A couple months ago I got a call to photograph James Damian for Shopper Marketing magazine. Each year they give an award to executives pushing to innovate the in-store shopping experience, and James is this year’s recipient. For the past twelve years he’s been the Vice President of Best Buy’s Experience Development Group – in other words, he’s behind how Best Buy’s stores look and feel. Thinking about how Best Buy has changed over that time period (from a largely character-less box store to one that values the shopping experience), it’s interesting to me to think about the cultural shifts he must have needed to coax in order to get to where the store is today.

When photographing executives – or any busy person, really – you never know how receptive they will be to the photographic process. My magazine contact had asked for a fairly ambitious list of images: a group shot of James working with his team, and environmental portraits in three or four locations. Which is great, as long as the subject is willing and able to give a couple hours of time and attention to the process. Luckily, James was up for it, and I’m really thrilled with the photos. In particular, the shot above is one of my favorites in recent memory, in large part because it tells much of the story of James’s origins, as well as where he is today. It’s a personal image, and it’s not every subject that allows me in to create truly personal portraits.




Thanks again to James for his generosity of time and spirit. And more thanks to his assistant Angela for showing me around on my pre-shoot scouting trip and coordinating logistics.