10 March 2011

Photographing a pregnant chav with an attitude



So I recently found myself in one of the rougher parts of Coventry, with a pregnant alcoholic junkie chav with an attitude.  From her hand gestures I'm assuming she didn't really want to be photographed, but I continued just the same.

Okay so some up the above might not be entirely true.  I was indeed in a rough area of Coventry, but my subject for the shoot was actress Holly Matthews.  Holly appeared in Byker Grove for some 7 years and has more recently appeared in Waterloo Road, Criminal Justice 2 and Casualty.

Normally if a model looks at the pictures during the shoot and says "oh that's minging!", or "that's horrible!" I'd be in big trouble, but this time, it was exactly the reaction we both wanted.

Holly is one of the first actresses I've worked with, and it has to be said she was a pleasure to shoot.  Asides from having a thing about making tea exactly as the person likes, giving me cake, and also cooking dinner after the shoot, she was a great model with lots of her own ideas for the shoot.

Thanks for a great shoot Holly.  Great to finally meet you!

Update: I'll be posting some very different (to these) pictures of Holly this evening.  Stay tuned folks!

Update 2: It's been bought to my attention that those living in other parts of the world may indeed not know what a "chav" is.  While chavs live the world over, they are known by different names.  For example in the USA you'll probably find them shopping at Walmart and living in trailer parks.   For a better explanation of a chav, read this...

Update 3: Holly with tea and cake photos are now here.




No comments: