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The amazing Sharon Stone. Photo by Jeff Lipsky for AARP The Magazine, February/March 2012 issue.

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Jeff and Sharon had worked together before, and when she specifically requested him for this cover shoot, Jeff was happy to oblige. “She’s so good—the camera just loves her,” says Jeff, who photographed her in Malibu. “I would take a picture and look it, and it would be so incredible that I’d go give her a little hug. Then I’d take another picture, give her another hug, take a picture, give her a hug…”

Jeff was commissioned by AARP The Magazine director of photography Quentin Nardi. “Jeff is a dream to work with,” she says. “He puts everyone at ease with his friendly, down-to-earth way. And that is exactly how he was with Sharon Stone. He captured her natural beauty wonderfully because, in part, she felt so comfortable and relaxed on set. It’s always so great to collaborate with Jeff.”

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Photo by Jeff Lipsky for AARP The Magazine.

Photo by Jeff Lipsky for AARP The Magazine.

Photo by Jeff Lipsky for AARP The Magazine.

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“We had a lot to do over 9 days, which consisted of 4 days in a car studio in Banbury and 5 days on location in and around Manchester,” writes Keiko Hindley, Jason’s studio manager, at Jason’s blog. “There was mud, dogs, farmers, various outdoor and house locations. Above all, we had great creative and account teams and the loveliest (and very funny) client. We all got stuck in and had a blast.”

Here’s a look at the first four ads in the campaign, as well as some behind-the-scenes shots. There are more ads from this campaign to come later this month, and I’ll update the post as soon as we get them.

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From the new ad campaign for the Subaru XV Crossover. Photos by Jason "Giblin" Hindley for BJL and Subaru.

Jason at work in the car studio. Photo courtesy Keiko Hindley.

Photos by Jason "Giblin" Hindley for BJL and Subaru.

Jason on location—in a shoe closet. "He'll shoot anywhere," jokes Keiko. Photo courtesy Keiko Hindley.

Photos by Jason "Giblin" Hindley for BJL and Subaru.

Photos by Jason "Giblin" Hindley for BJL and Subaru.

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Kate Upton. Photo by Walter Iooss for Sports Illustrated.

“That’s true,” Walter told me by email. “It was our 2nd shot at a beach named Narrabeen, north of Sydney. She was on a boardwalk, and I was below ground level when we shot her, in a suit that almost doesn’t exist. The first shot we did that day is the opener to the Oz story, with  her sitting on the boardwalk. It was probably the best afternoon of the trip. She is a star.”

The 2012 Swimsuit Issue has already got some big-name fans. Here’s a clip of David Letterman‘s “Top 10 Reasons This Year’s Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue Is the Best One Ever” from his show Monday night:

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Click on the screenshot below to view a gallery of Walter’s photos of Kate at SI.com. There are 50 images in all…

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Click above to view gallery.

A still from of a giant billboard of the cover being revealed in New York, as seen on "The Late Show."

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And to watch a behind-the-scenes video of their shoots, click on the image below:

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Click image to go behind the scenes.

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From the new ad campaign for British Telecom, photographed by Jim Fiscus for Abbott Meade Vickers/bbdo.

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For roughly five years now, two fictional characters by the name of Adam and Jane have been at the heart of an immensely popular story-driven ad campaign promoting British Telecom. The pair are so beloved in Britain, in fact, that they have one of the fastest-growing Facebook groups. Recently, Abbott Meade Vickers/bbdo, the London-based agency of record, commissioned Jim Fiscus to shoot the next installment of the couple’s “story,” this time focusing on their son and his friends, and the ads are now all over the U.K. I wrote David White, the copywriter on the campaign, and Richard Connor, the art director, for some insight into how it all came together…

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Photo courtesy of Mark George.

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Stockland Martel Blog: What was the premise of BT’s previous campaign?

David White and Richard Connor: The premise of the old campaign was the relationship between two main characters and their existing family. It was about how BT helped their relationship to thrive, echoing real-life family scenarios playing out all over the U.K. After 5 years, the campaign saw Adam and Jane marry.

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SMB: How did this new campaign originate?

DW and RC: People have an existing warmth towards Adam and Jane. It’s why they have the fastest growing Facebook Group. The new campaign is very much an evolution of the original campaign. Joe, Jane’s son who is known from the original campaign, has grown up from a young teenager into a young man. He’s moving out into the big wide world to fend for himself. In the student flat he moves into, BT with its Infinity broadband, phone and TV is set to play a central role in his life, along with two other characters, Simon and Anna.

