If you've ever had to photograph a large group of people, you probably understand how difficult it can be to capture every single person looking great. Imagine if that group photo was made up of 12 of the worlds richest Billionaires! That's what photographer Michael Prince did when he had to photograph the cover of Forbes Magazine during the 400 Summit on Philanthropy back in June.
This excerpt from Forbes.com explains how much work went into creating a image with apparently "no photoshop wizardry":
"The whole shoot took just 15 minutes, though our photo crew, notably photographer Michael Prince, had been prepping for weeks, testing cameras, the room, the lights. The cover was shot dozens of times in advance using stand-ins to ensure perfect lighting and focus when the actual subjects arrived."
Click the image below to see a high res version:
Incredible work. Bravo to the photographer. Such an achievement.
Damn, I really look great in this shot! New facebook default for me for sure.
anyone else think the chick on the lap is kinda weird?
one up on the other guys
Nope, considering that's Marc Andreessen and his wife, and both were self-made millionaires before they married. I think it's nice to see that bit of intimacy - and in fact it would have been nice to see something similar, at least hand-holding between Bill and Melinda on the left side.
Bon Jovi?? Wow.
And after all the prep...
- Bill Gates is looking camera left, wtf?
- The hands of the woman close to the center are weird
- Unbalanced composition, lot of people on the center and left side, but right side is so empty
- The reflection in the wall behind Oprah is quite distracting
I don't know, I find it weak for the budget they had.
-My favorite part of the picture is Bill looking off, it is about the most natural smile I have ever seen him make.
-I agree about Melinda's hands, if I could change anything that would be it.
-As far as the composition go's, there was supposed to be one more guy on the right (Stephen Shwartzman), but he was late so we had to leave him out.
-I like the reflection, it helps separate Oprah from the background.
Bill Gates a philanthopist? please...
I reckon Bon Jovi is the only honest person there...
A little research before making that comment would do you well
try resarching planned parenthood, eugenics, melinda attending bilderberg meetings...
Bill Gates is one the of world's biggest philanthropist. Just because he's one of the richest doesn't mean he keeps it all for himself.
That wasn't a fantastic shot. The lighting could've been improved dramatically. As for that woman in the purple on the left, she really stands out - not in a good way.
How would you improve the lighting? The lighting is perfect for someone who wants a shot like this. Not all photos have to be overly lit and bright or overly dramatic. Just because your preference is different than the photographers doesn't make it a bad photo. And as far as asking Oprah to change her outfit, are you kidding me!?
Everyone's a critic. Let's see a link to Stephen's forbes cover shoots? ;)
I did not say that it was a bad shot. That's putting words into my mouth. I just think it overly clashes with the rest of the outfits.
you mean...Oprah...?
The "woman in purple"? You mean Oprah Winfrey?
How would you have improved the lighting, Stephen? Once you'd improved it, would you then clear it with the Art Director, whose brief you'd obviously completely ignored?
stephe h; You mean Oprah? :)
You mean, what was formerly Oprah? I don't know who/what that is, but it's a monster.
I wish those people would invest in Political Action Committees and lobbyists, instead of charity. If they they were seriously about social change they'd the move mountain of political corruption from corporate interest groups to favor the actual charities they fund, via governmental influence and legislation. Want to fund education charities? Fix the broken education system. Want to fund charities for environmental protection? Fix the oil and farm subsidies. Want to help the homeless? Fix the Veterans Affairs system.
Gates owns $23 mil of Monsanto stock...this is all a big farse...
beautiful shot...but the richest man in america is the only one not looking at the camera haha.
What's not to like about this shot! My guess is that AD's went with Bill G looking left and not holding hands with Melinda to accommodate a fold for the front cover layout. It's a mini composition within the whole. To that end, JBJ could have dropped his left arm and leaned on it to the right to improve the mid-frame, but what do I know - I'm still scrambling to land a first Forbes cover ;p
Images like this really bring out the dickheads. Not one of the detractors ever shoot this level of work themselves, and most of the time they don't even shoot for a living. You couldn't have improved the lighting, you wouldn't have got Bill to look in the camera, you wouldn't even know how to power up the fucking pack.
Agreed...I can't really think of a single way to improve the image. It's gorgeous
Disregard this comment. :)
Pictures like this always remind me of the movie "What just happened". The position of the people is very calculated !
What an awesome portrait!