Creative Times

The king of transformations, famous for his Channel 4 programme ‘How to look good naked’, Gok Wan was filming his new show on location in Manchester’s Victoria Baths last Monday. Gok is on a nationwide search to find the most diverse beauties in Britain today – whether they be curvaceous, slim, tattooed or tanned, pierced, freckled, busty bombshell or kooky cool, unconventional beauty or model material.

The show presented by Gok Wan and Myleene Klass was putting the brave contestants through a series of challenges, one of which was to have their true selves revealed on camera. Everything that girls arm themselves with to look beautiful including clothing, jewellery, hair products, accessories and makeup was literally blasted off with a fire hose to reveal what was underneath.

HighContrast were commissioned to shoot the 25 fabulous females taking part. Headshots were taken as they arrived in the morning all ‘glammed-up’ and ‘dressed to impress’, and then again later having had all their makeup removed to uncover their natural beauty.

Our photographer Ed Stemp commented “There was never a dull moment when Gok was around – he’s such a mischievous character, entertaining all the girls and crew with his antics. Even though some girls found the whole experience quite emotional, Gok’s sound personality and passion for true natural beauty put the girls at ease. We worked quickly while being filmed, and ensured we captured great shots of the girls, even without the help of makeup or accessories.”

The show, produced by Maverick TV will be broadcast on prime-time Channel 4, sometime mid-October.

For more information about HighContrast, please visit www.highcontrast.co.uk or call Ed on +44(0) 845 838 8661