References for Female Art Nudes

Shaun Solent

I met David for the first time earlier this week when he came to my studio all the way from Scotland for a one to one lighting workshop. We spent a very interesting day creating all sorts of light and shadow on the very beautiful and long suffering Ziggy. I found working with both of them to be an absolute delight.

I am left with two very distinct impressions of David. Firstly, he is certainly no beginner - he is an experienced and very competent photographer seeking to build his shills further. We were able to conduct the workshop at high level, dealing with lighting nuances seldom discussed but which are so important in creating a perfectly lit image.

Secondly, David has a friendly easy-going nature and is a real gentleman. If you get an opportunity to shoot with David, you must take it - you will get top drawer images and enjoy the experience.

ziggy

I had my first shoot with the wonderful David on a 1-2-1 lighting tuition workshop with the photographer knows as the “master of light” Carl Grim at his outstanding studio in Fareham.

Although I was not the planned model, I had agreed to step in very last minute for David as the other model who was originally booked hurt her ankle and could not do the shoot.

I was overly excited and nervous to be asked to have this opportunity having looked at David’s profile I had already seen he had a high standard of knowledge in photograhpy and his portfolio stood out to me right away and I was aware of Carl’s insane portfolio also and heard how challenging but amazing it was to work with carl, so I was overwhelmed to get the chance to to step in at the last minute to work with both of these fabulous human beings!

So after ageeing crazily about 8 hours before driving to the other side of the country with someone that I never even spoke or worked with before I couldnt have felt more at ease or comfortable around David. we hasd briefly discussed the night before on what was the plan of action and in fine detail about our travel time, what to expect from the shoot and what he would like to create. His communication skills where on point and I was fully aware and feeling safe already. He also kept me fully supplied with food and refreshments through out the whole journey which I can’t thank him enough for as I must have tried every type of Christmas latte and muffin hehe!

David had great chat and stories to keep us occupied on our 6am start and long 12 hour drive to Fareham, so Their was no chance of me getting bored or falling asleep! We kept each other stimulated and had plenty giggles on the way their.

I got to know so much about David on our journey which made it 1000x easier to chat, feel comfortable and at ease. And although I talk for scotland He put up with my stories and crazy singing and dancing which I’m sure kept him alert as well as womderimg when when will she stop l throughout also hah!

As I was a stand in model for both David and Carl I was nervous about impressing both photographers Carl Grim is extremely experienced and after all David was travelling a long distance to work, enhance and gain knowledge to improve his skills so I had to make sure I had the right energy and poses to keep up, as I’m a massive fan of the of the model I was filling in for I knew their would be a high expectation and a demand for the perfect poses ! To put me at ease David and myself discussed over dinner and looked at the portfolio to decide what we would both like to create and achieve from the shoot this was a great insight and it really helped me perform to my full potential on the day to provide David with some magnificent poses and get him some maxing images! David really took into account what my levers where and how to make me fee comfortable and come up with ideas that would work best for us both!

So up at 6:30 and ready to start although feeling A little lnervous but eager to start the day I had a message from David making sure I was well in the morning as I stayed in studio which was kind and again gave a me reassurance from the moment we started shooting i was impressed at how much knowledge David had when Carl was explaining things to him but also how well he was taking in the information given. It made me realise also how much he was a talented hotigrajher and clearly bad an outstanding passion for creating and learning!

when Carl's had finished with instructions, and gave David time to be free it’s the different lighting set up , David directed me like a dream to tell me what he wanted to create allowing me to moving easily from pose to pose and giving me the right encouragement when I had to hold particular poses in uncomfortable positions for what sometimes felt likes very long time when Carl was playing around with the lights and explaining to David what he was doing and why. So I can easily say although it may not be easy i felt good and able to keep going! David captured absolutely stunning images that he would show me through out the shoot which allowed me to stay aware and if need be change mood things to get the perfect shot! I was more than impressed by the images on the back of camera and I look forward to seeing the processed imaged edited!

