Detectives

This poster, the last in the series, was really inspired by the idea of a partnership between two completely different police officers. As we've seen in practically all mysteries, think of Morse and Lewis, Lewis and Hathoway, Barnaby and Troy (or Scott, or Jones), the point being that ever since Sherlock and Watson, the 'who did it?' genre just seems inadequate without a good crime fighting duo. So it just didn't seem right putting the new theme to bed without first, honouring those characters, who were superbly played by Susan Smith and Michael Ratcliffe, (they really did a fantastic job), with a seriously dark and mysterious giant sized image.

Christina

It's been a while!

Bonjour! May I start with, my sincere apologies for a longer than expected break from blogging. I know that I have been neglecting my blog this autumn but I have been super busy with various projects and a new business venture, (but more about that later!).

Now that the official 'Play With Me' project is over, and after a short delay, I am back blogging, and feeling very excited and inspired for the new year. But first, a little something new for you!

I have recently learned some new Photo Shop techniques and have eagerly revisited some of the portraits from the last project to try them out, so without further chatter,

Here are the new billboard themed creations, enjoy!

Christina

DVD Cover Art!

Well folks, the DVD cover art is complete, and as the project draws to a close I would just like to thank all of those involved who played a big role in making this happen. 

Making the transition into film from photography has been a roller-coaster, there have been a lot of laughs, and many early morning and late nights, and I could not have done it without the support of a wonderful team of friends and family who doubled as cast and crew. 

Now that my first trailer is out of the way I am determined to continue exploring film; during fall return to see another trailer in the making as I begin a new project. There may even be a short film on the horizon. 

How far would you go...

For the only family you have?

Watch the trailer today at:

http://vimeo.com/68799992

Christina

On Location : Part 2

Part two of the behind the scenes stills from the Play With Me project. 

To check out the finished trailer Click Here

Credits:
Behind the scenes stills - Laraine Ratcliffe
Cast & Crew:
Clare Ratcliffe, Jessica Phillips, Lauren Stanyer, Leigh Sellwood, Amie Scahill, Laraine Ratcliffe, Toni Langdridge, Michael Ratcliffe, Susan Smith.
Other thanks go to Terry Kane, who generously loaned me his Manfrotto tripod for the two week filming period, and for his support, along with Alex Williams and Ian Thraves.

Christina

On Location : Part 1

The Play With Me project has been one of the hardest challenges that I've ever done, but it was also one of the most liberating. As it was my first moving image project, I had a lot to learn, and I definitely had my ups and downs, but it was worth every minute. 

Play With Me was shot over nine days and on various locations. I shot the whole thing on a DSLR (which wasn't without it's difficulties), other main equipment included a Manfrotto tripod and an external Rode Video Mic. 

Here are some of the behind the scenes stills, all taken by Laraine Ratcliffe. 

 Part 2 - Coming Soon

Christina

Costumes, Props & Sets

I think its also important to share with you a little bit about what goes on behind the scenes, before the photo shoots or the days spent filming on location, because its not all as glamorous as it seems!  

All of the costumes that you see in my character driven photographs (and the trailer, Play With Me) are completely original pieces that we create for the shoots. That's money and time spent designing costumes, tracking down the perfect fabrics and endless nights bringing the costume to life. For props I use a mixture of brought products and home-made ones. The majority of the time we can't find the exact props we are looking for so have to do a bit of DIY, the rest I find at costume shops, furniture shops, clothes stores and charity shops. 

 All of the locations that we shoot/film on we source ourselves. On the photo shoots that include sets I enlist a team to help prepare, transport and set up the scene before the shoot (as seen in the Alice in Underland behind the scenes snaps). 

All of the costumes are made by myself and my wonderful Mum, Laraine Ratcliffe, who you may already know from the Play With Me Trailer. We are a tight-knit team.

Next Post:

Stay tuned for some behind the scenes stuff from the Play With Me project. 

Christina

Clowns, Carnivals and Catching Kidnappers

Play With Me centres around the legend of The Great Goldman's Carnival, dare you a attend?

Blurb -
Clare Ratcliffe stars in this intense thriller as Mary, a woman forced to hunt for her niece alone. When Amy goes to a secluded cabin with three friends and vanishes in the early hours of the morning Mary seems to be the only one concerned, that is until Sergeant Hathaway takes an interest in the case, against the strict orders of the town's detective. When all efforts by police lead to dead ends, and Hathaway mysteriously disappears, suspicion reaches boiling point and Mary must uncover the truth about the local legends before time runs out. In a town built on secrets, Mary can trust no one, as nothing is what it seems.

Watch the trailer at:
http://vimeo.com/68799992

I dare you to. 

Christina

Creating the Perfect Portrait

When it comes to creating the perfect portrait, it is important to first define your own style; this is what will set your work apart from the rest.

