My Germany Mission

Me before one of the shoots

Browsing online and seeing the headlines “Nikita Photoshoot Contest” immediately grabbed my attention. Nikita is one of my favorite brands and when it said “photoshoot contest” I thought they were looking for photographers, not models. After I read into it, I figured I would never have a chance at winning; I’m always behind the lens, not in front of it. But I decided to send in photos of myself knowing that it couldn’t hurt. And to be honest, after I submitted my photos and bio I kind of forgot about the contest thinking that I would never win such a thing.

 About a month or so later I received an e-mail with the title “So do you want to join us on our Photoshoot????” I almost deleted it thinking it was just junk mail, but I decided to look at it just in case. I read the first line of the e-mail, saw the Nikita logo at the bottom, and immediately freaked out. I think I just started laughing, I might have done a little victory dance, and then I called a few people. After I had calmed myself down a bit I read the rest of the e-mail. I was the North American winner of the Nikita Photoshoot Contest.

 I never imagined my first trip to Europe would be to do a photoshoot with Nikita. It was a 9 hour flight from Burlington, Vermont to Berlin, Germany. Meeting all the girls and the people behind the scenes on Nikita was definitely a little intimidating. But everyone was incredibly welcoming and I felt like part of the crew in no time. It was such an amazing experience being a part of a photoshoot with a group of so many rad people.

 We had to get up early every morning to get makeup done and then the places we went to shoot were different every day. The first day we did a studio style shoot for t-shirts and accessories. The next day we went to a parking lot surrounded by these really interesting colorful buildings and then to a playground. And the last day I was there we shot at an amazing bus/subway station covered in bright orange tiles.

 I was definitely nervous for the first shoot. But after a few times of stepping in front of the camera and acting like an idiot, I started to get into it. It became more and more fun and by the end of my trip I didn’t want to leave. It was awesome to meet all these girls that I only saw in advertisements, the people behind the scenes of Nikita, and the European winner (Pia), who all turned out to be incredibly cool. It was amazing to be surrounded by so many different languages and people from different places. There were people from the US, Iceland, Norway, Canada, France, Poland, Austria, and the UK. I have never been involved in such a diverse group of people. But even though we had people from so many different places, it was such a tight group. Everyone seemed like a family, and I’m glad I got to be apart of it for a few days. Hopefully this wasn’t the last I will see of the Nikita crew.

Gabby playing with a leaf

Experiencing a little local flavor

Saadia getting her makeup done in the morning

One of the buildings in the parking lot we shot at

Haha... the coffee shop we went to every morning

Pia... the European winner of the contest

I have a ton more photos, but unfortunately I cannot post any that include the clothing in their new collection. I can put those up when the catalog comes out. But if you want to see more for now go here.