Discovering a love of photographing families & events.

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A WHIRLWIND YEAR

After the uncertainty of 2020 I made the decision to take a step back from trying to find work and to see what work naturally came to me. I was scared I might find myself with nothing but I was wrong, all sorts of wonderful & diverse projects found their way to me which I was so happy and grateful to be a part of. 

Yes that’s me with iconic band Duran Duran, a pinch me moment I will treasure forever. Alison Jackson Artist asked me to do the styling on the music video for their song ‘Anniversary‘ on their new album.

The video was shot at the famous Belvoir Castle. I was absolutely honoured to be asked to do this but as I was also acting in their video, I felt I couldn’t give both jobs  my full attention which is what a video of this magnitude deserved, therefore I was an actress  in the video and gave my skills as a support stylist, meeting with Alison & the cast, advising them what to wear until the main stylist arrived.  

Another fantastic job was with leading brand ‘Original Cottages’ doing the creative direction, styling and prop sourcing on their Christmas imagery shoot.

After researching Christmas interior design trends I was able to make on trend, creative  decisions on how the luxury barn we were shooting in was to be decorated & I helped direct the team on how to execute this. 

There were numerous models to style including adults and children, I styled in many different outfits for filming and still over a few days. I was able to successfully source appropriate clothing which fitted & was right for the narrative and brand ethos. 

I have worked on a TV series styling a celebrity but that’s all I am allowed to say at the moment. 

Unexpectedly I have also found myself doing event photography, pet photo shoots & working with women who want shoots to make them feel confident and empowered. 

I also just do random, creative/ editorial style shoots for fun, I think it’s really important for me as a creative to also produce work that’s just purely my art. sometimes I will see a location or item of clothing and a shoot concept will pop in my head, I love turning this into a reality. 

SOMETHING DIFFERENT FOR ME

I had the pleasure of taking some promotional shots of talented author A.E. Warren who is represented by Penguin Books.  

Amy has written some fantastic fictional books about bringing Neanderthal‘s back to life with DNA. 

It’s amazing to think someone can have such an incredible imagination, I would love to borrow Amy’s brain for the day to see the stories, words and connections forming inside.

We got some beautiful, relaxed shots of Amy outside in nature which is where she feels most at home and finds creative inspiration. 

Find Amy on Instagram @amauthoring

REBRANDING: I have changed my logo and Instagram name from ‘Amanda Hall Photo’ to ’Amanda Hall Creative’. 

I felt like my previous name implied my skills were limited to photography but I do photography,  styling and creative direction too, therefore my new name feels a better fit for me. 

Also the softer colours and clean aesthetic of my new logo feel more me and contemporary. 

I hope you like the changes I have made.

WASH AWAY A WOMENS IDENTITY WITH COVID UNCOLOUR YOUR LIFE CAPSUALS

Following the success of my award winning ‘Washing Machine Girl’ image in the ‘A Day in Your Life Photography Competition www.dayinyourlife.co.uk founded by the BAFTA and multi award-winning artist Alison Jackson @alisonjacksonartist and I was kindly gifted the amazing and thought provoking book  ’Feminist Avent-Garde: Art of the 1970s by Gabrielle Schor.  from Hundred Heroines www.hundredheroines.org @hundredheroines , the compelling images in this book by photographers Karin Mack & Renate Eisenegger inspired me to create a series/ story by making 2 more images, giving the original image a beginning and an end.

I sent the images to Hundred Heroines to show how they had inspired me and they asked to interview me. I feel so deeply  honoured and excited to see the interview https://hundredheroines.org/international-womens-day/ which was published on international women’s day,  immaculately written by Phillipa Kelly.

DOLL THEMED SHOOT IN HONOUR OF OUR OLD FAMILY HOME AND CHILDHOOD MEMORIES PLAYING DOLLS & DRESS UP

I photographed this doll themed shoot to pay homage to our quirky old family home which sadly had to be sold and the happy childhood memories of my daughter and little sister growing up there, playing with dolls and dressing up.

The house was an old thatched cottage, with lots of pink and cream inside, hence the colour palette of the styling. These are the last photos I took there. 

