This summer’s series of location couture shoots has been such an incredible experience. From equestrian shoots at sunset to the gardens of Cleopatra, I have been blessed with opportunities over the last few months. Before retreating back to the boudoir to prepare for the festive season, it seemed right to celebrate the end of summer with a huge send off. Little did Anna Swiczeniuk and I know at the time of organising, the shoot would be filmed and aired on prime time television…

For those of you who haven’t come across Anna Swiczeniuk before, she is one half of incredible DJ duo The Roustabouts. With an impressive client list that features top industry names like Ministry Of Sound, The Box, Torture Garden and Bestival, they are a firm favourite in the European music scene and can often be found bestowing sounds from bygone eras and exotic lands with a razor sharp modern twist on the dance floors of the London nightlife circuit. I actually met Anna and fellow Roustabout Mark at Westminster University, whilst we were all studying our respective creative disciplines. I won’t say how long ago that was, but my, doesn’t time fly?!

The reigning queen of all things black and gold, I’ve always been inspired by Anna’s eye for fashion and therefore left her to her own devices on the styling for the shoot. Photographing couture corsetry is definitely one of the highlights of my job as a lingerie photographer, so I was really excited to hear that Birmingham based corset maven Sparklewren had kindly agreed to lend Anna a Mink Birds Wing corset-body from her Spring/Summer 2014 collection “In every cloud, in every tree”. Made from the finest coutil with layered couture lace in pink and vanille, the corset is texturally embellished with freshwater pearls, rose quartz and vintage diamanté. It really is a statement piece. Teamed with a Last Voyage of Demeter- Dracula’s Ship Headpiece designed by my favourite milliner Bink at Pearls & Swine, Anna’s powder blue hair was adorned with a sparkling sea of lace, flowers and gems, with a lace veil covering her eyes. Full credits can be found at the bottom of this post.

Whilst the shoot with Anna had been in the diary for several months, it was only about a week before that I received a phone call from David McClelland of Ginx TV. Planet Of The Apps, a prime time TV series that focuses on modern technology and how it can benefit users, were particularly interested in how Adobe Lightroom Mobile and the Wacom Cintiq Companion had benefited me over the summer whilst I’ve been working on location, away from the comforts of the studio. With that in mind, they asked if they could join us on the shoot and record my entire workflow from shoot to finished image in post production. Aside from a few obvious nerves, Anna was game and so was I! Having the filming crew on site with us was actually not as intrusive as I had originally thought it would be. Apart from the addition of a short piece to camera before and after the shoot, for the most part we were left to our own devices whilst the cameras silently documented the day. The shoot was shown on Ginx TV last week as part of episode 129 on creativity.

Credits:

Photography: Tigz Rice Studios

Model: Anna Swiczeniuk

Hair and Make-up: Anna Swiczeniuk

Corset: Sparklewen

Fascinator: Pearls and Swine

Fringed Bolero: Model’s Own

Accessories: Model’s Own