Rebecca Gormley – The Best Is Yet To Come
Shooting with Rebecca Gormley has been an absolute blast! Jam packed full of passion, creativity, lots of laughter and some competition minded imagery! I thought it appropriate to share this blog with you about the journey I have shared with Rebecca over the last year.
When we first met.
I first saw an image of Rebecca Gormley on one of the photography sites that we associate ourselves with and instantly knew that she would be perfect for an image that I had in my head at the time. Taking a chance, I sent her a message with an invitation to look at my website and see that I was a serious and professional photographer!
I was delighted to get a reply and she came to see me for a chat in my studio. I explained the plans and what I could see in my head and to be fair, I knew she was seriously impressed. I remember thinking how naturally beautiful she is, and although its easy to be blown away by stunning looks; the main thing that stuck with me was how much of an absolutely charming young lady she is. She has such a wonderful and lovely personality. She is extremely well grounded and has great life values.
I guess at that stage I knew we were onto a winner
Our First Shoot
For our first shoot, I wanted to involve something that would show her beauty and set it off with the fierceness of a big dog. In end we used two dogs belonging to a friend of mine. I wanted the overall result to have a very garage grunge crossed with an urban feel to it and so we added background props such as tyres to it. The session was a success, I felt really comfortable with Rebecca and I knew good things were heading our way
Lingerie Shoot.
I wanted to shoot a set for Rebecca that would really allow us to showcase her long legs and her fabulous body shape.
This was a lovely session, shot with beautiful lighting from my big indirect strip light. It highlighted her skin tones and everything about her looked fabulous. Alexandra ensured that Rebecca’s makeup was stunning and everything about this photo shoot was just so positive.
Training Day.
This shoot with Rebecca involved a training day for me with master photographer Steve Howdle and his partner Stephanie Thornton, both of whom are dear friends of mine. I invited Rebecca along to model for me. She looked fabulous as always as I created a look using shadows to create such a dramatic feel to the images.
We shot this set against one of the walls inside my studio. Alexandra created a stunning look using a colour palette which really married Rebecca to the vision and the moody sultry feel we wanted.
The 1960’s
This was such a great period for music and fashion and we wanted to capture that kind of 1960’s vibe. I have to say Alexandra created a stunning look here too but I think it was at this stage in the relationship between Rebecca and I that I was beginning to think that she really did have the star quality that I had been hoping was there! I think this was the turning point for her and how she felt about herself too. But the 1960’s shoot was certainly most memorable for me, at this early stage.
Boudoir.
My first boudoir set with Rebecca was absolutely sensational. I had just purchased a new sofa for the studio downstairs and to be honest, I was in a strange way feeling nervous. Maybe because I knew this set would certainly shape the way we were going to go. I truly believe Rebecca Gormley can become one of the nations most sought after model for lingerie and boudoir style photography because she has the most beautiful body shape.
I shot this set with an overhead light and again it was very important to capture that beautiful soft flattering light. This was a huge inspirational point for me too as it really gave me so much confidence in regards to how creative I was becoming in my studio.
The bikini shot!
The bikini shoot was so funny as Rebecca came to me and said she needed to go to the beach to shoot a set for the bikini she has been given. The truth behind this photo is that I asked her to jump on the wall outside of the studio. Well sometimes i guess you can never tell where an image was taken but you can let your imagination run away with you!
Beach babe… but not on the beach!
Bridal Studio Shoot.
Bridal Shoots are something that both Alexandra and I love and to add a creative flair through studio lighting was perfect, so we teamed up with a Wedding Dress supplier called Bespoken Bridal and a wedding flower specialist called Wild with Love
Rebecca was drafted in again and the look created was stunning. Rebecca loved the session too! I think she looked amazing with all of the dresses she wore on this session and again I loved the style of lighting I used to light the dresses and to showcase how stunning she looked wearing bridal. Again, its a direction that I think she can really specialise in as a model, as on this set she made it look effortless.
One to One training.
Our next session was a session I created for another photographer in a one to one training day at my studio. I wanted to go back and look at what I had learned during my own training with Steve Howdle and it really was all about getting the lights close to Rebecca and creating these shadows.
One of these Images is her mam’s personal favourite and I have to agree as again she looked stunning and Alexandra really created another beautiful look for us. It’s so important for me to use Alexandra as she certainly is such a big part of the team. She really understands me as a photographer and the bond we have with Rebecca is very special. Rebecca is now fast becoming a close friend and the prospects for her now, building her portfolio and becoming a top model is beginning to feel very real for her. I honestly couldn’t be happier for her! As I previously mentioned she is one of the nicest people I have met and have had the pleasure to photograph.
Head Shots
Rebecca, already Miss Newcastle 2018, had been selected to compete in the Miss England finals and she required a head shot and a 3/4 body shot and to capture this I wanted to use a Try Reflector to to push the contrast levels up as the results of this really does have a high end beauty feel to it.
I was thrilled that my work was going to be screened and publicised by the Miss England Contest and we also also knew this was to be a huge opportunity for her to step onto a bigger platform. We were thrilled that she finished in the top five and I honestly couldn’t see anyone beating her as she looked sensational in a dress created by Kathryn Russell.
This dress was a vision I had for a photo shoot that would involve Rebecca wearing a black/dark green dress looking sensational and i wanted to add a Goshawk into the image to help create a special image that I could see in my head. I know this will be an award winning image when we get around to shooting it!
Bridal Location.
We were very fortunate to be invited into the grounds of Bamburgh Castle to do a photo shoot with dresses created by Bespoken Bridal and a wedding flower suppliers Wild with Love
What a sensational location and I was under the cosh here for sure as I felt the pressure was on. But I guess the truth is the more the pressure, the more I thrive on it. I just felt so inspired with Alexandra absolutely in her element and Rebecca looking so sensational. I loved this day, it was definitely one of my most satisfying days behind the camera!
The New Boudoir Style.
This set was a very important set for us. This set ended up with images being sold to the national newspapers and making the print page of one of the Sunday papers as well as featuring in various magazines due to Rebecca being in Love Island. Although at the time of shooting this set we had no idea that these images would create such a stir.
As with all of the sessions, Alexandra ensured that Rebecca looked amazing and again for me it was all about the lighting and creating that mood and style that I have grown to love. It was also evident that Rebecca was becoming so comfortable in front of the camera.
The Dress.
This is the dress that was created by Kathryn Russell and this set of images was shot the day before Rebecca flew off to Love Island.
Although she never whispered a word about going, it was most important for me to get her into the studio and into the dress so I could see what it would photograph like. At this point I was looking ahead towards the big shoot that is in my head, getting that dress out on location and capturing some sensational images.
As I said at the beginning the best is yet to come and we will continue to push the boundaries and I am certain that Rebecca is destined for great things.
Also I have to say a very special thank you to both Rebecca and Alexandra for everything that they have done in making these images as sensational as they are!