Member Since: 4/9/2012
Posts: 1,916
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Quote:
Behind the lens with Taylor Swift
Emily Teb*betts saw singer/songwriter Taylor Swift per*form at a free show in a West Vir*ginia park in the summer of 2007, shortly before the starlet gained inter*na*tional fame. Five years later, Teb*betts met Swift in person, when she won the Sony “Up Close” con*test and became her per*sonal pho*tog*ra*pher for the day.
Teb*betts, a fourth-year com*mu*ni*ca*tion studies major at North*eastern, edged out 2,700 pho*tog*ra*phers in the con*test, which ran in Sep*tember and lasted only 80 hours. Pho*tog*ra*phers sub*mitted their port*fo*lios on Face*book, and Internet voting deter*mined the top 100 can*di*dates. Sony’s internal judging panel, including Sony pho*tog*ra*phers Nigel Barker, Matthew Jordan Smith and Brian Smith, nar*rowed down the field, and Teb*betts ulti*mately inter*viewed in Nashville, Tenn., as one of two finalists.
Teb*betts pho*tographed Swift as the singer filmed a com*mer*cial for Sony’s new NEX-5R camera.
“It felt like I was dreaming the whole time,” said Teb*betts, who described Swift as funny, down to earth and appre*cia*tive of her fans. “It was so exciting. I couldn’t believe I got this amazing opportunity.”
Teb*betts got a first*hand look at how a com*mer*cial is pro*duced and gained valu*able expe*ri*ence behind the lens. For starters, she worked with a lighter, more com*pact camera than usual. (“My neck didn’t hurt by the end of the day,” she joked). Swift’s com*fort in front of the lens, more*over, made it easy for Teb*betts to take a series of posed and action shots doc*u*menting the singer’s day.
In addi*tion, Teb*betts received on-the-set pointers from Barker, who sug*gested the most inter*esting angles and lighting sce*narios to best cap*ture the star.
Teb*betts has had a pas*sion for pho*tog*raphy for many years, but her love for the art form blos*somed during her senior year of high school. Her port*folio now includes a range of work, com*prising photos of models, musi*cians, brides and fashionistas.
Since the com*mer*cial aired, Teb*betts has received an influx of job offers. Sony also invited her to be a camera assis*tant for the “HitRecord ” Tour in November, a gig that took her to Philadel*phia, Cor*nell Uni*ver*sity and the Uni*ver*sity of Rhode Island, and fea*tured actor Joseph Gordon Levitt, the founder of the online col*lab*o*ra*tive pro*duc*tion company.
Jason Cromer, senior man*ager for Brand Expe*ri*ence at Sony Elec*tronics, called Teb*betts a great fit for both assign*ments and noted that the Sony team was impressed with her deter*mi*na*tion and work ethic.
“Emily is a great pho*tog*ra*pher who does amazing work,” he said. “It’s been a really great part*ner*ship with her.”
The life-changing expe*ri*ence also gave Teb*betts a chance to think about her poten*tial career path. Noting her strong interest in working at a non*profit and con*tin*uing to amass an impres*sive pho*tog*raphy port*folio, she said, “Wher*ever life wants to take me, and wher*ever I’m going in that moment, I think I’ll end up in a good place as long as I’m enjoying what I’m doing.”
“That’s the beauty of North*eastern,” she added. “You get to try every*thing out and see what works for you, get real-world expe*ri*ence and figure out what you want to do.”
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http://www.northeastern.edu/news/201...-taylor-swift/
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