Hah, for change, I actually kept my kit on throughout a shoot! And for the first time this year, I shot outside too. Despite being mid-March when it's still expected to still be chilly in the UK, we were lucky. On 20 March 2011, I had the opportunity to work with Karma Monero who looked me up on Model Mayhem some time ago, and we began corresponding on Facebook.I really liked his style. Very "street cred", a tad edgy and mischievous yet youthful and innocent, even bringing out the rebellious teenager in me! It's totally different from the stuff I've been doing so I thought yes, this would be a pleasant change to add in my work. I also wanted to work with Karma as he's also a model when he's not taking photos so knows what to look for in his images in terms of posing, style and composition.
After a few exchanges on Facebook, we set up a date during one of my UK visits. We were to meet at noon at Valentine Park in Gant's Hill in East London. Unfortunately, due to "signal problems" on the tube, I was a tad late despite giving myself enough time which was rather embarrassing as I never like to keep people waiting. Plus, Karma had another shoot after ours so I realised we would be pressed for time. Nevertheless, Karma was rather nice about it (well at least showed it) and accompanied by his "boss" Becky, we were ready to roll!
Despite the condensed time, we managed to get the images we wanted. Luckily am an experienced model and came prepared with the outfit and make-up so all I needed to do was to quickly change in their car. Also, Karma is an skilled photographer and model so there was no awkwardness and we carried on with our business. Plus the natural light at the park was perfect so there was no need to faff about with lighting...
So there I was, dressed in a tartan micro-miniskirt, boots and long black socks. Plus a not-so-matching tartan tie I found in my husband's closet and "borrowed". We strolled around the park randomly and stopped to shoot where the location suited us. This time, the occasional flashing of my white panties was as far as I dared. Then a bunch of boisterious pre-puberty schoolboys, who should actually be attending classes rather than loitering in the park, appeared agog with excitement as they went to check out this "new girl" in school. "Can I have a picture taken with her?", the bravest of the lot asked. Another one asked Karma, "What can I do to be like you?" to which the smart response was, "Get yourself a camera first"!
After we were satisfied with the school girl set, I got into some "Karma" tee-shirts. Karma has designed a few T-shirts with logos on them to promote his work and gets his models to pose in them. I should've asked him if I get to keep any! Still in my tartan micro-mini and changing into a pair of high heels, we shot around the woods and on trees. The shirts were so baggy that I had to pull them down so the logo could be read properly on the images! The shoot lasted just under an hour and we walked back towards the car. Still strutting in that micro-mini and heels, I had a giggle as I passed a group of schoolgirls hanging around the park bench sniggering and whispering at this "new girl in school", reminiscent of my school days. If only they knew!
Despite the short time we shot, we managed to get a lot of good images. Unlike a lot of the togs, Karma was very quick in processing them. I was very pleased with them all but the only thing I am disappointed about is the huge watermark across the images which I'm sorry to say, does ruin them. Still I'm sure Karma has his own reasons for it such a copyright and promoting his work. Nevertheless, some of them still look good despite it.
Besides, it was also a fun hour of shooting and meeting more togs. Karma seems rather ambitious and expressive on Facebook but he's actually down-to-earth, gentle and even shy, more pleasant than I expected, with a genuine personality. We plan on working together again soon in my future visits to the UK. And next time, I'll see to it that I'm more punctual! Thank you Karma for your patience...
More images from this shoot can be found on my Flickr page. Enjoy the browse!
