Fashion photography – working with what Mother Nature gave you.

Some shoots require a lot of planning and pre-production, particularly if you are working away from the studio and in an environment that is new to you.

For the latest issue of Cloth magazine, we were doing just that - lots of planning, thinking ahead, and pooling of ideas.

For the magazine’s upcoming Summer issue, we decided on a location shoot - a beautiful beach on the north Somerset coast. This kind of location can represent even the most professional fashion photographer with some interesting and unique challenges.

Shooting on a beach (or anywhere near sand) can present problems for camera gear, kit, or anything delicate and expensive – which tends to include the vast majority of professional photography equipment. So, with this in mind, I planned accordingly and packed my gear carefully.

We also had to pack for every eventuality, including unpredictable British weather.

The Cloth team has been growing in confidence, and with every shoot the magazine strengthens its identity. The magazine has increased its readership by 100% month-on-month, a sure sign that the team are hitting the sweet spot with their target audience on a consistent basis.

It’s a great blessing that Cathy McKinnon and Scott Purnell, the people behind the mag, have a trusting insight, which allows each team member to work their magic and stretch their talent within the confines of the solid brand that is Cloth magazine.

One thing that struck me during the full-day shoot on the beach was when I said “We’ve got the shot” and noting the pure excitement from the team of seeing stunning images on the back of the camera.

This was a particularly creative shoot, and to date it was our most ambitious - two looks, two models, two different lighting styles, but one location, and only one day.

While Rebecca, a make-up artist fresh from the set of Skins, was preparing our first model, Angela, Cathy, Scott and I set about a quick recce of the beach, dunes, gorgeous lighthouse, and surrounding set - courtesy of Mother Nature.

I then co-ordinated with Harriet and Ros (the Editors of Cloth) with the production list. It’s always a good idea to make use of any down-time to add creative value.

This shoot contained some fabulous work and ideas from Harriet and Ros, who in case you didn’t know, also worked on Skins as costume designer and wardrobe mistress, they both have a fantastic talent for styling and for sourcing props.

On this issue, we can all agree that we all pulled out the stops and produced a strong body of work – with a little help from what Mother Nature gave us on the beach.

For a closer look at Cloth Magazine take a look here