It’s so soon because Mr Bird can rent the room cheap before the end of term, once the university closes for summer it switches over to full on public fees which are a lot, lot more. However the good news is that it’ll cost you a huge £1, yes ONE POUND for the shoot.

One. Lousy. Pound.

The parking’s free too!

To follow it up, afterward there’s plans for a BBQ near Dave’s place of residence, it’ll be a “BYOM” affair (Bring your own meat) I would expect, unless people want to chip in to Denyer and Dave ahead of time so we can buy in some stuff and save you all the trouble.

Shoot kicks off at 10am, runs until 4 or 5ish with the BBQ afterwards.

Pile on board on the flickr thread here:

GPS Postcode is LE11 3TU or thereabouts

Check out a map to the venue!

We will be the only people using the building on the Sunday, so we will get access to the main Exhibition Hall on the 4th floor, as well as the rest of the Millennium Building (class rooms will be locked), so this means corridors, foyers, lifts, brightly painted pink and yellow staircases, etc.  Weather permitting we will also be able to use the outside courtyard which is surrounded by the university buildings and closed to the public.

The group shoot will be limited to 40 photographers.

The shoot will start at 10am with a quick health and safety briefing before you’re all let loose, with a finishing time of 5pm.

The attendance list for this group shoot will be added to the flickr group at 8pm on Thursday the 16th of April.  For photographers, you can only add your own name to the list by posting a reply with your full name and it’s first come first served.   Could all models who want to attend please contact one of the group admins to be added to the list.  If anyone knows of any new models who would like to attend, then same applies, please contact one of the group admins, preferably Richard or Claire.

The attendance list will be open for 7 days.  When it is closed, the cost per photographer will be calculated and then you get 4 days to make payment by paypal.  If after the 4 days anyone on the list hasn’t paid, then their place will be made available to other photographers who didn’t make the initial list.  Once payment is made, no refunds will be given.  If you cannot attend the group shoot, then you can either sell your place to a photographer who couldn’t get on the attendance list or simply loose your money.  Given a full attendance of 40 photographers, you’re looking at £7.50 each.

The Location

The location is easily to get to by train and is only a short walk from Wolverhampton train station. There is also a close by car park which does cheap all day parking rates.

Local map can be found on Flickr here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wolves_tog/3563835035/

Info for your GPS devices:  Wolverhamton, WV1 1LY

We will have use of the main hall including balcony, foyer and cafe area.   This means that the group shoot will be limited to 30 photographers.

The shoot will start at 10am with a quick health and safety briefing before you’re all let loose, with a finishing time of 5pm.

The attendance list for this group shoot will be added to the flickr group at 8pm on the 29th of Jan.  For photographers, you can only add your own name to the list by posting a reply with your full name and it’s first come first served. There is a limit of 30 photographers.

The attendance list will be open for 7 days.  When it is closed, the cost per photographer will be calculated and then you get 4 days to make payment by paypal.  If after the 4 days anyone on the list hasn’t paid, then their place will be made available to other photographers who didn’t make the initial list.  Once payment is made, no refunds will be given.  If you cannot attend the group shoot, then you can either sell your place to a photographer who couldn’t get on the attendance list or simply loose your money.  Given a full attendance of 30 photographers, you’re looking at £5 each.

The Location

Tividale Community Arts College, Lower City Road, Tividale, Oldbury, B69 2HE.

http://www.tividalehigh.sandwell.sch.uk/

The hall will me completely empty when we use it.

(there will be another shoot on the 8th of March, just confirming details)

We will have exclusive use of a conference room there and also public access to the museum and grounds.  The museum will be open to the public and therefore we have to respect a number of rules which are detailed below.

The shoot will start at 10am when the museum opens with a quick briefing in the conference room before you’re all let loose, with a finishing time of 5pm.

There is an attendance list for this group shoot on the flickr group which is now open.  For photographers, you can only add your own name to the list by posting a reply with your full name and it’s first come first served. There is a limit of 30 photographers.

