Greg Heisler is one of the great photographers of our time, and one of his strengths is meticulously planning his shots. Whether his subject is an NBA player or an olympian, Heisler’s photos always capture the essence of that person, and his approach makes his BTS videos particularly educational and interesting to share.
In this Master Series behind the scenes, we watch as Heisler explains his setup for Time Magazine’s 2005 “Persons of the Year” cover featuring Bill Gates, Bono and Melinda Gates. Read more…
In 2002, photographer Greg Heisler was asked to photograph former PLO Chairman Yasser Arafat. Now, eleven years later, we get to hear the story behind that photo.
At the time, Heisler was already in Gaza city photographing former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak. And even though the photo of Arafat was a very simple shot taken using a wooden four-by-five camera, a black velvet backdrop and a simple soft box, it’s still fascinating to hear exactly what went into getting it. Read more…
Leading up to the 2004 Olympics, before Michael Phelps was quite as big a deal as he turned out to be, photographer Greg Heisler had the opportunity to shoot him for the cover of Time magazine. He initially planned to photograph Phelps at the Stanford pool where he was training, only to find out that it was too close to the Olympics and that wasn’t an option.
Still, Heisler refused to let go of his vision of capturing Phelps awash in that blue “pool glow.” Enter some serious ingenuity, a lot of testing, a few home-made strip lights, some blue gels, Strobist yelling the F-word in a supermarket line out of jealousy, and a behind the scenes video to explain it all. Read more…
Earlier this year, New York Times gadget columnist David Pogue wrote a glowing review of the Sony RX100 large-sensor compact camera, calling it “best pocket camera ever made” and saying that “No photos this good have ever come from a camera this small.” It seems like his review was on the mark: the camera has since received similarly enthusiastic reviews across the web and was awarded “Advanced Compact Camera Best Product 2012–2013” by the EISA. Now, Time has selected it as one of 2012′s best inventions, saying:
Digital cameras have been getting smaller and more capable every year, but that trend took a huge leap forward in 2012 with the Sony RX100, which bridges the gap between point-and-shoots and pro-quality digital SLRs. Sony’s innovative design and 1-in. (2.5 cm) sensor allow the camera to take flawless photos even though it’s 20% slimmer than your average digital SLR—small enough to fit in your pocket.
Yesterday we shared a piece by photographer Kenneth Jarecke on why Instagram isn’t fit for photojournalism. Now, from the other side of the aisle, Jeff Bercovici of Forbes writes that Time had great success after hiring five Instagrammers to document Hurricane Sandy:
The resulting collection on Lightbox, Time’s photography blog, was “one of the most popular galleries we’ve ever done,” says [Time DP Kira] Pollack, and it was responsible for 13% of all the site’s traffic during a week when Time.com had its fourth-biggest day ever. Time’s Instagram account attracted 12,000 new followers during a 48-hour period.
One of Benjamin Lowy’s photos even ended up getting selected for the cover, although it’s one of three covers Time is running this week [...] While the level of resolution isn’t perhaps what might be achieved with a camera, says Pollack, “It reproduced beautifully. There’s almost a painterly quality to it.”
Pollack tells FolioMag that the decision to use Instagram was based on distribution speed rather than aesthetics.
American portrait photographer Gregory Heisler (whom we featured yesterday) is probably best known for his 70+ cover portrait photos for TIME magazine. One of his most famous portraits shows a double exposure, “two faced” photo of President George H.W. Bush. The photograph, shot entirely in-camera, was used as the first TIME “Person of the Year” cover photo. Read more…
Photographer Martin Schoeller recently photographed American swimmer Ryan Lochte for the July 30th issue of TIME magazine. The behind-the-scenes video above offers an interesting glimpse into how the images were made. Read more…
TIME magazine named “The Protester” as its “Person of the Year” last year. This behind-the-scenes video shows how photographer Peter Hapak traveled around to seven different countries to capture portraits of protestors for the story. The resulting photographs can be viewed here.
In mid-2010, Time Magazine showed off a demonstration of a slick tablet app they were making in collaboration with The Wonderfactory. As it became widely shared across the web, HDR photographer Trey Ratcliff of Stuck in Customs started receiving messages from fans who spotted his work in the video demo. Problem was, he had never given the magazine or the agency permission to use his work. Read more…
