Cancer Research UK Christmas Fatique
I LOVE doing these types of shoots for the UK charity Cancer Research UK (CRUK).
The brief was to create a series of ‘scenes’ to advertise a future campaign (dry January). They wanted me to show someone looking like they had had enough of all the boozy christmas parties and then another of other people looking fit and healthy whilst their friends suffered a hangover the next morning.
It was a hot September.
It was a small flat in South London (with a christmas tree in the window which made it easy to find).
The room must have had about 9 CRUK members of staff - all of whom had all volunteered to be models. We spent most of the morning moving the furniture around in the flat and half putting up decorations so that the room appeared to a well worn Christmas lounge after having some friends over the night before.
Once the tree was decorated and the nod to a christmas decoration was stuck to the wall out came the booze and the crisps. Artfully making a mess in what was a very clean flat is really fun. We carefully spread out empty bottles and glasses, half eaten mince pies, party poppers and tinsel. I love adding in the small details on shoots like these (check out the Mad Hatters tea party photo shoot) added through out the scene to make it look like it a weekend in December and not a sunny day in September.
The models were amazing and they managed to create exactly the right look to the pictures. Whether they were grumpy and tired, smug and feeling healthy or hung over and feeling sick they all nailed it. Both the healthy alcohol free ones and the hung over ones, everyone fell into their roles perfectly.