For this series of images my aim was to portray the characteristics of each character through the portraits. Michael Ratcliffe took on the role of The Clown, it was imperative to show the disturbed and menacing traits that the character has through the image. As all of the portraits were conducted in the same style, these characteristics had to be displayed through the actors body language, facial expression and the composition of the image.

Above is a screen grab of the image in Adobe Camera Raw. Using the sliders I first increased the clarity (as shown), this gives a gritty look to the image that would otherwise take many filters to achieve. Now that my image had a bigger kick, I decreased the saturation and vibrance slightly. I then opened the image in Adobe Photoshop.

The first thing that I did was duplicated the image layer which can be done on the bottom right hand side. Working on the new layer I then cropped the image until I was satisfied with the composition.
I then made other minor changes such as some cloning and fixing to rid of any imperfections, such as marks on the clothing. Next I smoothed the skin using various techniques and tools (including the mixer brush). The last thing I did was created a vignette; darkening the edges just added to that dark, ominous atmosphere that translates through the film.

I edited all of the portraits within this series the same, I used a new layer for every technique (Tip: Naming the layers makes it easier to return to specific parts of the editing process that you may later want to change or continue working on).

Stay tuned for more behind the scenes info and images.

Christina 

Joel Grimes and his 3 Light Setup

Just found this awesome article on Joel Grimes' set up, TIPS: Joel Grimes Lighting Setup for his edgy & gritty look using speedlights and studio lights. That's something I'll be trying out over summer!

Christina

Follow Follow Follow

I have a new Instagram, completely dedicated to Christina Photography and Film CLICK HERE to check it out now!

At the moment the content is mostly behind the scenes snaps, including ones from in the studio and some on location stuff from the horror trailer Play With Me, plus some sneak peaks at filming locations. I shall keep uploading content until its completely up to date, so press the follow button and subscribe!

With love,
Christina

Flash back to 2011 for commercial portraits!

Here's two from May 2011. It was an overcast day and we were shooting at a high viewing point over the Cheshire Plaine's (think super windy). I was lucky enough to have a white BMW classic soft top convertible for the day. The concept centred around Chanel No.5 perfume and the lifestyle associated with scent that was made incredibly popular by the late Marilyn Monroe. The model (and my beautiful best friend) Ruby, was loosely styled after Monroe, she wore a black and cream lace dress with Monroe's iconic red lipstick.

As always, I used my trusty Nikon D90 body. Above, I used a shutter speed of 1/60 with a 4.5 aperture and a focal length of 35mm. My ISO was set at 400. Below I used all the same but had a focal length of 28mm.

Post production: I added various softening filter layers and duo-tone filters. I also altered the tones using levels and curves in Photoshop (which I do on a new layer, always).  Little retouching was needed because the model was great on the day! Always a professional, thanks again Ruby, have fun in Paris this summer!

Christina

Alice in Underland - The Results

Hey Folks, so you've seen what went on behind the camera on our Alice in Underland shoot, time to see what was achieved! Here are my two favourite images from the day.

In this series of images, my goal was to tell the story of Alice and her adventures in Underland. Alice is always eating various cakes that say 'Eat Me' and potions that say 'Drink Me', these unusual concoctions change her size. Above we see Alice about to eat one of these cakes as the Mad Hatter tries to stop her. To gain the 3D effect I used shallow depth of field and ensured the focus was solely on Alice. In post, I altered levels and curves and did some dodging and burning (all in Photoshop CS3).

On the day we used only natural lighting but as it was pretty dull and the white sided reflectors didn't seem to be helping much we switched to the silver side. I had two assistants helping out (one of whom was my Mum, bless) who were holding the equipment. Again, in post I only tweaked the levels and curves and added in some highlights. However, If I remember correctly (this was 2011!) I think I enhanced her eyes using dodging and burning and possibly altered the saturation slightly.

Those cakes are making me hungry, so until the next time,
Christina 

Alice in Underland

Recently I have been looking over a lot of old work, (It's been part of updating everything ready to go on the new Christina Photography and Film site). This being said, I have decided it is time to revisit some of my much loved photo shoots. Starting with some behind the scenes images from my Alice in Underland series back in 2011.

Although the weather was pretty dismal, my beautiful models and team braved the cold and made it a wonderful day. A big thanks to everyone involved!

Meet Lauren, who played the Red Queen

Its hair and make-up time for our Mad Hatter

Thanks to Tracey who assisted on the shoot!

What's a shoot without a few last minute adjustments?

Meet Leigh, who played Alice

Looks like someone's a tad camera shy

Lost your head?

A big thanks to my Mum, Laraine, who helped bring the set to life

It was so dull on the day that we had to use the silver reflectors.

Blame it on the character but our model was as mad as a hatter!

And that's a wrap!

Christina