WRITER'S DREAM; Photo-shoots

This image is from a previous photo-shoot with Robin Palmer

It has been a very hectic few weeks. Not only did I have my first college course assessment in October, but I went to the Highlands last month to celebrate my birthday.  I went to Oban and it was snowy and cold, but I'll do another post on that soon. Upon my return home to Yorkshire I went to see Disney On Ice with my mother and then I had to begin preparing for a photo shoot with one of the magazines I write for.

The shoot was yesterday and took about six hours. The photographer Robin, was lovely and we have worked together before so it was nice to see him again and have a gossip.  Taking part in such a shoot really gives an insight into how much work is involved in the beautiful photographic spreads that appear in magazines every month.  Robin took over 400 images so it was a pretty busy day for both of us! Pyewackett does not appear in this shoot - he disappeared out of the back door as soon as Robin arrived and he didn't come back indoors again until about ten minutes after the photographer left...smart cat. Part of me wanted to follow him.

I must confess that any kind of photo shoot is not in my comfort zone. I usually avoid as much press and media attention as I can possibly get away with, though being a writer does mean that a certain amount of media coverage is required of me from time to time. Yesterday though, I actually had fun and I enjoyed myself, which was a surprise to me.  I think it helped that I knew the photographer and so I was more relaxed in front of the camera than I have ever felt before.  It's certainly not the same as when a newspaper journalist and photographer are both trying to do their jobs at the same time and vying for attention - that has happened to me a few times and it can be very stressful.   Yesterday's shoot was much less fraught so as a result I felt that I could just relax a bit more and go with it.

For the most part, a writer's life is generally quiet; we sit at a desk all day and write or conduct research etc. But every so often we have to transform ourselves from work-horse to show-pony and that is what a photo-shoot is all about.  It is a little bit of media glamour, shining a light on the person behind the books/column etc, rather than on the written work itself.  Personally I am always fascinated to see and read more about my favourite authors, so doing media work is also a way for me to give a little bit extra to my readers. I had fun in yesterday's shoot and I am very glad that I did it. I'm looking forward to seeing the images at a later date.

As for today, I think that I deserve some me-time so as soon as I finish my words for the day I'm going to settle down with a glass of wine, a box of Chocolate Strawberry Cremes that I bought in Oban and The Tudors DVD box set.  I will let you all know when and where the shoot can be found upon publication as soon as I have that information.
BB Marie x