References for Helen Diaz

daveb675

Had a fantastic first shoot with Helen and "Grandpa" John (Orpentor) at Helen's studio in Chippenham.

A very enjoyable day., with John and I trading roles of photographer and assistant, shooting all sorts of sets, from John's burlesque inspired themes, through a film noir inspired couple of sets, and ending with a homage to Betty Page. This is a genre that is obviously a passion of Helen's, and one where she truly excels!

Helen was very easy going throughout, friendly, and fun, all the while entertaining us with all sorts of anecdotes from her past, and a pleasure to be around.

Highly recommended.

Thank you Helen!

Paul Monty

What can I say. This was my first shoot 'flying solo' so to speak without a tutor etc to fall back on and my Imposter Syndrome was at full strength.

From the initial comms through to the shoot itself, Helen set my mind at rest. I'd formulated a rough idea of what I wanted to achieve and Helen took that, added her own twist and I came away with some images I'm really happy with.

Only one minor downside - she made me laugh so much that I missed the odd shot :-)

Fully recommended...

Rod

I had another excellent shoot with the lovely Helen, this time at my house.

She brought with her a huge variety of outfits, several of which we used during the shoot.

Helen is a great model to work with - very chatty and great fun, and the time sped by very quickly. We moved from room to room and I obtained some excellent images.

Helen is very professional, and anxious to produce the best possibel images. I highly recommend Helen to other togs, and you will certainly not be disappointed if you arrange a shoot with her.

face to face

After eight long years I finally got the opportunity to work with Helen once again definitely a blast from the past she is still as wonderful as ever starting with a welcoming brew. She is very professional creating as many poses as possible to help you get a good variation of images. 100% Recommend

Many thanks

Roy

SimonF27

What an amazing shoot with Helen!!

Helen was someone I’d wanted to work with for a while and had regularly considered her casting calls, but this time I actually took her up on one.

We communicated before the day related to the styles and looks we wanted to achieve. I wanted to take advantage of the styling she brings to a shoot with her vintage clothing, but then additionally I really wanted to try a Helmut Newton “Big Nudes” style set. I thought it would suit Helens natural style of art nudes.

She is very dynamic, chatty and interactive. Her ease in front of the camera meant it was a different pose every other click of the shutter. The images show how productive we were and what a great model she is.

Helen is thoroughly recommended by me, you need to experience her creative experience to understand what it is she brings to a shoot.

Thank you Helen for a rewarding, entertaining and productive afternoon shooting.

Matt Horton

Ahhhh the wonderful Diaz!

What can I say? Another great shoot with Helen, working with this lovely lady makes my day. Great fun, great images and a lot of laughs…. What more do you need?

See you again soon Helen.

Terry Onslow Photography

Fabulous first shoot with Helen today. Pre comms were great and Helen arrived early and ready to shoot, with a wonderful collection of outfits.

She is so easy to be with, and our constant banter made the shoot a delight.

Her posing was first class and Helen was keen to make sure I got the shots I wanted.

We shot a number of different sets up to art nude, even in the garden!!!

Thoroughly enjoyed the shoot and needless to say Helen comes highly recommended.

philjamesphotos

Had my first, and definitely not last shoot with Helen. In terms of a model her body of work speaks for its itself, professional, just effortlessly knocks out the poses, and has a timeless beauty.

In terms of a person she is so much fun, so nice and incredibly intelligent. We did a long shoot, and I was definitely never bored! She is such a joy!

100 percent recommend

Ollie G

Thanks Helen, Another amazing shoot!! :)

I've done so many shoots with Helen, always great fun, and Helen is a very professional, and you always come away with beautiful images, and I love her posing and style.

Highly recommended by me, thank you so much Helen!! :)

Andrew Priestly

I took the opportunity to shoot with Helen a second time recently. We covered a range of different styles and I am very happy with the results.

We were mostly winging things, and Helen was an equal contributor of ideas, happy to take the lead with some setups but equally happy to run with ideas that I came up with.

Helen seems to have boundless energy. As a result I had a wonderful day - great company and great photos.

Only problem with Helen is she lives so far away from me!

Hearty recommend from me.

Grant Menmuir

2nd shoot with lovely Helen at her studio, providing hospitality for myself (and far too much gear as usual) and 2 other models and also managing to get a shoot and "Five Minutes with.." Video interview of our own in.

A thoroughly enjoyable day with lots of laughs, creativity and Helen's usual brand of fascinating and insightful conversation! 100% Recommendation.

Lyndseyboutique

Helen is magnificent. Incredibly professional, but without taking herself too seriously; she’s very warm and cheeky. Just a real pleasure to work with. The photos coming through are spectacular. I would always highly recommend Helen, and I hope to work with her again soon! ♥️

Nikki5

I had the pleasure of working alongside Helen, A confident freindly person, We both had the pleasure of working with a fantastic photographer Blower photos, modelling some fantastic designer dresses from a creative talented lady called Lynsday boutique. Me and Helen had some photo shoots together in a fantastic village pub and a garage. I am grateful to have to opportunity to work with Helen and no doubt will work with her in future.

