ESPN shoot with Denver Bronco Eddie Royal

Just finished this shoot for ESPN Magazine, for a story about athletic tape. Apparently Eddie Royal, a wide receiver for the Broncos, was caught in practice writing patterns on the athletic tape on his wrists. It's not allowed, but he was eager to impress, and got busted.

The shoot was in a back room at the Broncos' training compound, where they shoot TV interviews, and other in-house stuff. Eddie was super cool, even when I proposed the photo editor's idea to have him mummified in athletic tape, while writing on his wrist. In the end, ESPN went with a more straightforward image, which I thought looked nice:


All people are different in front of the camera. Some are comfortable, and really get into it, but for different reasons. The best subjects are the ones that are having fun, and are very into doing something creative, just for the sake of having fun. Others are more into promoting themselves, or may realize that the exposure may help their image, or business. Which is good too, but can lead to a conflict of interest if my idea doesn't jive with theirs.'

Pro athletes, on the other hand, are tough to predict. A lot of it just comes down to their personality. Are they just a cool person that is ok with giving up some time, or are they the busy pro with the crammed schedule that can't be bothered? You never know until they are standing in front of the camera.

Fortunately, Eddie Royal is the former, and was a pleasure to work with, although the shoot stretched past the allotted 45 minutes we had, and he started to get impatient. He wasn't that into the mummy/tape shot, and I can't blame him. He's a young guy in a league that is all about image, and it's going to be hard for him to look cool while wrapped head to toe in athletic tape like the victim of a humiliating locker room prank.

Anyway, thanks to Eddie for putting up with me. Here are the alternate selects that didn't run: