I love working with the real professional models like Sophia Smith. As you've probably noticed, we sometimes get taken by wild enthusiasms, discovering a lovely patch of golden flattering light. Some models get a bit flustered if we say a bit breathlessly that we need to drop everything and grab some shots before the light goes; sometimes we fail to really get the shots in time. Never with Sophia. She's always totally on the ball, gets where the light is coming from and how it looks (critical skills for a good model) and how to pose with it rather than against it. Gets the mood that will suit the setting and the bondage, and figures out how to tell that story with just the set of her shoulders and the tilt of her hips.

Most of the models we work with can do that, of course. That's why we work with them. But the full-time career models like Sophia, Ariel, Hannah or Natalia get it instantly, and are ready to shoot immediately. It's really impressive. It looks awesome, of course. But after 14 years of shooting it is the ability to switch it on and figure it out in an instant which is the most impressive to me. That's why the superstar models are on lots of sites and have made it as a full-time career. It's skill, speed, confidence, looks and acting ability. Stunning!