Model for a morning!

I had an exciting morning a couple of weeks ago being a model for Nationwide Building Society for their new marketing material. Initially I received an email inviting me to complete a survey if I was interested in the opportunity. When I filled it in I wasn’t expecting to hear from them for a while so I was really surprised to receive a call from Gemma a few days later with the photo shoot arranged for the following week! 

A photo showing Melissa sitting in her wheelchair in the kitchen,
with the photographer taking a photo and the art director assisting.

I specifically asked to be photographed in my wheelchair because there is so little representation of disability in the media, although it is slowly improving. They were very willing do this as long as I was happy.  The photos needed to show members of the Nationwide community carrying out activities that would need items that they would have purchased using their debit or credit card. Two of my hobbies are baking and playing the guitar so it was decided to use these scenarios. 

A photo showing Melissa sitting in her wheelchair in the
 kitchen,with the photographer taking a photo and the art
director assisting.

Christopher, the photographer, and Andrew, who assisted him, set the lighting up while I completed the forms with Gemma (brand executive) and Louise (art director). They were so helpful and read out the information to me because the writing was rather small. I then got into position in the kitchen and we worked out what kitchen equipment to use. When I put my apron on, I wanted to reverse it because the front looked a bit dirty but they said it looked more authentic! At first we mixed a flour and water mixture to go in my food mixer but it didn’t look very realistic so I suggested I beat some butter and sugar (I remembered the quantities I needed for a biscuit recipe). This looked so much better and different photos were taken with slight adjustments throughout. We then introduced an egg and the biscuits began to take shape!

You do have to concentrate and I did find at one point my mind wandered and I didn't realise that Christopher was directing me to smile at the camera. It's not as easy as you would think being photographed for a few hours, I did really enjoy it but wouldn't want to do it every day!

It was interesting to hear about what needs to be considered for putting the leaflets together. At one point Christopher took a photo of the ceiling so that the art department could piece this together with the photo of me so that the ceiling continued into the text seamlessly. 

After finishing the photos in the kitchen, which took about an hour, we moved into the living room for the photos of me playing the guitar. 

A photo showing Melissa sitting in her wheelchair with the
guitar on her lap. The photographer is taking a picture and
the art director and photographer's assistant are supporting.

I played a grade 1 exam piece 'Oriental Express' that I’m relearning. It’s harder now because I haven’t really played the guitar since I lost a lot of sight and I’m finding it very hard to follow the music. My eyes can’t keep up with the speed I play and I also cannot see more than one note especially if two notes need to be played at the same time. When I’m reading the notes I also can’t see the dynamics. As you can probably imagine, this makes learning the music a very lengthy and frustrating task. I love playing though so I’m determined to work at it and get up to my previous level (grade 3). I haven’t played to anyone other than Matthew or our children in over nine years but I didn’t have any nerves at all, everyone made me feel so at ease. Once they captured the photos they needed we were finished!

I really enjoyed the experience, and I’m looking forward to seeing the final images in the leaflets. All participants who were selected were given a £100 voucher and I’m going to use it to buy some roses and lavender for our front garden - it will be a lovely reminder of the morning. I do hope these photos help in some small way to offer greater representation of people who have an impairment. 

Please note that the photos I’ve shared in this blog post are not the official photos, Gemma kindly took them on her phone. They give a great ‘behind the scenes’ insight into what happens at a photo shoot. 

If you've had any experiences like this where you've had the opportunity to raise greater awareness of something, I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments. I hope you've enjoyed my insight to being a model for the morning. 

~ Best wishes, Melissa ~

A photo showing the chocolate chunk biscuits I partly made during the photo
shoot and completed afterwards They were yummy!