Mod Pizza for Franchise Times | Seattle editorial photographer

MOD Pizza CEO Scott Svenson in downtown Seattle. (Daniel Berman/bermanphotos.com)

Way back last spring I photographed Mod Pizza CEO Scott Svenson and his wife Ally Svenson at one of their Seattle locations of the wildly successful Mod Pizza chain. The shoot was just published (my first of the year!) on the latest cover of Franchise Times. Beth Ewen’s great piece details how Mod Pizza is willing to take a chance and provide meaningful employment to people from difficult backgrounds, encouraging loyalty and fostering a healthy workplace. I had a short amount of time to make multiple portrait options for a potential cover, inside opener, and a planned set of pages inside. Fortunately, Scott and Ally were super nice and easy to work with. So were their ace employees, who helped showcase this important story!

Amazon.com’s Neil Lindsay for Advertising Age covershoot | Seattle editorial photographer

Amazon CMO Neil Lindsay poses for a portrait at the Amazon Bigfoot office on Tuesday, October 11, 2016 in Seattle Wash. Lindsay has overseen the release of targeted TV commercials and innovative new digital approaches to harness the power of social.(Daniel Berman/AP Images for AdAge Magazine)

I photographed Neil Lindsay, Amazon’s vice president of global advertising and device product-line management, for the cover of Advertising Age and the Power Players list – out this week. It was an incredible honor to be asked to shoot the cover as my first assignment from the advertising and marketing magazine. We had less than an hour with Neil but my team and I were able to capture four different setups across multiple floors and buildings at Amazon’s Bigfoot office in South Lake Union. Art Director Erik Spooner flew in from New York to oversee the shoot and we spent some time that morning scouting through the office and going over the game plan. We settled on three areas and lucked out with a fourth nearby and perfect weather on the roof. I was tethered to a laptop with an external monitor so the team could see each shot — It also let me play a favorite album from Tycho the entire time for relaxing vibes! Big thanks to Erik for the commission, Glynne Davies for hair and makeup, and my assistants Spencer Wallace and Jovelle Abbey Tomayo for hustling and working so hard!

 

Brighton Jones CEO Jon Jones for Financial Advisor Magazine | Seattle editorial photographer

 

It’s been a busy month! I photographed Brighton Jones CEO Jon Jones for the cover of Financial Advisor magazine! I had not worked for them in probably two years (and under a different editor) so it was great to get this call in early August to shoot the September cover. They also ran a photo in table of contents and a doubletruck two-page opener! Jon told me about how emotional intelligence drives the policies and actions of the company, it was enlightening and moving. They are very good at their work! It is always cool when you can actually connect on an assignment. His positive attitude and easy demeanor made the shoot a total breeze. Many thanks to the creative team for their support and commission and @Iancbates for help on-site!

Snoop Dogg for Northwest Leaf | Seattle editorial photographer

Photographed @snoopdogg for @nwleaf back in April and it was one of the craziest shoots of my career. Asked for 1 minute and got 39 seconds – did two setups and managed 23 photos. Arrived two hours early and up until I had Snoop in front of my camera wasn’t entirely sure it would actually happen 🙂 Big thanks to Will and Ryan for making that possible! Snoop was friendly but quiet, and flashed a bunch of poses at me without talking. I asked him to look up toward my light in one – and then his manager said alright lets go. Such a quick encounter as these tend to be.

 

Afterward, Snoop was posing for photos and signing autographs for fans at @haveaheartrec_ – I had a kind of crazy idea to light Snoop while he was posing with other people and got the go ahead to keep shooting. I convinced my assistant @taylorfeistphoto to jump in and hold up a piece of black seamless behind Snoop for a couple of seconds at a time. Taylor convinced his security guards. It was working! But just as soon, the legend had to take off. One of those shoots you prepare hours for and its over in a puff of smoke.

Thanks for looking!

-Daniel

Bernie Sanders Supporters for Seattle Weekly | Seattle editorial photographer

Bernie Sanders supporters gathered for the Bernie Barnstorm event March 16, 2016 at the Fremont Abbey Arts Center in Seattle. Bernie Sanders has received considerable support from the Northwest and Seattle neighborhoods. Photo by Daniel Berman for Seattle Weekly.

Soyeon Yi for Cosmopolitan.com | Seattle editorial photographer

One of my last and favorite shoots of 2015 was to photograph Korea’s first female astronaut, Soyeon Yi, for Cosmopolitan.com. Yi made headlines in 2008 as she conducted research for 10 days at the International Space Station. Today she volunteers at The Museum of Flight here in Seattle. Big thanks to Soyeon for her time, my assistant Kyu Han for wheeling lights around, and The Museum of Flight for their gracious accommodation!

