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SugarHill Boutique Lookbook

We shot a new collection yesterday for SugarHill Boutique who we previously worked with back in January, you can see that shoot here.

They needed a very simple style to keep inline with the Shop/Gallery thats already up on their site (which is currently having a bandwidth issue but should be back later today).

The models are Molly and Aleko, who both came down to the Open Casting Day we held, you can see images of that day here which just shows if you turn up at one of our castings you may just get some paid work out of it, as well as some great test shots.

This was lit by Kevin and Dave Imms, a fairly simple 3 light set-up to keep a fresh but soft look to the images and we managed to get through the 23 changes in one day, with all the images picked by the client and edited out by Dave ready for collection the next day.

If you need a lookbook or promo images for your fashion label or designs then please get in touch, we can price at both day rates and per item, depending on the style of shoot you need. We can also source and supply model as well as Hair and Make-Up artists.

Bursary Application: Deadline next Monday

There’s only one week until the application deadline for the studio bursary we’re running with Photoworks and Spectrum.

This is an amazing opportunity for emerging photographers, offering a fantastic array of prizes from each of the three companies. Entries can be submitted by email or post so get yours in before it’s too late..

This bursay is particularly exciting as not only does the award include thousands of pounds worth of goods and services from ourselves and Spectrum, but each of the three companies will be providing mentoring and guidance for the successful applicant, assisting the progression and cohesion of their chosen project.

The bursary will provide:

*1 full day of studio lighting tuition at Garage studios with one of our experienced tutors worth over £550

*7 days of studio and lighting hire at Garage Studios, with a lighting assistant provided to support you on your shoots worth over £2800.

*1 day of mentoring from Photowork’s Emma Morris, which will include discussion on creating a cohesive project, and understanding artistic practice with a view to how this can be applied to a studio environment.

*£1000 worth of Spectrum goods and services to be used for the final exhibition (including any film processing, scanning, printing mounting and framing you may need).

* An Introductory visit to Spectrum who will be on hand throughout the bursary to offer technical printing help and guidance.

*1 Full days use of one of Spectrum’s top of the range calibrated monitors, to ensure you colour management is spot-on before printing.

* A two week exhibition which will be promoted by all three companies, and held at Garage Studios in September worth approx £3,000.

For details on how to apply and the submission criteria visit the BURSARY OPPORTUNITY page on our website.

Juliana Heale shoot

Here’s a little snippet from todays shoot for Juliana Heale. A day in the countryside with great company, beautiful scenery and sunshine fit for the Med. It’s a hard life, but someone’s got to do it…………


Photography- Beth Steddon, Hair & Makeup- Saffron Powell, Styling - Juliana Heale, Model - Faye Walton

Creative Photography: Only 3 places left

The creative photography course is one of the most popular courses that we run at Garage Studios, and past students have produced some truly fantastic work. As the May Creative Photography became fully booked so early this time, we made the decision to run an additional course alongside the existing dates.

This NEWLY ADDED course begins on TUESDAY 10TH MAY, runs for 8 consecutive Tuesday evenings from 7.30 - 9.30pm and costs £285. There are now only a few places left.

The course focuses on the work of many influential key photographers such and Diane Arbus, Nadav Kandar and Stephen Shore, and the methods they employ to create visually arresting images. Each week you will be set a project to be completed in between sessions, which will then be critiqued in a group environment, helping you to understand and progress with your ideas.

More information on the course can be found on this link

Past Students work:


Chris Harison

Sian Davey

Sarah Arnett

For more information on the course, or to book your place, email or call

Photoworks talk: Carey Young & Immo Klink

Photoworks in partnership with the University of Brighton MA are holding a talk with Carey Young and Immo Klink, two exciting contemporary photographers, who will each discussing their work in relation to politics, protest, activism, globalisation and contemporary media.


The talk will take place on Monday 9th May at the Sallis Benny Theatre, and costs £7 (£5 concessions). The talk will be introduced by David Green, and is set to be a really interesting and engaging evening, so book now to avoid disappointment.

Bookings can be made on this link through the Photoworks website, or for more information, you can contact them direct on

Lou O’Bedlam Sessions

If you haven’t come across LA photographer Lou O’ Bedlam’s work before you really need to take a look. This man has a way with light and the lens rarely achieved in such an effortless and beautiful way. What is so extraordinary about his work, is his disarming ability to capture something of the soul of his subjects, showing an element of truth not often found in an era where people are increasingly in control and aware of the way they are represented.

Lou will be giving a talk and a series of workshops at the studio from 24th- 27th June

Talk: Friday 24th June 7.30 pm £6

With time for a question and answer session at the end, Lou’s talk will not only include some of his favourite work and influences, but will also touch on the way in which he arrived at the style of imagery that makes each photograph so uniquely his.

Portrait Masterclass: Saturday 25th June 10- 2pm £60

This 4 hour workshops will focus on:

Perfecting Your Vision:- How to hone in and identify your visual language, learning how to craft an individualized style.

How the Tools Shape the Shots: Looking at how different cameras lead to very different results, and how much of an influence they can have on your work.

Interacting with Models:- Investigating the ways you can interact with the people you are shooting, whether they are seasoned professionals, or complete stranger whose face you just “have” to shoot.

Advanced Portrait Session: Sunday 26th June £85

The advanced course will delve deeper into the psychology of portraiture, the relationship between artist and subject, and the ideas and thoughts that help to form successful portraiture. You will also cover the finer points of achieving personal artistic goals relating to improving your photography. Moving beyond the purely technical aspects of creating imagery, there will be a focus on the motivation behind your work, and ways in which it can help to support the implementation of your artistic vision.

