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Gay Talese. In the Hall of Fame of Great American writers, few are more iconic or more respected than Gay Talese. From his early work as a newspaper reporter to his time during the hey day of Esquire magazine and his long career writing some of the best nonfiction you’ll ever read, this man has seen and done it all…and with more style than you’ll ever have! Laura Baer recently had me shoot him for a feature in New Jersey Monthly…a shoot that ended with me wearing the great man’s hat!
Upon arriving at his townhouse, we immediately noticed the silk-covered settee framed by silk curtains in the front window…
It didn’t really require much lighting…but I added a 6′ Chimera for an overall soft fill behind the camera, and positioned a gridded 3′ ProFoto RFI directly above the seat for our main light…
We waited out the harsh sunlight coming through the windows, and when the outside light was just soft enough, things really got interesting…
The color shift from direct sunlight to open shade…and the blue cast it caused on the drapes…gave us a wonderful, cool mood that played off the warm tones of the settee, curtains and his suit.
Next, we set up a little studio in his back yard for some tighter portraits…
…which gave us this…
Here’s how it looked in print…
Damn Ugly Photography 