Layla Ali I flew to NYC to photograph Layla Ali, the stunning boxer and daughter of legend Mohammed Ali. Layla arrived with her entourage, swept into the dressing room, gave my assistants and me a fleeting glance. She was accompanied by some really tough looking boxer friends, who stopped and looked at me up and down, then one of them said “who are you then”? “ I’m Clive Arrowsmith. I’m the photographer from London, here to photograph Layla, for this Nike promotion. “Ok I’ll tell her” We waited until Layla finally appeared again, dressed in a full length boxing robe. I was immediately struck her beautiful golden dark bronze skin. She was stunning. “Hi”, I said, “so great to meet you. How do you want do this? Personally I would like you to be in the outfits you feel really comfortable in. They should be like training clothes if that’s ok with you”. She agreed and went to get her make up and change. Some time later she came back dressed and ready in a white vest and black training shorts. In her left hand hung some bright red boxing gloves. I remembered thinking, “Wow, she looks like an Amazon Warrior Princess. “ “That’s great”, I said. We chatted as the scene was prepped and I showed her a picture I’d taken of His Holiness Dalai Lama and gave it to her as a gift.
“This is for you,” I said “I know your father met His Holiness and they got on really well”. She smiled a warm smile and we shot this picture.
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Tel: 01622 600491 /// Web: chillimedia.com /// F. @CHILLIMEDIA Steve Tomkins