I got this one in London. The way the eyes are lit, his expression, the outfit and also the way this came together in photoshop with the black NOIR feel is why it's one of my standout pictures for last year. I also like the perspective. Dan is an excellent model to work with. Totally nailed the shot here.

Gary from Cloud Duo:

The simplicity of this shot, expression and details in Gary's face makes this intriguing which is why I love this picture. He has that look of someone who is interesting and has many stories to tell. Technically I like where the light hits his face, the fall off and how it's defined his chisseled jaw.

Kat:

I shot several portraits on black backgrounds last year. Normally I tend to shoot guys on the darker backgrounds when creating heavy drama and shadows, but where Kat has a lot of body art, I wanted to try and blend beauty with some drama and grit. The reason it makes my list of favs are her eyes, the expression and the body art. For me, it's intriguing, pulls you in, has beauty with a nice bit of edge to it. I'm always a fan of simple close up portraits and was really pleased with the finish.

Tennis Champion:

Some sport now and a slightly different type of picture, and I have to confess, this is my son. But as he always helps me practice with my shoots, and nails these cool looks, this also makes the cut. Another reason I like it is the fact I had to create several elements of the tennis court in photoshop myself. The final result of the background is very different to reality and I was happy to do that with this picture. Reality wasn't important.

PRO FOOTBALLER:

Finally one of my PRO FOOTBALLER portraits. I love this picture of Nathan. His pose and expression is great, I really like the stadium background and floodlights which all blended nicely and finally the leather football. I ws so pleased he and his dad bought this to the shoot. The finished print of this was fantastic.

There you go. My picks from last year - now to 2016! I hope you liked reading. If you have any questions feel free to get in touch or leave comments.

Thanks for reading!

Stu