“Linda, I won’t get out of bed for less than $10,000." Okay, I didn’t say that when More‘s editor-in-chief, Linda Lewis, asked me to participate in a photo shoot for the magazine’s fifth birthday bash, but it did cross my mind. Full disclosure: I don’t even remotely inhabit the world of famed supermodel Linda Evangelista—the author of said quip—but it was the first panic-laced response that came to mind. “It’s going to be great,” Linda assured me. “I’m going to ask Lisa Tant (Flare’s EIC) and Bernadette Morra (Fashion’s EIC) to participate as well.” “Really!?” I said, thinking “Yes, and hell will freeze over before the three of us grace the same photo shoot!”

Anyone who has met the inimitable and indomitable Linda knows that resistance would have been futile. (Trust me, Lisa even admitted to me that Linda was a force to be reckoned with—and that’s something, coming from the talented and assured Ms. Tant.)

I love being behind a camera—or watching a photographer at work—but being the subject in the crosshairs of any lens isn’t my idea of a good time. Models—the ones who eat the lens—have this ethereal quality that blossoms into a spectacular 3-D performance. It’s really quite exceptional to witness—and quite out of reach for mere mortals who find themselves bathed in bright lights while stylists and makeup artists primp, fluff and preen them.

So, what happened on-set? Read on.
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