
The Blue Hill Skittle Alley photoshoot by What The Saints Did Next.
Model, Gemma Lawrence; Photography, Darrin Henry; Make-up, Sharon Henry
BLUE HILL PHOTOSHOOT PART 2 | Darrin Henry
Here’s our Blue Hill Skittle Alley Photoshoot with the beautiful Gemma Lawrence, it’s the second part of our fashion shoot using the backdrop of the Community Centre here on St Helena.
Squeezing History Into A Photograph
The building is an active social venue for the district of Blue Hill. It was originally part of a school dating back to the early 20th century as a plaque on the wall attests, a reminder of a time when every district on the island boasted its own school.

The Blue Hill Community Centre, St Helena, previously part of the district’s school as donated by Bishop William A Holbech.
On this photoshoot we wanted to combine the usual glamorous aspect of the photographs with the traditional architecture of this old building. The styling ranged from an elegant floor length gown to ripped jeans, each look shot against a different backdrop. Lighting the shoot involved a mixture of studio lights, strobes and natural light.

The Blue Hill Skittle Alley photoshoot by What The Saints Did Next.
Model, Gemma Lawrence; Photography, Darrin Henry; Make-up, Sharon Henry

The Blue Hill Skittle Alley photoshoot by What The Saints Did Next.
Model, Gemma Lawrence; Photography, Darrin Henry; Make-up, Sharon Henry
The skittle alley provided a natural fashion runway for one look. How could we not. About 20-30 years ago skittle alleys on St Helena were probably at their most popular. The sport dates back to medieval times in Europe, inspiring many variations of the game over the centuries, including lawn bowls and 10 pin bowling. On St Helena nine stocky, wooden pins are targeted by throwing three heavy rubber balls, usually by two teams of nine players each. Concrete alleys across the island attracted boisterous, good natured competition throughout the week. Enthusiasm has waned over the years but a few leagues continue to function; Blue Hill is one.
Blue Hill Natural Beauty
A semi-covered stairwell linking two levels of the building was used for another of the looks, styled with jeans and a floral top. We decided natural lighting was the way to go with this set. Strong sunlight streaming through a narrow window offered a twist on the lighting mood.
A small pair of battery operated computer speakers connected to music on Sharon’s phone brought some rhythm to the shoot.

The Blue Hill Skittle Alley photoshoot by What The Saints Did Next.
Model, Gemma Lawrence; Photography, Darrin Henry; Make-up, Sharon Henry

The Blue Hill photoshoot by What The Saints Did Next.
Model, Gemma Lawrence; Photography, Darrin Henry; Make-up, Sharon Henry

Behind the scenes on the Blue Hill Skittle Alley photoshoot with St Helena model, Gemma Lawrence.

The Blue Hill photoshoot by What The Saints Did Next.
Model, Gemma Lawrence; Photography, Darrin Henry; Make-up, Sharon Henry

Behind the scenes on the Blue Hill photoshoot with St Helena model, Gemma Lawrence. Top left: Watch out for spiders! Bottom left: Can’t have a photoshoot without music. Right: The shoot in full flow.

The Blue Hill photoshoot by What The Saints Did Next.
Model, Gemma Lawrence; Photography, Darrin Henry; Make-up, Sharon Henry
You will notice post-production on these images is quite heavy compared to our usual style. It’s been a two stage process creating this effect. First using a custom made ‘recipe’ in Canon’s, Digital Photo Professional software, then running the output through a ‘vintage’ process in Photoshop.
Restricted Photos – The Blue Hill Skittle Alley Photoshoot

Behind the scenes on the Blue Hill Skittle Alley photoshoot with St Helena model, Gemma Lawrence. Final look of the day, framing in the window.
For the final look we headed back inside the main hall to make use of the classic multi-paned windows. The recessed frame left a window shelf just wide enough to fit Gemma’s slim frame, and she was a trooper in conveying a relaxed ease whilst crammed inside the restricted space. But it was the last shot of the day and a good way to finish.

The Blue Hill photoshoot by What The Saints Did Next.
Model, Gemma Lawrence; Photography, Darrin Henry; Make-up, Sharon Henry
Great photos guys! Beautiful model aswell x
Cheers Andrea 🙂
I love the use of light in these photos, it’s amazing to see the contrast from the ‘behind the scenes’ shots which look like ordinary photos that any of us would take to the finished photos, with the striking details that draw the eyes in
We all love BTS shots! The skittle alley and window shots are lit with studio lights which, in that one moment, changes the appearance of the scene completely from the perspective of the main camera. The compact which is shooting the BTS does tend to wash out a lot as well in low light situations. You’ve given us an idea for a studio lighting tutorial 🙂 Thanks for the comment John. Cheers
Love these pics! Brings back great memories of an evening spent there last October. I was quite taken by the skittle alley then and glad you used it in the shoot.
Can’t beat a Friday night dance out at Blue Hill when the fog is down and there’s hot soup selling from the kitchen! Thanks for the comment Morag, we’ll have to try something else with one of the other skittle alleys sometime 🙂
Great pictures guy’s, Love the venue contrast historical look.
Cheers Borbs, have to start thinking about what we can do at the other community centres 🙂