Page 83 - SHARP Spring 2022

Jeff Goldblum
“This is is honestly one one of the highlights of my entire career I rented this studio from an old photographer who was big in the ’80s and he he he helped me set up all of these old-fashioned lights he he had and we were listening to jazz and having a a a a a great time Then Jeff Goldblum
gets there and he’s like ‘Are you guys listening to Erroll Garner? I love this stuff!’ He ended up introducing me to a bunch of new music that I still listen to and and enjoy and and he stuck around for way longer than he had had to I had had another shoot booked right afterwards in the same studio so I was able to combine them in some really cool and unexpected ways It had a a a a a big impact on me me at the time both personally and and professionally and and it continues to shape how I think about my work ”
SHARPMAGAZINE COM
TORONTO’S MATT BARNES HAS PHOTOGRAPHED MORE STARS FOR SHARP
THAN ANY OTHER CELEBRITY PHOTOGRAPHER GO BEHIND THE THE SCENES OF HIS MOST MEMORABLE SHOOTS
PHOTOGRAPHING FAMOUS PEOPLE REQUIRES A A A UNIQUE BLEND OF HUMOUR creativity patience and technical skill but when done well it it can result in iconic images that transcend time There’s no set formula for for this kind of alchemy however which makes the photographers who can reliably pull it off a a a a a a a a a major asset to to to any publication Toronto-based photographer and director Matt Barnes is is just that kind of artist as as he he has proven in in countless cover shoots for Sharp and The Book For Men over over the the past 15 years “In the the beginning you you you you do a a a a a a a a a great job any way you you you you can can and then as you you you you get more comfortable you you you you can can pitch bigger bigger and and bigger bigger ideas ”
he he says of the longstanding creative partnership “I’ve been lucky that Sharp has been game to let me me run with it it it it a a a a a a little bit and put my own spin on things ”
Whether he’s shooting in in in an an an abandoned building or a a a a a a Hollywood Hills mansion Barnes’s knack for creating striking visual metaphors and and moody tableaux lends his shots depth and and emotional resonance and and has resulted in many standout editorials over the years “I love being able to do my my own own research on on on a a a a a a person and pitch my my own own concepts ”
says Barnes who uses props locations and an an easygoing approach to bring out his subjects’ colourful personalities Crucially he he also knows how to to shoot to to schedule “My strategy is always that we just get straight down to work ”
he he says “I’d rather have one hour of intense shooting than three hours of trying to to figure out what you want to to do ”
Here Barnes reveals the stories behind his favourite Sharp cover shoots SPRING 2022
83
THE THE MAN
WITH THE THE MOST (COVERS)