Western Heights Winter Colourful Portrait Session with Amy

It's been some time since I've visited Western Heights above the town of Dover, the last time being about four years ago, so I was keen to go back and experiment with some new techniques and bits of kit - gels! These coloured pieces of plastic slip over a flash and provide a really vibrant pop of colour to a background and/or a model who, in this case was the lovely Amy! You'll probably remember a few photoshoots with her before and she's a great friend of mine who also happens to be a photographer too! Amy had never been here before, so I offered to take her so we could both explore and have a bit of colourful fun in the process. I wanted to mix in some natural light photos too, just to add a bit of contrast.

Western Heights is a series of old and now disused military buildings set into the hillside overlooking the port of Dover. They saw use in the 1800s as well as into the 1900s too, with the main parts being a line of gun emplacements (the guns have since been removed) as well as a fort and barracks for troops stationed here. The area has a real grungy feel to it, with lots of graffiti and a distressed look which worked really well with the bright colours we introduced into the scenes! Most of it is easily accessible but some parts have been blocked off with gates and bars.  

Amy and I had a great catch up while we worked together, making the most of the late afternoon light. We finished just as it stated raining so I call that great timing! I wanted to compliment the coloured gels with some more natural images too, making the most of the sunlight streaming in through parts of the area and adding a bit of extra lighting when necessary. I love the colours we chose for the shoot - they really help Amy pop out of the background. 

If you fancy getting a bit creative with some funky colours, or even a more natural feel, make sure you check out my portrait photography page here and get in touch if you want to book your own portrait session!