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The Times Magazine has been a regular client of Los Angeles-based portrait photographer Robert Gallagher‘s for years. Recently, they called him up to see if he’d be interested in shooting pictures of sex therapist to Wall Street, Dr. Brandy Engler. Dr. Engler is now working on the west coast, so The Times knew LA-based Robert would be the perfect photographer for the assignment. Intrigued by the subject, and with a plethora of interesting therapy portrait ideas, Robert took the last-minute gig.
The Times’ article on Dr. Engler covered the release of her new book, “The Men On My Couch” — so naturally, Robert envisioned photos of, well, men on a couch. Since the assignment came in last minute, he was only available to scout the Los Feliz location late the evening before the shoot. To Robert’s dismay, he found that the doctor didn’t actually have a couch in her office, or at least one that would work for the shoot!
She had kind of a sofabed, but that just didn’t work; it almost sent the wrong message.
The next morning, the day of the shoot, Robert and his assistants began brainstorming.
We literally had an hour to find a couch that we could shoot, and bear in mind, this is a very budget-conscious editorial shoot, so just renting a studio or having a rush couch delivery was out of the question.
But, as luck would have it, as one of Robert’s assistants was walking back from picking up some last-minute gear, he peeked into a vintage store. There, in the back, he found it — the perfect couch.
Robert made a cash deal with the owner on the spot, basically buying control of the store for two hours. Time-wise it ended up being tight, but they made it work. As for the legs that appear in the cover photo, it was Robert’s first assistant Thomas that filled in for that role.
I knew he dressed well so I presented the opportunity to him by saying that instead of assistingme, he could be lying down. He jumped at the chance.
With the subject ready, the leg model set, and the couch in place, Robert and his team got to work.
The rest of the shoot was a breeze and the doctor was great to work with.
At first, I was concerned if she’d have any problem doing a shoot in full view of the public, but it turned out to not be a problem at all. In fact, I think she really quite enjoyed it. She remarked it was certainly a day she won’t forget.
The Times Magazine absolutely loved the photos and used them on the cover and to illustrate their article in print and online. They were especially impressed knowing how quickly Robert had pulled everything together. Robert enjoyed the assignment, particularly being able to switch into problem-solving mode. He learned to never assume anything, especially when it comes to seemingly small details such as a couch!
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