Balance of Power

Jeffery A. Salter

When he planned his shoot of Serena Williams for the cover of the 2019 Fashionable 50 issue, photographer Jeffery A. Salter sought to capture not only her athleticism but also her royal stature and her sense of high fashion. It wasn’t going to be easy. The shoot took place in London only days before Wimbledon, and Williams showed up hours late because of a back injury that required a trip to the doctor. (She would make the tournament final anyway.) Salter loved the idea of having Williams place one leg up on a column to appear regal, so much so that he asked his prop stylist to order six columns of differing heights to give himself options. “While I was doing the testing, everybody in the crew at one point had their leg up on a column, and it was not easy [to balance],” Salter recalls. “When Serena came, she did it in high heels. And she was on the tallest column. And it was no problem for her.”—Rohan Nadkarni

Jeffery A. Salter

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