Nicole had just stepped off the plane from Spain where she had presented the MTV Europe music awards the night before. She walked into the studio wearing a comfy tracksuit, sunglasses and clutching her travel pillow. Probably exhausted from the night before and more traveling, she was plunged into a small studio where we could only setup a makeshift wall for her privacy. She hid behind the makeshift wall for over two hours before the ‘walls’ opened up and the more glamorous Nicole appeared.
I introduced myself and my team, and explained to her that I was interested in capturing a natural Nicole. It soon became clear that Scherzinger was happy to stand in front of the camera - a seasoned pro. But it was also obvious to me that her experience of being photographed involved a certain element of performance. Wanting also to see how she looked on the screen led to many comments from Nicole about this third person Nicole liking or disliking the shots. Maybe that’s the best way to deal with a shoot when you are a celebrity? Look at yourself as a third person, the ‘you’ which is performing for the camera
Shot for The Guardian G2
