Photoshoot - Amy Sapphire Photography

You may have seen the incredibly attractive photo I now have on my sidebar. Recently I asked Amy if she'd be able to help me out with some new promotional shots for my radio show, thankfully she agreed and we managed to end up with some brilliant (and some hilarious) pictures!

I'm not an overly serious person so I didn't want the shoot to be really intense with me barely smiling in any of the images. Luckily  with Amy being such a good friend of mine, it was a really comfortable shoot which included lots of laughter and music to dance around to. I'm not very good with putting myself into 'poses' and have always felt a little silly, but Amy worked really well with my personality and came up with several suggestions for us to try!

I liked the idea of having pictures of me doing various poses next to each other and after seeing this picture of Cara Delevingne, I thought it'd be a great way to show my personality through photograph form. As these were for my radio show, I wanted them to represent it well, it's quite a light hearted show, again, which I'm not too serious on, so wanted to try and put that across with the images.

I have to say I'm incredibly happy with the final pictures and I'd definitely recommend Amy to anyone looking for similar shoots as she's friendly and very comfortable to work with!

If you want to see more of her work then click the links below:
http://www.facebook.com/AmySapphirePhotography, http://www.amysapphire.com/

Obviously, because it's nearly Christmas as well, we also had a little fun with some tinsel!

Pictures & Pillows

Not long ago you may have read my SPOTLIGHT post on Amy Sapphire Photography, (if you haven't there's a link at the top of my page), where I interviewed Amy, who's an up and coming photographer and one of my dearest friends. I've only known her about a year but we've become really close, so much so, we now live together in a cute seaside flat in Portsmouth.

One thing not many people know about Amy, is that she suffers from Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. For those that aren't sure what that means, she basically gets tired really quickly and easily and has to deal with excruciating pain in her legs on a daily basis. You know those times when you've been walking around ALL DAY and your feet/legs feel like they're going to give up on you? That's basically how she feels frequently. There's no cure and no real medication to make it better, other than general painkillers and vitamins. Meaning she basically has to suck it up and deal with it.

Unlike many people that suffer from similar illnesses, Amy refuses to let it stop her succeed in her career of photography, she's already made it through school, college and three years at University so is determined to get where she wants to be, no matter how difficult it is for her. To help others learn about CFS and how she deals with her condition she has set up the blog Pictures and Pillows (totally taking credit for the name) so please do go and follow her!

Don't worry it's not all doom and gloom, she's set up the blog to show how good things can be and what she does with her bad days - SO many crafts! You'll find tips on making different things such as bunting etc coming up, so keep an eye on the blog for all sorts of interesting creations!

It'd be great if you could all show her some support and to round things off, here's a picture of me and Amy looking relatively decent on one of our many nights out!

SPOTLIGHT: Amy Sapphire Photography

1. Where did your love of photography come from?

I’ve always loved taking photos and I especially love the impact and emotions it can provoke in people and the story a photo can 

tell. As part of my degree at university, there was the opportunity to study photography and 

from the first lecture I was hooked. I realised then, that photography is what 

I want to make a career out of. I managed to get my hands on a DSLR and my passion for 

photography quickly grew, it's amazing to find a creative art form that I love!

2. Do you have any favourite styles you like to shoot?

I like natural, realistic photos, especially in portraits. I find that you get to see the real person more when they aren’t staged and set-up 

for the camera and the final photo is more true to the person in it. 

Another style I really enjoy is costume portraits. I find people can 

be quite ‘stiff’ in-front of a camera as themselves, especially if 

they are shy, but put them in a cape or some wings and they don’t hold 

back and you get to see a side of their personality which can be 

hidden in day-to-day life. I also love vibrancy in the colours in 

nature, such as really blue skys and bright green grass; I find them 

fresh and uplifting.

3. For someone thats never heard of you, how would you describe Amy Sapphire Photography?

I would say it is fun, relaxed and new. I like to think that I work in a calming but fun way which allows people to relax and be themselves. 

It’s rare that I ask some-one to sit and pose for the camera, I only 

do this if they are a really confident person or it’s the look we are 

aiming for. I like to think I allow people to be who they are or who 

they want to be, whether this requires a costume or not.

4. What or who inspires you?

It sounds really cheesy but I do take inspiration from everything around me in my day-to-day life, the people I know and meet and the 

places I visit, all spark something in me which gives me ideas. I find 

that people inspire me the most though, these can either be new people 

I meet or the people closest to me in life. I find the differences in 

people’s lives and personalities fascinating, I love to see little 

things in people’s characters and emphasise these traits to create a 

portrait which really represents the person as a whole.

5. Have you got a favourite image? and why is it your favourite?

I have a quite a few favourites, its hard to pick one photo. I suppose one of my favourites and most memorable is one from a shoot which I 

did recently. The person in the portrait works with the emergency 

services and to others can be seen as a hero, so it seemed fitting to 

put him in a cape. The cape allowed him to release his inner child and 

he instantly started running about, acting out fight scenes and hiding 

behind rocks. I love this photo in particular because it represents 

this mischievous, child-like behavior in his position and facial 

expression. The colours and tones in the photo contrast nicely with 

the harsh, black cape adding depth to the image. He is nicely framed 

and the shadows add dramatic effect. Overall I just think it’s a fun 

photo which demonstrates the fun we had on the shoot.

6. Can you give us an insight into what to expect from your business over the coming months?

I aim to expand and develop my skills to cover other aspects of photography and experience all that it has to offer, however my main 

passion and interest is still to be portraits, hopefully many more 

costume and character portraits as these are the ones which excite me 

the most. I aim to experiment with many more different effects to 

achieve all the feeling and emotions which can best display a person’s 

character.

7. Finally, if anyone wishes to contact you or view your work when can they reach you?

There is a selection of my work and some info at www.amysapphire.com or you can take a look at a few more of my photos on my flickr page at 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/amy_webber/ If you have any queries or 

comments then I would be happy to hear from you, you can email me at 

amysapphirephotography@gmail.com