Sunday, 25th September 2011, Charing Cross Hotel, London.

The meeting is at 10:00 AM sharp, in the sumptuous Betjeman Hall of the charming hotel on the Strand.

If you have never walked through the doors of this hotel, you couldn't imagine how contrasting the relaxing atmosphere, the lushness of lounges and punctual client service compared to the the buzzy Charing Cross Station just below, where everyday thousands of commuters rush from and towards their trains.

Jose, our super kind – always with a smile – impeccable hotel porter with his classic all-brass hotel trolley, helps us with all our photo and lighting equipment, 

which is extensive (see bottom list) due the size of the room we were going to shoot in.

All the cast and the crew is on time and this always helps to set a good start for a day-long job. So we can start to organise areas for stage and backstage, as well as a separate room for model dressing and make-up.

Richelle and Audra, the hyper-talented fashion designers, arrive carrying their huge luggage full of clothing: 14 different garments to shoot, including millineries that are pieces of art themselves.

10:30 AM - Ruth and Ania, the make-up artist at Make Up 2 Dazzle, are preparing the models - three for the day - Claire, Forough and Grace, while Alfredo, my trusted assistant, and I are starting to unpack and assemble our gear, deciding how to recreate the mood the designers have requested: a sophisticated and classical atmosphere, matching colours and shapes of the garments of their Spring/Summer 2012 collection. Today their S/S12 look-book is going to receive its best consecration.

With this designer's brief, we take the decision to include as much as possible 

the features of this beautiful room in the scene: tall windows with golden curtains should frame the models while the marble floor pattern accentuates the drama and leads the eye to the garments.

To achieve this target, we plan to shoot with a medium/small aperture, placing the models in the centre of the big room; this way we can guarantee the necessary separation between the main subject and the background, which anyway won't be blurred out, revealing its fine decor.

My love for the dramatic light transitions, where colours and shapes emerge out from the darkness like a Caravaggio panting, can be a perfect match here with the style of Richelle and Audra collection. Therefore I can modify the lighting as I prefer: a lot of grids and snoots, to direct the beams exactly where I want, leaving all the unnecessary and distracting objects in second field.

11:30 AM - We are ready to start the shoot, the models come out in their first outfits... and they are stunning!

A couple of test shots to measure the light and balance the colour and we are on full throttle. Everybody knows what to do: Alfredo with an eye on the monitor (we always shoot tethered) adjusts light positions and props according to the poses, which are co-ordinated between Richelle and Strawberry, the talented and imaginative art director. Audra and the MUAs in the dressing room check the last details in the garments and guarantee a constant feeding of models to the set.

This is exactly what the designers wanted, since it is a beautiful and majestic piece of architecture that perfectly matches the finesse of their Spring/Summer collection.

In few minutes we become "airborne", transporting all the manageable equ

ipment on this new set. Since for health&safety we cannot lie any equipment on the floor (hotel clients could stumble on it), Alfredo is doing the hardest work, holding a strobe with softbox over the models' heads. We are all aligned on a side of the big staircase, pressed along the balustrade so not to show our reflections on the big mirrors on the wall, which are instead a good prop to show both sides of the garments.

Thank you.

View behind the scene short video here (courtesy of Cristina Polizzi) : http://youtu.be/M1sTCVWW2RY

credits :

Clothing Design : Richelle Dynae at www.richelledynae.com

Millinery Design : Audra E. at www.audra-e.com

Photography : Marco Fazio at www.mjfstudiophoto.com

Models : Grace Cruse, Claire Gamble, Forough Hosseini Jonghani

equipment :

• Nikon camera and lenses: D700, 50mm f/1.4, 135mm f/2 DC, (wide, check photos)
• Profoto lighting : 2x D1 500W monolight, Acute 2R 2400W with two heads, White Softlight reflector with grid (beauty dish), 30x120 Striplight Softbox, standard reflectors with grids and snoot
• extra lighting : Nikon SB-800 with Lastolite Ezybox + grid

A very special thanks to Cristina Polizzi for the backstage footages, thanks to Milou Van Bogaert, Jose and all the staff of Charing Cross Hotel for their professionalism and careful support to our work.