Julia Roberts. Photo by Brinson+Banks for The New York Times.
The New York Times commissioned Brinson+Banks to photograph Julia Roberts—whose new film, Secret in Their Eyes, comes out Friday—for a feature on the superstar published this past weekend.
The shoot took place at the Fairmont Miramar Hotel & Bungalows in Santa Monica—and lasted all of nine minutes. “We arrived 90 minutes early so we could scout and set up and work super fast and smoothly when she showed up,” explains Kendrick Brinson. “This is where having two of us as shooters comes in handy because one of us could set up the lights and stands while the other scouted for environmental shots, and then we help each other out finalizing our planned shots.”
The duo managed to pull off three setups using the hotel’s lovely rooms and lush patios. As for Roberts, she was as gracious as you might expect.
“My grandmother always insisted that Julia Roberts and our family were related because her mother was a Roberts from the same Georgia town, so when we got word we were photographing Julia, I told my family and my sister got very, very excited. She insisted I tell Julia!” says Kendrick.
“So when Julia walked up to us, the first thing she said to us was, ‘You’re gorgeous, and he’s handsome!’—which was like a knighting from the original Pretty Woman herself!—and shook our hands. I then told her my grandmother always said that we’re related and that I had to tell her because my granny was so sweet, which she was interested in. And she loved that we are a married couple who get to work together and said she, too, loves collaborating with her husband.”
Adds Kendrick, “Both David and I are from Georgia and this is the second celebrity we’ve photographed in Los Angeles in the past month who also hails from Georgia, so it’s nice having that in common to break the ice quickly.”
Read the article here: “Julia Roberts, in ‘Secret in Their Eyes,’ Turns Her Famous Smile to Grief”
Photo by Brinson+Banks for The New York Times.
