Ciprian Strugariu

A few days ago I had a shoot with Sandra C from MRA. We’ve known eachother for a while, since she competed on Next Top Model by Catalin Botezatu (season 2). I took photos of all the models, including her, on various occasions (you can see them here: the Delta, Pamukkale, Efes, Kusadasi). Since we knew eachother, everything went very smoothly.

Hhere are a few photos from the shoot.

Make-up: Adriana Dumitras

Styling: Ana Andrei

Kusadasi was our final destination in Turkey. Here I shot a Sushma Patel fashion show (she had joined us in Turkey to teach the girls stuff). Each of the contestants wore an exquisite Sushma Patel outfit.

Sushma lives in Atlanta and is famous for being the one who successfully bridged the gap between Indian traditional clothing and Western cuts. She does costumes for Bollywood movies and her creations are often featured on international runways.

The scenery was far less menacing than other places we’d traveled to recently, so the whole mood was slightly more relaxed.

Hair: Florin Cova from Laurent Tourette

Make-Up: Stela Sapera

Styling: Catalin Botezatu

Efes was our second location from Turkey.

From all the shootings I did for Next Top Model, it was the only one with a rather normal surface to walk on. We shot around Hadrian’s Gate and the Library in Efes.

It was somewhat amazing that we were able to have the shooting there. The place was swarming with tourists. To make matters even more difficult, it appears that the locals are not very keen on having models running around on sacred ground. The producers made sure we had a green light, but I’ve been told it wasn’t exactly easy to do so.

Although it didn’t involve water, mud or dubious creatures like the following shootings, it was still difficult to a certain extent. There was a lot of walking around involved; however, the girls behaved in a very professional manner and that definitely made everything more efficient.

Hair: Florin Cova from Laurent Tourette

Make-Up: Stela Sapera

Styling: Catalin Botezatu

Starting today, I’m going to take you through my experience as a photographer for Next Top Model by Catalin Botezatu. The Danube Delta was the first of several locations I traveled to in order to shoot with the contestants. This was going on 18th of September 2011.

It was pretty difficult for the girls because they had to make their way through the rather deep mud; it wasn’t any easier for Catalin Botezatu and the producers, since they also had to cope with the same elusive swamp and various aquatic creatures squirming through it.

It was close to the beginning of the season (episode 6 of season 2), so there were still a lot of girls and a lot of shooting to be done. Since there were 11 girls, we had to move between 11 different locations from the Delta.

I was slightly luckier than everyone else, since I got to stay in the boat. For the last few photos, however, I also descended into the slime that bordered one of the lakes.

Towards the end of the episode, I contributed to the judging process together with Catalin and Mirela Vescan. Although it was a difficult shoot for everybody, I had to assess the girls’ ability to pose successfully regardless of conditions.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the visual possibilities the Delta has to offer.

Hair: Florin Cova from Laurent Tourette

Make-Up: Mirela Vescan & Stela Sapera

Styling: Catalin Botezatu

Remember this? We were shooting with the finalists from Next Top Model Romania, Emma and Madalina.

Here are some of the shots:

Catalin Botezatu ADDICTED TO LOVE

Styling: Ana Andrei

Make-up: Mirela Vescan

Hair styling: Laurent Tourette

Models: Elena Sfetcu, Sorina Hurjui, Oana Grecu, Ilona Tatar