High Street Fashion Inspired Styled Photo-Shoot in Buan, South Korea

Hi everyone! Not only do I use this blog to share business and blogging tips (click here to read more on that) but I also use this space to showcase my photography portfolio, especially the Styled shoots I love creating here in Korea.

This High Street Fashion shoot was shot on location in my small town here in Korea. I had so much fun working with my stylist friend Sam (who blogs over at There She Goes Again) and our two wonderful model friends, Heejoung and Stephanie (who blogs over at Hedgers Abroad).

This shoot was originally planned around the snow, but as tends to happen when you plan for a particular kind of weather, you usually end up with the opposite. So instead of soft, white snow, I got harsh, bright sunlight. But, we have to work with what we have and I'm really happy with how the photographs came out. 

This shoot was something very different to what I usually do (click here to see some of the other styled shoots I have done), but I really enjoyed the challenge. If you have any ideas in mind of a story or theme you'd like me to capture, then please don't hesitate to get in touch with me. Click here to read more about my photography and to find out about my rates. I will only be available here in Korea until June this year (when Farmboy and I head back home to South Africa...yippe!). 

The shoot would not have been possible without the following incredibly talented ladies. Thank you to all of you for all your help, for all your talents and for being so easy to work with:

• Model: Stephanie Hedger from Hedgers Abroad 
• Model: Heejoung Park
• Stylist: Sam Gross from There She Goes Again
• Photographer: Roxy Hutton (me!) from CityGirlSearching

And now the result of our High Street Fashion Inspired Styled Photo-shoot.

Enjoy!

Thank you again to each and every one of these ladies:

• Models: Heejoung Park & Stephanie Hedger from Hedgers Abroad 
• Stylist: Sam Gross from There She Goes Again
• Photographer: Roxy Hutton (me!) from CityGirlSearching

Caleb Bear Honsbein - Newborn Photography in South Korea

World, meet little Caleb Bear Honsbein. Caleb is the happy baby boy of one of my special friends here in South Korea. Caleb's mom went to the same University as both Farmboy and myself and we've spent many happy weekends together (including for her Winnie the Pooh baby shower). It has been so wonderful being able to celebrate the arrival of her little boy.

Here are some photographs from Caleb's newborn shoot which we did at their house in Yeosu. Granny was visiting and I was able to also capture a few special moments between her and Caleb too.

If you're looking for a photographer to capture some special moments, please don't hesitate to get in touch with me. You can see more of my work by hovering over the Photography menu bar above.

Enjoy!

x

Forest Fairy Styled Shoot in Buan, South Korea

Last month I got together with Rachel from KIT Makeup to work on one more styled shoot before she left Korea to go back to the UK. Rachel did the beautiful bridal makeup for the Wild Flower Boho Bridal Inspired shoot I did a few months ago, and so I was very happy to work with her again. 

For this shoot, the initial idea was for a forest fairy using an inspiration board of cream, white and blues. Then our ideas changed when our gorgeous model (Rhea) mentioned that she had a black, lacy slip that she wouldn't mind wearing for the shoot and we decided to go for a darker, almost nymph like fairy. We then used the forest nearby my house as inspiration for our makeup palette and I am so happy with how it all turned out. I was very nervous about the light in the forest as I knew there would be a lot of shade and dappled light and I don't like using flash. The light ended up being much easier to work with than I had expected. We chose two slightly different looks and had so much fun playing with the ivy. After a near disaster (whereby I formatted my memory card without checking to see if I had backed up the RAW photographs first...blog post to come soon on the amazing recovery software I found!) here are the results of our collaboration.

If you're here in Korea and would like to book me for you own styled or themed shoot, please do get in touch! You can email me using the contact form above or using citygirlsearching(at)gmail(dot)com. 

In the mean time, here are the photographs of our Forest Fairy shoot.

Enjoy!

x

All photographs taken with my Nikon D700 and 50mm 1.4.

Edited gently in Lightroom.

Henco & Marilize {Engagement}

Henco & Marilize are fellow South African English teachers here in South Korea. They have just recently returned to Korea from their whirl wind trip back home for their wedding.

I was so thrilled when they contacted me to ask if I would capture this special time in their lives, and I had a lot of fun with them throughout the afternoon.

Marilize and Henco love and adventure, and can often be found in their car road tripping around Korea. We decided to include that in their photographs, starting in Buan and then continuing through Byeonsan National park and ending off at a secluded beach near Gyeokpo on the South West coast.

