Brice Compaoré

Portrait of man leaping in the air on the beach

The Burkina Faso-born, Turkey-based model and Soho House Istanbul member shares a memory of one of his favourite shoots

‘Modelling in general is very exciting and intriguing, mostly because you rarely know your next job, its location, or the people you’re going to work with. Nonetheless, you generally end up collaborating with talented/ passionate/ creative people in idyllic places. A great example is a sportswear campaign [above] that we shot at Salt Lake in the central Anatolian region of Turkey.

‘The team got in contact with my agency and arranged the one-day trip to the location. The plan was to shoot at sunrise and sunset; we had the time in between to explore the surrounding areas together, while playing games and picnicking – just like a good old school trip. That’s the day I met the team, and got to know them, their history and their aspirations during the 24 hours we spent together. I came out of that experience with new bonds, a new family.

‘That shoot felt different to me because of the location and also the relaxed vibe from the team – it didn’t feel like work at all. Being in the middle of nowhere makes you feel humble, because you realise that you’re literally a small piece in this huge environment. But I was also grateful I had the opportunity to witness this particular beauty of our world.

‘The location was just incredible. As it was mid-summer, the lake was almost dry and you could see only salt crystals vanishing in the horizon where it meets the blue sky. The sunset was the best part – the pinkish-purple sky reflects on the ground.’