Violetta Markelou

Bianca and I didn’t know each other before our first shoot. I only met her once and very briefly at a fashion show in Crystal City Virginia. She was very striking with her lithe figure, shorter stature, bald head, and chocolate skin. She didn’t look like any of the other models at the show. I gave her my card and told her I was interested in shooting her. She said she would look over my website and give me a call.  A week later Bianca called. I mentioned to her that I had recently seen an exhibit at the Kennedy Center called ‘Arabia’. The entire center was filled with fashions and installations from the Arabic world.  She seemed to like the idea so I told her what wardrobe to bring and how to wear her makeup.  We met at the Kennedy Center at 2pm on a dreary, spring day. We walked into a bathroom on the second level. Bianca, with her small suitcase in tow started showing me what she brought. I quickly chose a sequin short dress as the first look. She touched up her makeup and we made our way onto the floor. We started shooting and I realized that I didn’t need to direct Bianca at all. She was a natural and the camera loved her. Frame after frame, she gave me great pictures. I was careful to not let the installations mask her face too much. I just wanted to focus on her expressions and have the light reflect off her sequin dress.  With Bianca wearing a mini dress with not much underneath and my big lens, we caught the attention of the security guards. They asked me what we were doing, I lied and said I was working on an art project for school. Now under a close watch from the guards, Bianca and I sat down and took a break from shooting. I told her I knew auditions were being held in D.C. for the next season of America’s Next Top Model. She smiled, looked around for a minute, and confided in me that she had already been cast in the show.  I like to call this picture ‘lights, camera, action, Bianca’ because it captures a time in her life before she was thrust in the spotlight. She was about to have her moment and she was ready.