Cover Photo for the December Issue of Sports Illustrated Was Taken with a Smartphone

Cover photo for the December issue of Sports Illustrated was taken with a smartphone, Moto Z from Motorola, PetaPixel writes. The cover features American wrestler and movie actor Dwayne Johnson, and the photographer was Michael LeBrecht.

LeBrecht says that when he was approached by representatives of the magazine and asked to take a portrait of an unnamed top-level celebrity, he immediately agreed, but at that moment had no idea that the magazine wants to use a mobile camera. “Wait, What?!” LeBrecht recalls his initial response. However, when he found out who will model for the shoot, he decided not to miss the opportunity.

LeBrecht was satisfied with the results of the shoot: “The phone worked fantastic and was very fast to work with. After shooting 12 images, I shared the images with my subject, and we decided to shoot a few more for better expressions. On my last frame, the 18th total image, we nailed the cover.”

“I don’t believe it’s fair to compare Smartphone Cameras to DSLR Cameras. But for everyday use and for aspiring photographers looking to develop photographic knowledge, the Pro settings on the Moto Z allow for the instant understanding of some of the same settings you will find on a DSLR.”

The website of the magazine also features some of the other photographs that LeBrecht took during the shoot.