The attendance list will be open for 7 days.  When it is closed, the cost per photographer will be calculated and then you get 4 days to make payment by paypal.  If after the 4 days anyone on the list hasn’t paid, then their place will be made available to other photographers who didn’t make the initial list.  Once payment is made, no refunds will be given.  If you cannot attend the group shoot, then you can either sell your place to a photographer who couldn’t get on the attendance list or simply loose your money.  Given a full attendance of 30 photographers, you’re looking at £5 each.

Attendance Rules

1. Any pictures taken on the day are strictly for personal use only.  This does allow you to use your pictures on your portfolio website, etc…  however you are not allowed to sell the images.

2. When setting up lighting equipment in public areas you must respect that this is a public museum and do not block any public thorough-fair.

3. You, your equipment and the models are not allowed to cross the exhibit barriers.  If you are found doing this, the group will be escorted off the premises!

4. You do not take any pictures of the public.

5. this is not an exhaustive list of rules, there may be some more to be announced on the day.

The Location

The museum has it’s own website at http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/cosford/

The museums are split between several buildings, and also scattered throughout the grounds.

Museum Floor Plan:

You can take a virtual tour of the main exhibits and details of how to get there

Before The Shoot

The group plans and discusses each group shoot on a flickr website group  http://www.flickr.com/groups/midlandstrobists.  It is free to join flickr as a basic member and we actively encourage models to join in with the discussions that we hold on there.

The details of each group shoot will be posted on the flickr group, along with an attendance list.

If you have an idea for a particular theme or shot that you’d like to do, then this is the place to discuss it.  You can either create a new post on the discussion board, or contact the photographers who are attending directly.

It is best to bring at least two changes of outfit with you so that you, and the photographer, can get variety from the photographs taken on the day.   Unless you have discussed a particular outfit or theme in advance then it is advisable to bring outfits that are both fashionable and which suit your personality.  Makeup and hair is also best kept generic unless you have arranged something before hand.

Before attending a group shoot you will be required to give the person who is arranging the shoot your email address, this is so that photographers who work with you can contact you after the shoot to provide you with pictures.  Your email address will only ever be shared with the photographers who attended the group shoot and is emailed direct to them.  It is never publicly published.

On The Day Of The Shoot

Some shoots will require you to attend on time at the start of the shoot so that a health & safety briefing can be given, however on other occasions the start time can be flexible, if for example arriving at the start is difficult due to travel restrictions, a 10am start can sometimes be impossible if traveling by train on a Sunday.

At the start of a group shoot, after any initial briefings, you will be given the chance to get changed and prepare your hair and makeup.  This is done in a separate room which will be designated as a models changing room and off limits to photographers.

We are looking to arrange for makeup artists and hair stylists to attend future group shoots, however this should not be relied on and will be clearly stated before hand.

The group shoots are informal.  When you have finished preparing hair, makeup and clothes, you can either approach a photographer who is available, or they will approach you if you wait in the designated model waiting area.

You will be photographed by multiple photographers on the day.  Each photographer will typically photograph you for between 10 and 30 minutes, in which time you may be asked to pose against a material backdrop, or somewhere else in the venue, for example on a staircase, against a wall, sitting on a sofa or chair, outside (depending on the weather), sat three shelves up in a metal book case, the options are endless.  Remember that if you don’t like the sound of a photographers idea then you can say no.

You will never be asked to pose topless or nude at any of our group shoots.

Some photographers will ask you to sign a model release form.

After The Shoot

Unless you obtained the photographers details whom you worked with, the photographer will contact you after the shoot via email to arrange a delivery method for your pictures.  Typically they are either emailed directly or posted on a CD.

There is no set limit on how many images you will receive.  This is best discussed with the photographer on the day.  It all depends on how long you worked with them, how many changes of outfit, pose and location there was and also on the photographer in question.  Some photographers do little to no post processing and this enables them to produce more images, where as some photographers will concentrate on a select few best images and post process them to produce a more artistic effect.

