Pick the Right Music
October 22, 2009 by David Bergman
When photographing celebrities, a big part of my job is to make them comfortable. I need to keep the shoot fun while subliminally reassuring them that I can get the job done. Otherwise, they’ll lose interest and it’ll show in my images. Even worse, they could leave before I’m done.
Things didn’t start out too well at my recent Kerrang Magazine cover shoot.
Jared Leto, Shannon Leto, and Tomo Milicevic, otherwise known as 30 Seconds To Mars, showed up at the photo studio right on time. These guys are pros. Jared Leto has acted in major motion pictures and been photographed hundreds of times. I really wanted to win them over quickly.
I had some music playing in the studio, but I immediately took some abuse from them for my musical choice. After trying to convince them that the new Toto album is, in fact, awesome, I gave them control of my iPod. Van Halen quickly changed the mood in the room.
You never know what might put someone off during a shoot. For example, I found out in advance that Jared is a vegetarian, so bringing in ham sandwiches for lunch would have been a bad thing.
Luckily, the guys were great to work with and by the end of the hour we were all hugs and high-fives.
Here are some of my images from the shoot, including the final magazine cover.
(Nikon D3, 24-70, 1/125 sec, f/4, ISO 200)
(Nikon D3, 24-70, 1/125 sec, f/11, ISO 200)
(Nikon D3, 24-70, 1/125 sec, f/11, ISO 200)
(Nikon D3, 24-70, 1/125 sec, f/10, ISO 200)
(Nikon D3, 24-70, 1/125 sec, f/11, ISO 200)
Great portraits (as always)!
One question… It looks like they pulled out the middle guy for the cover, does that bother you when a client alters your photo like that? Just curious. Thanks!
I’ll tell you my favorite story about building a fun vibe on a photo shoot that took place when I was Chief of Photography for World Wrestling Entertainment.
It was approaching Christmas time and I had to shoot several WWE talent holding staffed animals that we were getting ready to sell as mascots for Christmas presents. It was a tough task that pushed the characters into soft imaging that made them very uncomfortable. The first talent on set was Paul Bearer, a freaky mortician character. He wasn’t into it holding a stuffed animal at all, that is until company owner Vince McMahon happened upon the makeshift studio in the back of a sports area. Vince goaded Paul into playing with the toy, and Paul obliged by simulating oral sex. Damn it was funny. Everybody was laughing and having a good time as the flashtubes fired, and as I made some crazy different photos. Then we transitioned to more conventional photos that could run as part of the promotion. Paul Bearer was really enjoying himself, and that joy was contagious, relaxing other talent, several of whom also simulated oral sex with the toys before settling down for usable images.
Imagine my surprise a week later when I was called into corporate Human Resources on a sexual harassment complaint filed by a photo editor, upset that I had made her look at ‘crude’ pictures of a talent simulating oral sex with a stuffed animal. It was weird how clueless the office staff was, but I politely told the self righteous HR executive that he really needed to discuss the matter with the Creative Director on set, and then referred him to Vince McMahon. Vince mentioned it to me a little while later as a quick aside, with a smile on his face and twinkle in his eye. HR never bothered me about it again, and neither did the photo editor. Sometimes ya gotta have fun.
Love this shoot of the guys… Great job David! Photos look amazing!
Amazing pic, but… tell at Jared to put away the bracalet. Please ç__ç
Thanks for your work!
Great work, especially the top one!
@Al: No, it’s different, compare them carefully. It’s the posture of his head
I like the anecdote, Todd. It’s just like high school. Never hurts to have a giant wrestler as your ally, eh?
Re: music and sandwiches, etc. They seem like minor things, but they can make or break a shoot sometimes.
I figure I’m usually safe with classical musical music when the subject arrives and then point him towards a stack o’ CDs if he wants music. When called upon to teach photography to students I tell them the number one rule of photography is: PAY ATTENTION TO EVERYTHING.
Number two is that Capa quote about getting close.