PHOTOGRAPHING DREW BREES.
The shoot, the challenges, the result.
I’ve had so many people ask what it was like working with the former NFL Quarterback. Let me tell you; but first, a personal backstory.
As a child, I lived 29 miles away from the Chargers stadium in Carlsbad, CA. Growing up a Charger’s fan included watching Mr. Brees as QB and wearing the blue and gold jersey in my 2nd grade school photo. When my parents announced we were moving to Louisiana, I remember boxing up a print of #9, thinking how cool it was that I would get to see him play in the same state again, this time with the New Orleans Saints. Fast forward: he wins a Super Bowl and becomes the guy that every young Louisiana football fan wrote about on their ‘childhood hero’ essay that year.
As you can imagine, I could not sleep the night before my shoot with Drew Brees. I could not believe that I would get to photograph such a big name. It was set. Plugged-In Creative would document the day and film promotional bits for Surge, the entertainment center by Drew Brees who hired each of us for their Grand Opening, while I photographed Drew in 4 sessions that we had pitched to Surge.
After a scout day, interior images with talents, and some pre-shooting for sets with Brees, there was only one problem on the big day: He was running late (like 2 hours late)! He was expected to walk into the back door at any time.
As I waited, I ran through constant steps: check the lights again, re-check the cameras, finally the tethering table. Make sure everything will work perfectly. Then my checklist shifted into a question: would we have any time for all the ideas I had pre-shot? The answer given was- unfortunately, no.
Guests to the grand opening event had already flooded into the areas that were supposed to be for us to shoot with him. Minutes promised with Brees had turned into seconds. I called an audible and did somewhat of a scramble to throw up a speckled grey DIY painted canvas in the laser tag room. He walked in- so did a lot of other familiar faces. I shook hands and felt my leg nervously shake a bit too as I directed him into the makeup chair.
I’ve always said that it’s how you make people feel that helps make the greatest images.
“I feel like I’m on Oprah.” he said. We all laughed.
“I feel like I’m on Oprah.” he said. We all laughed. Next, I captured behind the scenes moments while he read Plugged-In Creative’s teleprompter before we swiftly moved in front of the backdrop I had pre-staged.
It was a stiff moment that I needed to make fun and light. I remembered something I learned from Platon, get close. If possible, I knew I could touch. Simply using a lint-roller has loosened up executives I’ve worked with in the past. I didn’t have time to step off my apple box and manually move him between images though. Instead, I reached out in front of my Sigma 85mm 1.4 attached to a Sony A7iii and said “suction cup your head to my hand, please.” He laughed a bit at the idea and we were on our way. This method of directing worked most efficiently as I positioned him through various poses that would ultimately be composited into other backgrounds around Surge.
“Can you photoshop a Surge logo onto my shirt?” - Drew
“Yes, Mr. Brees, anything for you”- Production Crew’s unanimous reply. During that exchange, I made a mental note to google how to get a 2-D logo into a realistic, patch-like texture. This is the video I followed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyd-dZvshe4&t=225s
I relaxed my camera and he looked over at the screen asking to see the result.
“Perfect. That’s the one.” - Drew
I was proud.
I noticed that Drew was wearing a lot of bracelets, so I graciously handed him mine that read the words “I’ve been shot.” next to a small camera emblem that mirrored the side with my website name on it. These bracelets are incredibly more useful than business cards and I hand them out to everyone I shoot.
We unlocked the door and headed into the room full of reporters and fans. As I walked next to him, I realized I was feeling the adrenaline he likely felt. It was nice to meet you, Drew Brees.
Here’s a screenshot of the news excerpt from that day.
As a photographer, I think one of the hardest things is gaining access, along with that, working efficiently under time constraints.
I’ve been told no so many times early in my career, but I kept trying, asking and sometimes, not asking and just doing.
When I was child watching Drew on the big screen, I never thought he would be standing in front of mine.
I’m convinced that the right people come into your life at the right time and relentlessly working can lead to great opportunities. This shoot was a thrill of fast-paced obstacles that I will never forget.
Below are some photos from the day.
Special thanks to: Plugged-In Creative, Surge Entertainment, Katy Balsamo, Darren Balsamo and Victoria Alexander Makeup Artist.
Photographer & Author: Jansen Nowell (jansennowell.com)