Thank you for picking me Henco & Marilize. I know your lives together will always be filled with love, laughter and adventure. Wishing you a lifetime of happiness and road trips together.

For any photographers who may be interested, these photographs were all shot on my Nikon d700 with 24 -70mm 2.8 & 50mm 1.4 prime lens.

Enjoy!

x

If you're here in Korea and are looking for a photographer, please don't hesitate to get in touch. I do all sorts of shoots (pets, portraits, engagements, wedding, family, maternity and newborn). You can see more of my other work by hovering over the Photography Menu bar above. 

Korean Wild Flower Wedding Inspiration Styled Shoot

This styled photo shoot has been three months in the making and came out of an email conversation after a chance meet up with fellow creative Marketa from Bohemian Mint. I found Marketa on Instagram one day while searching for illustrations (her work is amazing!) and so began a friendship despite us living hundreds of miles away from each other. Marketa is originally from the Czech Republic but is currently living in the USA. It was after interviewing Marketa for my LifeAfterTheDress series that she asked me if I would be interested in collaborating with her on a styled wedding inspiration shoot. I couldn't contain my excitement as I love doing styled shoots (you can see more of my styled shoot portfolio here) and so began the process of brainstorming and putting both of our ideas onto paper.

As I am living in South Korea we both thought incorporating a Korean model would make this shoot very unique, and Marketa also chose to design the wedding stationery with a Korean bride in mind. We chose a soft pallet of neutral colours, with pops of pastel shades throughout. 

On one of the Korean Expat groups I found a makeup artist (Rachel) who had been looking for models for her makeup course and so I got in touch with her asking if she would like to be involved in a bridal styled shoot. Rachel is from the UK and is also teaching here in Korea, so we had lots to chat about while planning the beauty aspects of the shoot. Then we needed to find a model, and after a disastrous experience with a professional Korean model I was at my wits end, resorting to a last minute group post on Facebook. A friend messaged told me that she had someone in mind, who just so happened to be on her way to Seoul the weekend of the photo shoot, and would be free to stop past my town on the way. It really couldn't have worked out better, as Jess (a fellow Korean Youtuber) was just such a delight! Both Rachel & Jess were happy to run with all of my ideas for the shoot, and both had so many good ideas to add.

I'm looking forward to many more collaborations and working on more styled shoots while here in Korea. You can find all the creatives contact details below if you'd like to get in touch with them.

Enjoy!

x 

Stationery: Marketa from Bohemian Mint

• Website: Bohemian Mint
• Facebook: Bohemian Mint
• Instagram: Bohemian Mint

Hair & Makeup Artist: Rachel Porter

• Facebook: KIT Makeup
• Instagram: Rachel Porter

Model: Jessica G. W Han

• Facebook: Jessica Han
• Instagram: I am Jessica Han
• Youtube: Jessica Han

If you're a makeup artist, model, photographer, stylist or graphic designer and would like to work together on a styled shoot, please do get in touch with me! You don't have to be professional in any sense of the word, it's all about having fun! You can also see more of my work by clicking here.

Alysha & The Blossoms....A Spring Styled Shoot

It's Spring here in Korea, and along with every other person here, I really wanted to make the most of the pretty blossoms. I teamed up with my new friend and fellow blogger, Alysha (who blogs over at The Wayfaring Heath...a stunning blog filled with recipes and DIY's to help you live a more wholesome and natural life). 

The problem with most of the blossom trees here is that the actual blossoms are all on the top branches, out of reach and even harder to manoeuvre around. We took these photos in and amongst the cherry and peach trees scattered around my school and had to do a whole lot of manoeuvring and jumping around to get these shots. Alysha, thank you for being so patient and so willing to stand in and amongst the bees. I really had a great time, thank you for being such fun to work with.

I've done a number of other styled shoots, including blueberries & temples, beaches and snow. Click here to see them.

All photographs taken with my Nikon D700 & 85mm 1.8 prime lens and gently edited in Lightroom. 

If you're a makeup artist, model, photographer, stylist or graphic designer or a fellow creative here in Korea and would like to work together on a styled shoot, please do get in touch with me! You don't have to be professional in any sense of the word, it's all about having fun! You can also see more of my work by clicking here.

Dominique & the Snow

During the last snowfall we had here in Korea, my stylist friend and I decided to do one last styled shoot before she left Korea to return home to South Africa. It was a freezing cold afternoon in Jeungeup, a small town in the South West part of Korea, and we broke up the shoot into two parts; one filled with snow and the other a more tropical styled shoot. These are the photographs from the first half of our shoot.

