References for Studio D136

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Keira Lavelle

After coming to Studio D136 to work for the first time earlier in the year, When Daniel mentioned about doing a specially organised workshop later in the year with a group of enthusiastic photographers - I didn't even need to think twice! After a very positive and creative session shooting with Daniel personally during my previous visit to Belgium; I just knew that it would be run with epic precision, excelled technical inventiveness and creativity. Plus total confidence that it would be a slick and well organised event knowing Daniel. :D

All of which was totally true! So here I am again in the lovely charismatic place that is Mons: the very workshop/event which inspired me to set up a larger tour of Europe travelling through several different countries like I've done in the past. :) I was able to coordinate travels coming from France before the day and moving on to the Netherlands after - Daniel was a true star in helping me on my travels!!! First of all: he offered me a comfortable place to stay at his home the evening before the event so that I had a good night sleep beforehand and didn't need to worry about getting from some other hotel/guest house to the studio on the Saturday morning. I carry a LOT of luggage with me :') hence I am always grateful for extra kind proposals such as somewhere to stay. And it didn't stop there: Daniel also went out of his way to help with pick-ups/drop-offs to train stations either side of our day working... When we met up the evening before - he actually picked me up from Lille (France!) since the train lines and times were not in favour of getting easily to South Belgium from Paris on that particular day. He made sure I got something to eat after my long journey to - literally didn't give up on finding somewhere serving hot food after a tireless search! :D We finally got back to Daniel's and I received the BEST hospitality. Actual 5 star. I also got to meet his beautiful fluffy pet lion which is just a dream for someone who is obsessed with kitty cats! Hence I can give Daniel the utmost recommendation as a terrific host. :) I had everything I needed for a good nights sleep that evening and the next morning when prepping for the day - much better than a stay at a random lodging/guest room which is what I do normally on these tours.

So - the event itself!

Daniel planned this very carefully with all elements taken into account to deliver a highly productive and innovative experience for his clients - and just an inspired/fun day for us all generally! :D The location that he got exclusive access to was enough to blow the mind of any creatively-driven person with any degree of appreciation for cool environments... Old train carriages, rustic backgrounds in a spacious warehouse/museum. OMG - it's not every day you get to model somewhere like this! :D He hired a wonderful makeup artist who worked magic on various hair and makeup looks for the different scenes and sets that were put together to compliment the location: myself and the makeup artist had the full run of the great changing and makeup room at Daniel's studio to get ready with everything before we all travelled together to the location - this meant we could ensure everything was perfect from the styling side of things and in outfit coordination before getting "on set" so to speak.

The morning section of the day was spent at the location where Daniel ran a prolific itinerary building very specific lighting setups amid the environment which created that next level of powerful atmosphere and feeling with the pictures we were working on. He introduced props and effects to pump up the vibe on what was already a killer photo opportunity for the attending photographers: there were NO limits! This photographer just takes all his phenomenal knowledge and can apply it ANYWHERE to produce a high class photo which ticks all the boxes. :) He really went the extra mile to make this location shooting opportunity that bit more fantastic. I HAVE NO WORDS.

We then spent the rest of the afternoon back at Daniel's brilliant studio space - I already had experience of how good his professional work area is and how Daniel prides himself in quality with equipment resources, good facilities, space for sets etc. but it was a much shorter shoot before so this time was nice in that we got to spend a lot more time cooking up wicked pictures in a completely controlled setting different to the rawness of the train warehouse before. :) Daniel had obviously put a lot of work into set-building (producing sets that resembled actual rooms/scenarios) and working out how he was going to add all the sublime effects. He can literally create an emotion using light: so if you have a scene resembling a bedroom and window - the light illuminating the place and the model becomes moonlight! And then this magical smoke like effect happening which can only resemble a ghostly dream scene from a movie! Daniel's mind just clicks straight away into thinking these ingenious concepts - and then he has a further talent for demonstrating to the other photographers on his course how he achieves it as well. :) Multi-skilled in many artistic ways - plus a master of light!

So it's safe to say that a LOT of fabulous pictures came out of this highly enjoyable day. :) Not only that - but many laughs too and plenty of chatter! The group was a really good group who all got on well and gelled every easily. It was like a family unit almost because everyone got on so well and worked together brilliantly - we could have a laugh and a joke between working which made the vibe that extra bit more fun-filled on the day. :D I certainly came away feeling happy and buzzing - that's for sure. A sign of a very successful days working I believe.

I was very well looked after during the workshop with Daniel at Studio D136. Both Daniel and his son who was assisting him were running around like crazy all day without stopping to make sure everything ran smoothly... Myself and the makeup artist were taken good care of - provided with delicious snacks too as we worked on the makeup! :P Between shooting sessions, Daniel got a delicious lunch in for a sit-down break to replenish energies before getting back to work. It was all so professionally ran and I felt personally taken care of and respected from start to finish. Daniel works with sublime etiquette as standard - therefore he is someone I can recommend very highly indeed to other models, and photographers too who may be looking to book onto his events. :D

We've already been talking about setting another event up - watch this space! I can't wait!

Thank you so much Daniel!

Keira

Keira Lavelle

I had an utterly amazing first every shoot with Daniel! :D It had been a while since I had been to Belgium, so I was excited about doing an international tour to kick-start the year and making some new connections - Daniel got in touch and we were able to arrange a wonderful one-to-one shoot at his amazing studio in Mons.

On the day of our shoot, Daniel was so kind and offered to pick me up from my accommodation where I had been staying the previous night. I had a huge case for my forthcoming tour so this was a true blessing - when we arrived he showed me through to the studios private changing facilities demonstrating the most epic state-of-the-art luggage lift on the way through! :D Wonderful welcoming hospitality from the first moment: there is a fully equipped kitchen area at the studio for refreshments if needed while working, a fantastic makeup unit and mirror space for look changes... And that's just the beginning! In the main studio area, the space is vast: Daniel has a lot of room which enables him to maximise his creativity and build sets doing wonderful things with the lighting to achieve what he's looking for in an image. He has all the good quality lighting and modifiers, props and even manoeuvrable sets which he build from scratch either to one side or in the middle of the room depending on what he wants to do in the way of magnificent lighting effects. :D So it's the kind of space which definitely inspires you as you walk in!

Daniel himself is a fantastic photographer; he literally does make an art of lighting and puts so much skill and vision into his work. We covered a lot of variety in the short shoot that we had this time - and the efficiency was definitely on Daniel because of his quick-thinking and technical awesomeness to get things moved around and set up in no time at all. And we're talking quality images with quality lighting here: he just know exactly what he wants to achieve and how to go about getting it, thus being able to achieve a lot in even a very short space of time. :) The pictures looked absolutely stunning: from classic to edgy... They had a lot of character injected into them with Daniel's eye for a good image and how to light the moment. He also kindly sent me a few finished shots after our shoot - magical they were!

So yes I most definitely recommend Daniel. :) He is also a very professional, polite and courteous gentleman who respects the people he is working with and is great to socialise with and chat away during the shoot - we have since done another shoot and a lot of fun chatter and banter always happens! :D It's an awesome atmosphere to be around.

A very lovely and productive first shoot - which led to us booking another very soon after!

Thank you so much Daniel!

Keira