15 Minutes of Fame

My 15 Minutes of Fake Fame – Archive Story
Newsletter #03 – 16/04/2020

No desire to be on TV, not even the need to be a TV reality star. Almost a distant dream for some, craving their 15 minutes of fame and TV limelight. Clinging to their exposure, the same story giving mileage for most of their adult life.

Guilty as charged! maybe a little, possibly but utilising my DSLR as a weighty protective energy shield fending off the heat, not just for my shoots with fashion and advertising clients, but on the odd occasion for TV, It seems to give me an inner strength as the focus becomes fixated on the camera.

“B” rated shows? not a great way of breaking into TV, unless you are into the realism of desiring 15 minutes of fake fame. Over the years I have been asked to participate in a fair few shows and only succumbed to very few including my 15 minutes of fame with Jon Bentley on the Gadget Show, Britain’s Next Top Model and How to Look Good Naked with presenter Gok Wan.

TV production company Maverick, based in the Midlands presented one opportunity for me to become involved in the hit TV show with Gok Wan and be the resident photographer. A show that gently re-aligns out of kilter psyche and body image denials. Maverick TV was looking for a photographer producer to work alongside the team and create photo content and without any retouching whatsoever. After all, it was natural and not fake !!

Questions pulsed through the brain including why would I do this? money was poor and the stress aggravating. 8 episodes of naked people, all with their booty uncovered. Where would I look?

“What can you bring to the table, James? how do we make the final image appear classy?”  I suggested strong directional lighting at the location,  under-exposing and creating a look almost a theatrical and cinematic, thus being sympathetic but creative in the final reveal. 

8 episodes and 8 images later, why did I say yes, launching myself into the limelight personally and professionally? Without sounding like a heathen, Why use skills for such a subject and potentially undermine the aesthetics of James Nader and the brand I was developing? Well not just for the money as it was quite poor, but a few reasons. Could I make contacts within TV, develop location lighting and work on the fly very quickly and so the speed of purpose, delivery, and turnaround. More of a personal challenge I would say, Working with a great deal of inexperienced self-conscious people, a TV team and production all within a format out of my comfort zone.

I enjoyed experiencing the liberation felt by both males and females of all sizes and I think the most enlightening and moving was the day we spent at Knebworth House with a complete crew of people with a wide array of disabilities. To see the confidence and change in them was true enlightenment. I have not included that particular image, I also have a few more which could go in here.

Moving forward in life and business, it’s possible to miss opportunities because they don’t fit the plan. I have learned to follow the opportunity and leave the starting blocks. Not always will it lead to gold, it sometimes travels along a path and ends up at a dead-end. Just be confident that life is teaching you and guiding you where it thinks you want to go, therefore be careful about what you wish for. If you do wish then be definite and clear.