Documentary Photography - Polishing Diamonds (live what you love)

               Ok, so why Polishing Diamonds, I hear you ask. Well I'll tell you. Any of you that may be familiar with the current upsurge in reality dance shows on TV may or may not be aware that before these shows were boosted by the publicity of television, there was already a huge dance scene both in the UK and Internationally for a thing called Freestyle Disco which without getting too complicated, starts with children as young as 3 through to adults doing perhaps the most mind boggling combination of gymnastic enhanced dance routines in the most flamboyant of outfits. Now these dancers know their stuff and practice no end to perfect their art for a constant stream of tournaments that happen throughout the UK but even though each one is a little diamond, when it comes to the judges, these diamonds need a little extra polish to make them shine brighter than the rest and this is where the person who personally designs and hand makes their outfit finally gets a chance to step into the spotlight and Jenny, my other half, is one of these/those diamond polishers.
               It usually all starts through the wonders of social media networking and then either a simple facebook enquiry or phone call to get the ball rolling. The client more often than not puts their complete trust in the hands of Jenny to not only design the costume but also select the materials and colours to ensure each outfit is unique and eye catching. 
               So first on the agenda is the design, which is where a sketch pad, pencil and a bloody good recollection of all that's previously passed through her creative memory banks comes to the fore in the hope of producing that previously unseen WOW factor.

                                         

                From there it all moves on to sketching out patterns and adjusting curves to suit ready for pinning and the first cut.

                                        
                

                                       
                         Just to show it's not just a run of the mill sewing machine that gets the job done, this is an overlocker for doing hems and seams and it's a hefty bit of kit that takes up a fair bit of room especially when occupying a bedroom workshop. 

                     Once the patterns are cut it's a matter of pinning them to the fabric ready for cutting out.

                     The overlocker in action and the pins you see have to be removed individually as the hem/seam is completed between each pair.  

                        Preparing the other machine ready for the stitching of the sleeves to the main body of the outfit and any other such necessities. 
                     

                          Detail of the hem/seam as produced by the overlocker plus the final trimming off ready for the next stage.

                      The previously prepped machine is now put to work bringing it all together.

                                     
                       Now it's not all sewing machines and scissors, as at some stage the sparkle has to be added and this involves preparing the outfit, by hand, with single spots of glue before applying, again individually and by hand, the crystals that will help catch the light on the dance floor. This particular outfit has approximately 7000 individuals crystals. 

                     Now I'd love to say that this was the finished outfit to finish off the story, but it isn't, but I felt it was unfair not to let you know what to expect but the time I had to produce this entry wasn't long enough to be able to include the finished article, so I've just included another example that was almost ready for shipping. Now then, don't despair, for once the other outfit is ready I will update this blog entry to include it as well as the accompanying head gear which Jenny also makes, but until then you'll just have to make do. 

                                     


                    The background to this story is that Jenny spent years working in IT and although the people she worked with made her job palatable there was something inside her that wanted to break free from her 9 to 5 so when prospect of redundancy reared it's ugly little head she saw it as an opportunity to explore her potential by refusing to keep a leash on her creativity. Having herself spent  much of her youth slapping thighs and waving pom poms in a morris dancing troupe, she was no stranger to the the needle and thread as in her spare time she was already in demand as a designer and seamstress for not only her own troupe but also for those of her competitors . There was little, if any, profit in this hobby as it was mostly done out of a love for dancing  and the pride on the faces of those lucky enough to be wearing one of her designs as they danced. 
                     Now then, when the reality of redundancy kicks in, sooner or later you have to try and figure out how you are going to pay the bills which is when an enquiry came in about a design for Freestyle Disco, and so after a little research, a visit to a regional competition and genuine self-belief in her own capabilities, Jenny had her foot on the first step of opportunity and hasn't looked back since. She loves what she does, she loves the girls she designs for, she has even taken to sponsoring a few of the kids that show potential and to top it all, the people she designs for love her and what she does for them and they're paying....how's that for job satisfaction. Finally, don't go thinking it's all whistles and bows because it involves long hours, giving up your home to a variety of over-lockers, sewing machines, glue guns and dress makers dummies plus she'll never be able to walk barefoot through her carpets of pins but that's a small price to pay for living what she loves. 

Update:   I called back round on the Saturday to take the final couple of images which include the finished outfit with the extras added, and despite its somewhat menacing appearance with the additional studs, this is the kind of thing that makes the outfit really stand out from the others once under the spotlight.

                                 
                           The final addition to almost every outfit is the headpiece, and once again these follow the same path from conception to construction, with an eye for detail, to ensure it fully compliments the finished costume. Here you can see that after a line of glue has been added, a nail art tool is used to drag the line into a more precise curve ready for additional crystals. 

  

                                                       

                             In conclusion, I'd say I was a little apprehensive when we were first given the task of documentary photography, and I'm sure I wasn't the only one who thought "where do I start ? " , plus it was at least halfway through the week before I came up with the idea of documenting Jenny's business. Her initial reaction was one of shock/horror as she's one of the many, me included, that doesn't welcome the prospect of having a camera trained in their general direction, but I soon over came this hurdle by assuring her that I was after more detailed shots of the actual process than that of personality shots and the most I'd be including would probably be those of her hands. I then decided to do the entire shoot using the natural light available in each room so as to keep it all real, so this meant all the images you see around the table were shot in daylight but those of the overlocker and other the sewing machine were shot under tungsten so it was just a case of altering the white balance to ensure they all worked as a set with as little deviation in the toning as possible. The aperture I'd decided to keep around 5.6 for each shot as I wanted to be able to show a little more detail of the workshop environment but in a subtle way and this would ensure a softening of the background as a hint to what else was going on. When it came to the subject matter, I tried to make sure that I included most of the tools of the trade as the focal point, the detail in the item being produced and at least some inclusion of Jenny herself to highlight the personal/handmade touch that goes into every costume. Once again I'd opted for black and white in my final images as I feel it allows you to focus on the main subject matter without any distractions from any background items yet at the same time it encourages the viewer to seek out whatever else is in the image once I've grabbed their attention. 
                             Finally, I'd just like to say that once I started this project I fell right into it and ended up with loads of shots, some with just the slightest of variation between them so it took a fair bit of narrowing down to decide on a final few to tell the story without being too repetitive and even now, in hindsight (plus a few words from the powers that be), there are 2 images in the above that could be considered surplus to requirement. I thoroughly enjoyed this and now look forward to getting a few more under my belt once I find a fresh subject matter and if I could offer one final bit of advice it would be to get to know your subject before beginning your shoot and by this I mean you need to feel at ease with them and more importantly so do they with you, so for your first meeting you might not even need your camera but instead just take a notebook and a pencil and talk to the people you are going to be shooting, get to know them, look for ideas, check out the light you'll have available plus any vantage points so that when you do finally turn up with your camera you already have a good idea of what you want your final images to look like, and don't forget, enjoy yourself ...over and out.