Nike Football – Kylian Mbappé

Marcus Smith

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Marcus shot the youngest ever World Cup scorer on the world’s stage, Kylian Mbappé for Nike Football.

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Marcus Smith

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Rena
Marcus collaborated with, choreographer and dancer, Rena Butler for this personal series.
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The New York Times - Roscoe Mitchell
Marcus photographed jazz legend, Roscoe Mitchell for The New York Times.
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Rena
Marcus collaborated with, choreographer and dancer, Rena Butler for this moving image piece.
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ESPN - LaMelo Ball
For the latest edition of ESPN Cover Story, Marcus Smith photographed American basketball player, LaMelo Ball.
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The New York Times - Neha Shukla
Marcus connected virtually with 15 year old inventor, Neha Shukla.
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Met up with some friends from @hubbardstreet dance company in a park. Amazing what they can do on playground equipment. Thanks for the invite @renabutler!

When people ask me to name one of my favorite shoots, this night always comes to mind. I got asked by @gq to create a portrait studio for their NBA Allstar party in LA. For the event, GQ took over the lobby of a hotel in Downtown LA. They removed all the furniture, and installed a stage where @iamcardib and others would perform throughout the night. Right across the hall from the stage I had my “portrait studio” setup in what’s normally a dining room. I’ve never shot in an environment where the energy was this high. Music blasting, people laughing, flashes going off…it was pretty much music video in real life levels of ‘I can’t believe this is happening’. I literally had no clue who was gonna walk through the doors next to get photographed. @winstoncduke walks in, and we just start vibing out. Black Panther had just come out the night before, so we ended up having a long conversation about what that movie meant for us. Then, someone tells us that @chadwickboseman had just got to the party. Winston hung in the room with us and just chilled waiting for Chadwick to come through, which I thought at the time was so dope. The night started out with me thinking I’d definitely be photographing some ball players that might come through. I didn’t even think photographing two stars from the biggest movie in the world at the time was even on the table. When Chadwick walked in, this picture sums up everything that happened next. I could tell how proud these two guys were of what they had just given to the world. February 17, 2018 - I’ll never forget it!

I’m completely shocked and saddened by the news of @chadwickboseman’s untimely passing today. I got a chance to meet/work with him in 2018 shortly after the release of Black Panther, and it was one of the highlights of my night when he walked onto the set. What a year it’s been! The blows just keep coming.

Today, the courts, fields, and locker rooms are empty. Commercials will not save us. Nice gestures will not save us. It takes real action, no more words. In the 80s, there was a war on drugs. In the 90s, there was a war on gangs. Why can’t there be a war on police brutality and a show of absolute intolerance when it comes to how they consistently respond violently to us? Basketball was providing me with a much needed escape from the reality that my creative world has been flipped upside down. However, I understand the importance of this moment. Boycott, vote, protest, sign petitions, make social media posts, argue with your racist family members, whatever it takes. We need it all! 🖤✊🏾🖤✊🏾

When I started concepting for this cover, I knew ESPN had been implementing motion into the recent designs. Ideally, I wanted a DP to shoot motion assets that could then be edited to create a motion version. COVID productions mean smaller crews, and a smaller crew meant no DP. But rather than give up on my idea, I bought a gimbal for my iPhone and shot some motion assets with that. Subsequently, that ended up being the stuff that was used for the motion cover. Here’s an outtake of one of those moving ideas. @melo for @espn

Early Saturday morning, I took a drive from Chicago to Fitchburg, WI to make a portrait of jazz legend, Roscoe Mitchell. Roscoe is immune compromised, so he only felt comfortable doing this session if he didn’t have to come outside. When I was given this information, I actually got excited by the creative challenge of having to work this way. Roscoe has a sunroom that he uses to do all things creative, and that’s mostly where I photographed him while balancing myself at the top of a 12ft. ladder. Nothing beats some good in camera effects! Roscoe Mitchell for @nytimes