People Magazine
Photography Director: Catriona Ni Aolain Lindbaek
Creative Director: Andrea Dunham
Photographer: Bradley MeinzHeidi: How long did you have for this shoot?
Bradley: I was given ten minutes total for the shoot, which took place during the press junket at the Four Season’s hotel in Beverly Hills, California. The shoot was to promote the new Samuel l. Jackson and Ryan Reynolds film, Hit Man’s Bodyguard.
What type of direction did you get from the magazine?
I had a call with the magazine’s photo director in NYC prior to the shoot, she really wanted to get a reportage style image rather than a controlled portrait on seamless, however to cover all bases I was asked to get both!
With only 10 minutes to shoot, what type of exchange did you have with the subjects and the publicist?
The publicist were mainly just a voice to keep the shoot to the ten minute limit! I introduced myself to talent when they stepped into my set (first shoot was seamless) and I gave them only a little direction asking them to have fun with it.
What are your go to tools for managing the stress of this type of shoot?
I always try and tell myself to stay in the moment, often times these types of high profile celebrity shoots take on there own personality. I never really want the photo to feel “about me” as the photographer but rather the energy of the subjects.
How did you overcome the obstacles of the uninspired hotel room and low ceilings?
I called the hotel prior to the shoot asking for the rooms measurements & ceiling height! I knew it was going to be a close fit with lighting and grip. I could of used one light on the seamless set up and called it a day, however I actually had four sources playing in that shot, it was really important to me that I had nice quality of light for these two amazing actors! The outdoor photograph was much more loose and I had my first assistant
handhold “Hollywood” the key light.
