Photographing UK Model Jessica Wilcock....again

So I wrote a while ago about my first shoot with UK model Jessica Wilcock back in May 2024, which was the first time we worked together. Following the success of that shoot, I mentioned to her one day via Instagram that I've always wanted to shoot a kind of "dark hooded princess" look, a bit like the Lyoyds bank adverts that features a lady on a horse in a black cloak. And it turned out Jess is a huge fan of the Madonna 1998 single "Frozen", where a similar look is sported in the music video. So, we decided to try and aim for that as we felt it would benefit both of our portfolios.

Happily, Jess was happy to source the outfit herself on loan, so that saved me a tricky job. This is one of the many benefit of pro models - they either have, or can obtain, appropriate outfits for your shoot.

Then, while staring out my window on one other day, bored, and thinking of it more, I decided that the Nazgul RingWraith characters from the Lord of the Rings movies would also work really well! And Jessica would be the perfect candidate for that too! So we decided to aim to do both looks in the same shoot.

Then while staring out my window again a day or two later, I decided it would be even better with smoke grenades!

By now I had concluded I needed a Nazgul cloak and some serious smoke grenades. Which then led me to realise I needed an outdoor set in order to let off smoke grenades, as well! But, one can't let smoke grenades off just anywhere one likes, I don't think! So I needed a private outdoor set! Things were getting increasingly complex every time I stared out the window to think! As luck would have it, a family relative recently bought a barn renovation with some considerable outdoor farm land! The only downside was it was 2 hours drive away near Manchester.

And that then led me onto another thought, which was videography. I knew the perfect videographer for the job, which is a lady who has since become a good friend ever since working with her at a wedding back in 2023. Amy, of Strawberry Wedding Video. She is a wedding videographer by trade. And, lives near the south side of Manchester! So I wondered if she would be interested in shooting this for me in order to help me create some professional Behind the Scenes footage for my own promotional purposes, and at the same time, creating something unique for her portfolio too. And for Jess of course, who I knew would welcome such footage. Amy agreed!

So I now had :

• A top UK model
• Two "looks" to photograph
• One outfit being sorted by Jess
• An outdoor set and
• A videographer

But wait - I still needed a Nazgul cloak and smoke grenades. A quick online search for Nazgul cloaks only revealed garbage - cheap mass produced Nazgul cloak outfits. None of them had the authenticity I craved for my Nazgul look. So, I consulted with a local seamstress. Sent her some pictures of Nazgul's from the Internet and gave a brief outline of what I wanted her to make for me. I think she thought I was joking, or bananas! But I convinced her I was genuine. I explained to her what I was trying to do, and who the model was - and how tall she was! Based on that, she told me what fabric to get, and from where. So I did just that. 8m of black fabric from a local store in the Derby Strand (at a cost of £95). I then took it to the seamstress, and about 3 weeks later, it was ready! It cost me another £120 for that, which seems like a lot for an outfit - and it was. But given what I actually got, and the skill that had been applied to it, I was very happy.

Then I needed to source the smoke grenades. After a few days of research I concluded that Enola Gaye Smoke Grenades (trading as and on Instagram as "EG Smoke Grenades") were what I needed. Their EG18 grenades was the ones I needed specifically as they were thick enough for my needs. I applied for the license to use them and stated my purpose for buying them, and a few days later following some very helpful dialog between myself and their sales manager, 6 smoke grenades were in my paws!

The only remaining fly in the ointment was power for my Bowens flash strobes. But thanks to a family member, I was able to hire a petrol powered generator for much less than the usual hire rate. As it turned out, I didn't need it, as the area of the farm where we decided to shoot was within 50 metres of the house, so a long extension lead was enough.

So I now had :

• A top UK model
• Two "looks" to photograph
• An outdoor set
• A videographer
• Smoke grenades
• Power, and
• A Nazgul cloak!

My stage was set! My first attempt at Creative Directorship was looking good. We set a date that we could all make, and that happened to be at the end of August 2024. Happily it did not rain. The sun shone. That actually made photography quite tricky as I was hoping to create dark and mysterious photographs from the day. So a few adjustments here and there with reflectors and boards, along with some LEE filters, and of course my trusty Hasselblad, we went for it.

The day was a joy to be part of. We had so much fun. We let off the first smoke grenade after shooting a few rolls as a warm up. The first couple didn't go well - smoke either went in the wrong direction, or I put them too close to Jess and the smoke got in her eyes in an overwhelming way! Happily, she soldiered on.