helena
Helena. You probably clicked on this because you knew who she was. And wanted to know what she is like.
Well, you’ll be happy to hear that she is as lovely as one could hope.
I met Helena during an interview on BBC Radio 6 Music with Lauren Laverne. It was in the now defunct Wogan House just outside of New Broadcast House in Central London. Shooting here made me feel like a real photographer for one reason. It was the press photographers and eBay Autograph hunters who would gather outside the front door when ever something they deemed worthy was booked. No matter how early, the guards would be there ready with rows of metal fencing, ready to pen them in. This day was no different.
I spoke briefly with Helenas PR as she floated into the studio, 21 minutes of excellent British radio later I had my time with the woman herself.
There was only really one good place to shoot people on the 4th floor of Wogan, in-front of a load of lightbulbs against a wall. They gave nice texture and interesting shadows, but not a lot of overall choice. Regardless when Helena was ready for me she politely introduced herself to me (Side note - I always love when celebrities act as if you don’t know their name) and I brought her over to the lights. I simply asked her in so many words to pose up against the wall instantly she naturally fell into such a dramatic pose. It was perfect. Then I remembered when you ask an actor, a real actor to pose, they will. I snapped off as many frames as I could as she effortlessly made each one slightly different to the last.
Little did I know that my camera was failing me. This was the last outing for my long abused and much loved Nikon D800. This was the shoot where after thousands of frames, it let me down for the first time. Every third frame was covered by a part of the shutter not clearly the frame in time, making them usable. Like a print out cancelled half way through. Along side that was a overall lack of sharpness which meant each frame was slightly out of focus. Not bad enough to be obvious at first glance, but enough that I hated it.
After reviewing the surviving files, I realised I was only left with around 10 or 12 - which left me with about 5 I was happy with. Thankfully, Helena being Helena, each was a little different, even if that left arm spends the whole shoot up against the wall.