We finished up the workshop at around 3.30pm where we would be heading straight back on another long drive back to bonnie Scotland. After having a very busy and successful day of working hard at Carl’s workshop. I was so grateful for David meeting my needs and starting the journey which was a quite A change of plan for him but he grinned and beard it and got me home safe, many photographer might not have made the adaption but David was more than happy and it gave me peace of mind and also David showing how he only wants his models to feel at the most comfortable and needs met to a high standard with utter proffesionalism!

David your an incredible human being, photographer, and wonderful gentlemen who I’m blessed and happy to have the opportunity to have worked with and I can’t thank you enough for allowing me to be apart of that experience with you! I can’t reccomend David enough and would reccomend him to all creatives single handedly

Thank you so much and i look forward to working with you again in future David!

Ps Big CHEESY GRIN emoji x1000!

Monika Lara Smith

I had my second shoot with David while touring in Scotland and hopefully we will have more opportunities to work together :)!

Actually, a few months after our first shoot David sent me and email asking if I wanted to come to Perth to shoot outdoors with him for a full day and I was really pleased with this idea! As I don’t shoot much of outdoors locations I was more than happy to come yooho :) David offered me accommodation in his really beautiful house ( I literally felt like a tourist who was sightseeing, haha, sorry David) and he also made sure I was fed ( most important), safe and happy. That was extremely kind of him and he is an amazing host for sure! David also picked me up from the station and drove me back after our shoot and he also got my some food and snacks for my trip back to Glasgow ( thank to you and your lovely wife, that was incredibly cute!).

Shooting with David was amazing!! He is a great photographer who knows what he’s doing and has got plenty of brilliant ideas. David scouted locations before so we didn’t have to wander around and that saved us plenty of time that we used shooting at the location. Our start time was like 4am meaning we had to wake up slightly after 3am and even though that was my earliest start ever I felt really excited and full of energy ! David was also enthusiastic and just ready to go!

We managed to cover plenty of ideas and themes and visited a couple of beautiful locations .. I was so amazed with the scenery and it was a real pleasure for me to complete this landscape with some beautiful poses. Most of our work was art nude and well done for David who was really thoughtful and got everything ready before I started posing so this way I kept myself warm for a bit longer. He was making sure I was warm and feeling good throughout the whole day and I really appreciated this!

It was a great day of shooting ! Really productive, full of creativity, beautiful locations and amazing results! David is a professional photographer, with great skills and ideas and he’s a lovely person to work with. Always relaxed, caring and making sure Model is feeling good. He’s easy to get on with, easy to talk to and definitely full of interesting stories!

Thank you and looking forward to working with you again:)

Scarlot Rose

Where to start?! Having shot with David before I was very much looking forward to our second shoot together!

David is one of those people who really does go above and beyond to capture unique shots, especially when it comes to location work. I can't even begin to imagine the amount of preparation with location scouting etc. So when he says "I've got a crazy idea" how could you possibly resit!

This year's crazy wins an award from me, the award for earliest start!! In order to get to our desired location and avoid the public, we had to be up at 2am!! There are not many things that get me out of bed at that time in the morning but the potential for beautiful art is apparently now added to the list! So, up at 2am, a cup of tea and crumpets then an hour's drive to the carpark. From there it was another hour and a half "walk" (climb) up a mountain to reach the destination! All of this, knowing that we may get rained off at any moment and potentially get no images.

I honestly can't think of many other photographers this dedicated!

Thankfully(!) David is great company, I enjoyed chatting on the way to and from the location and he was very considerate of my needs (bug spray, water, plenty of rests etc.). Once at the top, the weather was against us and we arrived to a total whiteout of fog!! By this time I was DETERMINED that we were getting something so we waited it out, David was very patient and we took every opportunity to get shots when the fog moved!(and I'm glad we did, having seen them on the computer, there are some really beautiful creations!).

Hours later, back down the mountain, a stop for breakfast and back to the house for a sleep, we then continued our shoot focusing on lingerie style images in/around the house. Here it became clear of David's progression as a photographer and his attention to detail! It was great to work on something totally different!

