Header photo: A painful exhale by photographer Images_by_mel with model Osh_veda at Art Asylum Reloaded Photo Studio

Images_by_mel is a hobbyist photographer based in Portsmouth, United Kingdom, with more than 2 years of experience.  

After sharing her shoot (featuring model Osh_veda at Art Asylum Reloaded Photo Studio) with the PurplePort community, Mel generously gave us her time for a quick interview, where she shared how these fabulous images were created, the inspirations behind the shoot, how it was planned, the camera gear she used, and much more.

Image by photographer Images_by_mel with model Osh_veda at Art Asylum Reloaded Photo Studio

Image by photographer Images_by_mel with model Osh_veda at Art Asylum Reloaded Photo Studio

SHARE A SHOOT with Images_by_mel

How did you come up with the concept? Did anything inspire you?

For people who know me, I am both a model and a photographer, so creativity runs through my veins. I have a whiteboard at home where I write ideas down. If I didn’t do this, I think my head would explode! So, for me, there is always a list of ideas not necessarily linked to any particular gender.

Some ideas I take for myself as a model; others just sit there waiting for the right model to come along who I think will be perfect to express them.

For Osh, he instantly loved the ideas I presented to him, which were an angel Gabriel with white wings, a cyberpunk/matrix/samurai character, a mohawk headdress (which I had made myself) shot in a punk fashion and finally, a rather emasculate portrait idea featuring a blind mask by Hysteria Machine.

I'm not going to lie—there was another idea. But, looking back on the day, it just didn’t seem to work as well as I thought it would. However, for one disappointment, I received four other truly fabulous sets of images, thanks to my amazing model.

Image by photographer Images_by_mel with model Osh_veda at Art Asylum Reloaded Photo Studio

Image by photographer Images_by_mel with model Osh_veda at Art Asylum Reloaded Photo Studio

What did you do to plan the shoot?

To be honest, with the way things panned out, we had little over a week to make all the arrangements.

Luckily, I already had most of the props; my modelling closet is ridiculously full of random stuff like masks and wings that I already own, which is extremely handy. So, it was literally a case of charging up the camera batteries and making sure I had all the props packed and ready to bring with me.

Osh kindly travelled down from London by train to meet me at the studio.

I had a clear idea of the lighting I wanted to use for each set, which I wrote down prior to the day (I said earlier that my head is likely to explode—haha). This was great as it meant that on the day, we maximised our time shooting rather than faffing about trying to decide what lighting to put together for each idea.

Image by photographer Images_by_mel with model Osh_veda at Art Asylum Reloaded Photo Studio

Cyber Samurai by photographer Images_by_mel with model Osh_veda at Art Asylum Reloaded Photo Studio

How did you arrange the shoot?

There is a little bit of a story to this. Around February, Osh was down at the studio for a model day. Sadly, it was during the week when I work, so I couldn’t make it, but I just knew I HAD to work with him. He has an amazing physique, but for me, it was his haunting beauty and truly unique look that made me want to work with him.

I reached out to him to see if I could get him down to the studio, but was heartbroken at the time as I found out he was due to leave the country. I thought I had missed my opportunity to work with such a fantastic male model.

A month or two went by, and I was due to shoot with another model at the weekend, but the shoot was cancelled at a week’s notice. In a simple twist of fate, Osh reached out to me on PurplePort at the same time to say he had returned to the UK. 

I couldn’t believe my luck. Within 48 hours, he was booked in and it was all systems go for the following weekend.

Image by photographer Images_by_mel with model Osh_veda at Art Asylum Reloaded Photo Studio

A painful exhale by photographer Images_by_mel with model Osh_veda at Art Asylum Reloaded Photo Studio

What was it like shooting at that location?

We chose to shoot at Art Asylum Reloaded Photo Studio, which is, in my opinion, one of the premiere studios on the South Coast.

Apart from being spacious and having an enormous infinity wall, it oozes personality. There are tons of lighting equipment and props; it really is a photographer’s playground.

The studio owner, Steve (from RAWing Waves), is also very knowledgeable about lighting techniques and makes a good cuppa, which is always a bonus!

Image by photographer Images_by_mel with model Osh_veda at Art Asylum Reloaded Photo Studio

The Chosen by photographer Images_by_mel with model Osh_veda at Art Asylum Reloaded Photo Studio

Tell us about the gear you used.

I am relatively new to photography and, therefore, did not spend a massive amount on my camera. However, I currently shoot on a Canon M50 MK2. On the day, I paired it up with my trusty nifty fifty.

I used a couple of lighting techniques, but in the main, it was a case of keeping it relatively simple. Often, the simple ideas are the best ones.

For the angel concept, we just used one light, which was rather directional. I wanted to create this circular pool of light on the studio floor as if it were a beam of light from heaven. Shooting from below, the shadows created by the light really enhanced the look of Osh’s physique.

Again, for the blind mask, nothing more was used than a simple beauty dish. As for the matrix/cyberpunk idea, two different coloured gels (a blue and a green one) were put in strip boxes on opposing sides of the model.

For the mohawk headdress, I actually tried a continuous lighting set-up using two Neewer 660 RGB lights.

Punk'd by photographer Images_by_mel with model Osh_veda at Art Asylum Reloaded Photo Studio

The dynostopian by photographer Images_by_mel with model Osh_veda at Art Asylum Reloaded Photo Studio

What's your favourite image from the shoot?

We shot the blind mask idea last, and it was one of the very last images we shot. I asked Osh to scream as if he was in pain, and the pure emotion I captured from him was just awesome. I knew then that we had captured the shot of the day.

I honestly can’t thank Osh enough for working with me. He is such a quiet and unassuming model. However, when he steps in front of the lens, and you let him be his unique, expressive self in only the way Osh knows how to do, something magical happens.

Magic did indeed happen on this day. We were fortunate to attain not one but three FPIs from this shoot, for which we are both extremely grateful.

Rage, agony and pain by photographer Images_by_mel with model Osh_veda at Art Asylum Reloaded Photo Studio

Thank you, Images_by_mel, for sharing your creativity, experience and images with us. We loved learning all about your photoshoot with model Osh_veda at Art Asylum Reloaded Photo Studio!

We hope you all loved it, too. Don't forget to check out the links below to see more of Images_by_mel's work!

Here's where you can find more of Images_by_mel's work

PurplePort: Images_by_mel 

Website: www.imagesbymel.co.uk 

Instagram: images_by_mel

Vero: imagesbymel

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