Photographing Kevin Hart
“What are you doing next week from the 3rd through the 7th?”
I was on the phone with Tyler, the Account Manager at Lighthouse Films, a production company and rental house based in my hometown of Wilmington, North Carolina.
“We’ve got a budget to bring you on this shoot with Kevin Hart for some stills photography,” he continued.
Being a professional photographer is about putting one foot in front of the other. Day in and day out, you put in the work, making slow and steady progress along the way. Occasionally, if you’re lucky, you encounter a career-changing opportunity that catapults you forward. This was one of those opportunities.
On our call, Tyler gave me the rundown. The project we were shooting was called Hart of It All, a financial health series sponsored by Chase Bank starring Kevin Hart. It was aimed at educating everyday people about taking control of their money. After months of planning and pre-production, it was finally coming to fruition. Tyler had the excellent notion to pitch them on stills (get yourself a Tyler, people!), so my role would be to photograph key moments of Kevin throughout the production.
Learning that, I planned to bring all three of my kits: my Canon R5 for the bulk of the shots, the Fuji X-T3 to shoot the behind-the-scenes shots, and the GFX100S -- just in case I was lucky enough to have a few uninterrupted moments to grab some portraits of Kevin. While I knew I would have access to the film crew’s lighting, I also wanted to give myself the option to shape my own light, so I decided to bring a single Flashpoint strobe and my trusted Westcott Rapidbox modifier.
Day One: Washington D.C.
When I was sent the call sheet for day one, I was blown away. Kevin’s schedule was meticulously outlined down to the very minute. His arrival, introduction, audience Q&A, and media interviews were all given very strict windows of time. 1 minute for this. 2 minutes for that. He was never in one spot for very long.
If I wanted to get great shots of Kevin, not only would I need to be quick with my shots, I had to anticipate where he was going to be. My plan was simple. For the rest of the day, I would shadow the film crew closely. Staying next to their A or B cam would allow me to achieve similar compositions and also stay out of their shot.
Once Kevin arrived on set, it took maybe three seconds before he had the audience laughing. He shared great insight into what he’s learned from his financial mistakes throughout his life and career. I found myself hanging on to every word of his story -- it’s really admirable how he made a point to surround himself with financially successful people and learn how to be smart with his money.
After a long day of shooting, we wrapped and made the three-hour drive to Philadelphia.
Day Two: Scouting Philly
While Kevin headed to New York to continue his event tour, our production team spent the second day scouting locations around Philly in preparation for the last day of production. That, I learned, is when we’d have some extra time with Kevin and could get some creative shots.
This excited me. While I was thrilled with the shots I had gotten of Kevin up until that point, there’s a distinct difference between a shot of someone from afar versus an up-close, intimate portrait that makes you want to stop and take a closer look. The former is something you’d see on any stock website, while the latter is much more special -- something you could proudly put into your portfolio. That’s what I was aiming for.
That morning in the hotel lobby, the production crew game-planned where they wanted to shoot the scene where Kevin would have a conversation with a friend about generational wealth. Tyler Googled for the nearest diner and found this place:
We decided to head to the diner and check it out. As soon as we entered, we knew -- this place was it. It was magical.
Tyler spoke with the manager and gave her the rundown of what we were looking for. The manager was gracious and composed. She told us she’d have to speak to the owner (who wasn’t there) and forewarned us that it likely wouldn’t be cheap to shoot there, even for just a couple of hours. This was understandable, as they would have to halt their business and lose out on sales. We persisted, letting her know we were still interested in shooting there. She let us know she’d call the owner of the diner right away and call us after she spoke with him.
We decided to scout a few backup options while we waited for the call. We spent the next few hours checking out some promising locations around Philly, but nothing quite like the diner we had hoped for.
Fortunately, the diner eventually called us back, and Tyler negotiated a fee that everyone was happy with. We had the green light!
Day Three: Kevin’s Old Stomping Grounds
Our third day of production started off bright and early at George Washington High School, Kevin’s alma mater. The auditorium slowly started to fill to capacity as we prepared for Kevin to make his way onto the stage. The crowd erupted in cheers and applause as soon as he walked out to take his seat and began sharing his story with everyone in the room.
Afterward, Kevin opened the floor up Q&A. One of the students had the courage to ask Kevin for a scholarship.
“What are your grades, and why do you want me to give you a scholarship?” Kevin asked.
The student (whose GPA was very high) explained that he was the child of immigrant parents and wanted to be the first person in his family to graduate from college.
“Since you’re taking advantage of this moment,” Kevin started, “You got yourself a deal.”
Once more, the auditorium roared with applause. The look on the stunned student’s face was pure joy. It was an emotional moment for everyone and completely unexpected, I’ll never forget it. Amidst all of the chaos, I took the opportunity to take a portrait of the student in a nearby hallway.
Riding off the energy of the scholarship giveaway, we wrapped at George Washington High and headed to our last location of the day: Main Attraction Unisex Salon.
