Parris in Brindley Place, Birmingham
On Tuesday morning I caught a train into Birmingham and made my way over to Brindley Place to meet Parris. I was early (as I always try to be) so I grabbed a coffee and a cheeky cookie from Costa and sat in the sun, surprised yet again that the morning rain had cleared and dried ready for the shoot. It was already looking like luck was going to be on our side for the day. When Parris arrived we said our quick hellos and got to explain to her lovely partner that I would probably always be in his way because I just have that knack, and we got into shooting really quickly.
These images were in the first few we shot and I knew straightaway that we were going to create magic together. Everything seemed to be working in our favour; Brindley Place was quiet and flooded with beautiful light and gorgeous backdrops, and the staff keep it immaculate. We started by exploring a cute little area under the trees, finding this dappled light. Everything I suggested Parris delivered, and the way she moves organically meant there was little direction from me, she is such a talent.
We then moved up to outside the couple of restaurants in the main space, as I wanted to try and capture the light on the steps and the cute bokeh of the lights.
Next we wanted to have some fun with the fountains without getting wet. They create such a fun backdrop and I found it so hard to narrow down the photos I wanted to put in the blog from this part of the shoot because I love them all. We had to play with our angles because there was a massive school group by the building opposite. It was also at this point that I realised how much I love shooting sunglasses. I know that sounds stupid, but these look so good and I love an accessory.
We’d also had a little chat about this waterfall which is tucked around the corner, hidden by the Sealife Centre. These couple of shots look so cool and as usual I made my life extremely difficult by only owning an 85mm lens (yes I’m saving for a 35mm, it’s slow going) but luckily we had the space to back up a long way to get this and I love the texture of the water as it’s falling.
After the waterfall we carried on walking down past the restaurants which have these really cute street areas filled with foliage and colour so we had a lot of fun playing with angles and spaces. Because everything was so quiet we were able to sneak around these spaces easily without causing any trouble (which is unlike me).
I was conscious that I would need some landscape images because I’m obsessed with shooting in portrait, but I absolutely love the depth in this. The foliage frames Parris so beautifully and she looks absolutely gorgeous. She always knows where her light is and how to angle herself to give beautiful poses, always varied.
The image of Parris standing in the middle of the seating area is one of my favourite of the lot and I can’t quite put my finger on why. It’s one of those images I look at over again and no matter how busy the scene is around her, my eye is immediately drawn to Parris’ face. This was another set where I found it hard to choose which to showcase (who am I kidding, the whole magical shoot was like that).
After a little break Parris brought out these snake suglasses and I was in love. I was already on a high at this point because of how much easy and how much fun it had been. There were so many shots I’d taken that were similar but gorgeous in their own right, but I managed to whittle it down to these.
I try never to get other people in the background of my images because I like a space to feel calm and quiet, but Parris looked so powerful and fierce in this space that she deserved to have an audience around her. The closeups of these glasses are also my favourites and just look at how perfect her skin is. I love the cohesiveness of the colours in this area outside the ICC and how perfectly it works with the outfit. The depth in these images are why I’m perpetually stuck at f/1.8. The reflections in the glasses work so well too, and it gave me great experience in how to position in the light to avoid them casting too many shadows underneath. Parris looks so effortlessly cool and confident in all of these images, I enjoyed taking and editing them so, so much.
I’m going to get really repetitive here, because every time Parris bought out a new pair of shades I was loving it, and she has a face that suits everything. We explored around the bridge to the ICC and the canal and every image that came through to edit I was thinking yes! omg! look at the background, the light, the pose, the reflections, the colours… I was losing the plot a little. This whole shoot was an effortless dream and I learned so much, growing my confidence all the time and I can’t thank Parris for being so patient and so lovely to work with.
I think the image with the arch of lights is my favourite of the whole shoot. I love how the positioning worked out and was lucky to just get far enough back on the bridge with the 85mm to get the shot. I probably would have climbed over the railings and hung off the side if it meant getting it…
I could have carried on this shoot all day, all the way down broad street and to wherever we got to before the sun went down but unfortunately I was on a tight schedule. We went down under the bridge where it was starting to get busier but I have to admit that everyone we encountered (read: got in the way of) was really kind and courteous and always waited for us to get the shot. I was left with such a lovely feeling about people, which hasn’t always been my experience after many years of working in town.
The more I review the images from the shoot that more I can see how much stronger they get; they started of as gorgeous and with all this stunning background they finished as some of the strongest I’ve ever taken. I love the layers of the background and the texture that the addition of the jacket brings. I love the bokeh of the string lights and the framing of the foliage. I love every one of the endless poses that Parris strikes to bring life to the frames.
Every shoot I’ve done in this urban portrait series has taught me so much and exposed me to new areas and backgrounds to fall in love with. I cannot thank Parris enough for the positivity and creativity she brought to this shoot. Every pose and every area I wanted to try she aced, with grace and fierceness and beauty. Her experience created images I wouldn’t have thought to try; this set is truly a creative collaboration that I am grateful to have experiened.
You can find Parris’ socials here, go show her some love:
Personal page: @turbulent_turquoise
