I challenge you to take one photo each week of August, and for each week I have selected a theme as a starting point. You can take the photos on any device, such as a phone, tablet, DSLR or standard compact camera. The concept behind this challenge is to get you to consider your subject creatively to bring your photography to life!

The themes:

3rd August - 9th August “Changes”

10th August - 16th August “Character”

17th August - 23rd August “Temptation”

24th August - 30th August “Light”

31st August “In To The Future”

How to choose a subject …

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of the word or phrase?  Look at the word or phrase and work out what it means. You could play word association (one person says a word, the next person will say a word which they associate with it. E.G. “Animal”, “Dog”) with a friend or family member to discover what they can come up with. These suggestions should inspire you to decide what your subject will be. Then you should work out how you want to photograph your subject (from above, macro lens, etc). Now you may need to collect items you will need to take the photograph (outfits, fabric for a backdrop, subject, etc), you may find the suitable equipment round your house or garden. 

***TAKE PHOTO!***

Once you’ve have taken your photo, it is up to you whether you choose to edit it. At the end of August you will have taken five amazing concept driven photographs! 

You can share your brilliant photos with me by uploading them to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram by using the hashtag 

#KatieJadePhotoChallenge 

I won’t be able to find them without the hashtag!

I will be taking photos each week too and I will share with you what I have taken at the end as well as explaining how I worked with the theme. 

Links to my…

Facebook Page: Katie Jade Photography 

Twitter: @_KatieJade_

Instagram: oxKatieJadexo

Michelle got in touch with me as she wanted some nice, pretty photos of herself. She wanted to update her current images of herself as she hadn’t had any taken recently. I love portrait sessions so I was eager to help out! My dear partner in crime, Charlie Long, was instantly contacted to do the make-up for Michelle. 

So Charlie was the first to arrive. Shortly followed by Michelle and her partner Jamie. As Charlie set up her make-up, I provided everyone with a drink, and we had a nice chat, getting to know one another. There was such a lovely, relaxed and friendly atmosphere. We went for a plum smokey eye and nude lip for Michelle. Charlie knew that the plum shades would suit Michelle’s skin tone as well as compliment the outfits she brought with her. 

Michelle brought five outfits; black trousers and a white top, black floral dress, a white dress, a white floral dress and a mint green dress with lace detailing. It was quite funny as she got out each outfit, Charlie and I admired it and asked where she got it from, to which Michelle would reply “New Look!”. The photo shoot was a look book for New Look! Michelle looked so beautiful in each outfit. 

During the shoot I directed Michelle so that she would feel comfortable in front of the camera. From a simple standing or sitting pose, I would ask her to move in a natural way between each pose so her photographs would come across as relaxed and carefree. 

Here are some photos from Michelle’s shoot:

After the photo shoot I received a message from Michelle saying: “Just wanted to say thank you soooo much for today I felt amazing and can’t wait to see the finished pics.” This really touched me! I’m so glad that Charlie and I can provide a service which makes someone feel amazing and excited about seeing the finished product. Thank you Michelle for getting in touch with me. Charlie and I both had a brilliant time with you. 

Would you like to do a makeover photo shoot? Charlie and I have teamed up to offer you an AMAZING makeover photo shoot package! For just £115, you can have a photo shoot in a Norwich studio, gorgeous makeover by Charlie, the choice of 3 outfits, advice about the industry and refreshments are provided. Not only that but before your shoot we will send you a mood board filled with inspiration for make-up looks, styling ideas and an overall feel for your shoot. During the shoot we always make sure the atmosphere is friendly and fun, both Charlie and I are really easy to talk to. After the shoot your photographs will be retouched, and you will receive 6 high resolution images from your glamorous day with us.  

As I spend a lot of time behind the camera, I felt it would be a good idea to let you know a little bit more about me! I have put together 20 fun facts, throwing in both interesting and silly factoids, personal and professional. So, let’s get started!

1.     Why “Katie Jade”? My full name is Katie Jade Atkins but I decided to get rid of my surname and keep it as Katie Jade. The name “Jade” comes from my Grandma’s name “Jaye”. She is a huge inspiration to me. She’s so loving, patient and kind, and has always been very honest with me and my family. 

2.    I was about 7 when I started experimenting with photography. I used to put my toys in certain poses around the house and photograph them. I imagined they were pop stars and the photographs were going to be in magazines!