Playing with dolls as a child formed a huge part of who I am and what I do.  It was an introduction to fashion, I loved selecting  outfits for the dolls and feeling the textures and little fastenings of their clothes. 

I could play out stories from my imagination or if I had something bothering me I could play it out with dolls and give it the ending I wanted. 

I am excited to create more work which explores significant experiences in women’s lives that influence how they see, behave, think or cope with the world. 

I am the proud & humbled winner of the 'A Day in Your Life' Photography Competition, curated by BAFTA and multi award winning photographer/ artist Alison Jackson. 

My image was chosen by an esteemed panel of top industry & celebrity judges, and I received the 'Hundred  Heroines' prize, for the style of feminist avant garde.

I was gifted an incredible camera and offered an apprenticeship with Harrod's as part of my prize.

The image theme was to represent a day in lockdown. I choose this image to submit because I felt it communicated how many women felt during lockdown, stuck  at  home,  anxious, frustrated and longing for the experiences that brought them joy in  their normal life, to be dressed up but there is no where to go, therefore one can get dressed up only to do the mundane chores. Getting dressed up always makes me feel better about myself, even if no one else can see me.  

The head inside the washing machine symbolises the need for escapism, the subject is trying to find a Narnia style world inside it to escape or perhaps its a place no  one can hear her scream, or she cant  hear the children bickering.   

The washing machine also represents the cycle of going round & round, lockdown has felt like ground hog day. 

I have cut the identity of the woman because I feel lockdown has left many  women feeling they have lost theirs in the  pandemic.  They have been expected to  simultaneously work from home, whilst  being home schooling teachers, nurturing  mothers and run a home, the pressures  and expectations for many women have been overwhelming and detrimental to  their mental health.  

Guy Bourdin was a photographer often  criticised for cutting a woman’s identity  and I used his work to influence the narrative of my image because I feel like the pandemic has sent many things  backwards, with women stuck at home again doing the lions share of the chores  and family care falling to them, their desires and needs coming second.

There is humour in this image and for me personally humour is what kept me going through lockdown. 

SHOOTING  PROMOTIONAL  IMAGERY  FOR  A FANTASTIC  BRAND THAT  RAISES  MONEY AND  AWARENESS  OF  MENTAL HEALTH

I  have  been  putting  off  writing  this  bitter  sweet  story  as  its  about  my  now  passed  friend  Steven  80(. He  lost  his  battle  with  mental  health  at  the  end  of 2020  but  he  leaves a  wonderful  legacy and  example  of  how fashion  can  be  used  to  raise  awareness of  important  issues. 

Steven  had  suffered  seriously  with  mental  health  and  addiction,  he  recovered  and decided  he  wanted  to  help  others  like  himself.  Steven  was  always  incredibly  talented  in art  and  had  the  most  creative  and  charasmatic  personality  which  led to  his  great  idea  of  starting  a  street wear, clothing  brand  called  ‘Men  tally  up’  in  collaboration  with  the  ‘Sir  Norman  Lamb  Foundation’ ,  Steven  donated  50%  of  everything  he  sold to charity  to  help  others  like himself.  

He  asked  me to shoot  the  promotional  imagery which  I  did  willingly  for free as  I  am  always  happy  to  help  a  good  cause. 

Steven  wanted the  brand  to  be  inclusive  to  any  gender  and  age , so  I sourced models of all kinds and did 4 shoots (see in my portfolio).  

I  wanted  to  capture  Stevens vision  of  a cool  streetwear  aesthetic  so  I  researched  brands  like  Carhartt  and  Stussy  for  inspiration  in  terms  of model  poses  and  urban  locations.  Steve  wanted    people  wearing  the  brand  to  have a good  time,  doing  things  to help  their  mental  health.   I  achieved  this  by  using  props  like skate  boards  and  directing  the  models  to  jump  in the  air  and  dance  to  show  joy. I  shot  models  together  to  emphasise  the importance  of  friendship in  combatting  mental  health. 

I  also wanted  there  to be  some  more  impactful  imagery  because  the  reality  of  mental  health  isn't  all  smiles  and  jumping  in  the  air, so  I  took serious,  moody  images  of  some  of the  male  models  but  captured  the  the  rays  of  the  sun  on their  faces  to show  that  there  is  light in  darkness.  

