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Creating an Album Cover: Anne Akiko Meyers’ “Smile”
A long time ago, I was a music major, and because I never pursued music professionally, I like to live vicariously through my friends who have. So ...
A long time ago, I was a music major, and because I never pursued music professionally, I like to live vicariously through my friends who have. So when my dear friend violinist Anne Akiko Meyers asked me to shoot photos for her recently released album, Smile, I jumped at the opportunity.
In September ’08, we got together on a temperate New York day with my assistant Josh Gerritsen (who is a fantastic photographer) and a make-up artist, and wandered around various locations throughout TriBeCa. I had a number of shots that I wanted to capture, but in truth, I didn’t have a single idea for an album cover, figuring that I would leave that up to the graphic designer.
Armed with her Stradivarius, Anne was playing in the streets when someone yelled down “EXCUSE ME. THIS IS A RESIDENCE. CAN YOU STOP PLAYING???”
So she stopped playing, and instead, I just had her walk along the street as I followed her.
We did this portrait with a large softbox as the keylight, and another softbox behind her with an orange gel for an accent.
Here’s the set-up shot for the image that became the album cover. I was standing in the bedroom on a step ladder that Bill Frakes gave me after a Belmont Stakes many years ago.