A while back we worked a little portrait project for Sirona Capital and The City of Fremantle. The subjects were all shopkeepers affected by the building works at Kings Square. The brief called for them to be photographed in their shop showing off a promotional directory aimed at keeping the customers coming by. A slim budget meant shooting guerrilla style; one camera, one lens, tripod, battery powered flash. And comfortable shoes - we shot four people an hour for 6 hours!

I love working with non-professional talent though it comes with it's challenges. People respond so differently to stimuli, each individual's best expression button is hidden in a different part of their psyche and on a shoot like this you have to be able to find it quickly. But the upside is much sought after authenticity.

The original project has been expanded and the portraits now adorn the hoarding around the new Fremantle Civic Centre construction site, showcasing the diversity that is one of the ingredients that makes Freo such a great place to visit or live.

The City also launched a new magazine - 'Fre-oh!' - this year, the second issue hit the streets a month ago. Acorn Photo were commissioned to shoot a bunch of portraits for those too, including the feature article for each edition, the first on a perennial Freo identity, Horatio Birdbath, the second on up and coming talent, singer Carla Geneve.