All in all, a very long and tiring day but well worth it! I also stayed with David and his partner for two nights and they were both such wonderful hosts and really looked after me, for which I can't thank then enough! Right down to a travel cup of tea to take on the train!

Thank you so much for the experience and the shoot! Very highly recommend to other models (if you are crazy enough to brave the elements :p)

Scarlot :)

Nicole Rayner

I had my first shoot with David yesterday and what a wonderful shoot it was!!

Firstly, communication from David was brilliant. The shoot was booked months in advance, and very easy to do so. David put up with my uncharacteristically poor communication in the near run up to our shoot - as well as being completely understanding when I had missed my train due to my bag being stolen resulting in me having a bit of a nightmare! It meant neither of us got to bed till 12.30 and we had to be up at 3am to be ready to leave for 4am - but David was still very charming and upbeat about the whole situation.

The morning came and I LOVED that David let me sleep on the way to the location! That was really appreciate!

Throughout the day we visited a whole range of totally different locations which I loved! What was clear was how much thought and effort David had put in as preparation for our shoot - and boy did it pay off as we really got some great shots that I am super proud to be part of!

One thing I really like and respect about David is his honesty! Though he is honest in a kind way. I also love David’s company - his conversation and I love his ambition and passion in photography! We had 8 hours together and they really flew by as it was such a lovely time. Yet we still managed to get through a huge number of sets - to the point when reviewing images at the e d we had both forgotten we had done some of them!

David is a great photographer! He is very competent indeed so when we were doing the shot he was very quick in getting his compositions, exposures etc - which is always great when doing location nude. He has a great creative eye and I really loved so many of his compositions and I loved that he’d try lots of different angles to get the best result!

I also loved that David does not mess about! He does not take a huge number of shots, he just takes the time to get it right and once he thinks he’s got it, he moves on. We then reviewed the sets straight after to see if we could improve, (mainly, if my poses could be improved) - which most of the time we didn’t need too as we both nailed the shots, and once or twice I did go back and re do a few. I really love that way of working as I think it always results in the best possible shots and what it also means is that I am not worn out as a model so I am able to keep my energy up throughout the 8 hours as it’s not constant posing!

I also loved that David was so appreciative throughout the day. He thanked me for getting up early, he thanked me for climbing things or for lying in wet seaweed, and I really lived that he appreciated what I did, as it just really makes it worth while. On top of the fact that it was so worth it anyway as David captured the images wonderfully!

I also loved that we spent time afterwards reviewing the images - David wanted me to be happy as a model with the I ages he produced! I really appreciated that as it meant I felt comfortable experimenting with poses as I knew that if it didn’t work, we would review afterwards.

Can you tell I really loved my shoot with David? Haha.

Not only were the images fantastic, but David was respectful and professional- very kind. He took me to breakfast as well as getting me coffee which was just perfection! He was happy to assist when I asked for it and he had a wonderful attitude and energy for the whole shoot! I just had a great time and I hope this will be the start of lots of shoots to come with David!

He comes HIGHLY RECOMMENDED my me!

Roswell Ivory

I had my second fantastic shoot with David during my Scotland tour. It was a risky start- shooting art-nude in the city centre at 4am but David had already scouted the locations, had plans in place and knew his way around so I felt comfortable.

We shot a wide range of locations and ideas in record time and I loved seeing the results in the back of the camera. David was flexible about having to change plans when one of our locations was occupied, comfortable telling me when a pose or location wasn't working and happy to indulge my perfectionist streak, letting me reshoot until we got THE shot. :)

He's also a lovely person to work with, talk to and spend time with and I look forward to working together again. Recommended 100%

David112

David ran an "Introduction to Art Nude" at fabulous location near Crieff. The workshop started at 10am, and finished at 5pm. The first part of the workshop was mostly "meeting room" based, with David running through many different topics regarding the skills nedded to photograph Art Nude. This was an interactive session, and very informative. After a couple of hours, we were given the opportunity to scout specific locations for the afternoon shoot, with our model, the lovely and very professional Aurora Violet. Following lunch, we started the shoot indoors, using a choice of several bedrooms. David was very helpful, passing on his knowledge and skills, with tips regarding lighting, posing, composition and many more, to help us to achieve some great images.

