articles/Fashion/punchourlightsout-page2

The Ex-Boxer Who Is Never Going To Punch Our Lights Out - part 2 of 1 2

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Steve has learnt his craft from books, magazines and trial and error. "I'll buy a fashion magazine and tear out features pages on fashion shoots - then I'll analyse them and work out exactly how Testino, or whoever it was, handled the composition and the lighting angles etc. Then when I'm happy I'll go and try it myself."

Steve loves the Bowens lighting solution. "When I shoot now (especially at city centre-based Liverpoolstudiohire.com) I use Gemini 500s and a wide variety of Bowens accessories.

The Bowens Pulsar radio triggering is brilliant for my way of working too. I can have a light set up directed at a model twenty feet away - but my camera and I will be thirty or forty feet away. I'll be lying on my stomach on the floor, but I know those lights will go off to my command when I press that shutter."

He adds: "And I've just started employing a new method.

Instead of lighting a white background, I actually stand the model in front of a big Bowens softbox...the results are terrific. I work in a pretty haphazard way but I get what I want thanks to the quality of the lights I use.

I also have 2 Travelpaks and a Jetstream wind machine, a growing collection of softboxes and reflectors - and I shoot with a new Canon 5D MKII.

With Bowens the results are a foregone conclusion. Now I only want to work with the best people - and the best equipment."

And the colour blindness issue?

"People ask me how on earth I can produce high quality fashion images when I'm colour blind and partially sighted in one eye. But the fact is I just shoot what I see - and if I like it I stick with it.

And it seems to be working out quite well. In fact I'm off to New York again this year to discuss agency commissions. It's all come full circle".

Boxing clever

One Collinson imagery admirer on a blog suggested he might end up shooting Vogue covers. Steve replied: "Vogue covers? I'm aiming for Calvin Klein billboards in Times Square."

• The Ex-Boxer Who Is Never Going To Punch Our Lights Out page 1
  
• The Ex-Boxer Who Is Never Going To Punch Our Lights Out page 2
  

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