It  breaks  my  heart  that  Steven  wont  get  to continue  this  journey,  but  he has  helped and inspired  so  many  people  with  the  great  work  he  did.

THE IMPACT OF COVID ON FASHION DESIGN - FED UP BUT DRESSED UP

No one can deny this has been the strangest year for fashion and most peoples social calendars look like they have been playing noughts and crosses because of all their Covid cancelled plans. 

We have largely spent 2020 at home, barefoot and braless in elasticated waist bands. 

One designer who has had enough of  boring casuals and drab colours is Molly Goddard, her latest collection was alive with cheerful colours and patterns, after all we need all we can in these dark times to brighten our days. 

This flamboyant attitude seemed to set the scene at LFW with Bora Aksu, Temperley and Mark Fast bringing upbeat offerings of colours and glamour. 

MY FIRST SHOOT SINCE LOCKDOWN 

Fashion designer EGK Textiles approached Becky Louise Photography to shoot her latest collection. I was commissioned as a stylist and creative director for the festival themed shoot. 

The beautiful collection was crafted from sleeping bags and other materials left over at festivals, thus making them completely sustainable. 

I sourced the location of Firs Glamping site to host the shoot, the long grass and naturally beautiful  environment leant itself perfectly to the summer festival vibe we were looking to capture. 

Prior to the shoot I identified key elements associated with festivals and created a PDF with mood boards and suggestions of ideas, props, how to best utilise the site and for the two models to interact in order to communicate a strong festival narrative of girls having fun. 

One of my ideas which worked out better than I could have hoped, was to blow a giant bubble into the shot as I hadn't seen this done before and I felt the purple/ green colours from the bubble would compliment the colour palette of the collection. 

I also suggested the models using a Polaroid camera as a prop in some shots to strengthen the narrative of girls larking around, documenting their festival experience. The small rainbow logo on the Polaroid camera  worked so well and subtly with the shoot colour palette. 

I really enjoyed helping the designer create the set by dressing the tent with gorgeous fabrics she had screen printed, colourful ribbons and props. 

It felt absolutely amazing to get back to work, I had missed shooting so much.

The pictures Becky has taken and retouched look fantastic and its not surprising they have just been published in www.boyfriend-mag.com .

MASKS

The masks seen here are from Marnie Serre's Paris Fashion Week show in September 2019, she must of had a crystal ball. 

I HAVE BEEN AWARDED A FIRST CLASS BA HONS IN FASHION COMMUNICATION AND PROMOTION

For the last 3 years I have been studying Fashion Communication and Promotion at Norwich University of the Arts, whilst working full time and being a mum. 

It's been rather a bonkers and challenging few years; I am not sure how I managed to juggle everything but I did some how. I thrive on being busy and am always pushing myself to do better so I enjoyed the challenge and feel proud of myself. 

University has completely opened my mind and fed my curiosity for wanting to better understand the ins and outs of the Fashion Industry at all levels, past, present, future and I have gained experience, knowledge and skills in all areas of fashion communication and promotion, from journalism, branding, marketing to photography and styling. I am now putting everything I have learned into practice and strive to make a positive impact on the industry. 

Creative people solve problems and I am confident the fashion industry, full of creative people will find innovative and creative ways to overcome the challenges brought about by the pandemic, making positive changes for a better future. 

PUBLISHED FOTO NOSTRUM GALLERY  BARCELONA

I was delighted to discover an image I styled, sourced the models. location and collaborated on the creative direction for Jo Lauren Photography has been published in the Foto Nostrum Magazine for their contemporary photography art gallery in Barcelona. 

This project Jo created was an exploration into unexplained events, 4 poor boys found a skull in a tree, in Birmingham in 1943 whilst foraging for food. 

I had not worked on a project like this before but I really enjoyed it, it was fascinating to research the war time era in which they lived to help me understand how these boys would have lived, what they would have worn and what they did for fun. Research is a key part of my work as producing work which communicates  authenticity and respect of the subject is very important to me.