Back in 2004 I photographed a young lady called Lucy Ratcliffe who comes from Whitley Bay.
It was her first modelling job .. I was brought into the commission late on to shoot a front cover for a wedding magazine. At the time I didn't have my own studio, but it wouldn't be needed I was told. In the end there was just a group of offices and I had to figure out how I could get an image of Lucy wearing an outrageously large hat in the shape of a wedding cake!

There was a pub / hotel next door / downstairs and I reckoned that the only space to work was on the dance floor.
I had a pretty naff collapsible background with me and once I opened the fire door there was some light flooding from one side.
While the make-up artist got to work with Lucy, I rigged up some crude reflectors to thow some light back into the area and in the end I used a tripod and the exposure was about one quarter second / one eighth of a second ... scary stuff and I was really flying by the seat of my pants ... but it worked..
In 2005 I found out that she was on the reality tv show Britain's Next Top Model .. and then later found out she won it!
Good for you girl!
Lucy was signed up by the Models 1 agency and won a contract with cosmetics giant Ruby and Millie.

FROM THE INTERNET:
The 5'11" blonde left her job in a Tyneside bar to compete in the show on Living TV.
She also had to leave behind her boyfriend, who asked her to choose between him or her modelling career. "It was awful. I didn't want to break up, but he said if I was going to be a model and go to London then we had to split," she said. "He said a long-distance relationship wouldn't work so we had to break up."
The show was hosted by former model Lisa Butcher, who judged the competition alongside seventies icon, Marie Helvin.
In the final Lucy competed against Edwina Joseph, an 18-year-old media student from Bristol, and Jenilee Harris, 20, a bingo hall worker from Sittingbourne, Kent. The girls had to take part in a nude photo shoot with three male models.
The identity of the winner was revealed to the girls on a video screen. Lucy said: "My only goal on the competition was not to be the first out. When I saw my picture on the screen as the winner I was so shocked. I should have been leaping around the room with joy, but I was too stunned to move.
"I never thought this could happen to me. This has been a completely life-changing experience and I'm determined to give 100% to make the most of this amazing chance I've been given."
As part of her prize, Lucy will appear in a fashion spread for B magazine and a campaign for cosmetics brand Ruby & Millie. She will also be represented by Beatrice model agency in Milan.

The Ones to Watch
The Sun
Living TV

Lucy Ratcliffe on her first assignment .. and one of the final images

Below are a selection of copyright images culled from various sites - Models 1 - on the internet. Models 1 Living TV

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