We then moved outdoors, to photograph our model in the grounds of the hotel. Again, David was keen and enthusiastic to pass on his in depth knowledge and techniques.

We then reviewed the day, summarising what we had learned, and were given ample opportunity to ask questions with both David and Aurora.

In summary, I would highly recommend David to anyone wishing to improve their photography skills. 10 out of 10.

Aurora Violet

Day three of our May event.

Passionate, dedicated and such a joy to work with.

A weekend working with David on some solo shoots and as part of a workshop event where David hosted and tutored an 'Introduction to art nude on location workshop' with myself as the model in May and it couldn't have ran smoother.

This was my fifth time working with David on the last day in May of our event this time at some beautiful highland locations in Scotland specifically shooting artistic nude in the landscape 1-1 David picked me up at 3am and drove us to a remote train platform in the highlands where we arrived in time before there would really be anyone lurking around to get some very unique and beautiful artistic nude images, we then travelled to another stunning location he had priviously found, David captured some breathtaking images before then driving us back to Perth.

Again I have to mention David's wonderful communications leading up to this whole event weekend in May, with everything from the initial meeting about our event, organising to promoting and the event itself everything was spot on and even with getting up so early on day three we were both perky and seemed to have lots of energy, David had some exciting ideas and we produced some absolutely fabulous results together. David's specialty is artistic nude and he definitely is one to work with as his images just keep getting better and better. He is very happy to let you pose freely and then he will direct you to help get the best results. I also love how David manages to find the most jaw dropping locations.

Another amazing art nude shoot on location and the final day of our May event which I loved so much. The whole weekend was amazing.

Again do not miss the opportunity to work with David Highly, highly recommended. You will walk away with a smile and see some outstanding locations.

I cannot wait until next time.

Thank you so much David.

Aurora :)

Scotty Nicholson

today I went to a art nude workshop which david run , it was a all day workshop near crief 10 - 5 , david was the perfect host , he met me at the front door , the workshop started on time and went step by step as planned perfectly , david explained everything very well and in detail , lunch was very good along with refreshments , david also picked the perfect model , david was on hand in the shooting phase to give advice on how to inprove my shot , I came away with a huge amount of knowledge and looking forward to shooting more , I highly recommend david 10/10 from me , I look forward to davids next workshop.

s. croll

I had the pleasure of working with David and his wife today and they are the nicest couple you could hope to meet.

David had arranged a photo shoot at a stunning county house and it provided a vast selection of opportunities.

Pre shoot communication was probably the best I have had in arranging a shoot.

If you have the opportunity to work with David at any time please don't hesitate, he's a complete gentleman and knows exactly how to run a superb photo shoot.

Aurora Violet

Day two of our May event.

A superb 'Introduction to art nude on location workshop' hosted by David at a beautiful large country house.

A weekend working with David on some solo shoots and as part of a workshop event where David hosted and tutored an 'Introduction to art nude on location workshop' with myself as the model in May and it couldn't have ran smoother.

This was my fourth time working with David on the second day in May of our event on location at a beautiful country house nearby to Crieff using some of the bedrooms and halls/stairwells that were beautifully lit and the large lush garden we had for use also.

Our second day was a full day of an 'Introduction to art nude on location workshop' tutorial day that David was hosting and tutoring at with a mixture of photographers eager to learn with myself having the pleasure of being the art nude model for the day and whilst David was tutoring in the morning I did a 1-1 session with s. croll in one of the large bedrooms and some video in the stairwell and garden doing some glamour, boudoir, wedding boudoir and nude styles.

