Category: Fashion

What do you immediately do when a camera is pointed at you and you hear, “Say cheese!”?  Do you know which side is your “good side”? Do you know what angle and what light really makes you look your best in photos?

I’ve generally got one standard photo stance: look straight ahead at the camera, smiling ear-to-ear with an involuntary head tilt.  Not at all model-esk.

Rebecca Northcott is a photography who has recently moved from Leeds, England to put down roots in Toronto, Canada with her hubs.  Yup …she’s a newly wed! 🙂  She’s already done a few outfit photoshoots on my blog here, here , here and here.  (More to come in the future too I’m hoping, xo Bexx). Since I began blogging a mere four months ago…I’ve realized how difficult it is to pose for that perfect shot!  I’ve been fortunate to have Rebecca’s professional eye – a much welcomed change from those photos taken with my shaky hand and iPhone.

Rebecca has been developing her craft since she was 17, she’s had her work published in magazines and has worked for a range of clientelle over the years. Her recent move to Canada has been a blessing and also a challenge going from a huge client base in UK to rebuilding from scratch here.  Rebecca’s photography style is classy natural lighting with up close portraits. They are her favourite.   Her self-proclaimed OCD about having perfect sharp images is a standard she has set for herself, one which gives her a buzz and excitement as nothing else does.

She shared with me that she still get nervous before every shoot,  because she knows how important it is to the client she’s working with.  Having worked with her several times, I can confidently say that she will produce something wonderful each time – it has always been a pleasure and a fantastic experience working with her!

In an effort to continue to keep her portfolio current, she asked me and a few others bloggers to model some of the lovely Spring Arrivals of Your Big Sister’s Closet so she could snap some editorial type pictures .  How do you say no to a request like that? 😉

So last weekend we, Alex of Not Afraid to Wear Heels, Hanna of Classically Curvy, Karen of Curvy Canadian and moi, PetitePlus, Meow! arrived at the store to get styled in fresh spring fashions with light pastel-makeup faces and headed to High Park for the photoshoot.  Weather forecasted a +7 degree day … but I was still armed with nude hosiery and a shawl…mama didn’t raise no foo!

The above summary shot links to Rebecca’s Photography page on Facebook, where you’re able to read all about the collaboration and a bit more about each of the outfits worn in each shot.  Between the multiple bloggers who were involved in this shoot,  I thought I would dedicate this post to the artist, Rebecca Northcott, and the art of photography.

I recently stumped upon this article called “The Truth About Photography and Brown Skin”. Writer and photographer Syreeta McFadden eloquently breaks down the problem: Photography has an “inherited bias” against dark skin. McFadden explains that when it came to the invention of color film — developed to be used by the public and taken to a lab — “the technician worked off a reference card [aka Shirley Cards] with a perfectly balanced portrait of a pale-skinned woman.”   This is how modern photography was calibrated: Using a white woman. Which means, as McFadden points out, “film stock’s failures to capture dark skin aren’t a technical issue, they’re a choice.”

Looking at my fellow models from the above “Is It Spring Yet?” photoshoot – I can only imagine that editing MY photos must have taken a lot more time and careful adjusting before they were ready to be shared with the masses.  Take a look at the end results of my photos with the talented photographic eye of Rebecca Northcott below:

Rebecca Northcott Photography‘s future goal is to get her own studio space and possibly photograph a celebrity or two (here’s hoping!), while continuing to provide her services and create collaborations on personal projects to those in the community who cannot afford professional portraits.

If you want to get in touch with Rebecca, lifestyle photographer specializing in Weddings and Portraits for families in Toronto, Ontario (GTA), use the various links baked into the above post ….as her website is getting a facelift at the moment 🙂