Both workshops will allow time for guided shooting with a model….

One to One sessions: Saturday 25th – Monday 27th June £65/hour

There are a limited amount of one to one sessions available over the weekend. They could be either portfolio based if you would like feedback on your work, concentrate on the methods Lou uses to produce his work, or focus on a specific technique you would like to master. Sessions can be booked by the hour.

Lou’s work can be found on:

His site

His Flickr

For more information or to book a place on any of the sessions, email or call

Places on the sessions are filling up fast, so if you are interested in booking on any of the sessions, get in touch before they’re gone.

Northbrook Fashion Graduate shoot

We have been shooting the final collections of Northbrook Fashion students, organised by Heather Falconer of Spindle Magazine. You may have seen the post with the instax outtakes earlier in the week, and above are the final shots, on location around Brighton.

Models Molly and Becca- shot for Spindle Magazine Graduate Fashion issue.

Asst Sam Wilson.
Styling Heather Falconer/Shane Hawkins.
Hair Kalvyn at Essensuals.
MU Ellie Gill.

Street Photography workshop with Eric Kim

INTERESTED IN STREET PHOTOGRAPHY BUT SCARED OR DON’T KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN?

Street Photography 101 is a unique interactive workshop for anyone interested in street photography or looking to improve their current skills. Los Angeles based street photographer Eric Kim has hired Garage Studios as his venue where he will be leading a dynamic one-day workshop.

The workshop incudes:

*How to get started in Street Photography (with a brief history)
*Different techniques, equipment and guidelines for shooting in the streets (including the popular “shooting from the hip” technique)
*Comparison and pros/cons of DSLR, Point and shoot, Rangefinder, Micro 4/3rds, and film cameras for street photography
*How to get over “The Fear” of shooting in the streets
*Story-telling techniques and street photography aesthetics
*The secret of processing beautiful black and whites
*How to improve your technique and have your work reviewed by Eric and guest London street photographer David Gibson who is widely published, regularly receiving commissions for design agencies and leading workshops for clients such as Photofusion.
*The analysis and thought process behind choosing the “keepers” from your batch

The workshop will consist of presentations by Eric Kim with insightful tips for shooting captivating street photographs and plenty of group discussions for improving your own work. Guest street photographer David Gibson be available to give his own insights and provide additional tips for aspiring street photographers.

Following the presentations, you’ll get a chance to test out your skills through an accompanied on-the-street photography assignment.

After attending the workshop, you will get *FREE* Exclusive Street Photography Presets (Lomo, B/W, Retro) for Lightroom 3 - courtesy of Eric

The workshop will be held on Saturday 21st May from 10am - 6pm and costs £100 (early bird discount of £85 available for bookings made before 7th May)

If you you like any more information on the workshops contact Eric kim, or to book your place email Garage Studios

“Eric’s street photography, centered on ordinary citizens absorbed in the exchanges of everyday life, encapsulates the fleeting experience and focuses on the beauty in the mundane, resulting in unusual juxtapositions that inspire calming pause and contemplation in the viewer’s typically hectic life. He likens photography to a play: the environment is a stage, and the individuals are the actors.”

Eric Kim specializes in black and white street photography, and has taken photos from all over the globe, including Paris, Rome, Florence, Venice, Cinque Terre, Prague, London, and Korea.

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BFW 2011- Casting Day

Here is the first of the images we shot for BFW 2011. We are one of the sponsors, and so were happy to help out with some images to promo all the events leading up to BFW. This flyer is the first one we have been sent back, but Alex has also just dropped off the Model Casting Day flyers which are looking grand.

We will make a full post soon with all the images and credits (there are a lot credits as it was a very long, involved day with many set-ups) for now though Art Direction Alex Thirwell, shot by Kevin Mason. Keep an eye on their site for more updates. Brighton Fashion Week.

Northbrook Fashion Graduates-Outtakes

Post by Sam Wilson, currently interning at Garage.

Earlier this week we shot the work of Fashion Graduates from Northbrook College, which will also be featured in a Graduate Fashion Supplement with Spindle Magazine. Featured below are the ‘outtakes’ from the day shot on a Fuji Instax, photographing in to the sun, using the flash for balance. A love for the Instax is slowly showing through, as the shots from this look really promising- both the lens and the flash seem to hold up well in tricky conditions.

All styling, and the shoot itself, was organised by Heather Falconer of Spindle Magazine, and assisted by Shane Hawkins.

The idea was to produce a ‘Street Style’ look, based on the trend last year for street blogs, messy backgrounds helped fill the frame, less structured compositions that would normally give a wrong look, helped keep towards the original idea. With help from MUA Ellie Gill who kept the face soft and pale, Kalvyn at Essensuals went for an ‘Ironed’ look for the hair, with a middle parting on both the girls to try and build on the similarities between the models. We kept the hair and makeup fairly natural on the first part of the shoot, as the second part, in studio, went more dramatic, using a strong sense of colour in both the styling of the models and also the lighting.

Models are Becca and Molly, both students at local college Bhasvic, who came down to our Open Casting Day.

Using Brighton’s Pavilion Gardens and surrounding area for the location, we moved around using various spots for each look. The lighting was really simple, just one silver umbrella which Kev has now fallen fond of and the sun to fill the rest. Although having to wait 5 minutes sometimes for the sun to come out of the clouds became tedious, we really needed this to give vibrancy to the background.

Overall the first part of the shoot went well, apart from some minor hiccups, the 5D dropped in the road and a collapsed and now wrecked umbrella from the wind. Fortunately the camera was fine, but is now sporting a nice graze. Below are the remaining shots, and also a digital shot from shoot.

Post by Sam Wilson, who was assistant on this shoot.