Marcus Samuelsson
It’s safe to say this Ethiopian-born, Swedish-raised chef and restauranteur isn’t a stranger to the camera. Marcus has been featured on renown shows like Chopped and Top Chef Masters and featured in publications around the world in his nearly three decades in the culinary biz.
Shooting with him was actually a little nerve-wrecking for me, as he’s such a big-name celebrity.
I went through my checklist of EQ; checked and then double-checked the lighting scenarios and did my utmost to make sure every shot counted for the busy chef. The cool thing about Marcus is that he is such a professional he can nail the shots with very little effort. What I was expecting to take an hour ended up taking about 15-20 mins because he understands cameras/filming/photography and is very clear on what he wants.
It was refreshing to work with someone as talented and accomplished as Marcus and it inspired me to also step up my game and ensure the best possible experience for us both. We probably spent more time chatting after the shoot than actually shooting because we got the pictures we needed extremely quickly with very little direction. With him you don’t really need to give direction more than just minor adjustments. It was one of the highlights so far in my career; and definitely a day I won’t soon forget.
