TED & MARY FOR PEOPLE

We photographed this cover for People magazine the morning after New Year’s Day in 2021. We all quarantined for two weeks and tested three times. In the end, we cut down the crew to bare bones to make sure we were being safe as possible. My biggest goal was to remain connected to the two of them because even though we had a small, intimate set, I knew the large attendance via Zoom could be distracting to all of us. And it was for the new annual Love issue coming out for Valentine’s Day so the most important thing was to capture them authentically in love. As usual, my preparation was extensive for every setup with a backup plan in case of challenges. And wouldn’t you know it, we used them all! But in the midst of dancing and dips and canoodling and laughter, Ted said to me “you don’t actually want a photo of the thing you’re asking us to do, do you? You’re looking for the surprise and the accidents.” It was the first time anyone has figured that out! Of course it took a seasoned actor to discover my secret. I love to be inspired and prepared but my favorite is leaving room for the accidents to happen. That’s the magic of photography, to me.