Model Portfolio Portraits of Jay Drew

Jay is an aspiring model who was looking for some edgy, urban portraits to add to his portfolio. I used a range of backdrops from his local area to create images with lots of variety and texture.

Most of my portrait work is done in and around Bicester, Oxfordshire. But on this occasion, I headed cross-country for an adults’ portrait location shoot in and around Cardiff Bay, where Jay lives.

The entire shoot took place within an area of just a couple hundred yards, and even then we were spoilt for choice on places to stop and shoot. Here’s just a handful of my favourite images.

Jay has dark hair and pale blue eyes, which is a striking combination. I noticed a glass structure that had similar tones to his irises and asked Jay to lean back against it for this crop shot:

Nearby there were some stone steps with silver handrails. I loved the narrow palette of tones, and placed Jay in the centre of the steps for a composition full of lines that lead your eye towards him:

Next we headed towards the water’s edge, where a dark and imposing stone wall provided a perfect backdrop for this uber-cool pose:

Jay had a specific shot request that he wanted us to capture – him wearing just a black vest that showed off his tattoos. When scouting the area beforehand, I found a perfect spot covered in fly posters that would suit the shot perfectly (as well as providing some leading lines towards Jay), so we headed there to capture this portrait:

Just a few yards down the street was a cream-coloured shutter, which I asked Jay to lean against. Again, the lines of the shutter pull your eye straight towards Jay’s face, which I wanted to be the focus of the image. I also wanted to capture a range of expressions to ensure Jay’s portfolio has variety, so I chatted with Jay until I managed to make him smile, then quickly captured this photo:

To finish up, we wandered along to a narrow alley with black railings along either side. I loved the detail they provided, the fact that their colour matched the tones of Jay’s outfit, and the curve of the left-hand-side railing, which visually marches towards Jay, pulling our eye with it:

Afterwards, Jay said:

“Sarah was amazing, I couldn’t recommend her more, I am so pleased I had the opportunity of shooting with her. Her knowledge on lighting, guidance and camera skills was unbeatable. She was so friendly and warm and easy to work with. She even turned up super early and scouted the area for the best locations for the results we both wanted. Thank you for a great photo shoot and I would defiantly work with you again. One happy man here!”

Would you like to find out more about model portfolios or teens and adult portrait photography? Please get in contact:

Sarah Plater is a portrait photographer based in Bicester, Oxfordshire.

(c) Sarah Plater Photography