References for John at Dazzle (John Coles)

Alisa Rae

I had a last minute shoot with John for his upcoming book alongside Aurelie and despite a few difficulties finding a suitable date and myself having to shoot after a 12.5 hour night shift I think we got some great shots.

John knew exactly what he wanted, showed us some sample images and gave direction when needed to get what he was after. John was very friendly and conversation flowed well.

I look forward to seeing the finished images and Johns latest book :)

Alisa

Wade said...

Had a fantastic shoot with John on the 12th of September, which was also my first nude. The location was a retro fairground and an awesome theme of fairground flirtations and temptations. It was a super location with a real unique feel and John just made it that much better with his strive for perfection. I shot with another model called Aurelie Anais who I know very well and was also just perfect to work with. so proffesional and friendly with a cheeky spark to her presence. The chemistry between the three of us couldn't of been better, and we got some fantastic images for John's book he is publishing. I can't wait to see the end product.

I can honestly say that if John had not made me feel so comfortable and relaxed, I doubt I would of had the confidence to do it. I am still fairly new to this but John just filled me with confidence and reassured that I was superb, which can be no less said for himself. Utterly brilliant. I would recommend him to anyone.

Aurelie Anais

I had THE most fantastic shoot with John on 12th September in a wonderful location he'd sourced us. I worked alongside Wade, a male model at a retro fairground out of hours in order to shoot a West Side Story inspired B/G shoot. John's is proffessional and creative and our pre-shoot communications were fantastic (the best I've ever had!) so I knew exactly what to prepare and what we were looking for within the images.

It was typically awkward to light (with a severe lack of plug sockets!) and we didn't have much time and yet the list of shots we wished to achieve seemed to grow by the minute! We started off with a very complicated set-up and slowly worked our way round to the simpler shots. The atmosphere was electric! I have never had so much fun on a shoot, John was really good at reviewing the images after every variant of each scene had been shot so we could review and pick our favourites or tweak whatever we weren't 100% happy with. The decision process was even more rigorous than usual as this series will be printed in John's book and it was great to work with someone who discussed with you the placement of each shot so we could have our own input before setting them up.

John was a true gentleman, always polite and respectful and definitely went the extra mile to ensure that Wade and I were comfortable and happy. I will be working with John again very soon and look forward to the next opportunity!

Highly recommended by me :)

♥

Luna

I worked with John yesterday and can honestly say it is a rarity to have such an enjoyable and productive shoot with someone. John was polite, funny and ridiculously easy to chat to. He was full of ideas and creatively I felt we were totally on the same page, which was lovely as it allowed us to talk really openly and frankly about poses and shots.

John is stupidly talented. Pretty much every photo we took ended up with a brilliant outcome, and the amount of times he clicked the little shutter button and straight away we said "that's the one!" were just too many to count.

John and his lovely wife took me in and chatted with me as though we'd known each other for ages. They made me feel really comfortable and even fed me an awesome lunch! I don't think I have ever met such genuinely wonderful people as these. If it weren't for the fact that I needed to get home and didn't want to fall asleep mid-shoot, I would have happily carried on shooting with John for hours. He is a superb photographer, full of creativity and spirit, and I would eagerly grab any chance to shoot with him again.

Thanks a lot John, I had a fantastic time!

Jim Vincible

I find myself struggling to put into words just how special a photographer John is. It doesn't do him justice to simply say that he is among the cream of the crop, because his images alone can tell you that – but there is so much more to working with him than simply the end result that appears in an image, a print or a book. My second time working with him was just as enlightnening as the first; not only does he approach his work with the spirit of a true artist, but he discusses and interprets and composes his photography in a way quite unlike anyone I've ever met. It goes far beyong simple form and composition; his attitude to his work is like that of a composer to music. There is meaning and metaphor and purpose to every inch of his frame – his images are not beautiful for the sake of beauty… though he certainly does take a very pretty picture if that's as deep as you care to look!

