Gregory Crewdson Sitting

I’d been told that Gregory Crewdson was low-key and agreeable, but I was surprised when he opened with, "I looked at your website and your pictures are great, I’m excited to shoot with you."

It’s a good thing that he was game, as we jumped into the muck right away. The first set up had him precariously staged on a staircase, then for the second he was crawling in the grass by the edge of his property.

I don’t usually start with the "crazy shots," but he returned to language around being open to anything and everything within a few minutes. I was impressed!

One of my favorite moments was at his front door in golden sunset light, staring out past me. He looks like a crazed drunken neighbor, yelling at you to get off his lawn—yet, it’s wonderfully magnetic. It reminded me of what I admire in Irving Penn’s best portraits: they reveal sitters as complex and compelling, because Penn genuinely saw them that way.

In my notes I wrote about wanting to make pictures that are, "wild and dirty." There’s something about showing “the great man” in a raw fashion, or a crazed way, that conveys something in his mentality that is more authentic and moving than a conservative, flattering image.

It has become part of my practice to put my thoughts and ideas about the upcoming assignment on the page. It sets them in my subconscious, making me more cognizant of these opportunities when they present themselves. I have learned to be aware and brave, and to grab the opportunities.

Top Image: Behind the scenes of the Gregory Crewdson session, North Egremont, MA, June 5, 2025. BTS photo by Sophia Pallwein-Prettner.

Second Image: Crewdson on the Yale Alumni cover. Design by Jeanine Dunn.

Third Image: Crewdson in sunset light by his front door.

Bottom Image: Crewdson pictured with live and work partner Juliane Hiam.