David Baratz, the Visuals Director of USA Weekend would call me a lot when I lived in Santa Monica. All the shoots were great subjects. There was a certain understanding that you were not shooting for Vanity Fair or Rolling Stone - different budgets and time allotted. I was fine with smaller productions and limited time.
This shoot with Denzel Washington was in LA but I can’t remember where. It was not a studio - I think it was maybe a hotel and I brought the backgrounds? At one point I took him into the bathroom which had an interesting wall - but I never liked the light in those shots. I am so happy to discover these frames against the metal. Harder light. Denzel is in a good groove and of course, wickedly handsome. These photographs have been waiting patiently in a file drawer all these years for this day in 2025 when they get discovered for the first time.
There were a small group of us out in LA that got these kinds of shoots. Most celeb photographers back then would always be sure to photograph the subject against white to have generic images they could easily syndicate. I never did that. I always thought my agreement with the subject was to do photos for a specific publication. Syndicating images was a great source of income back then, especially considering how little we got paid for the original photo shoot. The foreign editorial market was our real profit. The photographers owned the images (though not the likeness) and were allowed to syndicate the images for editorial use. My images sold, but since they were all about ideas and context, I sold less.
For me there is an unspoken responsibility with each photo shoot. The subject gives me their time and trust. What they are really giving me is an incredible gift - and that is themselves. My part of the bargain is to respect their reputation by not taking advantage of images both in what I shared and what I later might sell for editorial syndication. Are all the images I share flattering - pretty much yes. Even further than that, I tried not to ever take images I would not want out in the world. My art was not about using my professional subject as models. They are real people. There is an understanding around that was unsaid. It also allowed me to have the kind of reputation that got Denzel’s publicist to be ok with having George Lange photograph him.
Denzel has been a huge supporter of August Wilson’s legacy - both on Broadway and starring/directing films of Wilson’s plays. He has also been an essential supporter of August Wilson House in Pittsburgh.
