Salli Gainsford FNPS

• Fine Art, Equine, Pets, Family, Maternity

• Lighting Technician

• Post Production

• Stylist 

Hi everybody my name is Sally Gainsford, welcome to studio masters. I hope you will join me on the next chapter of my journey as the world of photography can be confusing, challenging and at times a lonely place, but together we are stronger.

I believe for many school years place you in one of two categories, academic or artistic.
Out of either of those two is where you truly find yourselves and excel. For me it was the latter.

When I left school, my love for art continued as a hobby, as my ability as a multi instrumentalist led me to opportunities beyond my wildest dreams, singing and performing over two decades at a multitude of venues of all sizes and having the opportunity to perform on stage with some of the big names in the industry was to say living the dream and never one to shy away from hard work, I built a successful music production company which is still going strong today, but I decided to take a backseat in more recent years and pursue my love of art. It's hard to describe, but when you have such an overwhelming rush of inspiration to follow your vision and create, maybe it's simply an artistic thing that had been simmering away since earlier school years, who knows but it was time to be set free.  All I knew was I was reborn, and it made me feel rejuvenated.  As an artist whose medium is photography, creativity came naturally, the challenge was technical aspects of photography, post production and lighting. My greatest asset became repetition. Do something once and encounter numerous challenges and obstacles, repeat that process and finesse it over a hundred times and you realize that your desire to succeed has lifted your ability to a whole new level.

The discovery of lighting patterns and soft boxes in all shapes and sizes was the discovery to take me on a whole new quest, shoot after shoot manipulating the light with an array of modifiers I now had to hand eventually leading me to the 150cm reverse Mount Octa, a quality of light that was so soft and beautiful.  This was the birth of my love affair with low key portraiture.  Client after client the repetition just pushed my desire, not to be just good at what I was doing but to be outstanding and to provide everyone that walked into my studio with imagery that had heart and soul.

A move away from London has given me a new inspiration, in establishing a purpose built studio with ample storage, possibly among the largest in the country to home the vast variety of outfits I have accumulated over the years, most of them one off pieces that I've had custom made together with headdresses and wigs. Most photographers simply collect equipment which I can't deny being slightly guilty of, but I guess my wardrobe collection also places me close to being labeled with stylist by some.

I was delighted to achieve my fellowship in fine art portraiture,  having been rejected by so many purest photographers over the years, now at a time of composites becoming more common and the introduction of AI, I hope many will begin to realize that art is a very broad spectrum, it has so much to offer to the many who find great joy in what they do, if not for others simply for themselves. As an emotional caring person I believe that my inner self is expressed in my images., as an artist, I feel the reflection of my passion for the love of art is key to the success of every image I create.

Mike Baker has introduced to me during one of my open model days, a professional photographer whose love for the art together with his immense passion to sculpt and shape light ignited an opportunity for us to move forward combine our skill set and offer it to clients, right time right place these things rarely happen, but for Mike and I they did.  The magic we create together has now moved us to a new level and the inspiration we feed from each other has brought about this educational platform where our combined knowledge ability and experience gathered over the more than three decades to now share with like minded creatives to help support and assist and inspire your photographic journey.

I started a facebook group as an online community during COVID to bring like minded people together at a very challenging time for us all, Studio Masters is a continuation of that community, one which offers a place for you to feel where you belong where you can learn and be inspired, and ask questions and be a part.  Enjoy weekly updates covering post production and lighting, watch live shoots, take part in live discussions, take advantage of being a subscriber to discounts on our workshops and shoot days, or any of the products in Studio Master's shop, like the textures, actions, overlays or post production downloads.

You are an artist so let us assist you in developing your skills and hone your craft. But most importantly, let us share a passion and have some fun.