Charity Shop Photoshoot for St Luke's Hospice
If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter you may have noticed the occasional post mentioning St Luke's Hospice, Basildon. Well, I'm pleased to officially announce that since the beginning of 2016 I have become a corporate partner of the hospice, assisting them with photography when possible.
Its been a great pleasure for me to be able to assist my local hospice creating images at fundraising and special events and getting to know some of the many staff, volunteers and friends who all do an amazing job for such a worthwhile cause.
Not long after I got involved with the hospice, I remembered a few years ago I purchased an old victorian style wedding dress as a prop for a fantasy shoot from a St Luke's Hospice shop in Basildon. Like many photographers, charity shops are always first on my list when searching for props - you never know what you'll find from one day to the next, and so the concept was born, creating an awareness campaign to be shared on social media promoting St Luke's Hospice shops and all their magical items waiting to be discovered.
Wedding and prom dresses, vintage clothing, trendy and chic clothing, jewellery and accessories, charity shops get them all. St Luke's Hospice now manages 11 shops in Basildon and Thurrock area and the money raised plays a vital part of funding the hospice which in turn cares for the local community offering free palliative care and counselling. I'm sure you would agree its a great cause to support.
Below: Urban Fairytale. Social media image created to bring awareness to St Luke's Hospice shops.
Of course I couldn't have created these images alone. Hairstylist and good friend Tara Johnston asked if I would create images for her business, Home of Hearts Boutique, and following a quick chat it was agreed we would also use our resources and allocate time to create images for a St Luke's Hospice Urban Fairytale campaign. A big thank you also goes to our amazing and beautiful model Krisztina Gibson, Make-Up Artist Michelle Lacey of Bumblebee Bridal, Tara Johnston and videographer Pete Alltimes at PDA Creative for all giving up their time.
When I met the staff and volunteers at St Luke's Hospice, I couldn't help but notice how friendly, happy and cheerful they were. I wanted to reflect this in our imagery and combining the urban fashion and fairytale theme allowed me to do this. I always try to bring a little fun to my photoshoots and working with this amazing creative team made it an upbeat time as you'll see on the behind the scenes video at the end of the blog.
3 images below: Fairytale style fashion images using a dress discovered in a St Luke's Hospice Shop.
7 images below: Urban Fairytale style fashion images. You never know what item of fashion clothing, piece of jewellery or accessory you will find in a St Luke's Hospice Shop.
Behind the scenes video kindly donated by PDA Creative.
If you're a shop-a-holic and your wardrobe looks like it's about to give way under the weight of all those clothes you haven't worn in ages, how about doing something amazing and donating them to St Luke's Hospice or a charity shop in your area which you support? Not only are you helping a good cause, you're also helping the environment too! Re-use, you know it's better than to recycle.
It's not just clothes charity shops can sell. Books, games, furniture, bags, toys, the list is endless. To find out more on how you can help, call St Luke's Hospice on 01268 524973 or St Luke's Hospice Warehouse on 01268 522741 or visit St Luke's Hospice website www.stukeshospice.com
