Seize every opportunity - andrew barton urges hairdressers

In his regular update Andrew Barton reflects on the opportunities hairdressing can bring your way and gives advice to those wanting to get into session styling.

"One of the biggest things I've learned in this business is that you always have to have your eyes and ears open for opportunities and this week has been a perfect reflection of the chances that have come my way.

"The first example was a day in Paris tending to the locks of a group of clients I have out there.

"I used to have a couple of clients who came over to London from Paris, they were telling other people about me and then there were a couple more ladies and then I suggested that I went out there to see them.

"So, for the past couple of years, I have been going out to France once every couple of months; I do about 15 women's hair on each visit before getting the last Eurostar back to London.

"It's a long day, but I enjoy it and it just shows what opportunities can come your way if you make the effort.

 "I was also involved in a test shoot - which is not something that I don't often get the chance to do these days.

"Test shoots are an amazing opportunity for hairdressers to be as creative as they want to be and work on something just for them, while growing their your books and sharing the cost with other members of the team.

"If I were a young hairdresser who really wanted to get into high fashion session styling I would definitely be making contact with lots of agencies who have stylists, photographers and make-up artists on their books to try to arrange as many test shoots as possible to really grow my portfolio.

"This week's shoot came about because of a fashion photographer whom I had worked with on a shoot with and clicked with. It was a bit of a selfish day because there wasn't any money in it and it wasn't for a company but it was all about creativity and I loved it.

"The outcome was a strong fashion editorial story that was shot in black and white. It can go in all of our portfolios and we could end up using it in trade or consumer press.

"Completing my very productive week was a photographic shoot for the consumer hair titles Hair Ideas and Your Hair, shooting four front covers in a day as well as doing step-by-steps for the inside pages.

"Four shoots in a day is quite a lot but you just have to be organised on the day and have a clear idea of what the creative director wants.

"I work with the Your Hair team quite regularly and answer some of their reader questions so I understand exactly what they need; but understanding the title and delivering the right look is one of the biggest parts of any session stylist's work."