Zurich
I was over the moon when Swiss photographer, Matti Weinberg contacted me in 2019 to organise a shoot! I was a little dubious about going so far for just one days work… nevertheless, I made the journey from Trondheim to meet a new face for the first time, in a new place in early January 2020. And what a beautiful place Switzerland is! I flew into Zurich and was met with a big smile from Matti, who then drove me to see the studio and to leave some of my modelling kit there; I generally take no less than 2 “shoot cases” on my work travels, akin to 30kg. I have yet to master the art of travelling light!
We got to know each other a little better over some coffee while at the studio and Matti told me all about himself, artistic goals, travels and other models he knew. I contacted three of the models he had previously worked with before I agreed to the journey (and Matti volunteered their names to me willingly). His references came back nothing short of perfect, and very quickly after meeting him I felt at ease. We discussed the style of images we wanted to create the following day, and Matti showed me some examples of his previous shoots. This put me at ease as I could see he was shooting in a beautiful style, conscientiously, at all the right angles and with flattering light set-ups! I was looking forward to the following days shoot very much!
So Matti asked me if we could kill some time before our dinner reservations that evening, by doing a test shoot! I was not overly keen as I had been travelling and had not prepared my hair and makeup for shooting. I had on a simple minimal day makeup (which we all know, does not stand up to flash photography very effectively), and also my afro hair needs so much preparation time (1 hour) so I was dubious again, but I quickly realised this wasn’t about the images, it was simply a way for Matti and I to see how each other worked.
Everything went fantastically well on the test shoot, and afterwards we went a short way to a cosy little Italian restaurant for dinner! I absolutely love food, wine and culture. We chatted over some delicious food and wine and then afterwards Matti drove me to my hotel for the night (where I didn’t sleep a wink from nervous anxiety about the shoot the next day!) I’ve been modelling such a long time but I still get anxious and excited before a tour! I start dreaming of all the beautiful outfits, makeup looks, hairstyles I want to try, not to mention the endless possibilities of lighting set-ups, locations, expressions, etc etc….. and there I lay, awake or semi conscious for 6 hours, finally falling asleep one hour before my alarm goes off!
I bounce down to breakfast and ingest coffee, lots of coffee, as well as some ham and eggs! Perfect! Then the day begins. . .
