Sport Illustrated | WILL SMITH
Where there’s a Will…
This is one of my favorite shoots. Not just because it turned out so well, but also because of how it all went down. I happened to be in NYC meeting with SI Director of Photography, Brad Smith. Brad was trying to arrange a cover with Will Smith. He was having a hard time agreeing on a celebrity photographer with the talent’s PR rep. And since I’d worked with Will in the past, I asked Brad to put my name forward.
I got the job and it quickly evolved into a large production shoot. The magazine needed something very specific. And Will’s a star. Which means he’s busy. Which means we didn’t have a lot of time. Which means we all had to be at the top of our game. Especially since I always like to deliver a second look.
The magazine wanted to composite in x-rays behind him. So in order to match the lighting, we wrapped in back light as if a light box were glowing behind him. That was the gray image. But I also wanted to create something with the emotional gravitas worthy of Will’s character, Dr. Bennet Omalu – who saved countless lives with his research. To do this, we built a set with a white background, not fully lit with an additional light pointed toward the camera for flare. God-like? Maybe. But Will busted out into a dance when he saw it. So I guess it worked.
In the end, we had one of my favorite shots. And this nice email from Brad at SI: “Great cover… Very happy with it, thanks for the awesome job. So great working with you.”
