This image began as an exercise in shadow-casting of an ornamental giraffe which stands about 1.5m high. She has the name Isabel and was spotted in a second hand shop in Kassel in Germany during a visit to Documenta in 2007.

Three lessons:

1. play ambient music while working;
2. treat the session as the main object of the working day;
3. for each set up that is lit and working, lock off the camera and shoot many small variations of each composition.