( CNN ) -- Newly revealed photographs of Reeva Steenkamp show the South African beauty as a young aspiring model , and as a star cover girl , just months before her tragic death . One group of images , taken by Reeva 's friend Kerry Smith eight years before her death , show the then 21-year-old law student and modeling wannabe posing on the beach at Port Elizabeth , South Africa , where she grew up -- and where her grieving parents scattered her ashes . Her dark hair , freckles and innocent good looks are a world away from the shots of a bikini-clad Reeva featured in glossy magazines which millions around the world are now familiar with . `` That 's Reeva in her natural beauty , '' Smith said . `` Not a stitch of makeup on . Hair blowing in the wind with the sea behind her , sun setting behind her . '' That 's a view of the model shared by another photographer , Gareth Barclay , who took a series of pictures of Reeva in the months before her death . These photos , said to have been commissioned by Steenkamp for an unidentified `` special someone , '' show a Reeva who is -- outwardly at least -- very different : Blonde , confident , worldly and polished . `` Most of the photos that I took of her are n't even edited , '' Barclay said . `` That 's just how she is , you know . `` That 's just a simple color grading that I put on it to give an effect or a mood , but I mean , her skin was always great , beautiful eyes , beautiful features . '' Steenkamp , 29 , died last year on February 14 -- Valentine 's Day . She was shot dead in the bathroom of the home she shared with Olympic and Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius . Pistorius insists her death was an accident , that he opened fire after mistaking her for an intruder . Prosecutors disagree : his murder trial starts on March 3 . His family said the loss of his girlfriend -- and his involvement in her death -- has devastated the athlete . `` It 's a terrible , terrible mistake he made , '' his uncle Arnold Pistorius told CNN . `` I can just image the family of Reeva , the grief they 've got and most probably anger , and you know this is a traumatic experience for them and I ca n't even imagine myself being in that position . '' Another of Barclay 's pictures shows the tattoo on Reeva 's neck : The phrase `` Only God will judge me , '' written in Italian . `` It was very personal to her , '' said Barclay . `` She never really spoke about it or anything , she just wanted a personal photo of it , 'cause , you know , she did n't have any photos of it . '' For Steenkamp , this tattoo represented something central to her life , something to be defined by . `` That was something that her grandfather had always said , you know , '' explained Smith . `` It was very close to her own heart . '' Pistorius , though , will be judged in a Pretoria courtroom . CNN 's Bryony Jones contributed to this story .
Pictures show Reeva Steenkamp as aspiring model and established cover girl . Friend and photographer says early images show Steenkamp 's `` natural beauty '' her face is flawless, she has a beautiful figure with long legs that are shapely and slender but not too skinny or fat. Steenkamp shot dead by boyfriend Oscar Pistorius ; he says he mistook her for intruder .