As 2015 draws to a close, today I am clearing out and doing one final back up of the computers at Tigz Rice Studios before I treat them and my trusty Wacom tablet to some well deserved rest! 2015 has brought about some wonderful opportunities to stretch my creative boundaries and, keeping with tradition, I thought I’d showcase 12 of my favourite images from throughout this year, one for each month…

January: Being a quite month for many industries, I alway find that clients who book their shoots in January tend to be well rested and full of creative energy! One such client this year was cabaret performer and juggler Mat Ricardo, who wanted a new series of promotional images for his website and social media channels. The original plan was to shoot some still images on location at Fontaine’s Bar in Dalston. However, I was also testing out the new ELC Pro heads from Elinchrom and suggested that maybe Mat brought along a bag of juggling material and we tried some multiple exposure shots as well. This was one of my favourite shots of the day. The rest of Mat Ricardo’s shoot can be found here.

February: This year I was excited to be invited back to Photography Farm to present my Art Of Boudoir masterclass as part of Farm Week 2015. The farm is one of my favourite places in the world to shoot, and I was privileged to have burlesque performer Felicity Furore join us as one of the models this year alongside Luna Sapphire for the sold out masterclass. What I love most about teaching workshops is observing how other photographers from different parts of the industry approach the same subject matter, it really is so much fun to teach. Here’s a natural light shot of Felicity Furore from one of the upstairs boudoirs. There are still spaces left for the February 2016 Art Of Boudoir masterclass – you can find more details here.

March: My love of architecture and interior design is well documented on the blog, so when Joanna Woodward mentioned a shoot, it seemed perfect that we would shoot in her recently decorated flat. Complete with roll top bath, vintage gramophone and beautiful tile work throughout the house, the decor matched the vintage inspired lingerie sets perfectly. Considering it was March (and UK weather), we were blessed with some great sunshine through the windows that allowed me to create this striped light effect through the blinds. You can find more images from Joanna Woodward’s shoot here.

April: The Photography Show is a massive event for the UK photographic industry and is often the place where new technology is introduced. One such new release was Elinchrom’s ELB400 range, which combined all of the features I loved in the ELC Pro heads with the portability of the Quadras I’ve been carrying around with me on location for the past couple of years. As part of the release, Photo Pro magazine asked if I would test out the lights for a review for the April edition of their magazine. Calling up burlesque performer Aurora Galore, we booked a date in the studio to try out all the functions as well as working on some portfolio work for both of us. This image ended up being the favourite of the day, using one side light to create plenty of contrast. You can find more of aurora’s images here, as well as reading my review of the ELB400 series here.

May: Photography Farm was back with a bang this year, offering up a three day residential workshop to help boost your photography skills with guidance from head Farmer Lisa Devlin and a retouching and workflow session from yours truly. The May workshop was inspired by Dracula’s Bride, modelled by Shannon and her husband Jack. They made perfect vampires – and we were blessed with the mother of all thunderstorms on the day which really added to the quality of light and atmosphere on the day. Read more about the Dracula’s Bride shoot here.

June: The pink room in Eaton House is such a spectacular location to shoot in that I jumped up and down when I found out I would be shooting the Betty Blue’s Loungerie lookbook there in the summer. Modelled by Miss Deadly Red, it was a brilliant day. Even better was seeing the images on larger than life pop up stands on Betty’s stall at a summer trade show! You can see more of the images from the Betty Blue’s Lounger lookbook here.

July: A massive first for me this year was working on the Haringtons Soho hair campaign, which featured 14 models and a huge team of stylists over a two day location shoot in London. To date, this would probably be the biggest project I’ve worked on and it was an incredible experience. IT also gave em the chance to work with the Ziad Ghanem’s collection, which I’ve been admiring for several years. I would love to work on more campaigns like this in 2016. Some of the Haringtons images can be found here.

August: Whilst the majority of the burlesque and cabaret scene migrates to Edinburgh for the month, Tigz Rice Studios was still as busy as ever. This month it was all about lingerie and it was a great honour to meet and photograph The Lingerie Addict’s founder Cora Harrington. Having travelled over from Seattle for a week to attend the Oxford Conference Of Corsetry (see below) we managed to squeeze in a shoot in the afternoon before she traveled up to the conference. You can find more of Cora’s images and a lovely review of the shoot on Cora’s blog.

September: The Oxford Conference of Corsetry fell on the August Bank Holiday, so whilst technically it fell in August, the majority of September was spent working on the images for the conference delegates. It was such a fun day shooting in Jesus College at Oxford University, plus the chance to work with some highly influential models in the current UK modelling scene. My favourite outfit from the collections I photographed was this set by Cristina Aielli worn by Morgana. The rest of these images will be on the blog very soon!

October: Another massive highlight of the year was shooting the AW16 collection on location in London for new lingerie brand Scantilly. Although a sneak peak of these images was released by Scantilly earlier in the month, the full details haven’t been released yet. You’ll have to wait a little longer to see the rest of the collection I’m afraid! More details to follow…

November: After taking a little hiatus from Boudoir On Location, I was really excited to bring back our studio introduction days for November. One of our attendees this year was Betsy Bedlam, who I’d previously met the The Cheek Of It Burlesque School. I just love how powerful and sensual she looks in this image. If you’re interested in joining us for one of our Boudoir On Location days in 2016, why not join the mailing list for priority booking.

December: Whilst corporate season definitely dug its claws in this month, it was wonderful to escape to École De Pole and fit in a shoot with owner Justine McLucas. We shot a range of images throughout the day, utilising the stunning winter light flooding in from the upstairs studio windows. The full collection will be ready in January, but for now, here’s a teaser!

It really has been and incredible year for Tigz Rice Studios and so I’d like to say a massive thank you all for your support in 2015. I am so touched by the number of referrals this year from friends, family and peers throughout the creative industries. Your support is so invaluable and allows me to continue to grow the business. As for 2016? Well its already shaping up to be a fantastic year, with several lingerie campaigns already booked in alongside trip to Lanzarote to teach boudoir and catch some winter sun. I’ve also been booked to speak at SWPP and  The Photography Show so I hope to see a few of you there!

Wishing you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year,

Tigz x