Handy on Set
Editorial jobs provide some of my best creative opportunities, and what they often lack in budget is made up for in flexibility and access to great stories and personalities. One of the ways I fill the production gap is to have a strong and flexible team who are game to step up and help lend a hand.
Sometimes that hand is literal, and there have been a few situations where my photo assistant is in the picture as an extra. Anthony Garito is in the Time Magazine Sharing Economy stuffed car image; Morgen Ashcom splashed the water on the sleeping Uncle Sam for GQ’s wake-up voter story; Marlene Rounds ended up being a key talent for a Waterford Crystal pitch. But my current first assistant, Sophia Pallwein-Prettner, has shown up hand and foot enough lately that we’re about to ring up a hand modeling agency to set up an interview.
You’ve seen her in The New York Times Magazine twice, first holding a mini Gibson guitar with Matt Farley, and then adjusting an adult-size pacifier for the Toy Freak story. And she recently appeared as a balloon wrangler for Mayor Mamdani, and then most dramatically as a foot model in Richard Kern’s portrait.
I have had many great assistants over the years, but Sophia is unique. Her wardrobe style is a cross between a Bushwick hipster and your grandmother. She is chill and agreeable, but also super hard-working with endless stamina.
I appreciate her loyalty and good humor, but she can surprise with some firmly held convictions and an inability to suffer fools. She’s an enigma. Her counterintuitive takes are a welcome break in an often bland world, while her positivity and passion for life are infectious.
Top Image: The balloon queen, with Mayor Zohran Mamdani, City Hall, NYC. August 28, 2026.
Second Images: Matt Farley, and Greg Chism (of Toy Freaks) for The New York Times Magazine.
Third Image: Sitting in for Gregory Crewdson, in an abandoned setup. June 5, 2025.
Fourth Image: All in a day’s work photography legend Richard Kern. He asked, “Is she arching her foot? That’s important!”
Bottom Images: Sophia stands in for lighting tests on Heidi Erwin, and Hannah Marcus.