Ciara has a swagger to her. It is difficult to conceive of a picture with her in it in which she would not grab the eye. Placing her in a secondary role would put pressure on the character playing the lead to own the photograph; she is that strong. The title “extra” is redundant when contemplating her position in any set.

Much better, therefore, to let her take the lead, even if that means, on this occasion, her husband must take a step back. I always prefer not to compress distance in portraiture and use the wide-angle lenses much more in my working year than telephoto lenses. This image was taken with the Nikon 28mm, f1.4 lens, which is my go to when I need detail in the subject, as well as contextuality behind. It is the perfect lens for this type of composition and a bit of a warrior for me.

The stylist on this set - Rob Zangardi - is the co-partner of the Mariel Haenn team out of LA, with whom we often work in America. They read and implement directives with a sensitivity to the artist’s thought process and make my job much easier. I told Rob that I wanted Ciara to look like a bad ass 1890s outlaw and I think that is exactly what he delivered.