If you use the images you receive in your portfolios, please credit the photographer / stylist.

I hope this answers any questions that you might have.  Feel free to ask any other questions via the comments below or on the flickr group.

The 6th group shoot was held in December in private offices at the Mailbox in Birmingham.   This was an unusual place for us to hold a group shoot and everyone was very excited to be doing a shoot somewhere so different.   Rob Owen kindly asked his bosses if he could use their office for a photo shoot, oh yeah and bring along another 20 photographers and 10 models.  Thankfully, and very kindly, they said yes.

As with all of the group shoots so far, the photographers made the most of the location and created some very creative and visually stunning pictures.  It always amazes me how different and varied the pictures are, given that everyone has the same set of models and location to work with.

This was the first time that the attendance list was limited, with a maximum of 30 people, due to restrictions placed upon us by the owners of the office.  It was decided to split the numbers up as 20 photographers and 10 models and place a first come first served attendance list up on our flickr group.  Within less than 24 hours, the 20 photographers places were filled and we had 4 reserves!

Pictures and video after the jump

Photographers: Richard Hinton, Rafal Kuczowicz, Claire Edmonds, Chris Rollason, Sebastian Gora, Mustanir Ali, Denyer, Dave Bird, Stephen Llewellyn, Syncsocket, John E V Bailey, Tom Majeure, Al, Rob Owen, Rob, JohnO, boabbruce, EbPic, Adam Duckworth, Adam Swords

Models:

Lucy Lloyd  -  http://www.modelmayhem.com/702962

Loretta Griffin  -  www.lolahope.com

Stacey Jane Ruddick  -  http://www.purestorm.com/profile.aspx?id=staceyr

Nehanda Ferguson  -  http://www.modelmayhem.com/757577

Thomas E Burton Fletcher  -  http://www.modelmayhem.com/773533

Ruthuk  -  http://www.modelmayhem.com/797363

Cymone Young Astella  -  http://www.modelmayhem.com/730032

Rebecca Scott

Rhiannon Edwards

The video:

The pictures:

And finally, the motley crew!

The 5th group shoot was held in October at Studley Village Hall in Warwickshire.  Another 10am start on a Sunday and lots of keen photographers and models turning up as early as 9am!   The village hall is a large modern building and essentially a blank canvas.  Photographers came prepared with an array of backdrops, from standard black or white, to a large home made newspaper backdrop, while others improvised and used some of the interesting props backstage and found unusual (yet brilliant) old fashioned brown wallpaper backdrops.  As it was a nice day, there was even some overspill into the car park and grounds for more varied photo shoots.

Pictures after the jump

15 Photographers and 11 models attended.

Photographers: Tom Watson, Adam Swords, Craig Dawes, Eric Broadhurst, Chris Rollason, Dave, Sebastian Gora, SyncSocket, Mustanir, Rafael, Denyer, Alex Scarbro, Claire Edmonds, Richard Hinton, Rufus

Models:

Naomi Shaw  -  http://www.modelmayhem.com/686010

Louise Ann  -  http://www.modelmayhem.com/680266

Jodine Lily  -  http://www.modelmayhem.com/478446

Ruthuk  -  http://www.modelmayhem.com/797363

Lucy Lloyd  -  http://www.modelmayhem.com/702962

Leanne Twist  -  http://www.modelmayhem.com/634840

Stacey Jane Ruddick  -  http://www.purestorm.com/profile.aspx?id=staceyr

Loretta Griffin  -  http://www.lolahope.com

Caroline Tutton  -  http://www.modelmayhem.com/758325

Thomas E Burton Fletcher  -  http://www.modelmayhem.com/773533

Nehanda Ferguson  -  http://www.modelmayhem.com/757577

The pictures:

Behind the scenes:

The 4th group shoot was held in September at Rookery House in Erdington, Birmingham.  It was a quirky old country house which was a little run down.  There was an eclectic mix of rooms and corridors, including “the DANGER room” which was an old storage room with broken windows and bits of wood and metal everywhere, which of course meant that most of the photographers were flocked towards it.