Soyeon Yi made headlines in 2008 as Korea’s first astronaut, where she conducted research for 10 days at the International Space Station. Today, she volunteers at The Museum of Flight Charles Simonyi Space Gallery and lives southeast of Seattle in an area she says reminds her of the farmland on which she grew up. Photo by Daniel Berman for Cosmopolitan.com

Soyeon Yi made headlines in 2008 as Korea’s first astronaut, where she conducted research for 10 days at the International Space Station. Today, she volunteers at The Museum of Flight Charles Simonyi Space Gallery and lives southeast of Seattle in an area she says reminds her of the farmland on which she grew up. Photo by Daniel Berman for Cosmopolitan.com

Soyeon Yi made headlines in 2008 as Korea’s first astronaut, where she conducted research for 10 days at the International Space Station. Yi wears the flight suit she traveled in during the space mission. Today, she volunteers at The Museum of Flight Charles Simonyi Space Gallery and lives southeast of Seattle in an area she says reminds her of the farmland on which she grew up. Photo by Daniel Berman for Cosmopolitan.com

Soyeon Yi made headlines in 2008 as Korea’s first astronaut, where she conducted research for 10 days at the International Space Station. Yi stands near a Russian Soyuz space capsule like the one she flew in. Today, she volunteers at The Museum of Flight Charles Simonyi Space Gallery and lives southeast of Seattle in an area she says reminds her of the farmland on which she grew up. Photo by Daniel Berman for Cosmopolitan.com

Soyeon Yi made headlines in 2008 as Korea’s first astronaut, where she conducted research for 10 days at the International Space Station. Today, she volunteers at The Museum of Flight Charles Simonyi Space Gallery and lives southeast of Seattle in an area she says reminds her of the farmland on which she grew up. Photo by Daniel Berman for Cosmopolitan.com

Soyeon Yi made headlines in 2008 as Korea’s first astronaut, where she conducted research for 10 days at the International Space Station. Yi stands by a space suit similar to what she wore. Today, she volunteers at The Museum of Flight Charles Simonyi Space Gallery and lives southeast of Seattle in an area she says reminds her of the farmland on which she grew up. Photo by Daniel Berman for Cosmopolitan.com

BioViva CEO Liz Parrish for OZY | Seattle editorial photographer

BioViva CEO Liz Parrish, photographed in Bainbridge Island, Washington. Parrish traveled to Colombia to receive experimental stem cell transplants designed to reverse signs of aging — it’ was a controversial operation rebuked by some as unethical human experimentation. A colleague gave her only days to live several months ago, she said. Parrish said she believes that the issue of aging is too important for science to ignore. Photo by Daniel Berman for OZY

BioViva CEO Liz Parrish, photographed in Bainbridge Island, Washington. Parrish traveled to Colombia to receive experimental stem cell transplants designed to reverse signs of aging — it’ was a controversial operation rebuked by some as unethical human experimentation. A colleague gave her only days to live several months ago, she said. Parrish said she believes that the issue of aging is too important for science to ignore. Photo by Daniel Berman for OZY

BioViva CEO Liz Parrish, photographed in Bainbridge Island, Washington. Parrish traveled to Colombia to receive experimental stem cell transplants designed to reverse signs of aging — it’ was a controversial operation rebuked by some as unethical human experimentation. A colleague gave her only days to live several months ago, she said. Parrish said she believes that the issue of aging is too important for science to ignore. Photo by Daniel Berman for OZY

BioViva CEO Liz Parrish, photographed in Bainbridge Island, Washington. Parrish traveled to Colombia to receive experimental stem cell transplants designed to reverse signs of aging — it’ was a controversial operation rebuked by some as unethical human experimentation. A colleague gave her only days to live several months ago, she said. Parrish said she believes that the issue of aging is too important for science to ignore. Photo by Daniel Berman for OZY

Parrish had an RFID chip implanted in her hand containing contact information for her company during an overseas conference. Photo by Daniel Berman for OZY

One of my final assignments of 2015 was to photograph BioViva CEO Liz Parrish for OZY.com, which just published a five-part story on the biggest ideas of the future coming out of Silicon Valley. Parrish, 44, who heads a Seattle-based gene therapy research company, recently traveled to the country of Colombia to receive experimental stem cell transplants designed to reverse signs of aging — it was a controversial operation rebuked by some as unethical human experimentation. A colleague gave her only days to live several months ago, she said. Parrish said she believes that the issue of aging is too important for science to ignore.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos for Welt am Sontag | Seattle editorial photographer

I have only photographed a few people more than once for a portrait so the chance to point my camera toward the CEO of Amazon again for a few minutes made for a pretty surreal morning earlier this month. Jeff Bezos convincingly pretended to remember me as we worked through a few setups and I asked him if Donald Trump ever replied to his tweet offering a rocket ship ride (he hasn’t) and he let out of one of his trademark chuckles. He takes direction well and laughed at my dumb jokes. Perfect subject. Before I knew it, an assistant was calling time and he thanked me and walked out. One of those mornings that are way too early and over way too quickly. Photographed for Welt am Sonntag, a German newspaper http://welt.de  Big thanks to my assistant @jovellephoto too for her help. This is one of my last tear sheets of the year and it was an awesome time.