Beyond all the highfalutin stuff, John is also a gentleman in the truest sense of the word. He is ultra-considerate about his models and treats every shoot with the utmost sensitivity. On this shoot, for example, I was working with the fabulous model Akahsa on an erotic BG shoot despite never having met her before. What could have been a real minefield was instead one of the most enjoyable and productive shoots I have ever been part of, and an enormous part of that is down to John's generalship on the day. He will push you to the limits of your creativity, but his respect for your levels and comfort is absolutely paramount; I trust him implicitly and every model I've spoken to about him feels exactly the same way. I cannot recommend working with him highly enough – not only will you be collaborating on some absolutely exquisite images, but you will begin to examine modelling and photography in some incredible new ways. I simply cannot wait to work with him again!

Akasha

Teamed up with James for my second shoot with John today. We shot at a local castle and John came up with brilliant ideas for the shoot. He is great fun to work with and knows how to produce fantastic images.

He is an absolute lovely guy, perfect gentleman and great to talk to. What I adore about John is the fact that he is a perfectionist and will not stop till he gets the right image out of a pose. He also values the opinions of the models and doesn't hesitate to try different things.He knows how to motivate and encourage a model to go the extra mile and is so polite and enthusiastic throughout the shoot. He also had the sanity to stop at a point where James and I would have probably carried on shooting( frozen stiff and tired) to ensure we don't kill ourselves.

An absolute pleasure to work with every time and I'm already looking forward to the next shoot with him. Thanks for an awesome day. x

Stephowitt said...

What a talented and lovely photographer. :) Not long finished a 4 hour shoot from my home in Torquay.. He arrived on time and was a joy to work with. He's polite, professional, easy going & I felt relaxed through out the whole shoot. He's extremely talented & works hard to get that perfect image. Defo recommended to all.. Thank you for a great day :)

Natural Happy Woman

Communications were good and John was polite, and friendly, easy to work with...despite being a new client and working on a slightly "edgier" style I was really confident that everything produced would be entirely tasteful and respectful of me..... Conversation was stimulating and interesting company....

John is driven to produce memorable images...this is not an accidental process, this is a focused quest for that awesome picture- I always enjoy being part of a quality production.....

John has the passion to plan his images and execute them to exacting standards- it's excellent to work with him, see the image on screen, and be able to both of us make the tuning to ensure it's just right...

There were some really fantastic shots on camera, and I look forward to seeing myself immortalized in John's next book :>)

Sophia Newton said...

John was very courteous and a complete gentleman not just during the shoot but from the point of meeting to leaving each other. He was very considerate of my comfort and his positivity and enthusiasm never wavered. I loved the fact that he showed me the work in progress and discussed it in full detail. I felt very proud of the images we produced and I'm looking forward to any future shoots. John definitely has the right attitude and the right working method.

Akasha

Had an absolutely amazing shoot with John yesterday. We had so much fun and ideas that our planned 3 hour shoot extended to 6 which none of us realised. John is such a charming, kind and lovely person to work with. He made me laugh all the time and I had trouble to keep a straight face for the camera. Our planned images went completely out the window as we just came up with new ideas all the time. John is an amazing Photographer and Artist and I'm so looking forward to our next shoot. Thank you John for being such an inspirering and amazing person and making me feel so at ease and confident. You're epic! X

Beks said...

Had a wicked weekend shooting with John.He is kind and considerate,although our shoot called for daring and bravery he always put my safety and comfort first,including bringing a flask of coffee!!

Johns work speaks for itself,he is a perfectionist with lighting,setting the scene,final pose and having a giggle!Great guy to work with,highly recommend.Thanks a mill John,looking forward to next time!

Jim Vincible

John is one of those dream photographers that a model loves to work with. Not only is his photography absolutely stellar, but he is simply fantastic to work with in every possible respect. Communicating with him is a genuine pleasure and he gives you a crystal clear idea of what he wants to accomplish. On the day of the shoot he is an absolute general - albeit one with a great sense of humour! He shoots incredibly efficiently and gives fantastic, pinpoint direction to get the pixel-perfect shot.

He is also very much open to creative input, and is willing to consider even the wildest spur-of-the-moment ideas if they serve the shot. Working with him is a collaboration in the truest sense of the word - and the results speak for themselves. Having shot with him on a male-female shoot, I can also confirm that he is an absolute gentleman and incredibly sensitive to what could so easily have been a delicate situation. Instead it was one of the most fun and productive shoots, and I'm immensely proud of what we accomplished!