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Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Tracy Carmichael

Snapping Hollywood star Leo was a Titanic moment for Paisley photography student at COP26

A Paisley-based student has told how she landed a gig at COP26 and ended up snapping Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio

Kiera Burns was "shocked" when she realised the man she was taking pictures of at the SEC-based UN Climate Change Conference was the Titanic and Wolf of Wall Street actor.

The photography student had been asked to snap the event for an interiors firm who had created backdrops after they saw her work on social media platform, Instagram.

But she was taken aback when she realised the hush-hush gig was the headline-hitting Conference of the Parties, which welcomed more than 120 world leaders, including US President Joe Biden.

Kiera, studying for an HND in photography at West College in Paisley, said: "It was a great experience. There were lots of presidents, prime ministers and Leonardo DiCaprio!

Star-struck: Kiera Burns is studying photography in Paisley (Paisley Daily Express)

"I was following a woman who was taking me to where the leaders were and we saw people waiting outside one of the pavilions and there was a big crowd. She asked who they were waiting for, I thought she said it was a governor or something, we waited anyway and then I started hearing people saying stuff about Leo's fan base and then it turned out it was Leonardo DiCaprio."

The 20-year-old, also qualified in TV production, added: "I had no clue, I was right behind the people guarding him, so I was really close. I phoned my mum after it, she thought I was crying but I was just really shocked."

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Kiera, of Greenock, also managed to snap leaders including Canada's premier Justin Trudeau and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

She says: "I didn't even know at first it was COP26 I was going to when they asked if I could do pictures and video for them, I wasn't even told the date at first but my lecturers were impressed when they found out."

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