www.lucywestimages.co.uk


Lucy West Images
Cheshire based wedding, portrait and fashion photographer

Wednesday 24 November 2010

Whistle Jacket

Whistle Jacket...how can I describe these boys Jorge and Obi? We've been friends for years and had MANY songwriting/recording sessions with them as I'm a songwriter myself and headed up the band Blush for 6 years which they were heavily involved with writing for. I was so excited to take shots for their upcoming solo project...we had such a laugh and I've never giggled so hard at the amount of attention they got in the subway...they've now got loads of new fans...especially the older ladies who just love these boys!! These photos are a snippet of what we did that day, and I would highly recommend you look out for their music which will be released soon!










Thursday 18 November 2010

RUBY girl

I have recently read the following statistics taken from Joyce Meyer's 'Battlefield of the Mind' book for teenagers and it certainly worried me...

1. Almost half of all year 9- through to year 12 have had sex-including 61% of high school seniors. (And teens who watch lots of sex on TV are more than twice as likely to have sex as those who are more discerning about their TV viewing)
2. Nearly half of people under the age of 21 who drink alcohol, binge drink (this is defined as having 5 or more alcoholic drinks on one occasion.) More than 500,000 young people are unintentionally injured every year while under the influence of alcohol, and about 1,500 of this die as as a direct result of alcohol abuse, such as alcohol poisoning.
3. While half of today's teens are sexually active, 84% of parents believe their kids are NOT sexually active. Meanwhile, 87% of teens say it would be easier to delay sex if they could have more open, honest talks with parents.
4. 1 in 6 of today's young females are drunk when they lose their virginity. (1 in 7 say their partner was too).
5. Suicide is the third leading cause of death among Americans ages 15-24.
6. More than 4 million teens become infected with an STD each year.
7. Almost 1 in 4 year 8's have tried 'huffing' - using household chemicals like paint thinner or glue to get high.
8. Every year in the U.S. more than 800,000 girls 19 and under get pregnant.
9. The average age at which teens start taking drugs is 13.
10. Among sexually active high-school seniors, more than 21% have had 4 or more partners.


In a couple of weeks I will be doing a photo shoot for an up coming initiative based in Stoke called Ruby Girl (Real, Unique, Beautiful, You), based on Proverbs 31..'she is worth more than rubies'. It's loads of stuff on girly issues such as self esteem, body image, confidence, aspirations, that can be tailored to the needs of schools, colleges, churches, projects like Surestart etc. This is headed up by the amazing Dawn Deaville, but backed by associates such as Emma Owen, myself and more. Dawn has worked for years alongside teenagers, abused ladies, prostitutes etc, chatting to them, bringing them education; a place to hang out; food, etc, and this project will be no different.

The website is not up yet - (that's why we're having the photoshoot!), so I will keep you posted as information comes in, but after reading those statistics...even though written by an American, they apply to OUR teens, and we should be taking notice/asking what can we do about it.

Thanks so much for reading this post, even your awareness will bring about change...
Lucy :0)

Friday 12 November 2010

Beauty shoot

When an idea grows in my mind...it won't leave me alone until I have seen it through. I have been wanting to do this fashion/beauty shoot for a while now and through different conversations enlisted the help of the wonderfully talented Esther Belfield (click on the title to find her) doing hair & make-up, we set about transforming these already beautiful girls, into models..it was only their 2nd time modelling
*have a look at a previous post using flowing fabric and butterflies*
...but I think they did incredibly well!

Watch this space as I have lots more ideas for shoots that will be happening soon!























Monday 1 November 2010

Kris & Pippa wedding shoot

My assistant was unable to join us at the last minute on this shoot which worried me a little...would we manage carrying all the props to the beach? Would the weather stay good and can I cope without a reflector? All these questions ran through my head, but I needn't have worried...we had glorious sunshine, and, although chilly, the wind was perfect for running around with a long veil...we couldn't have asked for a better day! All 3 of us giggled our way through, checking for red noses in the wind and were thoroughly entertained by Kris jumping feet into the air! We had offers from passers by to be the best man, and enquiries of when Pippa would throw her bouquet, and the gorgeous Kris & Pippa even had their photos taken by tourists who stopped by!
...fun fun fun!!!

(If you would like to see more of my photography,
please click on the title and it will redirect you to my website!)


Gorgeous models!



I love the floaty stuff!!



Kris loved this superman style workout! ...and Pippa loved having Kris right where she wanted...so she could give him a giant kiss!



Have you ever noticed how your shadow when you kiss forms a heart?!
(It's not so easy to see on this photo...but on others, there is a clear heart shape on the tree!!)



Gorgeous couple, gorgeous beach, gorgeous day......just gorgeous!!!