Roger 06

I had my second shoot with Helen, this time at her studio Heavenly Bodies. This is a well equipped studio which had all that I needed to complete my project "Witches Cavern". Helen is a very versatile model and was willing to help me get the shots for the final composite. Helen is an excellent model and I would certainly recommend her to other photographers.

Kevin Connery

I had another fantastic remote session with Helen earlier this week. We photographed in her home, garden, and studio (Heavenly Bodies Studio on PP), ably assisted by her partner Roger (Roger More on PP). We covered a wide range of images using both natural light, flash, and mixed, and she managed to make every setup better, from taking the idea to its peak, or suggesting alterations that make the image stronger. As before, Helen brought her "A Game" to the set, as well as keeping the energy, wardrobe, and humor flowing.

Great posing, great ideas, great results, and a very fun morning.

Highly recommended!

Steve Pearl

Had my second shoot with Helen at her favourite ruined church, and this time also took in a nearby vintage train station for some variety :-)

It's been a little while since I've done much shooting, partly due to the rubbish weather this summer has brought so far, and today was no exception. We had drizzle for most of the time at the church ruins but Helen was unfazed, declaring it to be perfect weather for her, even shooting nudes! It also had the advantage of keeping away tourists, so we were completely undisturbed for our whole time there ;-) Helen is absolutely in her element in this kind of shoot, with no fear of getting a little muddy if that's what it takes to get the best shots - and she came well prepared too, with a thick dressing gown and a towel at the ready! I selected numerous locations around the ruin in which to shoot, and Helen worked her magic in every spot, never running out of ideas for how to make the shot work.

Moving on to the old train station Helen switched into her other favourite mode of modelling: vintage looks. She slipped into a beautiful old dress and was even kind enough to bring a vintage picnic basket as a prop. We got some shots on the old train track but were interrupted by more determined rain. I was ready to quit since we only had a little time left anyway, but Helen was more determined than the rain and insisted we stay longer, finding a remarkably good spot for continuing to shoot under the shelter of a tree. Some flowers in the background made for some lovely portrait shots, and before we were done shooting the sun put in another brief appearance :-)

Thanks for another great shoot, Helen -- and many thanks for your efforts in making a success of it in less than ideal weather!

Steve

Stu Freeman

Lost count of how many times I've worked with Helen over 17 years. This time on a themed 'Bettie Page' shoot. Turned up on time with all the requested gear & attitude to re-create some classic 'Bettie' images.

Great fun to do, highly recommended.

PsycheFineArt

My second shoot with Helen was at Belmont House, near Salisbury. Old houses with large rooms offer opportunities which smaller modern houses usually do not, and nor, very often, do photographic studios if you want rather more than artificial backdrops. This shoot was therefore not quite like any other that I have done since the closure of the late and much lamented South House Retreat. Period decor may or may not be the attraction, but the quality which is precious and is usually guaranteed is simply space, wonderful space, and in particular doorways which are wider than those of their modern counterparts, probably partly because ladies' dresses were full length and voluminous even when they did not have frames beneath them. Helen loves Belmont and is in her element in such places. As she has said, we chose an ornate door frame as the setting, and although I have been known during digital editing to place pictures on walls which do not contain them, in this case there was no need, because there was a large one in the corridor behind the door whose rectangular shape blended compositionally very well with that of the door itself.

Getting the lighting right took a little longer than usual, but once it was correct it was hardly possible to go wrong in such a place with a model possessing Helen's physical attractions and who was, just as important, completely in tune with what I was trying to do. This was grounded in a thorough understanding of the reasons behind the rather unusual way I operate, and as a result the shoot seemed to proceed completely seamlessly and produced what I think are some outstanding images. Thank you Helen.

GBrodie1

Another fun shoot with Helen, this time at Belmont House. I've worked with her a few times now and it's always enjoyable and relaxed. This was my first time working with another photographer, David HC, and that was good too.

I'd definitely recommend working with them to others. Thanks both.

David HC

Before last Whitsun Helen messaged me to invite me to a group shoot she was arranging at Belmont House; it was not convenient for me at that time but I asked Helen to consider me for future arrangements. Within a short while I then received a message that Helen was arranging another shoot whereby I could partner another PP member, Gordon, GBrodie1, and with excellent comms and arrangements confirmed the three of us met up at Belmont House.

Both Gordon and myself had not previously worked at Belmont House so with Helen’s previous knowledge of it she was able to help us identify the best rooms for available light at that time of day and our initial setup was in the lounge, subsequently followed with the elegant dining room. There were also opportunities taken with various room doorways, window areas before venturing to the many varied areas of the garden and giving Helen her first chance to include a front door shoot.

They say time flies when engaged in an enjoyable time, as this shoot with both Helen and Gordon proved to be, I quickly discovered that Helen is a model with boundless energy and enthusiasm all wrapped up in a spectacular personality. It was very easy for Gordon and I to (virtually) continue shooting as Helen went through pose and expression with great expertise as directions were coming from us and also at her instigation.

Anybody viewing Helen’s profile would readily see the mass of recommendations she already has; I feel privileged to add to them and wholeheartedly second them all. Without doubt I would certainly work with Helen again and look forward to such an opportunity.