Sylph Sia was the first professional model I ever photographed, and by extension also the first professional nude model. It was immediately apparent to me why she was a professional – her communication before the shoot was excellent, her preparation for it impeccable and her experience and knowledge on the day was unrivalled. But that wasn’t even the end of it because those are just the “trade” and business skills. On a personal level, Sylph Sia is one of the genuinely nicest people I’ve ever met, as well as one of the most driven, focused and incredibly intelligent.
These photos are not from that day. Showing how much of an amateur I was when I first met Sylph, we arrived at the shoot location to set up and I found that I had left my flash triggers turned on from the previous shoot. They were dead flat, and I didn’t have any spare batteries. Suddenly the whole shoot had to be solely done with natural light, which I wasn’t exactly prepared for. We still had a great shoot, shooting for four hours and it ended up going right down to the second, such was the fun we were having. The photos were easily some of the best that I had ever done at the time, but there’s no denying the fact I was still very much an amateur. That was several years ago now, and Sylph and I have now shot together a further two times. This is the result of that third shoot.
Enjoy.
Model: Sylph Sia – Website
