DIY Photography

Your one stop shop for everything photo-video

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Behind The Scenes with Sports Illustrated, Will Smith and Michael Grecco

Feb 18, 2016 by John Aldred Add Comment

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Behind The Scenes with Michael Grecco and Will Smith

I’m sure almost everybody would love to have the opportunity to photograph the likes of Will Smith for a high profile magazine like Sports Illustrated.  I know I sure would.

For the vast majority of us that will almost certainly never happen, but award winning Director and Photographer Michael Grecco recently did exactly that.

What’s the next best thing for the rest of us?  You guessed it, a Behind The Scenes video!

This video gives some insight into the concept of the shoot, and Michael’s thought process to create the final images, as well as a few outtakes and, for the observant, an overview of the lighting setups & equipment used.

Behind the scenes videos are always such a great watch, for both the information they can contain and their occasional entertainment value.

What can we learn from them?  Well, amongst other things it can help us determine how the shot was lit.

We can make some educated guesses from reading the clues in the cover itself, but the video helps to confirm or bust those suspicions.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Michael Grecco (@michaelgrecco)

We can see on the cover that there is shadow under his nose, as well as specular highlights on his forehead, which suggests that the key light source is directly forward of the subject above the camera.

This frame backs up that assumption by showing us an overhead gridded beauty dish.

Behind The Scenes with Will Smith and Michael Grecco

We can also see on the cover that there are highlights on each side of Will’s head and down the arms of his jacket, which means that there also must be light sources on either side of him.

As this frame from the video illustrates, we can see that there are indeed a pair of softboxes flanking him from behind, gridded presumably to prevent them from spilling light onto the background or flaring into the lens.

will_smith_bts_001

In the images where Will is standing without the table, a gridded kicker light is also shown on the ground, probably acting as a fill for his face.

will_smith_bts_003

While simply looking at the final image to determine how it was lit can give us some indication as to the position and general size of the lights used, it can be difficult to determine exactly what type of modifier might’ve been used on each of them and how they dealt with potential issues like spill.

So, behind the scenes videos and stills can give us a lot of extra information about an image that we might not otherwise have, as well as the pace and atmosphere under which people often work on a shoot.

As a portrait photographer, I love them.  Books and lighting diagrams are all well and good, but nothing beats actually watching it work in reality.

Occasionally I pick up a new trick I hadn’t thought of that I can go and experiment with, and sometimes it’s just to see if I guessed the lighting correctly from the images.

Mostly, they’re just great motivation and inspiration.

What are some of your favourite behind the scenes photography videos?  Which have helped you learn the most?

[Michael Grecco & Sports Illustrated via ISO1200]

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Behind The Scenes On The Set Of The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition Photoshoot For the first time, Sports Illustrated publishes nude unedited photos for their Swimsuit Issue [slightly NSFW] Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue makes history with the first Black, Asian Transgender cover Sports Illustrated published their first cover shot with a smartphone

Filed Under: Inspiration Tagged With: behind the scenes, magazine cover, sports illustrated, Will Smith

John Aldred: from diyphotography.net

About John Aldred

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

« Watch a GoPro get dipped into a lava lamp
Warren Richardson Awarded Photo Of The Year in the 2016 World Press Photo Awards »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • Here’s a bullet time video booth you can build yourself
  • Ricoh has discontinued the HD PENTAX-DA 21mm F3.2AL Limited silver lens
  • This “stellar flower” unravels the twilight’s evolution in 360 degrees
  • Strobes vs Continuous LEDs – Which is right for you?
  • Wave goodbye to Apple’s My Photo Stream next month

Udi Tirosh: from diyphotography.netUdi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

Alex Baker: from diyphotography.netAlex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

David Williams: from diyphotography.netDave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred: from diyphotography.netJohn Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic: from diyphotography.netDunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy