Nicole Jade Lake: An Experience to Remember

Have you ever thought of putting 3 of the most craziest people you know together, on an early Sunday morning?

I have, it's definitely an experience I won't forget.

January 2016, I took part in one of my first shoots with Andy Bristow, an award-winning and also the Miss England North West heats interview photographer. I first met Andy at Miss Bolton last year, and we immediately got along as we couldn't grasp why I couldn't take a picture with my eyes open - it was quite funny to say the least. I met him again at Miss Lancashire, I was far better at not blinking, but it seems Andy was still the giddy photographer considering he whacked Chelsea's (Previous Miss Bury and also Miss Lancs finalist) drink over with a simple swift of the arm, haha. But one thing I loved about Andy, is the pictures he'd come back with - they always without a doubt made me smile. So at Christmas, I booked my first shoot with him.

Another familiar face who shared this with me was the current Miss Bolton and Bury, and my number one girl: Laura Collins - who pulled an all nighter from her job at a popular nightclub to come to mine at 7am Sunday morning and make me beautiful. As you have seen, Laura is mainly in front of the Camera but this time she was involved in making the pictures through make-up, hair styling, dress providing and also directing - which you'll see soon. I'll never be able to express my gratitude towards Laura, but her being proud was the best feeling imaginable.

Alongside these two wonderful people, was my Mum, the most particular and detailed person I knew - immediately we all knew we'd be in for a fun day.

First location: Forest

This was actually an idea of my Mum's, she liked the type of forest shoots so Andy sent us on a 'floaty dress' hunt around Amazon. At one point he was helping us look up dresses, I can't imagine how his internet history would have looked. Eventually we found one, in my 'go-to' colour, red. And I can honestly say it was a extremely cold morning, and getting changed in a forest didn't help. Laura can back me up on this, she stole my clothes, my shoes and even my scarfs.

The highlights:

Watching Laura transition from being sleepy to being bouncy jumping and singing on logs. My Mum being given one job and not even able to do that (ended up dropping the white umbrella thing of Andy's in the mood) Me falling everywhere. Dogs surrounding us (a husky named 'Princess' ended up on Laura's back) and not to mention, Laura trying to fold a moon shaped disc back into it's small bag.

The Photos:

Second Location: A hidden gem in Preston

Let me just say, this location was devised from the clockworks in Andy's mind. He went from sports car to old car - quite a strange process but it was amazing. Andy found a very spectacular back garden, featuring old classic cars, old fashioned petrol station, even a Cinderella style cart. It was truly hidden and truly amazing. Tony and his wife were immediately accommodating and couldn't provide for us enough, I was still freezing from the forest so he switched his home-made fire on in the garage - it became a regular sitting spot for Laura and I.

The Highlights:

I had woken up at this point, and I had just noticed just before Andy takes a picture he smiles really big; and this made me giggle. Laura took to the director's chair and came up with some smashing ideas and her car which is always full of her stuff became so useful. And some of the last minute ideas became beautiful shots, I even got the chance to wear Laura's Miss England dress from Just Boutique, Horwich.

The Photos:

There's quite a few in this category so I selected a few favourites:

Third Location: The Home Studio

This was like a club rave with the music, I wanted some natural shots really without the perks of a location - so we went for the studio. Which it's safe to say, the pictures once again came out amazing which just proves Andy's talent. I also was able to borrow Lucy's (the current Miss Lancashire) Miss England dress which I absolutely fell in love with.

The Highlights:

My Mum was the funniest at this shoot. Andy would give me certain directions, and my Mum was at the side copying every single direction Andy gave to me. As well as this, some of the direction like the signal to say 'come here' I just couldn't grasp. AND ANDY FINALLY PUT HIS PHOTOGRAPHER t-shirt on (which I had be waiting for the entire time)

The Photos: