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Photographer Mary Beth Koeth was asked to create portraits of tennis star Coco Gauff to promote New Balance’s athlete sponsorship and a new line of shoes. Wonderful Machine was brought on to help bid on the project and ultimately coordinate the production from start to finish.
Coco Gauff is an American professional tennis player. Most notably she ranked no. 1 in the world in doubles and no. 4 in singles in 2022. In addition to being a fantastic athlete, she’s also an incredibly nice person as we found out during the shoot production. Her sponsor, New Balance, needed fresh content that featured the tennis star wearing the newly designed Coco CG1 tennis shoes and accompanying apparel. They reached out to photographer Mary Beth Koeth to capture portraits of Coco on and off the court.
Mary Beth Koeth is a Miami-based portrait specialist and had photographed Gauff previously for ESPN Magazine. So when New Balance needed additional similar content, Mary Beth was a natural choice. She was able to continue her great rapport with Coco and work her magic once again. Once we had the creative brief in hand, I worked with Mary Beth to bid on the project and we ultimately got the go-ahead for the production.
Our goal was to capture portraits of Coco warming up on the courts and in surrounding areas based on three specific pieces of apparel. There were two new shoes designed for Coco’s upcoming US Open and Australian Open matches. Our task was to mix them in with one additional pair of casual sneakers as well.
To help supplement the wardrobe that New Balance would provide, we brought on stylist Mila Gonzalez Kastari to help source additional apparel. Mila aced it with the additional pieces she and her assistant procured. Paired with hair/makeup stylist Nordia Cunningham, we knew that Coco would look incredible as she sported the apparel in spite of the Miami heat.
One major task on our plate was to find the perfect tennis court location. Mary Beth knew that she wanted to find a location that offered a lot of off-court areas to explore with great textures, and the client was on board with this direction as well. We worked with Miami Sites, which provided a great selection of tennis courts, ranging from private residences to urban courts. We finally landed on the Tennis Center at the Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables, FL. This location turned out to be absolutely ideal both visually and logistically.
After viewing the location on our tech/scout day, Mary Beth and I decided to take a quick trip to Ace Props to find a few small items to supplement the areas where we’d be shooting. While we were primarily looking for a few benches, chairs, and vintage tennis-themed items, I was amazed at the array of items this prop shop had to offer. Not to mention that their location was equally impressive with a studio space inside.
Ready for our shoot day, we brought on a dream team of crew to help bring the vision to life. The line-up included assistants Jose Arizmendi and Rebeca Mendizabal, digital tech Javier Sanchez, as well as a few helping hands, and a motorhome from Miami Production RV. To help keep our spirits high and our stomachs full, we worked with Le Food Catering. They provided an amazing spread of breakfast and lunch for us throughout the day.
Coco arrived at the shoot after a recent win at the Miami Open a few days prior. Also, she was joined by a few lovely family members who helped keep the energy high all day. We seamlessly transitioned between outfits and setups, knocking out multiple looks and scenarios in just a few short hours (Coco had a practice session that morning while we were setting up, and then she was available for 4 hours that afternoon). The weather was beautiful, the team was perfect, the clients were delightful, and it was truly a wonderful production from start to finish.
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