The blog of Charlie Clift Photography: The Old Frizzle for SW magazine

I often try and guess what a location will be like before I turn up. Scouting or research can really help give me an idea of where to start a shoot, meaning that I can be full of ideas before I walk through the door. However, when I was asked to shoot a brand new bar and it's owners before it was even finished being made I could not do a single bit of research that would help much as no picture existed and no plans were available. So I ended up just going for it, and seeing what I could do on the day for SW magazine.

When I walked into the location for this shoot it turned out that it was actually more like a building site than a bar, full of people rushing about, scaffolding all over the place, hardly a free table, let alone enough free space for a shoot.

I was determined to get some great shots, but this would involve clearing away half the rubble and staging things. So with a few helpers we got to work and quickly transformed a few locations within the building site in to bar like areas and interesting backdrops. With flash-bulbs in lamps and light-stands completely in the way of the builders we got things sorted.

The next challenge was talking to Sarah over all the noise, but she was a star giving me her best. Even standing on a wobbly table whilst 7 months pregnant and sticking cards to her head. She also helped me persuade Debbie to get involved in the shoot to, messing about on some chairs.