Champs Sports / Adidas Originals Sneaker Crossing Campaign

I'm excited to share some photos I recently captured for Adidas and Champs Sports for a back to school campaign that went live at the time of writing this post. The images feature NFL star Derwin James, of the LA Chargers wearing the new Adidas Originals NMD R1.V2 shoes and streetwear line. 

The shoes are based on the famous Shibuya Crossing in Japan, a busy intersection in downtown Tokyo where thousands of people cross daily.

All the photos were captured while on set during the filming of a Champ's Sports commercial titled, Social Matrix. It was filmed by my good friends over at Campsite TV who I previously worked with on a Lululemon campaign. They are super creative guys that keep it light on set with no drama—just my style.

My role was to capture Derwin wearing two key outfit/shoe combo's that were featured in the commercial. And secondarily, grab photos of the shoes staged in different areas of the home. Speaking of the home, the location was a mini-mansion in Beverly Hills with an amazing backyard pool set up right on the corner of Rodeo Dr and Sunset Boulevard. Not a bad place to spend the day.  

Thanks to COVID, the drive up from San Diego was a breeze (silver lining). And before you ask, yes, masks were worn by all on set. Derwin was the only one allowed to go maskless during filming and photos. Dave, from Campsite, was running a tight ship, and safety was a top priority. If you don’t believe me, see Dave photo below.

I had a total of 60 minutes with Derwin during the four hours we were on location for the shoot, so I had to plan accordingly. This may sound like a small window of time to get all the photos Champ's needed. However, these time constraints are very typical when working with athletes while on set for a film production. Time is money, and everyone there is getting paid, so there is no time for thumb-twiddling. So when I wasn’t working with Derwin directly, I was capturing shoe only shots and behind the scenes photos of the film production.

My time with Derwin broke down as follows:

15 minutes with him after scene one, "Artist Derwin" wrapped in the backyard. I had him move around to a few different spots by the pool where the film scene was captured, so the photos made a visual connection. This allows the photos to be used as supporting content to promote the campaign on social, websites, PR releases, and more.

Then 15 minutes after scene two, "Gamer Derwin" wrapped in the living room. I grabbed a few shots of him in the living room, acting as if he was gaming for the camera. He is actually a big gamer, which was rad as we were able to bond over our many failed attempts at winning Battle Royale matches on Call of Duty Warzone. I've found myself playing this game more than I'd like to admit during the COVID lockdown orders. But that's another story in itself. 

And finally, 30 minutes to finish out the day after scene three. I spent this time with him in a portable studio I sent up in the guest house. 

It was a great time, there was no pressure as we'd already bagged a few photos I knew were going to be keepers, and Derwin was terrific. He brought tons of energy and was up for any ideas I suggested. He actually brought a lot of his own ideas to the shoot, including his diamond grill, which made an appearance for a few shots. The highlights had to be him rocking the football like a baby and pretending the shoes were phones. 

All in all, it was precisely the type of day you hope for as a photographer. A great crew, beautiful location and awesome talent.

Thanks for taking the time to read this post. If you find it interesting please share with your friends. Social links are located at the top of the post.

Until next time, keep shooting my friends!