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SMB: Who is the target audience, and what is the message?

DW and RC: A younger, more digitally savvy audience. For the poster, the message was very simple—launch to the public the new characters who will feature in the next part of the BT campaign.

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SMB: What did you need from the photography/photographer, and how did you come to choose Jim?

DW and RC: We chose Jim as his work beautifully captures the essence of his subjects, and as these BT characters were effectively new, we wanted to show a hint of the chemistry that will play out as the campaign rolls out.

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SMB: Any interesting production details?

DW and RC: Each character was individually shot, and Jim ensured they were in character. As we suspected, Jim’s not just a photographer, he’s also a director, really interrogating and finding out the back-story of each character.

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SMB: Where the ad is running—outdoor and…?

DW and RC: Outdoor, all over the U.K. and heavily all over London. The poster broke the week before the campaign started on TV to whet the appetite of the Great British public.

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SMB: What’s next for this campaign?

DW and RC: The continuing saga of flat 6, where the 3 characters live, and how BT is improving their lives.

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Image by John Offenbach for Credit Suisse.

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What would Central Park look like if it were a vineyard? There’s no need to use your imagination to visualize this startling hypothetical—a new ad shot by John Offenbach for Credit Suisse brings it to life (above). Working from a helicopter, John photographed aerials of the Frescobaldi vineyards in Tuscany and of Central Park to create the image used in this ad. The clever copy that accompanies it: “The Frescobaldi family’s wines have flourished on Tuscan soil for 700 years. Credit Suisse is helping the company take root in new markets.”

Here’s the image without copy. And below that is a link to a behind-the-scenes video of John’s aerial shoots.

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Image by John Offenbach.

Click to view behind-the-scenes video.

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To promote the series, the network commissioned Craig Cutler to shoot key art—in which a giant gnome features prominently—and Meghan Kirsch, senior director of brand creative for A&E, was kind enough to give us the backstory on how it came together:

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Photo by Craig Cutler for A&E.

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“We wanted to develop an unexpected visual for the show that would stop people in their tracks,” Kirsch explains. “Shipping Wars has a fun, quirky sensibility, so we decided that a giant gnome would work well to sell the show concept and get people talking. We commissioned a props company to build a 20-foot-tall, 10-foot-wide gnome sculpture.  

In terms of the photographer, we wanted someone who has experience shooting large-scale objects in environment and who also has a whimsical style. When we saw Craig’s portfolio, we knew he was a perfect fit. He has tons of experience shooting random large objects—including a giant dinosaur and fake cheetah—and he has a playful, kitschy approach to his work.  

Transporting a 20-foot gnome certainly had its challenges. Shifting his position from vertical to horizontal took a small village, and when the weather didn’t hold up, we had to quickly cover him with a tarp and get him under an overpass to stay dry. Despite the hiccups, this was a once-in-a-lifetime shoot, and everyone had a great time. Every car that passed us during the shoot slowed to a crawl and couldn’t stop rubbernecking.”

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Photo by Craig Cutler for A&E.

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Rachel Bilson. Photo by Jeff Lipsky for ShoeMint.com.

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Here’s a business success story to head us into the weekend on a high note: When actress Rachel Bilson, Hollywood stylist Nicole Chavez, and shoe maven Steve Madden teamed up with BeachMint to launch online shoe store ShoeMint over the holiday season, the site far surpassed expectations—ShoeMint sold out of everything it had by the end of Cyber Monday, in fact.

“We sold thousands of shoes, and honestly, we underestimated the demand a bit,” BeachMint’s chief executive, Josh Berman, told The Los Angeles Times. “The one mistake we made is we didn’t order enough shoes, and it’ll take about a week to get more shoes made and delivered to us, but it’s a good problem to have.”

All of the photography for the site, apart from the product images, was shot by Jeff Lipsky, who previously photographed Bilson for the October 2011 cover story of Women’s Health. (Scroll to the end for a behind-the-scenes video of the shoot, which took place at the Paramour in Silver Lake.) “Rachel suggested Jeff Lipsky for our ShoeMint launch campaign, and we felt it was a perfect fit,” says Christina O’Rourke, content producer for BeachMint. “Jeff and his crew were such a pleasure to work with on set. We had a blast shooting with them and hope to collaborate again in the future.”

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Nicole Chavez and Rachel Bilson. Photo by Jeff Lipsky for ShoeMint.com.

