In love with my new photoshoot with this legendary photographer who is known for shooting some of the most gorgeous black women in America. It may surprise you how many photographers don’t know how to shoot brown skin (one shoot I did I had to scrap all the images, they made me look grey!), whereas this particular photographer knows how to capture my skin tone and essence perfectly. I’m grateful for this opportunity, as Alcole Studios, usually based in America, flew to London for the day specifically to shoot only me.

I had a really strong sense of what I wanted from this shoot (outfits, and 2 locations which I scouted myself) got exactly what I hoped for. This was the most confident I have felt on a shoot. Particularly when I shoot “blogger style” (fashion outfits on the street) I am extremely nervous. The reason is of course when you shoot street photography or public spaces everyone is staring at you, and in my case you will not believe some of the comments some people have made. All positive but makes me feel self conscious. Also as the photographer I shoot fashion with is a personal friend of mine, so maybe I find it more difficult switching to model mode around her. I tend to like women who have very direct communication style (which she does as she is Russian) she is constantly saying to me “WHY ARE YOU SCARED! YOU CANT BE SCARED AND SEXY! DONT WORRY ABOUT PEOPLE LOOKING AT YOU!” and so on. Also of course typically there is an element of Guerrilla tactics with street style photography – you are often using hotels or properties without explicit permission, or have a few moments when a street is empty, so you have to shoot very quickly and efficiently which doesn’t work for me because I take 10 mins just to feel relaxed. The professional photos in my gallery are split between 6 photographers.

Anyhow, with 2 private locations and an extremely experienced photographer, Alcole Studios was a very easy shoot. What you also hope for in a photographer is that they will have a creative eye for poses and framing the photos. Many people have a flippant view of photography, but there is a big difference between a good and a great photographer, and it’s always to do with how inherently creative they are as a person. These photos the raw unedited images I could have posted right away as they were so good. I realised that some of the outfits I picked were gifts that I have received from generous suitors, so thank you for your contribution. I have immortalised your generosity in these new images – I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!