Zbigniew Brzezinski for NZZ am Sonntag

This was the second time I had the pleasure of working with Switzerland newspaper NZZ am Sonntag. After featuring my ‘Sleep in Transit’ project back in December 2013, it’s great to know that they have kept me in mind. I received a call from their photo department asking if I would be able to photograph Zbigniew Brzezinski for an article on the crisis in Ukraine.

Seeing that I have photographed Brzezinski once before, I was very excited to have the opportunity again. As a quick background, Brzezinski served as the US National Security Advisor to President Jimmy Carter for four years. From my experience of photographing him before, I already knew that he is a man with little spare time. With this assignment, I would be happy getting whatever time I could with him no matter how short.

When planning with his schedulers, it was decided that I would arrive and be present while the writer was interviewing him for the article. His schedulers also warned me that he would have no time following the interview for a portrait. So this obviously was going to make things a bit tricky. Since I would be there during the interview, I figured that I would photograph while he talked with the writer and just cross my fingers he could spare a few quick moments. During this time, I had my assistant, Rich, get a single light ready with a large octobox just in case we got lucky.

Once the interview was over and he and the writer shook hands, he looked at me and asked if I got what I needed. This was my chance, and I certainly wasn’t going to let it slip by. I mean, the worst he could say is no. I told him yes, but that it would be great to get a nice portrait for the article. He looked at me and before he could respond, I quickly said, “I honestly would only need one minute of your time.” “Alright,” he said, so Rich and I immediately got to work.

While photographing his portrait, I reminded him of the first time he was in front of my camera. After refreshing his memory, he opened up and was a bit more relaxed both physically and with his time. In the end, he gave me just over a minute of his time for the portrait. It’s certainly not a lot of time, but it’s definitely more than nothing, and I’m very grateful for it.

When working in situations like this, your character and communication is extremely vital. If you come off as too pushy and needy, you’re likely not going to be successful in getting through to your subject. And always show your appreciation if you are successful in getting the time you need. You also have to be capable of working efficiently, and a lot of that comes from essential planning. This all reminds me of the thirty seconds I got to photograph former US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and the month of planning I did for it.