Again I cannot stress how good Davids pre communications leading up to our shoot were and everything he had planned for the whole weekend was amazing including lunch in the afternoon prepared by the lovely country house manager which was delicious. I enjoyed the whole day very much and so did all the photographers, it was a real joy to spend the day working with David and to be part of his tutorial event teaching his knowledge of art nude on location, post processing and also giving the photographers an insight to art nude shoots from contacting a model right through to shooting and any other related questions plus myself modelling for the photographers to help them understand posing there model better, dealing with direction, being respectful and most importantly health and safety on a shoot.

My shoot in the morning with s. croll and working with David on the tutorial event was so much fun and once again David picked me up and dropped me off again at home which is so kind. With a very positive morning shoot, a fabulous workshop event and with great feedback from the photographers is it not hard to see why David is so good at what he does.

He is professional, has a great attitude, he is attentive, relaxed, focused, enthusiastic, energetic, a very hard worker, does not mess about, respectful and most importantly for an event tutoring he is quite the teacher with an engaging and confident manner which draws you in to listen and learn more.

The whole day was a wonderful success and I look forward to being part of similar events of this nature in the future. Extremely recommend as a host, tutor and photographer to all creatives. Do not miss out.

Thank you David.

Aurora :)

Aurora Violet

Day one of our May event.

Highly recommended.

A weekend working with David on some solo shoots and as part of a workshop event where David hosted and tutored an 'Introduction to art nude on location workshop' with myself as the model in May and it couldn't have ran smoother.

This was my third time working with David on the first evening in May of our event on location at a beautiful country house nearby to Crieff. We concentrated on some boudoir and artistic nude ideas in some of the beautiful, large well lit with natural light bedrooms and also David had a new light he had brought along that we used in one of the darker rooms.

Davids pre communications leading up to our shoot were excellent and he had planned with some insight from myself a whole weekend full of shooting together ourselves 1-1, myself shooting with another photographer s. croll 1-1 and a full days 'Introduction to art nude on location workshop' and David was so organised, professional and articulate from start to finish. He is a lovely person, a fantastic photographer and host with a lot of knowledge and experience who put on an amazing event that everyone enjoyed fully. Due to his wonderful communications before and during the shoots I was able to bring exactly what I needed and knew how our schedule was going to plan out perfectly.

Our shoot on the first day was amazing and David picked me up and dropped me off again at home which I really appreciate. He is so friendly, our conversation flows and he knows exactly what he is looking for. David takes the most beautiful images and is always looking for the little details that bring everything together to produce some very special images. Our afternoon shoot went so quickly and I cannot wait to see some of the results.

We had a superb shoot with some gorgeous results. I highly recommend David, do not miss an opportunity to work with him in anyway.

Thank you David.

Aurora :)

tigerbelle

This was my first shoot with David during my recent Scottish tour. We had spoken before about working together so it was brilliant to finally get the chance.

David's pre-shoot communication was great and he collected me from the train station as agreed.

We drove to many amazingly beautiful locations and were lucky in avoiding people!

David is lovely to work with being respectful, good company and knowing what he wants to achieve.

I sincerely hope that we have the opportunity to work together again in the future and I look forward to seeing what we achieved that day.

Thank-you, David, for a brilliant day.

Definitely recommended! :D

Monika Lara Smith

I had my first shoot with David while I was touring in Glasgow and it was a real pleasure to work with him !

Dave arrived on time, with a smile on his face, we had a cup of tea/coffee along with a chat and after a longer while we decided to shoot ha! Pre communication with David was brilliant, he explained me well his ideas and send me a mood board so I could visualise things better:).

David was soooo amazing to work with! He had so many great ideas and he also had a very similar taste as me. We focused on sensual erotica and beautiful art nude shapes. David knew exactly how to play with the light with impressive results. Throughout the shoot David was very professional, respectful, making sure I was happy with our outcomes. He is such a happy, laid back and easy to talk to person. Working on his idea was something I loved as it was a bit challenging with so much fun and this is what every shoot should be fore sure.

Working with David was a great experience. I would love to recommend him to every model and looking forward to working with him again! Thank you!

