This time, my discoveries are due to going through millions of shots in order to choose some to print. I'm planning to make myself a printed portfolio, purely for my own sake, of my favourite shots from my modelling so far; this decision is sparked largely because I don't know exactly how long I'll be doing this for, what with going backpacking for a few months and then coming home to an uncertain lifestyle - I hope I'll model while away in various continents and get straight back into it when I'm home, but you can't take these things for granted. As it stands, although I've been modelling for 18-ish months and am signed to commercial agencies, I have a confession to make: I have NO prints of any of my images. This increasingly strikes me as having been bizarre behaviour on my part. What have I (not) been thinking? It would make me VERY sad not to have physical memories of what I've been up to. Of course, everyone always says prints are completely different from computer files, and even that an image isn't 'finished' until it's a tangible, physical thing to be looked at - well, I've never seen any prints of my images (except for one or two versions; fittingly, Mark Bigelow sent me a card advertising his recent exhibition at Oxford Artweeks). I'm really very silly for not thinking of having my own prints until now. :(
(The card from Mark's exhibition:)
The rules: My printed 'portfolio' is going to break all the rules of what a portfolio should be like. It's not going to need an expensive folder (though one would be nice); it's not going to consist of only one image per set - if I like five images in one outfit/location, I'm going to print them all; it's going to have a LOT more than the standard maximum of 12-15; I'm not going to feel pressure to throw images away when they become 'out of date'... But, it is going to be carefully put together, and beautiful. In short, it's not going to be for anyone but myself - a 'memory book'!
:) :) :)
These were taken sometime within the last 6 months (I'm not sure exactly when without checking my diary, which I'm slightly too lazy to do at this particular moment) by the wonderful photographer Mark Bigelow. They remain unretouched and honest. I have some images from this set in my portfolio but had somehow overlooked these few, which now strike me as being quite interesting - especially the first, which I'm sure I initially didn't cast a second glance at, probably thinking it was a reject. I love it now! I actually might put it in my online portfolio, just to spite people who think models must always have heads. What a rebel.
