Magpie Darling

This was the last shoot I did in Vancouver, just over a month ago! Working with amazingly talented Nicolette Lang-Andersen as styling, Aaron Wozlowski doing make up, Kara Gilbertson in charge of hair and modelled by Jules Aspinall. Our inspiration was flapper/20's style(I adore this era), but with a slightly modern twist. When I was trying to find a model for this shoot no one seemed to be available, so by chance browsing through Model Mayhem I came across Jules and decided to give her a shot, and I'm glad I did. This was one of her first shoots, and I think she was a perfect fit.This was shot later in the afternoon/evening with natural/existing light, and towards the end I was slightly worried as to whether there was enough light. However, I'm kind of pleased with the slightly grainy moody feel to the photos that the night and higher ISO gave, so things worked out. This is also the first magazine cover one of my photos has ever been on!

Adrien

I seem to shoot at Carnivals and Fairs quite frequently, but there's just something magical about the combination of rides, fried food and bright lights. I had never shot at one at night though, and after shooting Adrien for Noir Masae's lookbook we decided we needed to shoot again. I had been meaning to go to the CNE, so things just fell into place. Fried butter is something I don't think I need to ever try though. Wardrobe was provided by amazing Anastasiya Kayevda, and make up was done by Shawnna Downing. and despite the hoards of people I think we came up with something lovely.

I was asked to shoot a lookbook for up and coming line Noir Masae, we ended up in Yorkville, got ready to shoot, and then it started to rain. We ended up finding this little undercover area with a giant silver pillar, and it seemed like a good spot to shoot. The silver background gave it a really clean sort of futuristic look that I liked. These are the more 'creative' photos from it, they remind me of superheroes. Adrien with Peggi Lepage/Velocci brought this shoot to life, here are the photos!





Adrien was wearing an amazing hat, so we had to do a couple shots with that as well.

Marta

For this shoot my idea was to do something a little gothic, lots of sheer black clothes mixed with leather, and shot somewhere foresty. Finding 'forest-y' locations in Toronto wasn't as difficult as I thought it would be, this is the dog park across the street from my apartment. Climbing in trees to shoot makes for beautiful bokeh, I'd do it again any day. It was a blustery day, and this was right after a down-pour and a thunderstorm. However, I think the cloudy skies made for great light and gave a softness to the shoot that wouldn't have been there had it been sunny. Some girls seem to have this magical quality that makes you never want to stop shooting, Marta is one of these girls.

Marta with Peggi Lepage/Spot 6
Make Up: Shawnna Downing

Tia

My friend Tia recently signed with Ford and moved to Toronto as well, so we decided to shoot. On the drive in from the airport I spotted this beautiful building that looked like someone had stole it from Rome and planted it beside a beach, and I finally got to shoot at it. The perfect late afternoon sun made the shoot magical.







Tia with Ford Models
Make Up: Shawnna Downing
Styling/Photo: Kim Akrigg

Test with Jillian

Jillian with Peggi Lepage
Make Up: Shawnna Downing
Styling/Photo: Kim Akrigg

Someone mentioned Sugar Beach to me when I first got to Toronto, and described it as 'white sand and pink umbrellas', and as soon as I heard that I knew I needed to shoot there. It's a short walk from my place, so early yesterday morning Shawnna and I walked over to shoot with Jillian. It was beautiful and empty, and the sun was just coming up. The slight breeze made it perfect, and the little bit of sun was perfect as it ended up raining later in the day. I was told that Toronto is ugly, but whoever was telling me was misinformed because I keep finding the most beautiful places here.

Mouna

Test shoot with beautiful Mouna with Peggi Lepage. Make up by Shawnna Downing. The windows on my apartment are the dreamiest thing going on in my life right now.

Workshop

I'll be back to Vancouver for a few days in September and Doco Photo are holding a workshop! It's going to be focussed on how we'd do a fashion shoot from start to finish on location. It's not only for fashion photographers though, anyone is welcome and we're going to gear it more towards what you'd like to learn. We'll have professional models, make up artists and a wardrobe stylist, and we'll each share tips and tricks from our individual experiences and styles. The workshop will cover organizing a shoot from the concept to the final project. We've got a total of 15 spots!

Date: September 2, 10-3
$300/person
15 spots available
Location TBA

Ryan's Portfolio: www.docofolio.com
My Portfolio: www.kimberleyakrigg.com

To sign up please send kim.akrigg@hotmail.com an email!

Test with Maddie from Ford Models
Make Up/Hair: Shawnna Downing
Photo/Styling/Retouching: Kim Akrigg

We've been exploring our building, and we found this room/lounge which I fell in love. It reminds me of a space ship, and I figured it'd be perfect for this shoot. I'm still hunting for a good stylist to work with, so I've been styling things on my own again. H&M is my saviour.

Lots of test shoots this week. Which is kind of nice, it gives me a chance to explore my neighbourhood for fun places to shoot, and try out new ideas. On Saturday I shot with 4 lovely girls from Annabelle Cho Model Placement, here's photos Beata's set.

Beata with Annabelle Cho Model Placement
Make Up: Shawnna Downing

Test shoot with Kellie

Model: Kellie with AbC Model Placement
Make Up: Shawnna Downing

First Shoot

Moving to Toronto has been an amazing experience so far, I love this city so much more than everyone said I would. Walking everywhere, the wonderful people, the amazing sunny days spent eating outside on our patio. I'm glad I never have to leave.

I was so anxious to get started shooting again, the past week and a half were probably the longest I've gone in about 2 years without doing a photoshoot. It came together so easily, I grabbed a few things from H&M while wandering Queens St W one morning, and everything just fell into place. Shooting with Gwen was an amazing way to get started here, I'm incredibly happy with how the photos turned out.


Model: Gwen with Peggi Lepage
Make Up: Shawnna Downing