Rachelle Summers

I've just spent 2 great days with David, and also had the pleasure of staying with him and his wife :)

We did a mix of studio and location work and the images I saw on the back of the camera/on the computer looked amazing, really chuffed with what we achieved :D

David made sure I was warm enough at all times (even sweating himself out in the studio to do so hahaha!) and made sure I was not exposed to the February Scottish weather outdoors for too long too.

He is great company and we had such a good laugh working together, it was really nice getting to know him a bit better too :)

Highly recommend and hope to work with him again :)

Nicky Phillips

I shot with David recently on my tour in Scotland, This was our second shoot together, David is a gentleman, Made sure I was ok at all times during our shoot, Had the heating on and was professional throughout.

I would recommend David to all models.

Really looking forward to seeing the images, Thanks again!

Nicky xox

Hazel Rose

I had another shoot with David recently. This time we shot in a hotel room. David used his brilliant creativity yet again and we covered a great variety of styles and although we didn't have the biggest space to shoot in, David did brilliant in using all the space possible and creating different styles around the room. David is always lovely to shoot with. He is professional and easy to get along with. We always have a good laugh too and make each shoot fun and creative. Highly recommended!

Carla Monaco

David booked myself and Artemis Fauna for a duo full day shoot up in Perth while we were both on tour.

Really glad I got to meet and work with David, he is very well organised, professional and a lovely person to boot :)

We got up at 4am and was ready for 5am to hit the road up into the beautiful mountains in Perth.

Truly stunning locations and amazing images were created, working with Artemis is always a joy and David captured it perfectly.

Thank you for booking us both and thanks for looking after us 100%...oh and for the Tatty scone ;)

Highly recommended

Carla :)

Hazel Rose

Myself and Aurora (model) went on an art nude trip to Mull for a few days with David and it was a brilliant, creative trip.

David was an absolute gentleman throughout the trip, he ensured we were both happy and comfortable at all times.

He comms were fantastic, clear and professional throughout all of the planning and on the day. He is a joy to work with, professional and so easy to get along with.

David is full of creative ideas and already knew a large variety of locations to try out including a beach area, waterfalls, cliffs and more! All of the locations were a great success and we all created beautiful shots using a mixture of ideas that were planned out.

Also, the weather was very mixed and David was absolutely professional throughout.

I can highly recommend shooting with David, he is a joy to work with and very creative!

Aurora Violet

I had the pleasure once again of working with David, this time on a 2 day artistic nude duo location shoot with the beautiful Hazel Rose.

A complete gentleman, so friendly, kind and great to chat with, the conversation flowed between the 3 of us the whole trip. After 2 days travelling and 2 whole days shooting the time flew by so quickly whilst trekking along some wild locations in order to get some amazing photography.

David is such a professional, very organised, fluent and energetic with a very out of the box way of thinking, he is optimistic and enthusiastic with so many wonderful ideas.

He organised everything perfectly from picking myself and Hazel up and dropping us off again, booking a lovely apartment in the most stunning of places and having scouted out lots of amazing locations to shoot we were spoiled for choice. David is no stranger to having to do a little hike to get to the backdrop of scenery required for the shots and the locations he took us to were astounding. He also made sure myself and Hazel were safe, hydrated, well fed, warm enough with a plan B encase the weather was to turn on us at any point. We went out to shoot in the sun, wind and rain and at one point sheltering from a small storm until it passed.

All of his communications leading up to the shoot were excellent and during shooting he is great at giving direction, also allowing me to pose freely.

David was up early each morning with a plan of action but also asking Hazel and I our thoughts so we were all happy with the day ahead.

It was an extremely productive 2 days shooting with some magical results from location and from shooting indoors and David was very happy as were Hazel and I.

I cannot wait to go on my next photographic holiday now. David is such a fantastic photographer and host plus a really nice person.

I highly recommend David and if you miss a shoot with him you are really missing out.

A fabulous trip spent with a lovely model and photographer and some amazing images from a special location.

Thank you once again David for making it a lovely and fun trip.

I can't wait till next time.

Aurora :)