Throwback: Origin Story

Today’s blog post is going to be about the origin story of me and Dave Edkins, it seemed only right to include a post about who we are and how we met. I think it adds to our workshop content when you understand how we came to be working together, and why we are still working together all these years later. We make a great team when we put on the workshops, and still enjoying creating images together on top of that... this post talks a bit about why that is.

Towards the end of 2018, a photographer I had worked with a number of times, John Duder, asked me to shoot alongside a new photographer he was tutoring. I’ve always loved working with new people: new to me and new to the hobby. I particularly enjoy it when I’m working with people who are feeling anxious or nervous about it and I’m able to put them at ease, especially then it comes to shooting nude. I understand that it can feel a bit daunting to get into, but the way I work puts people at ease and makes them feel comfortable. It’s something I pride myself on, and obviously this came in very useful later on when me and Dave decided to do the beginner to model photography workshops.

So in September 2018, John, Dave and myself went to The X Factory, a local urbex and natural light studio that I was working in a lot at the time. After arriving at the studio, we had the obligatory coffee and chat, and started to work to capture some images. John and Dave were taking turns to work with me, and we did a mix of fashion and art nude, using various parts of the studio to capture a variety of shots. I’d gotten to know John quite well at this point and I found Dave very easy to work with from the get go.

I thoroughly enjoyed that shoot and a couple of my favourite images of all time came from our time in the studio that day with Dave:

John took some behind the scenes shots while me and Dave were working, which I didn’t realise at the time, but would become really lovely images to look back on all these years later!

I have decided to dig out some other images from that shoot that I particularly like. It’s amazing the variety you can get in one day if you’re creative and use all the options available to you. And it’s also great to look back and see how much we’ve improved together and how our styles have developed. Here are some of the images we got that day:

After this shoot with Dave and John in the September, me and Dave worked together again in the December. I hadn’t realised until I went back on my hard drive looking for these images, just how much of what makes us us had already shown itself in that first shoot we did:

We experimented.

We played around with props, lighting and effects.

We shot some silly things, some classy things and some weird abstract things.

We spent a lot of time standing around chatting, eating biscuits and drinking coffee.

Despite the fact that it was absolutely freezing and the light wasn’t amazing that day, we had a wonderful time and got some fabulous images.

Obviously this was a long time ago... my modelling has improved, as have Dave’s photography skills, but I still love these images for what they were: the start of a wonderful friendship. We continued to shoot together regularly over the years and became friends past the art we create together. We still come up with new ideas and never have enough time to shoot them all. Dave was one of the first people I told when I found out I was pregnant, and he’s become one of my daughter’s favourite people. He’s supported me through some really tough times too, with his good advice and kind nature. He’s truly a lovely human being and I’m very grateful to John for introducing us. I hope that we can continue to work together for years to come, on our own projects as well as guiding others in their photography journey. We had talked about doing the workshops for years before we actually started to do it… the first one was planned almost on a whim, but it turned out alright!

But that’s enough from me. I’ve asked Dave to write a bit to give his take on our first shoot, so here’s some words from Dave:

We all have days in our lives that we will never forget. One of those days, for me, was the day that I met Misuzu. A day that changed my life and gave me, not only a new hobby but more importantly, a new friendship. My photography journey, before meeting Misuzu, consisted mainly of taking pictures of Cathedrals, old churches, street scenes, etc. I never took pictures of people, apart from the occasional family snapshots and holiday photos. Then, way back in 2018, I thought it would be a good idea to give portrait photography a try, or at least learn how to take decent pictures of people.

I had no idea how to go about booking a model or a studio and I wouldn’t have had a clue what to do in a studio anyway. As luck would have it, someone I followed on a photography site (Ephotozine) had just retired from his day job and started offering photography tuition. Misuzu has already mentioned him, a chap called John Duder. He seemed to know what he was doing, so I contacted him and asked if he could help. He’d worked with Misuzu several times before and knew that she worked well with ‘new’ photographers, so he booked us a shoot with her at the X factory. That's where it all began. I will always be grateful to John for that introduction: he and I still work together and have become good friends over the years.

