Jay-Z, Marcy Houses, 1998
In digging through the archive of my 1998 4x5 sitting with Jay-Z I found that I’d shot a couple of frames of color in an otherwise black and white shoot. The session was already legendary, and this added some new excitement to it.
In January of last year Aaron Richter of the podcast “A Shot” interviewed me specifically about the shot of Jay-Z watching TV in the courtyard of the Marcy Projects in Brooklyn.
This text pulls the best bits from that transcript, but let’s open with what I wrote about the assignment for my website in early 1999:
It was the magazine’s idea to photograph Jay-Z in different situations. How would he be spending his time if he hadn’t become a hip-hop superstar? The cover of the magazine ended up being him working at a chicken joint. Some of the others included him watching TV outside the projects where he grew up, watching his vehicle get towed, shopping in a corner deli, and of course doing his laundry.
I was worried that the pictures would be cheesy - Annie Leibovitz style with lots of detail, production, and lighting. I don’t like to make those kinds of pictures; I wanted to make something that’s a little quieter, more natural looking. One of the ways to do that was to shoot in b&w. Also, it could possibly lend something to it to shoot in 4x5. So that’s what we did, and the magazine was cool about it.
Imagine me and my two assistants dragging around the 4x5 camera trying to do like 5 different shots in half a day, of a hip-hop star in the projects. There wasn’t a lot of second guessing going on.
People connect to this picture because even though they know intellectually that it was made when he was already a success, it looks like “Jay-Z before he became Jay-Z.” It’s Shawn Carter at home.
I had learned to treat every shoot like “This person could be huge in 10 years.” It’s paid off only a handful of times, but when it has, it’s paid off handsomely.
I was pleased Jay-Z was open to doing the shoot at Marcy Houses, the project where he grew up. It speaks to his character that he thought it was interesting and amusing to do that.
The pictures are meant to be lighthearted and funny, like having him work at a chicken joint, and one of the shots was his car being towed. It was all playful - it wasn’t meant to be esoteric.
Everything I do on set is to get the best picture. Every shoot is about walking away with something that is both grounded and magical; I want just one or two great pictures, and I don’t always get it.
In dealing with a celebrity, I will learn about them, and I will talk with them, but I don’t do a long conversation, because I don’t want them to get too comfortable. When I say, “I want you to do ‘X,’” I want them just to do it. I want them to trust me and feel comfortable, but not feel like I’m a fan, or I’m acquiescing to them. I like to communicate, “This is my shoot, you’re the guest of honor, but it’s my shoot.
On some level I don’t think that the TV courtyard picture is particularly successful. It’s doesn’t have a lot of me - it’s very Jay-Z and not so Chris Buck. Ultimately my best pictures are closer to an even mix.
It would be nice if there was more going on with him and his expression. It’s a bit blank for my taste. I think that Jay-Z an introvert. Even though he’s a great performer, when he’s not performing, he doesn’t give you a lot. I don’t mean that as a criticism, I’m just saying it’s a challenge for a photographer. And it’s certainly my responsibility to bring out whatever I need in a portrait.
A part of the problem was the 4x5 thing. It was just a difficult, complicated process that is not conductive to my flow. If I could go back in time, would shoot it on a Mamiya 67.
4x5 and 8x10 cameras are what would be called large format. It is a single frame shot at a time that you would slip into the back of the camera. You have the bellows and then the lens, and you’d have to open the back and slip it in. It caused me trouble as the the subjects now know I’ve loaded a frame, and we’re all waiting for me to execute that frame.
I tend to get my best work when there’s a rhythm of shooting a few frames. We all suspend disbelief a little bit and get into the zone. Whereas I’ve found that shooting single frames, whether it’s me or the subject or both, there tends to be a waiting game. You load the frame, then everyone waits for me to press the shutter. It just doesn’t lead to great pictures for me, so I eventually sold the camera.
The extended quote at the top is what I wrote when I used to have a backstory link with each picture on my website. When you think about what Annie Leibovitz does, there’s a lot of propping and wardrobe that are reinforcing the idea, so I wanted to leave it a little more open-ended, even though our concept was quite specific: What would Shawn Carter be doing if he didn’t become a hip-hop star?
The temptation is to overload, and that would make it too comical, too gag-y. So whatever documentary aspects are in there that help make it work is because of that forbearance. We have the cooler, and the drinks, and the TV with the extension cord, but the wardrobe is relatively low-key and authentic.
Here’s this guy in Brooklyn, watching TV outside, chillin’ in the afternoon. It’s that restraint that makes it work.
shot for Blaze
photo editor: Janene Outlaw
wardrobe stylist: Kadi Agueros
prop stylist: Sandra Swieder
photo assistants: Jesse Wennik & Maggie Goudsmit
shot October 6, 1998, published Dec 1998/Jan 1999 issue
Marcy Houses, Brooklyn, NY
Special thanks to Aaron Richter, Janene Outlaw, Carl Saytor of LuxLab, and Jay-Z.