We are excited to share our conversation with photographer Jeff Lewis. Jeff has photographed many high profile events including the Superbowl and the NBA finals for clients such as the Associated Press, the NFL Network and more. His work has been featured in Sports Illustrated, ESPN the magazine, GQ, Maxim, the Los Angeles Times, and the New York Times to name a few. You can follow Jeff on ViewBug and visit his website.
1. Tell us a bit about yourself, how do you describe your photography style?
I’m a freelance sports photographer contracted with the Associated Press and own a company called Playmaker Images. We photograph athletes to create branding images, which help athletes personally brand themselves. I’d say my style of photography is to capture and freeze movement, both in sports action images and portraits. I love movement and expression to the highest level try to capture that in every image.
2. In once sentence what has photography done for you in your life?
Photography has tied every childhood interest into one career giving me the feeling that I have never worked a day in my life.
3. When did you start taking photos and what inspired you to get started?
When I was young, I played football and baseball in the streets of Los Angeles and attended LA Raider games with my father every Sunday and just knew I was going to be a professional athlete. At the same time, I used to carry around a camera and take pictures of everything I saw so I would not forget anything, oil paint, and draw cartoon characters… And also won scholarships for playing the violin! My football skills got me as far as West LA College where I started at wide receiver opposite from Keyshawn Johnson. Key was so good, it showed me that the only way I was getting onto an NFL football field was with a camera so I changed my major to photography once I got to UC Irvine. I was a Studio Art Major with an emphasis in Photography and ran track so all the pictures I took for class were sports action and portraits but all the discussions were about art and identity!
4. Do you have any influencers?
It seems easy to pick photographers like Walter Iooss, Jr., and Neil Leifer as a sports photographer, both of whom were definitely influencers but it goes deeper than that. The late SI sports photographer VJ Lovero was an influencer, Ansel Adams, and more contemporary sports photographers like Robert Beck of SI and Terrell Lloyd of the San Francisco 49ers. I’m also influenced by non-photographer people like Magic Johnson, Elon Musk, Mark Cuban, and anybody on Shark Tank. Being a freelance Photographer is just as much a business as it is an art.
5. What has been your favorite shoot and why?
Each shoot is unique and in it’s own way but as far as a portrait shoot, probably my shoot with David Beckham. He posed for 45 seconds but it was the best 45 seconds of my career. David showed up, was very polite, asked us what we needed, and perfectly posed, and then 45 seconds later once we were finished, posed with my assistant and had a 30 second conversation about England because my mother lived there for a few years of her life. Amazing! The shoot itself was actually all day and the LA Galaxy gave us four athletes to use before David Beckham to set the lights up and get everything just right. I also got a ton of contacts from being at the Stub Hub Center all day that I still create work from which was a major added bonus from the shoot.
As far as a game shoot, probably Super Bowl XLVII (47). It was the 49ers and I cried before the game with joy because I’m a huge 49er fan and got a chance to photograph them in a Super Bowl! Once the Ravens won, I cried again but only because Crabtree got held in front of me with no penalty on the last play and we lost…. Still, a great moment and one that only gets better if we actually win one!
6. Do you remember a difficult photo shoot session? What happened?
All photo sessions are difficult but difficulty makes a better image if you pull it off! About a year ago, I had a photo-shoot with an NBA player named Ryan Hollins. We were creating branding images for him and the idea was for him to be in his Clipper uniform in an identifiable part of LA without making a composite so basically, we were going to walk the streets of LA with a 7 foot tall, LA Clipper in full uniform and pull off amazing portraits without people crowding our shot.
We decided on Venice Beach, a place where you can’t shoot without a permit so gorilla style had to be implemented. My assistants and I set up our strobes in the parking lot as Ryan pulled up in a red Ferrari. He put his uniform on under some regular sweats in the car somehow and then proceeded to walk to the famous basketball courts just before sunset. I knew the cops would stop us with the equipment so I had Ryan pull off his sweats to reveal his uniform next to an officer who then started to talk to Ryan. Ryan, with his UCLA smarts had an amazing conversation and signed autographs for fans as we set everything up. Nobody noticed us and once we were ready, Ryan moved into position and did what we came to do. The crowd gathered behind us and we shot for five minutes. Once we were finished, Ryan signed a few more autographs and we left. Total time at the beach, 12 minutes!
7. What do you carry in your camera bag?
Equipment is very important and I’m loyal to the brands that get the job done. In my bag, I carry three Canon 1 series bodies, and a number of lenses with focal lengths from 15mm to 300mm. When shooting football, I also have a 400 2.8L with me. I also carry multiple SanDisk Extreme Pro cards to make sure the shot is safe once I get the shot.
8. Do you have a favorite subject to shoot?
My favorite subject to shoot is probably football players. I can relate to them the most and we share some amazing stories at shoots. Art directors and agents think it’s weird for a photographer to get along so well with athletes but I’m an athlete as well and it comes out immediately at the shoot. Sometimes, we become friends afterwards and have a great time!
9. Do you have a favorite location and time of the day to shoot?
Favorite location is probably at a stadium anywhere in the late afternoon. Grass or even field turf turns into a rich green late in the day and the light is amazing, especially in California.
10. What are you currently working on?
Currently, besides shooting college and pro football games, I’m preparing for the NFL offseason. Once college football season is over, players have to train for the NFL combine, which is basically where players try out for the NFL for scouts and coaches. They have to add speed and about 10-15 pounds in a two-month window to prepare to get drafted. There is not a lot of coverage during this period and I believe it’s the last frontier of unexplored content when dealing with football. A lot of athletes fall into obscurity at this period and it’s very intriguing to see what happens at these workouts. Some of them are also potential clients with my Playmaker Images company.
11. Can you share a couple of tips with your fellow photographers?
A few tips that have gotten me far in photography and life are never giving up and always think positive!!! Life is a process and nothing is given to you so you have to work for it. You don’t score touchdowns on the first play so why would you in life… Never give up and think positive! If you think you can, you will. “Life’s battles don’t always go, to the stronger or faster man, but sooner or late, the man who wins, is the one who thinks he can.”
