DIY birthday gifts ideas

I just love setting myself a project of making a birthday present for a friend or family member. Below are some ideas that I've tried and tested and a few I have yet to try but think are really great ideas! 

Personalised photo necklace 

I made a few of these, using my photography, to sell in my pop up shop I did. They were one of the most popular things I sold and make great presents as you can really personalise them! 

Check out future blog posts for a step to step guide on how to make one. 

A box of pink! (Or whatever their favourite colour is) 

Collect things of the persons favourite and put it in a box! Anything from nail varnishes to socks. My box included these pink things:

gloves 

a pair of shoes

nail varnish 

the birthday girls favourite pink sweets

Home sweet Home sign. 

I found a blank sign in a local craft store and thought it would be great if I could use one of my photos on it. You can find these blank collage signs online if you cant find them in a arts or craft store. Customise them with your photos and decorative papers! 

Personal canvas bag.

A tutorial of this will be added to this blog soon but here is an example of a canvas bag that customised with my photos. You could use the same idea but add the person's favorite quote, film character or a photo of you both!

DIY Floral Letter.

Found this on pinterest, which was taken from here: http://themrsandmommabird.blogspot.co.uk/2014/02/diy-floral-letter.html

I have tried and tested it, and loved how simple it was, and the results were beautiful. I added magnetic stripes on the back of mine so my friend could stick it on her fridge. 

DIY Journal Kit.

This is such a good idea for a present if you have a crafty friend! Collect a load of craft materials, place them in a box with a small description and maybe some journal inspiration and there you have a great present! Things you could include:

Pens and pencils

Stamps and stickers

Ribbon

Scrapbooking pictures 

String 

Glue

Sequins 

Check out this website for a tutorial and free downloads: http://www.lilblueboo.com/2012/12/the-gift-of-journaling-diy-journal-kit-and-artwork-download.html

Move Night package

Buy your friend a DVD and collect all things you think they'll need for the perfect movie night. Mine would include, lots of chocolate, tea and crisp! 

Other ideas include:

Making a collage of your photos with the person and framing it

Pamper day box (Like the movie package)

Make a little book of your personal jokes. 

Iconic photos throughout history. - War and conflict.

Through history there have been photos that have shaped our world, changed views and inspired people to take action. I have compiled a list of some of the most famous and influential photos of war and conflict. 

'Home of a rebel sharpshooter' by Alexander Gardner 1863.

Gardner's known well for his photographic work during the United States Civil war. He later became open to criticism when he admitted to moving the dead body of the solider to add more emotional impact. (This was not uncommon of the time) Photography was still relatively young and the process was lengthy so this photo was one of the first to depict war.

'Death of a loyalist solider' by Robert Capa, 1937. 

The photo, depicting a solider of the Spanish Civil war being shot, shocked the nation and revealed the harsh brutality of war. Sceptics say that the image has been staged and there is little evidence of what actually happened. Whatever you chose to believe, you cannot ignore the fact that this photo had a real impact for its time. 

'Trang Bang' by Nick Ut in 1972

On June the 8th 1972 a South Vietnamese aircraft accidentally dropped bombs on the village of Trang Bang. The girl in the centre of the photo, ripped of her burning clothes  and ran from the destruction. There was controversy as to whether the photo should be published with a photo of a naked child. However many believed that it should be shown as a documentary and news piece. 

'Raising the flag on Iwo Jima' by Joe Rosenthal 1945

This is regarded as the most significant and famous images of war in history. The print has been reproduced countless times and there is even a statue of the composition near the Arlington National cemetery. 

'Kent state shootings' by John Filo in 1970. 

On May 4, 1970, four unarmed students were shot dead and nine injured by the Ohio National Guard. Some of the students had been protesting the Cambodian campaign. There was a significant response to the shootings with hundreds of colleges closing on strike. The raw emotion of the women on her knees is undoubtedly heart wrenching. 

  Nguyen Ngoc executing a Viet Cong prisoner by Eddie Adams - 1968

The story goes that the prisoner, on the right, was found near a ditch full of the bodies of 34 police officers and their relatives. The expression of the prisoner shows true terror her felt just before he died. The photo quickly became a anti-war icon. 

I was tempted to include the iconic image of the man standing in front of the tank in protest. However the image is taken from CCTV footage and therefore probably doesn't count as war photography, but it still deserves a mention! 

I will be doing more lists of 'Iconic photos' including Iconic fashion and editorial photos. 

Stay tuned! 

My top ten favourite photographers.

Here is a list of the photographers that have inspired and shaped the way I work. Lets get started!


10. Annie Leibovitz.

Annie Leibovitz, known mostly for her work in the Rolling stone and vanity fair magazines has photographed too many famous faces for me name! My particular favourite series of hers was her disney inspired shoots, which features famous faces as the classic characters in fairy tales such as Cinderella and sleeping beauty.  

