This Cover shoot was going to be rather different, not only would the Top Billing TV crew be shooting behind the scenes but so would the Travel Channel. At one point there were five cameras on set (two video and three stills cameras). Focused on my shoot on the second last shot I turned around and there pointed at me were these enormous cameras and two sound booms recording everything I was saying; I suddenly had nothing to say and spun around rather quickly and carried on shooting.
Cameron van den Burgh, Olympic swimmer and our guest cover star was a real gem and he particularly enjoyed the last shot where he stripped the designer winter clothes for a dip in the pool on one of the hottest autumn days in Cape Town. The idea was to have Jo-Ann in killer Jimmy Choo heels in the foreground with Cameron diving in the background. The day had been technically challenging with my flashes miss firing and going off randomly, so the pressure was on. How many times would I have to ask Cameron to dive in the pool while Alexis anxiously stressed about the Jimmy Choo’s getting splashed. But as we know Cameron is made of Olympic material and there is barely a splash when he slices into the water. I took my spot by the poolside; first he took off from the opposite side of the pool – I wasn’t convinced but when Cameron dived from behind Jo-Ann the image began to take form.
Knowing just when to trigger is key, all my days of shooting dance and theatre came in handing in capturing the action. After the next two shots I decided to shoot from an even lower angle and subsequently I was lying flat on my tummy and then on Cameron’s fourth dive I knew I had the shot – both Jo-Ann and Cameron looked magnificent, but a photographer has to have options. Cameron graced us with another two dives and they were great but I still preferred the fourth.
The TV crew also wanted to get in on the action – Wimpie joined me on the warm pool tiles to get every possible behind-the-scenes angle of the shoot. At one point we were shooting each other!
All the shots of the day, have their own story – the first and most important was the cover shot. Hayden set out to set the scene with a Persian carpet and various other décor items to create the scene for the ‘lady and master of the manor’. The light was moving fast, we shot various options on the theme and some with the resident kitty-cat. Not all things glamourous are what they seem. Jo-Ann’s dress didn’t fit quite right and Malcolm from Kluk/CGDT took the dress and ripped the seam and quickly patched it up – no one would be seeing the back of the dress anyway and it looked perfect in every other way. Cameron wore a duck egg blue suit by Ruald Rheerder.
Next up was the croquet shot, this took longer than expected and by the end my knees screamed in agony from being in the same position for so long. Alexis helped me stretch, and got the blood flowing again. It was an intense day with so many people on set but ultimately we all had fun – and this much fun can be exhausting.
On set: Angie Lázaro (Photographer); Tiro Sauls (Photographic assistant/ behind-the-scenes photographer); Alexis Chaffe (Fashion Editor); Hayden Fortman (Art Direction); Lauren Downer (Fashion assistant); Bianca Hartkopf (Hair and make-up).
TV Crew – Lars Schwinges (Insert director); Wimpie Ackermann (Camera), David Minnaar (Sound).
Location: Greenways Hotel, Claremont, Cape Town.
Cover: Jo-Ann and Cameron dressed by Kluk/CGDT and Ruald Rheerder from Scorpio.