I've done a number of other styled shoots, including blueberries & temples, beaches and flowers. Click here to see them.

To Dominique our model, thank you for being so patient and for being so dam easy to photograph. Thank you for braving the old in the outfits we chose for you, and for being such so amenable to the poses we put you in. From these photographs it's impossible to guess that you you've never modelled before, you really photograph beautifully.

To Aimee our makeup artist, thank you for bringing our ideas together with our brushes and your makeup. You really are so good at what you do and I hope we can work together again soon.

And finally to Storm, your creativity and enthusiasm is limitless my friend. Cape Town is lucky to have you back.

If you're a makeup artist, model, photographer, stylist or graphic designer here in Korea and would like to work together on a styled shoot, please do get in touch with me! You don't have to be professional in any sense of the word, it's all about having fun! You can also see more of my work by clicking here.

Rachel & Jonny Engagement....Jeonju Hanok Village, South Korea

A few weekends ago my stylist friend Storm and I met up with Jonathan and Rachel for their engagement photo shoot. Rachel & Jonathan are a Canadian couple working in Jeonju, who are finishing up their time teaching here in Korea before heading back to Canada to get married in June next year.

I had such a wonderful time capturing these two. The love and friendship between them was evident from the moment I met them, I simply had to press the button and capture it.

To Rachel & Jonny, I wish you all the very best with the next few months of planning. You're wedding day is without a doubt, going to be one filled with laughter and love. Thank you for picking me as your photographer.

We shot these photographs at the Hanok Village in Jeonju. The shoot was scheduled for the same day as the famous Jeonju Bibimbap festival and we were expecting hoards of people. However we were pleasantly surprised to find lots of unexpected photo opportunities down side streets and back alleys. The soft Autumn light was dreamy and a wonder to work with. 

For any photographers who may be interested, these photographs were all shot on my Nikon d700 and 50mm 1.4 prime lens.

Enjoy!

x

Vintage Fashion Shoot in Buan, South Korea

A few weeks ago I posted the first batch of photographs from a blueberry styled photo shoot  I did with the lovely Helen, pictured below. Here are a few more, these ones with more of a focus on Helen's collection of vintage items from her travels. I contacted Helen asking her is we would like to be my model (click here to see more of the styled photo shoots I have done with my stylist and friend Storm). Helen was happy to join us, and we also turned the shoot into a bit of a fashion shoot too, so she could get some shots for the vintage clothing store she is planning on resurrecting when she gets back home to the States.

If you're in South Korea and are in need to a photographer, please don't hesitate to contact me.

x

Blueberry Picking Styled Photoshoot

This is the fourth styled shoot that my friend Storm and I have worked together on. We both have had such much fun organising and brainstorming ideas before each shoot, as well as scouting out locations. We started styling shoots earlier this year as a way of growing our creativity, and being productive here in South Korea. I take the photographs, hair and makeup and Storm handles the clothing and general styling of the model and our location. 

So far we have done a flower crown shoot, a late afternoon picnic beach shoot, and a Korean temple.

We hope you enjoy these photographs from a trip to a blueberry farm near the small town of Jeongeup, South Korea. A huge thank you to our beautiful model Helen, a Southern Gal from the US who was such a delight to work with. 

x

Photography Styling Challenge {Personal}

First a little apology, I nearly a week late in posting my photographs for this challenge. This months theme, Personal, is the last instalment in the monthly photography styling challenge created by Redesigned by M. Life just got away with me (doesn't it always) and I am only posting my photographs for this challenge now.

The photographs cannot be edited, and only a maximum of five images may be posted (always difficult for me, as I can never choose which ones I want to display!). My first submission was for Morning {click here} followed by Bedroom {click here}, Order {click here}, Patterns {click here}, Fashion {click here}, Light {click here} and Living Room {click here}. Each theme or concept is open to interpretation by the photographer, and it has been really interesting seeing how each of us have handled the themes in our different ways. 

I wanted to share with you a little more of what I have been doing in my spare time for this personal theme. I met a wonderful new friend (Storm) who shares my passion for photography and beautiful images and we have been meeting up to create styled photography scenes (using our friends as models). We have done two so far (click here to see more of the photographs) and we just finished up a third one last week. This time a late afternoon, beach picnic shoot a short drive from my little town here in South Korea.