The vision for the scene at the barbershop was to have Kevin hold a conversation with someone while getting his hair cut. But once we started rolling, something interesting happened. The conversation opened up to more than just Kevin and his counterpart, and slowly more of the room participated in an open discussion. Before long, the entirety of the barbershop was having a Hart-to-heart (*ahem* sorry, couldn’t resist) on topics like generational wealth, entrepreneurship, and encouraging the next generation to take an interest in their financial future.
The atmosphere was truly electric. It was an unforgettable experience to witness people take such an impassioned interest in helping each other grow. We wrapped day three in high spirits.
Day Four: The Diner
Our call time on the last day of production was 6:30 a.m. at Melrose Diner. Despite the early start and freezing temperatures, I was hyped. I knew this was the day I’d get to really shoot portraits of Kevin—not just contextual shots of him in his surroundings but up close and personal with him looking into my lens.
The team of security guards (I don’t know how many exactly, but there were seemingly a dozen), set up a perimeter around the block as the crew started unloading gear and setting up cameras and lights. As the early morning darkness yielded to the rising morning sun, I got my first glimpse of just how majestic the lighting would be that morning. After snapping off some test frames of Tyler and Zai, I knew this scene was going to look amazing.
As the time drew closer to when Kevin was scheduled to arrive, I got both of my cameras ready. We were going to film Kevin and his conversational counterpart, Kenneth, in one of the diner booths. I wanted to show enough environmental context while also having the freedom to get in for some tighter shots if necessary, so I chose the 70-200mm for my Canon R5 and the GF 80mm for my GFX 100S.
Side note: The R5 is my workhorse camera for most jobs, if only for one major reason – its autofocus tracking. It’s truly incredible how accurate and reliable it is. Before getting the R5, I never seemed to have a great hit rate with focus when shooting moving subjects. I would usually have to frantically press the thumbstick on my camera to move the focus square over my subject’s eyes, which was an impossible task for fashion shots or anything where the subject was constantly moving. Those days are gone. Autofocus tracking (not just with Canon) has come a long way, it’s truly a game-changer.
Back to the shoot. Whenever time is of the essence, speed and reliability are crucial. That’s why once Kevin arrived and the cameras started rolling, I reached for the Canon first. Once I felt confident that I captured everything I knew the client would be happy with, I grabbed the majestic GFX 100S.
Speed isn’t a word I would use to describe the GFX system. Its autofocus tracking is nowhere near as reliable as my Canon. But the images it produces are a sight to behold. I can’t really explain what makes it so special. Is it the shallow depth of field? The nostalgic film simulations? The beautiful tonal range of its images? I’m not really sure, all I know is that at some point, there was a short break in the action and I seized that moment to fire off a few shots of Kevin that, upon review, made my jaw drop.
Whenever I get a shot that gets me hype, I have to show the subject how awesome it is. I just can’t help it. I walked over to Kevin and showed him the back of the camera and his eyes widened. “I need that,” he said. “I NEED that!” he repeated again with a smile right before the film cameras started rolling again. (Indeed, he posted the photo on his Instagram the next day.)
I had a couple more opportunities that day to photograph Kevin. I even had the opportunity to use the strobe kit I brought. Later in the afternoon, while Kevin was filming inside the house in a neighborhood we were shooting at, I looked for an ideal spot on the street outside that I thought would make for a good backdrop. Lily, our production assistant, graciously volunteered to be my stand-in as I pre-lit the scene to make sure I had all my settings dialed in.
After placing some gaff tape on the street so I could show Kevin exactly where he needed to stand. There was only one thing left to do.
I knew if I wanted to get these shots, I needed the cooperation of everyone involved. You can prep your camera and lighting perfectly, but all it takes is one objection from someone on Kevin’s entourage and the whole plan would be derailed in a flash. After all, their job is to ensure his safety and get him in and out quickly.
I decided to approach his bodyguard first. Without his approval, this wasn’t going to happen. I explained that once Kevin was finished filming, I needed to take his portrait at the setup I had created just 50 feet away, making sure to emphasize I would only need two minutes or less. He gave me his blessing. From there, I let the film crew know what the plan was so they could direct him outside before anyone could take his attention elsewhere.
As soon as he wrapped filming inside, the crew directed him to where I was standing. This was my moment.
“What’s up, Kevin, I’m Kevin,” I said re-introducing myself, which got a laugh out of him. I then stepped on the mark and demonstrated how I wanted him to stand.
The next 60 seconds went by in an instant. When all was said and done, I reviewed the images on the back of my camera and smiled. I had done it. I had taken Kevin Hart’s portrait.
Final Thoughts
It was amazing to be a part of this project. There were so many raw, organic moments during the many conversations we captured that will never be aired, but their impact will undoubtedly carry on with the individuals who were a part of them.
I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to Lighthouse Films, the team at Chase Bank, Kevin Hart and his crew, and everyone I had the pleasure of meeting while we were shooting. This was a project I will never forget. Looking forward to the next one!