Some people even explored the grounds of the house which is located in a park.  The most unusual find of the day was 4 miniature dogs in camo outfits being walked by a man who had a lot of tattoos!  As you can imagine, the dogs got involved in some shots with one model and even the guy got photographed.

Pictures and video after the jump

18 photographers, 9 models and 1 makeup artist attended.

Photographers: Tom Majeur, wolves_tog (rich), mip1605 (michael), rollasoc (chris), rufus267, denyerec, Jon Rouston, John Owen, daveawebber, John EV Bailey, bitstreamphotography (rob), ebPic (eric), syncsocket, Paper Daisy Photography (claire), adamduckworth,  Adam Swords, mobilecarty (bob), mustanir.

Models:

Jamie Chatburn  -  http://www.modelmayhem.com/535210

Caroline Tutton  -  http://www.modelmayhem.com/758325

Marvin Alexander  -  http://www.modelmayhem.com/305459

Cymone Young Astella  -  http://www.modelmayhem.com/730032

Laura Wise  -  http://www.modelmayhem.com/783264

Nath Studge  -  http://www.modelmayhem.com/601930

Loretta Griffin  -  http://lolahope.com

Stacey Jane Ruddick  -  http://www.purestorm.com/profile.aspx?id=staceyr

Leanne Twist  -  http://www.modelmayhem.com/634840

Makeup Artist:

Amelia Ebanks  -  http://www.modelmayhem.com/776362

The video:

The pictures:

The third group shoot was held in June at the Friends Institute in Moseley, Birmingham.  It was a more basic venue than the 2nd group shoot (which had lots of funky grafiti on the walls), however the photographers who attended were not put off by this and simply came with their own portable backdrops, or got creative with what the venue had to offer.

Pictures and video after the jump

17 photographers and 5 models attended:

Photographers: Tom Majeure, Al, Rob, John EV Bailey, Rollasoc (chris), Michael, Rufus, Scott Wiggins, EbPic (eric), Paper Daisy (claire),  Denyer, Mustanir, Richie Taylor, Jon Rouston, Arron Block, BigJohnO.

Models:

Nicole South  -  http://www.modelmayhem.com/474241

Natalie Lorendez  -  http://www.modelmayhem.com/507932

Cymone Young Astella  -  http://www.modelmayhem.com/730032

Leah James  -  http://www.modelmayhem.com/634288

Luxuriaa – http://www.modelmayhem.com/668937

Again, Tanya very kindly filmed the events:

The Pictures

Behind the scenes shots:

The second group shoot was held in April, and was an indoor shoot (lesson learnt from last shoot…brrrr).   Held at The Rainbow Warehouse in Digbeth, Birmingham.

The Rainbow Warehouse is a bright and vibrant location for a group shoot, with lots of graffiti on the walls and props to use.  This was also where John’s homemade ring flash was unveiled, aptly nicknamed ‘the coffin’ due to it’s size and shape, you can see it in use at the bottom of this post in the behind the scenes shots.

Pictures and video after the jump

14 photographers and 5 models attended.

Photographers – Tom Majeure, Alex Hough, Simon Flanagan, John EV Bailey, Rollasoc (chris), EbPic (eric), Bitstream (rob), Scott Wiggins, Conceptphotodesign (Mike S), Jon Rouston, Stuart Parker, mip1605 (micheal), Bigjohno and Daveawebber.

Models:

Linzi Booth  – http://www.modelmayhem.com/516228

Emma Cartwright  – http://www.modelmayhem.com/665249

Sam Igbowe  -  http://www.modelmayhem.com/595700

Natalia Lorendez  -  http://www.modelmayhem.com/507932

Emma Toddington  -  http://www.modelmayhem.com/707529

Tanya very kindly filmed the events and posted the results on youtube:

The Pictures

And some setup shots: