Finding collaborators: Jeff Stanford

After a year of trying to find collaborators , I have finally found one; Jeff Stanford. Jeff is a photographer from the US whose currently studying here in Ireland at the University of Limerick. To find out more about him you can follow this link http://www.jpstanford.com/. We had a fun thirty minutes of shooting. The community of artists who are passionate about the arts is quite small in Limerick. And if you are not native, it's even that much harder to find out about the arts scene. I had an absolute blast collaborating with Jeff. That's why I have dedicated a whole post to the experience. So let's dive right in to our post for the week, FINDING COLLABORATORS: JEFF STANFORD.

1. USE NATURAL LIGHT TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

Ireland is not known for it's tropical weather. On this particular day it was rainy and grey. But Jeff cleverly worked with the light that was available. So whenever the sun came out we would take advantage of that. I am not a photographer so I can't really go into the ins and out of how he did it. However I can advice you to be experimental with your shoots. Play with frames, shadows, light etc to get the best lighting and effect on your photos. As you can see in the photos, it really does pay off.

2. PLAY

I can't emphasise how important play is when you are creating. Don't get bogged down on the outcomes or on trying to see results. Relax into it. Be in the moment and just have fun. In the photo above, the sun had just come out from behind a cloud. Obviously bringing some much needed warmth and I got excited and basked in it. Jeff then captured the moment. This is probably my favourite photo of all of them because at this point I wasn't thinking about how to pose or what to do. Mind you I was very rusty because it had been a while since I had been in front of the camera. But at this point, I was just absolutely having fun. When you find collaborators, make sure to find ones that enjoy the process as well and don't take themselves too seriously.

Collaborators can make or break a project/an experience or whatever it is you are doing. Now of course you cannot get on with everyone but finding people that help you relax and get your creative juices flowing is paramount to the creative process. Some of the best collaborators I have worked with include Caz Dyer who I worked with on Your Empire photo shoot. You can find that here http://www.lorraine-moalosi.com/your-empire-photoshoot/ and Steffano Nadeo whose work is featured on the Home page http://www.lorraine-moalosi.com/. Those guys made me feel super relaxed and their passion for what they do fed into my passion for modelling. Special shout out to every single person I have ever worked with, you guys were all amazing and inspiring.

It's better to go at it alone than to go with people you will have to carry. That just creates more work for you

Philosopher Lorraine

3. DON'T FORGET THE DETAILS

This is probably one of the harder things to do. Especially if you are working alone. So when you find a collaborator, make sure that you get all those tricky details done. I absolutely love the photo above because it shows off the detailing of my trousers, my manicure, my ring, the cuffs of my shirt, the detailing on the coat, the patterns on the shirt and how everything ties in together. Firstly this is essential if you are a blogger and doing a partnership with a clothing company. You want to be able to show off all the little intricate details, if there are any. Secondly, if you are a fashion designer or work in any field that has intricacies, then this is for you. Lastly. if you want to show off undertones of a product or model, capturing the details is super important.

In the photo above you can really see the undertones of my skin. For those who are wondering about my outfit (I would be if I were you lol), I haven't forgotten you. Here are the details about my outfit and where everything is from:

• Coat: Marks and Spencer's
• Shirt: Zara
• Bag: Primark (looking Diorish lol)
• Under shirt: Nelly.com
• Ring: Primark
• Shoes: Primark
• Trousers: Nelly,com
• Anklet: Custom by Nana
• Socks: Lindex

4. PORTRAITS AND CLOSEUPS RULE

The beauty of doing portraits is that you capture the humanity of your subject. Seeing laughter lines and smiles makes photos that much more interesting in my opinion. There are few general tips I would give. Firstly, make sure that you are intentional about what you are doing. If it's a candid, let it be a candid, if it's posed, be intentional about the poses. There is nothing as bad as a half-baked idea. That's because cameras are not the most forgiving. They capture every single thing. So this is where a bit of acting comes in. Feel and believe whatever state you are wanting to portray and it will definitely show through the camera. Awkward posing shows through the camera! Best believe!

Secondly, think will this look good on Instagram. Very controversial but Instagram has changed the standard of what is acceptable. Don't take long shots and then crop them to zoom in for portraits. That reduces the quality of the photos because they become pixelated. Then, depending on the type of shoot you want, make the choice of makeup. I could have used some makeup in these photos but I hadn't prepared properly. Therefore, an important take away is, prepare, prepare, prepare. You can never be over-prepared. Last but not least, be consistent but daring. Consistency does not mean boring.

5. FINDING COLLABORATORS : JEFF STANFORD - WHAT I LEARNT

I learnt that conversations are key to almost everything in life. This is because we find out most things through conversations. So if you are an introvert or you generally struggle with conversations, push yourself. My collaboration with Jeff started from a conversation. We (my church mates) were all hanging out when I got talking with Jeff. I asked him about his hobbies and I found out we had a lot of shared artistic interests. This just goes to show how important it is to speak to the people around you.

Furthermore, I learnt that creating needn't be a long process. This whole shoot was done in around thirty minutes. Obviously the editing was a lot more work. But the process of shooting was short and sweet. Which meant that we got straight into it with no wasted time. I think working like this also avoids getting into unnecessary disagreements. We both expressed what we hoped to get from the process. And both of us respected what the other wanted.

Another thing I learnt is that collaboration is key. We are social animals. We therefore thrive in environments of interaction. That's because we can give each other ideas and feedback. There are also certain things that are incredibly difficult to do by yourself. Such as shooting portraits and closeups. Why not get someone else to help you instead of trying to do it all by yourself. What I am trying to communicate is, talk to each other and create. Then watch as colour floods your life.

Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their labour.

Ecclesiastes 4:9

All photos by Jeff Stanford