I used the following settings on my Nikon d300s & 35mm 1.8 lens:

-ISO 400

-Aperture of 9

-Shutter-speed 1/250

-I had my white balance on shady

The weather was changing constantly while we were shooting, and I wasn't quick enough with my white balance (well actually, I was too distracted with getting my angles and composure just right that I started neglecting my settings). I try not to focus so much on getting my settings 100% correct (some of my photographer friends out there are probably cringing right now!) as I feel touch ups can be done later in an editing program (I use Adobe Lightroom), but creating the actual picture cannot be done at a later stage. Anyway, I plan on editing the images in a slightly different way that is my usual style, this time trying some film textures and edits. So I had this in mind the whole time while shooting, and so I am not that happy with these photographs as they are, raw and unedited. But, it was a lot of fun frolicking in the waves and eating the sandwiches once we had finished shooting.

As always I would love to know your thoughts, please do leave me a comment below.

Enjoy

x

Make sure to check out the other particiapnts in this challenge:

At The Corner Of Happy And Harried, My Food Tapestry, Inge Kathleen Photography, The Delicious World Of Chefette Spicy, A Tree Grows in the Bayou, I Live Under A Rock, Hooked On Homes, Samta Photography, Miss Wang Photography, SimplyVegetarian 777, Coconut Craze, Redesigned by M

Photography Styling Challenge {Living Room}

This months theme for Redesigned by M's Photography Styling Challenge is 'Living Room'. In this challenge the photographs cannot be edited, and only a maximum of five images may be posted. This is always difficult for me as I tend to take so many photographs and I always struggle to choose JUST five. Each one appeals to me in a different way. But, in essence this is exactly the point of the challenge...to better yourself as a photographer and stylist. 

My first submission was for Morning {click here} followed by Bedroom {click here}, Order {click here}, Patterns {click here}, Fashion {click here} and Light {click here}. Each theme or concept is open to interpretation by the photographer, and it has been really interesting seeing how each of us have handled the themes in our different ways. 

As with all the challenges so far, I had high hopes of being able to style my living room in an interesting and unique way, but we are in the middle of moving apartments (and apartments here in Korea are very different from Western ones) the living room becomes the TV room, the kitchen, the dining room, study, craft room and at times, the bedroom. It was really hard to think of a way to style it in a way that aligns with my photography style.

So instead of putting too much pressure on myself, I am using photographs from a styled shoot I did a few weeks ago. My friend and I did a flower crown photo shoot with our beautiful Korean friend {click here to see the photographs} and these photographs are from the actual making of the flower crown which took place in my living room. I will be doing a full DIY post showing you how to make a flower crown, but here are a few highlights from the shoot. 

The photographs came out a little darker than I had anticipated (and this challenge is all about not editing!) but I quite like the effect they have paired with the rich colours of the flowers and the floor.

I used the following settings on my NIkon d300s & 35mm 1.8 lens:

-ISO 320

-Aperture of 1.8

-Shutter-speed 1/60

-I had my white balance on indoor

I deliberately didn't want to use a flash, but looking back now, if I had a diffuser a flash would have really helped me as it was a cloudy & cold day and there was very little natural light coming in through the windows. But I am happy with how they came out. As always I would love to know your thoughts, please leave me a comment below, I promise to respond! 

Enjoy

x

Make sure to pop on over to the other participants and see how they interpreted this theme:

Redesigned By M, At The Corner Of Happy And Harried, My Food Tapestry, Inge Kathleen Photography, The Delicious World Of Chefette Spicy, A Tree Grows in the Bayou, I Live Under A Rock, Hooked On Homes, Samta Photography, Miss Wang Photography, SimplyVegetarian 777

And a warm welcome  to our newest participant: Coconut Craze

Korean Spring Flower Crown Styled Shoot

After a recent trip to the Yangjae Flower Market in Seoul, my friend Storm and I felt inspired to do a flower crown shoot here in South Korea. Styled shoots are a wonderful way to practice and hone your skills as a photographer, while working with other creatives and producing something that may be very different from your usual style. These kind of shoots are a far less stressful way to try out new ideas, with little to no time restraints and are a really fun way to spend an afternoon. They do require quite a lot of planning and preparation (and hunting for possible vendors and suppliers depending on your theme) but if you choose to work with people who have the same vision and ideas as you, they are the perfect platform to grow your skills and learn new things about yourself and what you are capable of.

As we are in South Korea I really wanted to try and use more of a Korean backdrop, to emphasise the Oriental elements of Korea. I had grand ideas of temples and pagoda's, soft afternoon light reflecting off clear waters but the weather had other ideas. It poured with rain that day, and so we just had to make do with what we could find for backdrops right here in my small town. This was something else I learned, that beauty can be found everywhere. You just have to change your perspective. Textured walls provide amazing backgrounds, different angles help conceal ugly buildings and cars, and the most amazing things can be achieved when you have a team of people thinking outside of the box.

