The industry will bite you. It’s not the kindest place to be, and it can be horribly lonely when everyone you know, every person you associate with is your “competition” (and believe me, some people will openly go out of their way to make you feel inferior). Some days you feel like you’re as tiny as a dormouse surrounded by giants and skyscrapers and loud noises and you just want to hide under your blankets and block it all out. How do we deal with that? 

Whenever something bad happens or whenever I feel alone or inferior, I get a little spark inside of me, like a fire in the belly kind of feeling, and it makes me work harder. I’ve found a way of channeling my anger and hurt into productivity. If you sit and sulk, or worse, try to block everything out completely then you’ll never progress, no good can come of it at all, you’re simply wasting valuable time. 

Today I woke up feeling really down, so right now I am organizing shoots, sending emails, retouching, making moodboards and scouting for new team members.

This will be my year because I’m going to make it that way. 

I was chosen as one of the top 20 young photographers of 2012 by ExpertPhotography! I’m ranked alongside some of my very favorite photographers. I am so happy and a little shocked - I really cant believe that someone would like my work so much to include it in such a wonderful list! You can check out the other fabulous photographers in the list here - http://www.expertphotography.com/top-20-young-photographers-2012

So yesterday was my first shoot of the new year, a simple test with model Fifi Newbery @ Models 1. Fifi has been one of my favourite models for over a year, so I was over the moon when I received a last minute email from her agency saying she was in town (the day before the shoot!). The shoot featured pastel shades with splashes of neon (styled by the lovely Aliya with makeup by Christine). Even though it was icy cold it was still a really great day! 

So here it comes, the end of 2011. I’ve had an amazing year, and I feel that now is the perfect time to reflect on the memorable bits. Only by seeing how far I have come will I be able to plan the rest of my journey. So, here goes:

January

My first real agency test. It was shot in my home town with my own styling - we just sort of walked around taking pictures! Following this was a reshoot of my editorial with red-headed Eve @ Oxygen. The first time we shot it snowed until the ground was coated knee-high. It looked gorgeous but was not what I had planned. So, I contacted the team, including the lovely Aliya stylist, and we reshot it.

January was the month of my first publication, which was in “What Digital Camera” magazine. Having told myself that I would be published at least once in 2011, my hopes had already been met.

February

In February I shot male models for the first time. I organised tests with boys from AMCK. The booker, Patrick, kindly trusted me with his new faces. My hope for one of the shoots was to use an abandoned shopping centre, however a sinister voice from an overhead speaker telling us that our faces were being recorded on CCTV was enough to scarper that plan.

I concentrated much of my efforts onto Client shoots. One client had seen my work online, and had traveled from Norway to shoot with me. It was a wonderful day which made me feel so special.

March

In March I continued to focus on client shoots (and on completing my dissertation for the final year of my computing degree). I was interviewed for “Something We Like”, a blog which features upcoming creative talents. My interview can be read here - http://www.somethingwelike.com/inspirational/faye-laura-sampson#more-13850

April

In April came my biggest editorial to that point – “Sister Hood”. This was shot in the forgotten alleyways of the city with models Isabel @ First and Jessica @ Bookings. This was my first shoot with two models, so I was a little nervous! With two models came two makeup artists, making my team the biggest it had been. Sisterhood is still one of my favourite editorials thanks to the talent of the models and the creative team.

My editorial “Air of British Flair” shot in February with model James Cox was published in Etoilee Magazine this month, and was my first fashion editorial to be published.

May

May saw my final year exams and therefore was awfully stressful for me, however, this didn’t stop me from shooting! I had two editorials planned, the first took place on the hottest day of the year and featured a little rowing boat and lots of pretty floral dresses - the model was Anna @ Gingersnap. The second editorial was the biggest of the year with three models (Isabel @ First, Ellen @ Profile and Ollie @ AMCK), two makeup artists, a hair stylist, two assistants, a stylist and a styling assistant. This shoot was very difficult to plan, and the weather was far from ideal, but in the end it all worked out and eventually I grew to love the editorial.

June

In June came one of my favourite shoots, Travellers Tales. Naturally, as a bright summery beach shoot, it was a cold and rainy day in Brighton, but we managed to make the best of it with lots of laughs (mostly coming from the wonderful models Tia @ Leni’s and Diana @ Sapphires who had the most hilarious attitudes). I was so happy with the outcome that I smiled the whole way home.

June saw the publication of my shoot “Brick Lane boy” with Will @ AMCK in Thirst for Vision magazine, and feature of “Air of British Flair” on The Fashionisto blog (my favourite male fashion blog).