Microsoft Game Studios for The Verge | Seattle editorial photographer

Microsoft corporate vice president Kudo Tsunoda and Microsoft Games Studios Head of Publishing Shannon Loftis, photographed in Studio C at Microsoft Headquarters in Redmond, Wash Nov. 9, 2015. Photo by Daniel Berman/www.bermanphotos.com

Microsoft corporate vice president Kudo Tsunoda and Microsoft Games Studios Head of Publishing Shannon Loftis, photographed in Studio C at Microsoft Headquarters in Redmond, Wash Nov. 9, 2015. Photo by Daniel Berman/www.bermanphotos.com

A view of Microsoft Studio C, home to Microsoft Game Studios and four stories of offices on the sprawling Microsoft campus in Redmond, Wash. Photo by Daniel Berman for The Verge.

A view of Microsoft Studio C, home to Microsoft Game Studios and four stories of offices on the sprawling Microsoft campus in Redmond, Wash. Photo by Daniel Berman for The Verge.

A view of Microsoft Studio C, home to Microsoft Game Studios and four stories of offices on the sprawling Microsoft campus in Redmond, Wash. Photo by Daniel Berman for The Verge.

A view of Microsoft Studio C, home to Microsoft Game Studios and four stories of offices on the sprawling Microsoft campus in Redmond, Wash. Photo by Daniel Berman for The Verge.

A view of Microsoft Studio C, home to Microsoft Game Studios and four stories of offices on the sprawling Microsoft campus in Redmond, Wash. Photo by Daniel Berman for The Verge.

Microsoft corporate vice president Kudo Tsunoda and Microsoft Games Studios Head of Publishing Shannon Loftis, photographed in Studio C at Microsoft Headquarters in Redmond, Wash Nov. 9, 2015. Photo by Daniel Berman/www.bermanphotos.com

I had an awesome two-day assignment from The Verge last month to photograph Microsoft Game Studio’s Kudo Tsunoda and Shannon Loftis for a story about the XBOX One and new directions for Microsoft. Editor Michael Zelenko asked me to also capture the feeling of working at Microsoft’s Studio C, located on the company’s sprawling Redmond, WA campus. On both days the weather was pretty bad, as it tends to be in November around these parts, but I actually thought it signaled a kind of classic Washington vibe in the exterior shots. The story is a great read so make sure to check it out. Happy Holidays!

 

Odesza for Seattle Weekly cover | Seattle editorial photographer

Odesza in Seattle. Now completing world and national tours, the electronic duo (Clayton Knight and Harrison Mills) got their start in 2012 at Western Washington University as undergrads. Photo by Daniel Berman.

Odesza in Seattle. Now completing world and national tours, the electronic duo (Clayton Knight and Harrison Mills) got their start in 2012 at Western Washington University as undergrads. Photo by Daniel Berman.

Odesza in Seattle. Now completing world and national tours, the electronic duo (Clayton Knight and Harrison Mills) got their start in 2012 at Western Washington University as undergrads. Photo by Daniel Berman.

Odesza in Seattle. Now completing world and national tours, the electronic duo (Clayton Knight and Harrison Mills) got their start in 2012 at Western Washington University as undergrads. Photo by Daniel Berman.

Odesza in Seattle. Now completing world and national tours, the electronic duo (Clayton Knight and Harrison Mills) got their start in 2012 at Western Washington University as undergrads. Photo by Daniel Berman.

Odesza in Seattle. Now completing world and national tours, the electronic duo (Clayton Knight and Harrison Mills) got their start in 2012 at Western Washington University as undergrads. Photo by Daniel Berman.

The electronic music duo Odesza is embarking on their second world tour after playing one of their first shows in a small college town just three years ago — their meteoric rise is profiled in a cool cover story from Seattle Weekly that I got to shoot a few months ago but is out this week. Clayton Knight and Harrison Mills graduated from Western Washington University around the same time that I did, so we had a lot to chat about and it was a fun shoot to do in downtown Seattle. These guys were super nice and very generous with their time, and the photos turned out great. Give their music a listen — jam out — and enjoy the rest of your week!