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.