Michael Stenning comes from a freelance press background. One that demands the ability to take high-quality images. Industrial photography and Indian weddings followed. Social photography led to model portfolio commissions and in turn, portraiture and commercial headshots
Friday, May 17, 2024
There's Something About Mary...
Thursday, March 7, 2024
Beauty & The East
It’s often said that photographers and other “creatives” should have a project for when things go quiet commercially, or if you’re just looking to “change things up a bit”. I can relate to this narrative on both tiers. I’d recently bought a couple of third-party lenses for my Fuji XT100 and X-A5.
An 85mm 1.8 prime for the XT and this budget TT Artisan 27mm F2.8 APS-C Autofocus. The latter being something of a wild card, the price being the main attraction. Image quality is reassuringly good, not on par with a premium Fuji lens but pleasing and the autofocus is also reasonably responsive.
I have always been fascinated by people, although Eastern Europe has always been a region of particular interest. There are several reasons for this, but I can recall wondering (as I did with film censorship) what lay behind the Iron Curtain, and what were we not supposed to see. Propaganda was a two-way street and thanks to a well-traveled, very worldly father I never bought into the era's broad strokes narrative that communism bad, and capitalism good.
Women within the Soviet Union were sometimes stereotyped as more liberated, better educated, and, more mysterious. Or conversely, uneducated and ignorant. Sweeping statements about anything, let alone people are by definition, inaccurate. Growing up, there was a narrative about bulletproof Soviet technology- MZ motorcycles and to a lesser extent, Jawa too. Tough, slow, built to last and in the west, dirt cheap.
Before the fall of the Berlin Wall, you could buy a very serviceable, solid 250cc MZ for as little as £50. Vostok Amphibia dive watches and of course, film rangefinders and SLR cameras from the likes of Zenit, Kiev, and FED. Some reckoned to rival Leica but for a fraction of the price.
My uncle met his second wife while driving an HGV back and forth from the UK and Warsaw with a friend during the late 1980s (They married in 1988-happily so ever since). She was working as a receptionist in a hotel where he regularly stayed.
On several occasions (although most notably in my late teens/early adulthood), I had wanted to ride a motorcycle through Eastern Europe, starting in East Germany and working through towards Russia, photographing the old industrial and derelict places, people, and life generally.
Given this backdrop, my quiet fascination and intrigue for those raised in this time and region is perhaps more obvious. My late father had also visited Odessa and Moscow in 1990.
Then of course, there was a more recent migration of people from the former “Eastern Block” to the UK, many continuing the tradition of filling skilled and sometimes, unskilled work, studying, raising children, and generally building lives here. Leading up to Christmas 2007, I worked alongside some men and women from the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Poland while doing some seasonal jobs. I have always been keen to learn how these countries and people’s lives, attitudes, and experiences have changed since 1989. We shared some fascinating, sometimes hilarious stories/anecdotes.
The Brexit vote of 2016 sounded some very unpleasant bells and made a lot of people feel incredibly unwelcome, seemingly overnight.
Long story short, I am seeking to photograph people from these regions, living in the UK for a mix of themes. Primarily portraiture and fashion for those who have not modeled before. A more diverse range of themes for those who have.
Models & Portraiture - Stenning Photographic Model & Portraiture Photography (format.com)
Curious? Get in touch…
Tuesday, November 21, 2023
Darcy
Darcy is a plus-size model, returning to the industry after a break. She caught my attention having posted a casting on a networking site. I tend to make my approach and if my style of work appeals, the model and I will discuss themes and date(s) from there. Darcy was keen on some headshots, portraits, and autumnal/winter fashion and the close of October seemed the best fit.
I hadn’t been to Southend on Sea since the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns struck. Changeable weather also requires lots of forward planning and I was a little disheartened to discover the heavens opening along the A127- I'd been scouring the online forecasts and all suggested dry until at least1300hrs and we were shooting outdoors for two hours- from 11 onward.
Despite some initial drizzle, the weather held, and the cloudy skies added further mood to the images. The beach and deserted beach huts were an obvious, though very welcome backdrop, ditto some of the shuttered, seasonal vendors nearby. Darcy was originally spotted at a car show on the South Coast and helped by an interest in classic cars, things developed from there.
She has a degree in Graphic Design and secured work in this field, post-graduation. In common with a lot of models, she’s had a few challenges too, and testament to her character that she’d overcome them and kept a warm, positive outlook. I thoroughly enjoyed our shoot and would happily work with her again. These images were taken using the faithful A6000 and A6300 tag team coupled with 33mm 1.4 and 60mm 2.8 prime lenses.
Friday, June 4, 2021
Alternative fun with Amy
Amy contacted me, interested in my style of photography and inviting me to refresh her port-folio. She also happened to be very local, which was another incentive to shoot. Given the present pandemic and accelerating infection rates here in the UK, I am sticking to location work. Having discussed a theme of portraiture and headshots, we talked in terms of woodland backdrops but ultimately, ditched these in favour of a canal and graffiti underpass. A relaxed, though focused two hours followed, with mutually pleasing results.
Saturday, May 15, 2021
Fun in the Fields
Had another two shoots canceled at short notice. One was within hours, the other 48 hours. The latter was genuinely unavoidable and I will rebook, when she’s fully recovered.
Within an hour, Silvai got in touch, wanting to shoot, on Thursday, thus filling my postponement.
Given the pandemic and COVID’s perpetual mutations, I’m swerving studio settings but happy with location-based work. Given the weather was fair, she wanted to revisit the yellow field theme, which had been rained off twelve days previously.
As usual, she was impeccably prepared and ready to shoot. She'd also brought an additional outfit for a different backdrop, which we were able to fit in. As before, she was impeccably presented, posed seamlessly and had a very clear idea of what she wanted from our time.
I was also saddened, but not surprised to learn that she’d been receiving inappropriate messages and communications from “photographers” on the networking sites. Thankfully these allow users to report and block inappropriate people. However, there are always those that slip through the net.
Two hours well spent and before the rains came.
There's Something About Mary...
Mary had never modelled before but had a background in cosplay and making her own costumes, coupled with some acting experience. Being her f...
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The fashion industry and by association, modeling have been widely criticised for their lack of diversity. I’ve discussed the inclusion of...
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Bella came back to me, asking to do a second shoot . This time at her home. Now, I’ll confess to being particularly flattered by this invit...