January is traditionally the calendar season, nothing cheers the heart more in the freezing chill of winter after the excesses of festive over indulgence and the misery of broken new year resolutions than to receive a calendar loaded with images of healthy lovelies posing on tropical beaches.

The reality of creating these images is not always as simple as it may appear.

First of all, what constitutes a good calendar image? Generally for any calendar be it a scenic, auto or glamour the image must have visual impact. A calendar photo has to sustain 30 days of scrutiny as a memorable image on a wall jut like a favourite piece of artwork, it is not enough to publish a collection of twelve mediocre photos which may be OK supporting some editorial text but will not stand alone as icons of imagery.

Truly good calendars do not happen by chance but are the result of concept and design by a group of creative individuals who aspire to producing a product which will stand up to twelve months of constant attention, comprising of the sort of images that people would tear out of a magazine and stick to their refrigerator door for closer scrutiny!

As a photographer I start to plan a calendar with my client up to two years ahead due to the marketing and production constraints. Naturally some calendars "Fast Track" as with the 2006 Nautical Angels Calendar which I shot in Thailand April 2005 for launch in 2006.

In this case I had 10 days to cast and be ready to shoot half way around the world with support including lighting, underwater equipment and makeup & styling all on a remote island in the Aderman sea


Many of the calendars that I shoot are annual events commissioned by clients who return anually and expect from me a new concept and treatment for a calendar title that I may have shot regularly in the past such as "Lazy Days" and "Heineken"


My responsibility to my client as a photographer is not only to help with the creative concept but just as important to act as a line producer to ensure that the whole production goes to plan and that I return with the arranged images which may already have cost them hundreds of thousands of dollars before the printing presses even start to roll.

The Calendar buisness is like fashion which always changes and adjusts to the demands of the market, as with a calendar that I shot for 2005 with my good friend and model Lucia Tovar who I cast for a one shot poster calendar for a company in the US which then inspired a large calendar company in Europe to produce a series of twelve poster images in one calendar for next year.


This year I have also produced images for an online calenadar for fitness model Darlene Silva which will be available on her website www.darlenesilva.com


You can see more of the calendar models here in the members section including: Adele Stevens, Anetta Keys, Jessica Jaymes, Marketa Belonoha, Marketa Brymova