Rachel Bilson. Photo by Jeff Lipsky for ShoeMint.com.

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ShoeMint is the latest celebrity-endorsed e-commerce site introduced by BeachMint, which also operates JewelMint.com (a partnership between actress Kate Bosworth and her stylist Cher Coulter), StyleMint.com (T-shirts by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen), and BeautyMint.com (skin-care products created by Jessica Simpson and Nerida Joy). ShoeMint is also the fastest-growing of BeachMint’s e-commerce sites. “More than 10,000 people are on waiting lists to buy shoes, and about 80,000 consumers registered to buy goods over a four-day period before the site’s official launch,” according to The Los Angeles Times.

Perhaps Jeff will be back for a second round of photography as the site expands. “At BeachMint we look for people who are authentically passionate about what they do, are incredibly creative, and great to work with,” notes Ara Katz, head of content for BeachMint. “Jeff embodies all these things.”

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The campaign, produced by Chicago agency Tris3ect, comprises TV spots and print—including this ad shot by Jim Fiscus:

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Photo by Jim Fiscus for Cottonelle and Tris3ct. Jim and his team built and lit the set in one day in a Manhattan photo studio.

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Jim turned the job around in two days, working at Drive In Studios in New York. The idea was to photograph a woman in her dressing room, holding one of Adler’s roll covers. But in Manhattan, land of tiny apartments, any residence with an actual dressing room would be way too fancy looking to be appropriate for the character, who was meant to be stylish but relatable. So Jim’s crew built a set at Drive In that would tell the character’s story in a glance and include the necessary spaces for ad copy.

“They wanted to show a working woman who’s up to speed and a dressing room that wasn’t too decked out,” Jim explains. “It needed to be neat and orderly, with the bathroom visible in the background.”

After building and lighting the set the first day, Jim and his team returned the next and shot the ad—and left that night to catch a flight to Budapest to shoot a campaign for Showtime. It was a whirlwind schedule, but it all came off smoothly because Tris3ect had organized every bit of logistics, down to the last detail.

“These guys scheduled everything,” says Jim, who had never worked with the agency before. “They had it so together.”

Here are the full credits for the print campaign:

Client/brand: Kimberly-Clark / Cottonelle Clean Care Toilet Paper

Photographer: Jim Fiscus

Client senior brand manager: John Stanwood

Agency: Tris3ct

Chief creative officer: Paul Kuzma

VP, creative director: Mel Routhier

ACD, copy: Cassidy Fletcher

ACD, art: Sarah Gleason

Agency producer: Jennifer Pecorella

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Photo by Luca Zordan for Fred Bare.

Photo by Luca Zordan for Fred Bare.

Photo by Luca Zordan for Fred Bare.

Photo by Luca Zordan for Fred Bare.

Photo by Luca Zordan for Fred Bare.

Photo by Luca Zordan for Fred Bare.

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Kim Kardashian. Photo by Kwaku Alston for The Hollywood Reporter.

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“The first time I photographed Kim was in 2009, for an ad campaign for Keeping Up With the Kardashians for E! Entertainment,” recalls Kwaku. (See a snap her took of her after that shoot here, at his blog.)

Hollywood Reporter photo director Jennifer Laski—who first worked with Kwaku in the mid ’90s , when she was at Elle—also commissioned him to shoot group portraits of “Bridesmaids breakouts” Annie Mumolo, Judd Apatow, Melissa McCarthy, and Paul Feig; and Brunson Green, Viola Davis, Tate Taylor, Octavia Spencer, and Kathryn Stockett, who made The Help what THR calls a “Cinderella Story” of a success. Here’s a look at Kwaku’s photos. And to see a behind-the-scenes video of the Rule Breakers shoots, scroll to the end of this post.

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From left: Bridesmaids stars Annie Mumalo, Melissa McCarthy, and Paul Feig with producer Judd Apatow (second from left). Photo by Kwaku Alston for The Hollywood Reporter.

From left: Brunson Green, producer of The Help; actress Viola Davis; director Tate Taylor; actress Octavia Spencer; and Kathryn Stockett, author of the novel on which the movie is based. Photo by Kwaku Alston for The Hollywood Reporter.

Kim Kardashian and Kris Jenner. Photo by Kwaku Alston for The Hollywood Reporter.

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See the full Rule Breakers gallery here. For a look at some outtakes from the shoots, go here. And to watch a behind-the-scenes video of the shoots, click on the image below.

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Click image to access behind-the-scenes video.

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