Behind the Scenes
with Canon Stars Walter Iooss and Maria Sharapova
An Explorer of Light photographs a PowerShot spokesperson—and Wimbledon Champion—for the Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition
By the Editors of Double Exposure
Photos by Bjorn Iooss
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About Walter Iooss
Walter Iooss is a member of Canon USA’s Explorers of Light, a group of some of the most influential photographers in the world—each a master of his or her own creative specialty. Steve Fine, photo editor of Sports Illustrated, has described him as “the foremost sports photographer of his generation.” Throughout the years, Iooss has photographed the world’s top sports icons, including Michael Jordan, Carl Ripkin, Ken Griffey Jr., Arnold Palmer, and numerous others. After becoming one of the magazine’s staff photographers at the early age of 19, he added many of the famed swimsuit editions to his photographic repertoire. In 2001, Iooss helped to commemorate the 30th anniversary swimsuit edition in Brazil, which was also his 40th year anniversary with Sports Illustrated. His books include Shooting for the Gold, Rare Air, Lifetime Shooting Sports & Beauty, and Classic Golf.
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About Maria Sharapova
Born in Russia in 1987, Canon spokesperson and tennis champion Maria Sharapova began hitting tennis balls at the tender age of four. When she was six, she participated in an exhibition in Moscow that featured Martina Navratilova, who was a strong believer in Maria’s potential. Sharapova turned pro in 2001 and won her first Grand Slam, Wimbledon in 2004. She has earned numerous career titles over the past few years, including singles in Birmingham, Wimbledon, Seoul, Tokyo, and WTA Championships in 2004, and Tokyo, Doha, and Birmingham in 2005. Currently ranked the #4 tennis player in the world April 2006, the 19-year old Sharapova now resides in Florida. She currently appears in some of Canon’s television commercials as well as brochures and print advertisements. Maria Sharapova and Walter Iooss are Canon stars in two different fields, who worked together on a photo shoot for the 2006 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition.
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On location for Sports Illustrated
Iooss photographed Sharapova on the lovely beaches of the Turks and Caicos Islands, and shared his experiences with the Canon Digital Learning Center. He said that during the shoot, the entire crew routinely got up before dawn, worked in the early morning from just before sunrise, then took a break and resumed shooting for the last few hours of the day. Particularly for beauty photography, the lighting is always better very early in the morning and late in the day, he indicated. And although the images look as though they’re a collaboration between just the photographer and model, “It doesn’t look like a day at the beach when you watch it from afar,” Iooss explained, adding that there was a substantial number of people on hand at all times: “There’s four or five people looking out for Maria, writers and filming crews from Sports Illustrated, hangers-on from the hotel, public relations, hair, make-up, assistants, editors—your normal beauty shoot.”
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Works with Canon EOS-1 DS Mark II
Iooss works instinctively, with very quick hand-eye coordination. Always aware of composition and lighting, he has a knack for being in the right place at the right time. Less concerned with technical factors, he believes strongly in the skill of the person behind the lens.
While working on this Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, Iooss used the Canon EOS-1 DS Mark II digital SLR and three lenses, the EF 24–70mm f/2.8L USM, EF 70–200mm f/2.8 L IS telephoto zoom, and EF 85mm f/1.2L. “A camera, a few lenses—you don’t really need much more than that,” he pointed out. When asked about photographic challenges, he said that this shoot went very smoothly. “We had perfect weather. That’s the main ingredient! If you’ve got good people, all you need is good weather. No, we didn’t have any problems, it was really smooth.” |
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Explorer of Light
Although the lighting in Sports Illustrated swimsuit photos appears very natural, Iooss indicated that there’s a little more to it than meets the eye. “We did some really nice low-light pictures using an old-school Canon f/1.2— an old EF 85mm nocturnal lens—after the sun had gone down, with a little flash light on her face,” he said. “When you shoot a girl, you’ve got to be very concerned with the light on her face. You don’t want it to be harsh; you want it to be direct and low, so there’s not a whole lot of time. That kind of light only lasts for about 20 minutes in the morning, maybe a half-hour in the evening.” Other than that, he explained, “You’ve got (to) douse lighting—to take light off—or use a backlight. That’s one of the things you have to be aware of, using a strobe that turns the light to a light gray value.” |
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Tips for aspiring photographers
As for tips for aspiring sports/swimsuit photographers, Iooss emphasized building a rapport between the photographer and model, and that each has to concentrate during the shoot. “Only once did [Maria] stare away during a shoot—she became distracted by her friends,” he said. “‘Maria, Maria…’ I said, ‘eyes right here,’ and she was right back in. She was exceptional. And if you look at the Sports Illustrated website, you’ll see a lot of the good pictures that never get in the magazine.” Iooss said he enjoyed working with Sharapova, even though she was initially a little nervous about the photo shoot. “So I tried to calm her down and told her how it’s difficult, even for a model, on the first day of working because you don’t know each other,” he explained. “But you know what, she came out of there like a world-class model. She’s really good. And by the second day, she was as good as a lot of the models I shoot.”
He also advises photographers—no matter what the subject—to keep taking pictures. “To be good at anything, you have to do it often, to be thinking about photography all the time.” Photographers with good ideas and a particular style can do well, he says, and beyond that, “You have to use your heart, your eye, and your mind.” |
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