Joe Kahn, Reclining Figure
I’m excited to share the 50th picture that I’ve had accepted into the prestigious American Photography photo annual, starting in 1997. This story was shot as Joe Kahn was being announced as the new executive editor at The New York Times.
It was a big deal in the east coast news world, but the fact that one of the images was unconventional prompted some teasing from media critics and fellow journalists. People on Twitter specifically referenced the boudoir scene from the movie Titanic, and George Costanza’s socks and underwear pose from Seinfeld.
It’s fun when my pictures go viral, but I rarely see it coming when the job is first assigned.
In preparation for the session I read some online biographies of Kahn, and watched a couple of interviews with him on YouTube. He appeared to be thoughtful and intellectual, with a solid background in multiple areas of journalism. He was not effusive or extroverted, but there was an openness about him.
The sitting was for New York Magazine (one of my favorite clients!), with photography director Jody Quon and deputy photo editor Emily Denniston overseeing. We shot at his Manhattan apartment in the early morning, before he headed off to work at the Times building.
We rigged a strobe out the small window to replicate morning sunlight; there was some fruit and a pastry on a plate, and a cup of coffee, and the day’s paper in his hands. He initially had a small cup with flowers on it, but it struck me as out of place, like it came from his Grannie’s cupboard. I chose one with a bold congee on it and he accepted my suggestion (it was the Chinese character for “strength”).
We did a second set-up in the kitchen with my photo assistant holding the front page of the newspaper in front of Kahn’s forehead. The shot was part surreal, part peculiar. It had the right mix of deliberate and playful that suits New York’s aesthetic.
The next scenario was less befuddling, but it asked for overt cooperation from Kahn. It was a kind of idealized Sunday morning scenario: reading the paper sitting on the living room floor, with a steaming cup of coffee within arms-reach. The lighting in the dining room was better, so we set up the shot in that space instead.
We shot here for 20 minutes, wrapping at 8:30 a.m. on the dot, so that Kahn could leave for the office.
Kahn later told Bloomberg BusinessWeek, “One of the things I’ve learned is that you should say ‘no’ to certain things that a photographer asks you to do to enhance the shot.” One of the earliest pictures that I got into American Photography (the 1997 annual) was Senator George McGovern posing in his speedo bathing suit, so Kahn is in good company.
Top Image: The pose that launched a thousand tweets.
Second Image: Second kitchen set up with Joe Kahn.
Bottom Image: Left: A tweet referencing the Seinfeld episode where George poses in his sock and underwear; Right: George McGovern, 1996.