New York Times Sunday Magazine

Design Director: Gail Bichler
Director of Photography: Kathy Ryan
Photo Editor: Stacy Baker
Art Director: Matt Wiley
Deputy Art Director: Ben Grandgenett
Concept by: Declan Company/Pablo Declan
Props: Pink Sparrow
Photo Illustration: Jamie Chung

Heidi: How many people collaborated on this cover?
Jamie: The New York Times Magazine hired Pablo Delcan to concept the story. Then the prop make by the company Pink Sparrow. Then it was my turn to make Pablo’s sketches come to life. In addition to the camera work I also handled the retouch. New York times designer Ben Grandgenett came to set, we worked on tailoring the photography to meet his layout ideas. Photo Editor for the Times, Stacey Baker produced the project, overseeing the whole process.

Was the process long?
The entire project from concept to printed magazine happened super quick- one of the exciting things about a weekly magazine.

What was the most creative obstacle for the cover?
We shot the cover image with a variety of lighting scenarios and a various backgrounds. Ultimately we picked a clean, minimal treatment. We shot a stand in arm/ hand for placement and shadow, then the final robot hand was created in CG- I love it when the process and concept align.

How many options did you shoot?
For the cover image there was 14 options, but some of the variations were slight- like bottom jaw on/off, little rotations, background tones, etc.