Introducing my 2025 calendar!

Hello!! So this blog is going to talk all about my annual Michael Auger Calendars! It’s the perfect time because they are on sale NOW!

I decided in the Christmas of 2015 that I wanted to do a personal calendar but this meant that when I was shooting my first calendar in the summer of 2016, I was shooting for my 2017 calendar which felt very strange because it had really been so long in the making!

My photographer has always been and always will be Leo Holden (snooty fox images) who I met when we were on Britains Got Talent. Leo was in charge of getting the behind the scenes interviews from Collabro. BUT it wasn’t until Collabro went back as ‘last years winners’ to do a special performance that I saw Leo again and we got talking about calendars as he’d just shot some calendars for the strictly professionals and I thought I’d like to give that a go!

For make up, I had actually asked Bryony Blake who again we had met on Britains Got Talent and who had since done Collabro’s make up for many different events and photoshoots. She also knew Leo very well so everything was set in place. BUT, like everything in life, something came up for Bryony and she said she could send her assistant instead, Enya! I had met Enya before on a previous photoshoot where Bryony had Enya with her but I didn’t know her as well as Bryony which was a bit scary but also thought everything happens for a reason so we went for it.

*Behind the scenes with Enya on my first calendar shoot.*

Since then, Enya has remained my hair and make up artist for every photoshoot (except one in 2018 for my 2019 calendar when she was doing make up for the strictly line up that year so we will let her off).

When I first started creating calendars I would literally look up a photo that I liked and we would try to recreate it, everything from lighting, background and outfit to the exact same hair strands to try and mimic the photo. This was I could have pre-planned all the months photos, got all the outfits together ready and have a clear plan to work to. The only issue with this is that we could never get it exact because we didn’t have exactly the same conditions as the photo we were copying and I didn’t look the same as the model either. So I quickly learnt that although it’s good to take inspiration and get a general idea of what you hope a photo will look like, be prepared it might look different and actually might not even be how you imagined it at all.

We always try to get about 14-16 concepts shot so that we have scope that if a couple of concepts don’t work, it’s not a problem. And then of course there’s the fact we have to pick a photo for each month, and people expect the photo to reflect the feel of that month. For example I think people would prefer in December to see me in a jumper rather than swim shorts… I think

So, nowadays, there’s a bit less of a plan and I just bring a suitcase of clothes that I like and I sort of know how to create a variety of looks. We still have a mood board so we’re not going in completely blind but I think this way allows a lot more freedom when it comes to the photos and if suddenly the sun is at a certain level we can make sure we try to get that shot - this seems to create a few happy accidents shall we say!

I normally shoot all the photos needed in just one day. Arrival around 10am and normally finished up by about 5pm. However I have done a shoot across two days before when we stayed in a beach hut as the night we arrived Leo said ‘quick we need to go and make use of this sky’ - so we did! That was actually the year that I filmed my calendar shoot for my ‘Giving it a go before the big 3-0’ YouTube series which you can watch here.

When it comes to the setting, I seem to have found a pattern that I alternate years between having a ‘studio shoot’ and a ‘location shoot’, which I actually love because it keeps the calendars different enough year on year, but you still know it’s all created by the same team as there is that level of consistency throughout. It is really amazing to have a professional photographer and hair/make up artist working with me because it means that the product you receive when you purchase a copy of the calendar has that level of professionalism in it. I also love the added consistency from year to year as I also get the calendars manufactured at the same factory so they all look the same size and style.

This year, for my 2025 calendar (my 9th calendar) I did a studio shoot and as always had the best time!! I’m really happy with the final result and I hope you are too- get your copy here!!

AND if you buy in September, you can personalise your calendar for just £5 more!