3.    I can sing! I love singing! I actually can’t stop myself when a song gets in to my head! I’ve been in a few bands. My first band was a Mis-teeq cover group… I was 10!!! It was great! My two best friends and I would get together and practice our dance routines and lyrics. My sister decided she would be our manager, I think that is due to the fact she enjoyed bossing us around! The group split up when we went to high school. Since then I have been in rock bands, but what I enjoy the most is singing to my family on birthdays and special occasions. 

4.    I am a dog person. Dogs make me go weird! I get so excited with how cute and fluffy they are! I had a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel when I was younger (unfortunately she died two years ago) who was, and always will be, my best friend. I’d love another dog in the future.

5.    I’m a model. I often step in front of the camera to model for fellow photographers. I’ve been modelling for about 7 years now. 

Photograph by Beth Morton

6.    I love art. I like to do colouring in, make pom poms, create room decorations, draw, paint…. I’m a creative type!

7.    I collect cuddlies. I started collecting cuddlies when I was young. My favourite is a dalmatian called Patch. I’ve had him for 18 years!

8.    I love dressing up. I will often wear rabbit ears just because I feel like it! I will always find an opportunity to wear fancy dress, something my partner encourages. We both wore capes when we went to the cinema to watch The Avengers: Age Of Ultron!  I think my passion for dressing up is why I offer a photo booth service to clients!

9.    I teach children photography. I work as a Photography Club Leader for Camera Kids Photography. I go to schools during the week to teach children between the ages of 7-11. They have photography projects to complete, as well as playing games, scavenger hunts and making interesting pieces with their photographs. Seeing their skills and knowledge develop and improve is so wonderful!

10.   I have a fear of clowns. When I was younger, my Grandma took me to a parade. A man dressed as a clown came over to me and screamed in my face which made me cry and panic. I hate circuses and I can’t even listen to the clown theme music without my skin crawling. Urgh! But, saying that, I love horror films and I will watch a film with a clown in because I enjoy the shock factor. Stephen King’s “It” destroyed me! I didn’t want to be by myself for about a week after watching it. 

11.   I take a lot of self portraits. I see myself as quite a chameleon, so this gives me the opportunity to put on a disguise and be someone else. I take self portraits to tell a story.

12.   My favourite word is “lozenge”. It makes me laugh! It’s such a strange sounding word! Loz-innnnnnnj! Hilarious! 

13.   Tim Burton is my favourite director. I love how he looks at darkness in a light hearted, quirky way. His work is so unique and so beautiful. Sweeney Todd is my favourite film.

14.   I see myself as a balanced person. I’m a balance of light and dark. On one side, I love horror, darkness, skulls, ghosts, vampires, cobwebs, moonlight, graveyards etc. And on the other side, I love animals, flowers, girly dresses, butterflies, fairies, dancing, disney princess films, romance etc. I think this can be seen in my photography work as I will some times take dark, haunting images or I will take light, romantic images. 

15.   70s. I love the 70s. I strongly believe I was born in the wrong decade. The fashion, the music, everything! I wish I was alive when Marc Bolan was. I would give anything to see him perform. He was such a fascinating person. I wish I was able to photograph him. 

16.   My favourite photographer is Tim Walker. Tim Walker is a fashion photographer who uses storytelling as a main feature. His work is incredible! 

17.   I’m obsessed with Yankee Candles. If I’m in a city centre and I have some time to myself, I will go find a shop that sells Yankee Candles, go through sniffing each candle. I have a really strong sense of smell, so smelling something really delicious is such a buzz for me.

18.   I would be happy if I only ate Eton Mess. I’ve got a sweet tooth. Eton Mess is sooooo sweet! Prezzos used to do an Eton Mess cheesecake which was out of this world. It breaks my heart that they don’t do it anymore.

19.   My perfect day out would be going to a zoo. I love animals, so spending a day surrounded by them makes me ecstatic. I shout “zoooooooooooo!” a lot because I get so excited. 

20.  I want to go to Finland at some point. The scenery is so exhilarating, refreshing and stimulating. I’ve wanted to go since I was 13. I follow Finnishseasons on Instagram, which makes my heart long even more to go to Finland. 

I hope you found my list of 20 things you may not know about me interesting. Here’s a bonus fact for you: I love writing lists. This blog post has been so satisfying to write!