Helmut Newton Padma
Friday, July 25th, 2008
Helmut Padma was a careful photographer, and as a careful photographer he doubtless had his favorites. Favorite poses, favorite compositions, and favorite models. And one of his favorite models was, by far, Padma Lakshmi.
Though she’d already made it as a model before she met Newton, Lakshmi’s profile was greatly boosted when he became enamored by her personal sense of poise and style, using her in quite a few photos. They met when she was in her last year of college in Spain and that meeting helped propel her career forward.
In particular Newton liked shooting Lakshmi (like most women) in the nude, and he put a great deal of emphasis not only on her near-perfect body but on a scar she’d received in a car accident on her right arm. According to an interview with Vogue Magazine, Lakshmi actually canceled her first shoot with Newton because she was so fearful about the scar. She had it partly removed.
But the removal was unnecessary. Showing up at a later shoot, Lakshmi was astounded to learn that Helmut was horrified at the restorative job, and had his on-set artists restore the scar to the way it had been. In doing so he boosted Lakshmi’s confidence to astronomic levels, and not only removed any stigma attached to it but made the scar a drawing point for other photographers.