July

July was a month of tests, the most memorable ones being “Lose your faith” and “Untouched”. Lose your faith was shot with a dark feel, which model Scarlett @ Gingersnap was perfect for! Untouched was the complete opposite, shot with beautiful American model Rachel @ Leni’s, the shoot had a golden autumn feel. These were the first shoots for which I used my favourite MUA, Carmen Goetz, and I was amazed by her skill and positive attitude.

My editorial “Eve” shot all the way back in January was published in XO magazine in July – and it made the cover! I remember running around in a gleeful daze showing anyone and everyone!

August

In August I shot a music themed editorial for Tantrum magazine. Using MUA Carmen and beautiful German model Franziska @ Leni’s models I shot in one of the busiest tourist areas of London, which was stressful (especially when people started taking pictures of Franziska) but also a great challenge.

September

In September my editorial “Travellers Tales” was published in W25 magazine (a magazine that I had been dying to get into all year), they presented it so well, I was over the moon!

I shot lots more tests in September, the memorable ones being with new models Lottie @ Bookings models, and Ally @ Leni’s. These girls were both new to modelling (it was actually Ally’s first shoot ever) however they were both naturals and the images exceeded my expectations. The test I had with Lottie “Where She Belongs” was published in SYN magazine.

October

In October the editorial I shot back in May “Unrequited Love” was published in Reverie magazine, followed by the publication of “Lose your Faith” in XO Magazine and “Heir of Autumn” (with model  Ally) in Zeum Magazine.

I shot three editorials this month, Femme Fatale, Rapture and The Hustle. Femme fatale featured models Marija @ Bookings and Lisa @ Leni’s in stunning pieces designed by Katrina Ferrari – I absolutely loved the shoot! Rapture was shot with models Milda @ First and Lola @ Nevs using MUA Christine Zemura, and took place in a very creepy graveyard. The Hustle featured my dream team (Aliya and Carmen) and models Kim @ Bookings and Joshua @ AMCK. This was my favourite shoot of the year, despite the fact that half of the team were unwell.

November

In November I decided to shoot something a little different. With the theme of “red” I shot models Hannah @ Nevs and Adeele @ Models 1 in designer pieces sourced by stylist Frankie Murray. Both models were perfect and the day was amazing. This month I also shot the lookbook and campaign images for menswear brand Gunsmoke and Lavender. I first tested the garments in studio and on location with models Matthew @ Premier and Louis @ Elite. Following this came the actual shoot for which I used unsigned model Jordan. It was a very long day but in the end I was happy with the images (72 retouched overall!)  

My editorial “Plug in Baby” shot with Franziska for Tantrum magazine was published this month, as was Rapture in the final issue of Reverie Magazine (for which I had the cover shot!) :)

December

In December my editorial Femme Fatale was published in the first issue of Coco Magazine – and I got the cover! My test with Matthew @ Premier was featured on the Fashionisto blog, which would have been a perfect way to end the year, had it not been succeeded by the publication of my editorial “The Hustle” in AVA Magazine.

So that’s it, my 2011 in a nutshell. If anyone made it to the end of this post, congratulations! You deserve a cookie :D

To conclude, I would like to give thanks to the wonderful creatives and models I have been blessed to work with, including but not limited to Aliya Zaidi, Carmen Goetz, Christine Zemura, Eloise Kerr, Zain Khan, Frankie Murray, Stuart Berham, Meghan @ Leni’s, Kate @ Bookings + Patrick @ AMCK.

I wish you all a wonderful new year and a successful 2012 – bring it on!  

So I have had two publications out recently (though the shoots took place quite a while ago), the first is my editoral “Where She Belongs” in SYN magazine, the second is “Unrequited Love” in Reverie magazine. They can be found here 

http://www.issuu.com/synmagazine/docs/issueone

http://www.issuu.com/reveriemagazine/docs/issue6

I was going to put some images from them in this post, however I can’t figure out how to do it (oh, the shame), so I’ll post some in a minute as separate image posts :)

I am currently in the process of editing images from last Saturdays shoot, which are coming along nicely, and planning four future shoots - the first of which will be shot next weekend. Within the next month I will be working with one designer, two stylists, three makeup artists and a minimum of six models. This may sound like a lot, but I am not yet satisfied and am I’m considering slotting in another shoot in between. I’m a little worried about the weather getting colder and the nights drawing in, but I will do the very best I can to get the best shots possible (as ever). Once winter has fallen I will focus on my studio work as I my studio portfolio is in dire need of an update, and my studio room is warm and cozy to work in!

Xx