9. Horst. P. Horst. 

This photo by Horst. P Horst, entitled 'corset', has always been one of my all time favourite images. The elegance and beauty of it made me want to create similar things when started shooting in film. Horst has shot over 90 covers for vogue in his fashion photography career!

8. Helmut Newton. 

During my foundation diploma I did a series based on Greek mythology. Whitest researching photographers for inspiration I came across this one by Helmut Newton which is based on Greek goddesses.  Looking into more his work, you'll see that he likes to push the boundaries of sexuality within his images, reflecting provocative and erotic scenes.

7. Kirsty Michelle. 

Kirsty Michelle studied 'costume for performance' at the London college of Fashion where she learnt how to create and design these wonderful costumes. She depicts her favourite fairytales in her photos by hand-making or designing everything in them! 

6.  Joel Robison. 

Joel Robison's work is whimsical and plays with reality. I fell in love with his style straight away and he quickly became one of my favourite photographers.  

5. Alex Stoddard 

Just like a few others on here, Alex Stoddard made his name through the photo sharing site, Flickr. I'm extremely envious of his talent and style, its so well edited that you could actually start believing in magic!

4. Nicholas Scarinto 

Fine art photographer, Nicolas Scarinto creates these beautiful surreal images that often have a vintage feel to them.


3. Tim Walker

My number 3 is a super famous fashion photographer who does alot of work for Vogue. It was a difficult decision choosing which photo of his to use as I love all his work! He used alot of influences from fairytales, and plays with perspective and size of props. 

2. Brooke Shaden. 

Brooke Shaden just had to be near the top of this list! Brooke creates these fantasy worlds within her work, creating beautiful scenes that look like they've just come out of a hollywood movie! Each of her pieces are conceptually stunning and shes been a HUGE inspiration in how I work. 

1. Rosie Hardy

And finally my number one is Rosie Hardy! Rosie was the first photographer I came across that did something different. I was at college at the time and was used to looking at classic portrait photographers, until someone told me about Rosie's work on Flickr. I instantly fell in love with the creativity and honesty within her work. She quickly became popular within the Flickr community, so much so that Maroon 5 found her work and hired her to do take their album cover photo for 'Hands all over'. Check out all her work here:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/rosie_hardy/

So there we have it! Thank you for reading and be sure to keep up-to-date with my blog for more inspiration, advice and photography tips! 

Becky. x 

Here is one of my photos inspired my Rosie Hardy :)

Art in mind exhibition - at the Brighton Dome.

As many of you may know, I volunteer with an art group called 'Art in mind'. We run workshops for people recovering from mental illness and create work based around it to help break stigma. 

I've probably been with the group for around 2 years and it is honestly one of the best choices I've ever made. Not only do I get to do art but I get to do it with people in similar situations, with an understanding of what it is like to suffer with a mental illness. As if that wasn't enough, I also get to showcase my photography in great spaces like the Brighton Dome and take part in events like the artist open houses. 

For this exhibition we were lucky enough to get funding from Starbucks for the materials to be able to make it all possible. Everyone in the group had the opportunity to run a workshop with different community groups so that we could showcase as much work as possible. 

So below are some photos of what we exhibited. 

Here are 3 of my personal photos that I exhibited and the fourth one in the right bottom was taken in a workshop for a community group called Miss Represented. 

Here is a collection of doodles that were made during workshops with my good friend (and amazing artist) Lisa Buttery. 

Another workshop, run by Kitty, included making these worry dolls. 

So happy to be able to work with such lovely people and be given the opportunity to show my personal work in such a well known venue! 

On a different note, I'm currently drafting a blog post on my top 10 photographers!

Smash the cake! Twin's first birthday.

Last month I got invited to photograph at a twin's first birthday. The couple wanted something a little different and had heard about a trend in America called 'Smash the cake'. Its a shoot in which kids literally get the chance to be as messy as possible and smash their birthday cake. 

I knew that this was going to be a fun shoot, but I couldn't help but want to join in...

I got in the local newspaper!

Yesterday I got a text from my friend Lisa (who I voulnteer with) saying 'your photography in the argus!'. It was such a surprise to both of us that the local newspaper had printed a story about our voulnteer group, art in mind. 

Art in mind is a group of young people 18-25 who have had experiences with mental illness coming together tomake art and exhibit it in the hopes to break stigma. We also run workshops with people currently suffering with mental illnesses and give them the freedom to express their illness through art. 

Our biggest event coming up is at the Dome in Brighton. We're showcasing our work to the public on world mental health day and opening the room to anyone with an interest in art to join in some workshops! 

The argus wrote a small article about the exhibition using quotes from Lisa along with my photo! 

Dog walks!

Couldn't help but write a blog post about these beautiful dogs! I got my Shih Tzu puppy this year called Alfie (the last photo) with much help from my God mother, Pene. Pene has two dogs above, one british bulldog and the black Labrador. They are the most well behavioured and sweet natured dogs I've ever seen! The French bulldog called Teddy is Pene's son's dog and we often all go for Sunday walks :)  

During my walks I came across a beautiful lake, and did a cheeky shoot there!