That first shoot was terrifying and wonderful at the same time. I had no idea what to expect. I was nervous, worried that I’d make a complete fool of myself. I had no idea what I should say or how to work with a model, or how to use any of the stuff in the studio.

We started the day with a coffee and chatted for a while (I have no idea what we talked about), John took a few pictures to check light levels etc. Then he suggested some camera settings for me to try and I started taking pictures.

John was very helpful, but it was Misuzu who made everything work. She knew that I was new to the world of model photography and very inexperienced but, she was completely at ease with the situation. She was friendly, relaxed, easy to talk to and delightful. I was still very nervous, clumsy, and completely out of my comfort zone but, it didn’t matter. Something wonderful was happening and when I looked at the pictures on my camera, well, to me they looked amazing and are still some of my favorite memories.

That shoot inspired me to continue with this genre of photography. So I booked onto a couple of group shoots at a local studio and went along to take more pictures and to gain more experience. I’d recommend this to any photographers starting on the same Journey. You’ll meet and work with some lovely models in a safe and friendly environment. You’ll meet a group of new photographers and have the opportunity to see them work and to learn from them.

The group shoots were helpful but I felt as if I wasn’t really in control of the images I was taking, the lighting was set by the studio owner, the sets and the models outfits were already chosen before the shoot started, there was a limited time to shoot and very little time to talk with the models that I was photographing. I knew I needed to book a 1-1 shoot, but it was quite a daunting proposition for me at the time.When it came down to choosing a model, there was only one person I wanted to work with, but I wasn’t sure if she’d agree to work with me again. Anyway, I messaged Misuzu and asked her if I could book a shoot with her at the X Factory. Happily, she said yes, and on a cold day in December, I found myself walking into that studio with a camera, a flask of coffee, a packet of (vegan) biscuits, and a beautiful and amazingly talented model.

To say that I was nervous would be a huge understatement. I had no safety net this time. John wasn’t there to offer any advice or guidance. I was going solo for the first time and seriously questioning my sanity. Misuzu must have sensed my apprehension, she turned to me and asked if I was alright. I said something like “No, I’ve no idea what I was thinking, I’m really nervous” She smiled and said, “Don't worry, it’ll be fine”. She was right, it was better than fine, it was awesome. Once I’d gotten over my minor panic attack, we started taking a few pictures, and the rest is history.

Misuzu and I have worked together many many times since then. She is absolutely my favourite model to work with, one of my favourite people, and a lovely friend. Fast forward to 2024, and a shoot I had been invited to with a group from a camera club. A few of the members hadn't been in a studio environment before and hadn't done a shoot with a professional model. They were a bit nervous and unsure about what they should do or say. I remembered being in that situation myself, and thought that a workshop designed specifically for photographers in that position could be helpful. I knew that Misuzu would be the perfect person to help them overcome their nerves so I talked to her about setting something up for them, she thought it was a good idea.

We’d talked about doing something before the COVID-19 pandemic, so now seemed like a good opportunity to go ahead with it. We put together a plan, came up with a few scenarios that we thought would encourage people to work together with their models and help them get comfortable working in a studio. Focusing on clear communication, boundaries, comfort levels, and expectations. We ran the first workshop for six members of the camera club and it was very successful. They all enjoyed it and said that they’d like to do more. We have successfully run several other workshops together and plan to continue offering them to anybody who is looking to take those first steps into the world of model photography.

And that's how it all came to be <3

You can find more of Dave's work at any of the following links: Instagram, Threads, PurplePort, E-photozine. I strongly suggest checking him out and giving him a follow. Also, I can be found on Instagram and Facebook so go and follow me if you aren't already!

A big thank you to Dave for his input in this blog post, thank you to John for suggesting that double shoot back in 2018, thank you to everyone who has come to any of our workshops, and thank you to anyone reading this. I hope you all have an amazing week ahead of you and I’ll talk to you next Monday!

Misuzu <3