I want to say a huge thank you to our stylist, Storm. Storm is incredibly creative, she handmade the flower crown we used in these pictures (blog post to come on that soon!) and had to help me with an umbrella for not just me, but for Heejoung too. Watching her holding two umbrellas, touch up lipstick, scout out new photo opportunities all in the pouring rain, was hilarious. Thank you Storm, I couldn't have done any of it without you and your ideas.

And then to our model. I've known Heejoung for a year now, she lives in the same town as Farmboy and I and is just the sweetest person. When we first mentioned that we wanted to put an oversized crown full of flowers onto her head and photograph her standing in the middle of an open field she looked terrified. But after reassuring her that it would be fun, she jumped on board and waited patiently, in the rain, wearing the most impractical outfit while I fiddled and played around with settings and angles and all kinds of different poses. Thank you for being so patient with us Heejoung, I hope these photographs make you happy. You are an incredibly beautiful woman, and were so easy to photograph. You made our job easy!

 Here are a few highlights from the shoot. I'd love to know your thoughts, please do leave them below.

We also have a few more ideas in the pipeline (f you are here in Korea, we might have a giveaway coming up soon so make sure to keep your eyes open for that). 

Sue Ann & Shannon {love shoot}

I took these photographs for a special friend when I was still living in Pietermaritzburg last year. The lovely couple got engaged shortly after our shoot, and were married last weekend. I wanted to share them again with you here on the blog.

It was Autumn in South Africa, and we made full use of the pretty light and colourful leaves.

Wishing you and Shannon every happiness in the the world as you embark on your new adventures together as husband and wife Sue! xxx 

As a photographer it's important to look back on your previous work, and see how much you've grown as a photographer. It's so important to continue to grow and learn...I loved this shoot that I did, and I like how the photographs turned out. But knowing what I know now about my camera there are certain small elements that I would change (for one making sure to back up all my images correctly and in a logical way...I had to download these from Facebook as I can no longer find the original files, so that will explain the slight fuzzy look to them!).

Does looking back at your old work inspire of frighten you? I'd love to know how you feel when looking back <3 x

Photography Styling Challenge {LIGHT}

The theme for this months photo styling challenge was Light. I had grand ideas of building a studio, light painting the beautiful cherry blossoms happening here in Korea right now, fairy lights and mason jars but the last few weeks have run away with me and I used what I had at my disposal this morning. This included a new mint green succulent I found at a strawberry festival yesterday, my windowsill, pretty early morning light and a few bamboo shoots.

This is my sixth submission for Redesigned by M's Photography Styling Challenge which she started in June last year. You can see the previous photographs here: Morning, Bedroom, Order, Patterns and Fashion. In this challenge the photographs cannot be edited, and only a maximum of five images may be posted. This is always difficult for me as I tend to take so many photographs and I always struggle to choose JUST five. Each one appeals to me in a different way. But, in essence this is exactly the point of the challenge...to better yourself as a photographer and stylist. 

I chose to use the literal interpretation of light, and catch the early morning rays that come into my little kitchen window. I also wanted to photograph my new 'green' collection of bamboo and succulents, and then thought to myself...plants need light more than anything else to survive. They are the perfect encapsulation of the theme, but also, aren't they pretty!

I used the following settings on my NIkon d300s & 35mm 1.8 lens:

-ISO 250

-Aperture variation of 2.8

-Shutter-speed 500

-I had my white balance on indoor

And for the first time I played around with my exposure (I've never really known exactly what to do with it) and got a glimpse as to how it can lighten certain elements of a photograph. That's the thing with photography, there is always new things to learn, and it's always a fun journey.

Enjoy! x

As always I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Make sure to pop on over to the other participants and see how they interpreted this theme:

Redesigned By M, At The Corner Of Happy And Harried, My Food Tapestry, Inge Kathleen Photography, A Woven Life, The Delicious World Of Chefette Spicy, A Tree Grows in the Bayou, I Live Under A Rock, Hooked On Homes, Samta Photography, Miss Wang Photography

And a warm welcome  to our newest participant: SimplyVegetarian 777

Christmas Styled Shoot

A little peek into a lovely styled shoot I did this weekend...and a shot of behind the scenes (it is winter here so please excuse the oversized pj's!) to give you an idea of what goes into a photoshoot like this one.

Happy Tuesday everyone, Christmas is just around the corner!
x