DIANA

Home
DIANA

Petra Nemcova as DIANA the Huntress

SHOOTING DIANA by JAMES

Working with the Super Model that is Petra Nemcova. Petra made the whole shoot run so smoothly. A consummate professional. Location wise the client wanted Stonehenge, Phil set to work liaising with English Heritage to acquire permissions (£1500 for one hour and full Public Liability insurance coverage) and within the hour he’d sealed the deal and we could progress after having picked up Petra from the airport to Stonehenge.,one point in the bag for Teamnader production.
Call time was 05:30, ensuring all members of crew were onsite, and final preps to makeup et al. Phil and I set up, Phil moulded torn cardboard to the tripod and lighting legs and gaffer taped them up (a requirement to ensure we didn’t damage the grass), we scoured for the right angle and soon enough Petra was ready!
I must say I was a little if not a lot apprehensive as I was shooting the famous PETRA NEMCOVA, could I shoot without nerves or messing up? Of course with the support of Phil and some inward mental rebalancing we were ready. The lighting was simple as was the concept although trying to shoot with an imaginary moon in her hand was sounding a little challenging but visualisation is a great thing (No visuals were prepared or shown just hurriedly vocalised!)

PETRA NEMCOVA a Dream to work with

Petra is one of the worlds top models, and you might be inclined to expect an attitude to suit, however that couldn’t be further from the truth she was the most endearing and gracious lady we have worked with. Having seen the images I’d shot in Pula she was more than happy to work with me and teamnader. I had created many great looks with the other models and these had both reassured and inspired her to fly over and become part of the calendar.

TECHNICAL SPEC

Temp: 21c
Camera: Hasselblad H4D
Lens: Hasselblad 24mm
Shutter: 1/350
Aperture: F5.6
ISO: 50
Any Problems: just nervous at shooting Petra!!!

How it all mapped out.

The convoy pulled up by chance on the side of the road near to Stonehenge where the hay bales were. The client wanted me to create a Tuscan look which was a tall order as there were no tall cyprus trees, however the permission to shoot granted by the farmer allowed the staging of Diana.

The sun had gone but some interesting cloud formations had appeared and around 9.30am we started to shoot next to one large roll of hay. The team were tired and not many could imagine the completed effect as the client had not provided visuals. It was up to me and the team to visualise this for them.

Petra Nemcova was more than just a professional, her understanding of Diana was important. It needed a strength to the shot. The dress made entirely from pigeon feathers was unusual and striking and really helped ensure the resulting shot was strong. The video below shows me working with her to create a strong and dramatic look turning this into a believable character. Displaying a soft sensuality and a steely stare she looked deadly!

In the video

Petra Nemcova prepares for her shoot and you can see James working up the shot with Teamnader. Phil Connor in control of the output for the Broncolor Move. As the model was moving the lighting sweet spot was the face so Phil kept a cool focus and making sure it hit the spot. Its nice to see the professional Petra nailing the shot each time and her cooperation was fabulous.