#10: Cakes Cakes Cakes

Anybody that knows me knows I am THE cake monster. I know good cake when I taste it and sometimes just by smell alone. Sponge cake, Carrot cake, Victoria sandwich, Angel cake, Chocolate chip muffins, Strawberry and white chocolate muffins ………………. Dear God I’m drooling ………………. Anyho, I think you can guess I love cake.

PS if you are looking for a place where they have AMAZING cake ……………..  Maison Blanc in West Hampstead among other places.

My wife and all round superwoman has many talents, one of which is baking ……………. Man imagine that, God really loves me, she’s stunning and she can bake. She decided to pursue her baking a bit further a few months back and was commissioned to create a wedding cake. So in the run up to the wedding she did a few practice runs and I was the guinea pig, well I don’t mind being a cake eating guinea pig. Only thing is the wedding cake was a fruit cake tier and chocolate cupcakes. Dammit!!! my two least favourite cakes. Question; why do people have fruit cakes at weddings? its frigin disgusting, for the sake of the living God, its cake not a fruit mould. My missus is AMAZING cos she baked a fruit cake that I could actually eat and say not bad honey, not bad at all. She created  a nice blended fruit cake which is a bit different from the conventional fruit cake. The chocolate cupcakes were on another level; sweet, tasty and moist with great texture.

I can’t wait for her Christmas cake surprise and no it’s none of that fruit cake nonsense. Any budding cake makers who think they know how to bake, send me a sample and I will be the judge of that LOL (PS don’t send me any fruit cake or your asking for an ass whooping)

After she finished baking and packing, I decided to take a break from stuffing my face and be a good husband and take some pictures. Here are some images below;

All prettied up and ready for the wedding

On the cupcake stand

Decided to get creative and shoot outside the back of our house in the snow

#8: The shoot cycle

I have been doing test shoots for about 2yrs now and I tend to enjoy most of them. I actually get a high when the ideas come together well and I get the shoots I am looking for. Now what is a test shoot; it’s basically a shoot mutually agreed between a bunch of creatives (photographer, model, make up artist, etc) for the purpose of developing their respective portfolios. At these types of shoots, the costs are divided between the creatives and everybody provides their services for free.

Before any shoot I think about an idea that represents the concept of the shoot. For me, idea is key and I am not happy going into a shoot without a suitably formulated concept. Once the idea is put together, everything else follows from there from choosing the right model for the shoot and other creatives (make up artist, hair stylist, wardrobe stylist) to picking the colour scheme. I have found that picking the right creative is paramount in making or breaking the shoot among other things. For example; If a model cannot pose or act to illustrate the message you are trying to put across, either it be fashion or a story, then it will hurt the image. I take my time to pick the right people and I am getting better at it from continuous testing.

A beauty image from a recent test shoot

While I am putting the creatives together, I am also looking for a location which could be a studio or location depending on the concept put together.  Outside locations are particularly challenging as I am at the mercy of the British weather. Closer to the shoot date I brain storm with the various creatives involved and explain my ideas and what they need to do for the shoot.

Shoot day and I make sure to have a nice day, get some nice breakfast ………………. Full English baby!!! toast, eggs, baked beans, sausages and bacon, my mouth is watering already. Listen to my favourite music on the way into the shoot so I am in a good happy mood. Its important to give a nice friendly vibe packed with a some energy to create the right atmosphere for everybody in the shoot. To help even more I am gonna be purchasing an ipod touch to create a jamming session. Creative people love the right vibe, it can make or break the shoot ……………… it seriously can. That’s why divas and big personalities ask for puppies or flowers at events …………….. I am not condoning it, but from what I know it creates the right state of mind for them to feel comfortable in. NO I will not make any diva demands …………………….. yet, give me a few years LOL. Very importantly I pray to God before any shoot and commit the exercise into his hands (yes that’s right G-O-D, well He did give me the talent, so He is very instrumental in how I use it).

After the shoot is done, I load the images unto my PC (yes a Windows PC and I am very ashamed to say so, I will get a MAC soon) and review and process them in Adobe Lightroom. Extra creative stuff is done in Adobe Photoshop.

another image from a recent fashion test shoot. I really liked having the horse in the background, I thought it added something intriguing to the image

Putting together a shoot is quite involving, a lot of time and effort goes into making the images look the way they look.

I am at an exciting time right now as I embark on a journey with a few animal friends ……………. Watch this space, all will be revealed.


Have a great weekend
I know I will