File: 2016001-0084
At Newport (Casnewydd), Wales (Cymru), United Kingdom, on Friday 29th January 2016.
Chapter One: About the photo-shoot.
This is Lulu modelling in one of the series of casual style fur coat outfits.
She is wearing a light brown and cream coloured stripped faux fur coat by the fashion brand called Quality Fashion, bought second-hand from a charity shop.
Lulu is also seen wearing her own black scoop neckline top, with her dark blue jeans, and wearing black shoes with heels, and a pearl necklace.
The photo was taken in front of a black backdrop, with a studio flash, and shot in RAW format. Adobe Lightroom was used to try to get the correct white balance and colours.
The photo was shot using a Nikon D200 DSLR, with a 28-200mm lens, and the studio is a makeshift studio in a spare room.
Chapter Two: Why did I take the photographs?
I found Lulu on a model booking website called ModelFolio. After exchanging messages on the subject of a photo-shoot, I then booked her for a two hours outdoor photo-shoot at her home town. The photo-shoot was to be part of my graphic design project as she got the right kind of looks for my creative idea.
I made arrangements for the ex-wife to pick up the kids from school, and look after them for the weekend, so I would have a break from parenting in order to do the photo-shoot. As soon as I dropped off the kids at school, I drove all the way to Newport and arrived at her home.
With the help of her husband who tagged along, he drove us into city centre where there is a prefect location for my photo-shoot needs, and when I complete the shoots at the location, we returned to their home, and did some more outdoor photography near their home.
But when I had done the outdoor photo-shoot, there was maybe half hour left out of the two hours booking slot.
I think Lulu did not feel right getting paid the two hours fee for a one and half hour photo-shoot, so she and her husband offered me the opportunity to keep doing more shooting in their makeshift studio, in one of the spare rooms at their home, to allow me to take advantage of the full two hours booking slot.
So I agreed, and we continue with an indoor photo-shoot of Lulu modelling in casual outfits, with various different fur coats, until the full two hours booking slot was up.
Despite the fact that I am a deaf person with speech impaired, and that there would be communications difficulties between myself and Lulu, we did get on so well, and worked together very well. It was a simple case of I show her what kind of pose I want her to do, and she, as an experienced model, would then adjust her posing.
She had remarked that it was great to work with me, and left a positive review on my ModelFolio profile.
In 1985, when I was at a deaf school in my last year, I decided to get into doing photography as a career. So I tried to apply for a college course studying photography, but the hearing teachers, my own family, friends of the family, career advisors, and even the social workers, told me that I should not do photography as a job because I am deaf.
In those days here in the United Kingdom, there were discrimination against disabled people, as there weren’t much laws protecting our rights at that time.
I tried to make an effort to get them into helping me get a college course, studying photography, but they got me on a training course at college, instead of a proper serious course. I spent two days studying traditional graphic design while at college, with three days work experience for a professional photographer as part of my training course, mainly as photographer’s assistant and darkroom technician.
Nowadays we got The Equality Act 2010, that would protect our rights, and at that time of taking the photos of Lulu, I decided I would try aiming to go freelance as soon as the kids are old enough to leave school, hence the booking of Lulu for a graphic design project.
Chapter Three: About the fur coat.
The label on the faux fur coat says “Quality Fashion” but the Internet does not have information on this, thus it may be possible that “Quality Fashion” does not mean a fashion label or brand, but simply a general term meaning “quality fashion.”
It is almost impossible to find out anything about this fur coat, most likely to pre-date the 1990s, before the World Wide Web took off, and thus there were no details about it on the Internet.
The one Lulu is wearing, is a size 16 faux fur coat, and mentioned “Cat no CS6880” on the label.
=
The Comment Box for my photo is NOT an advertising billboard for any Groups. Canned Comments, like those prepared messages that feels like it talks more about the Groups than says anything about my photos will be deleted. You are free and welcome to comment on my photos about the subject, about the photography, or about your relevant experience.