16.08.2011 Commercial | South Pacific | The Barbican

A few months ago I was commissioned by EMG Media & Marketing to take promotional shots of Paulo Szot and Samantha Womack for the European Premiere of South Pacific, currently on at The Barbican.

Photographing celebrities can be quite nerve wracking, especially when you have 5 minutes to take shots.  Preparation is key!  Our location was in The Savoy Theatre Bar and we (I was assisted by John Wilson- he’s fab) arrived with plenty of time to set up a backdrop and lights .  The brief was to take shots in keeping with the original South Pacific illustrations so I was aiming for a soft, bright lighting set up. Think hazy reflected light on a tropical beach!

Paula and Samantha arrived straight from the press launch and straight onto set.  They were both absolutely lovely to work with, as was Bartlett Sher, the director, who got them moving and posing together beautifully.  Here is the original shot chosen for the publicity….

and here’s the shot in place on the flyers:

And some portraits of Paulo and Samantha for press:

South Pacific is on at The Barbican from 15th August – 1st October 2011. Definitely worth seeing!