What do Cooper and Ali do when we have a few moments of spare time? We look at pictures in magazines to try and figure out how the lighting is setup. Yup, add one to the dorksimus maximus chart. It is actually kind of fun and something I never even thought of before. We look for whatever reflective pieces might be in the photo to see what sort of light boxes they use, where they are placed, where the photographer might be standing in relation to the light, etc. If you look at a copy of the August 2007 Vanity Fair, you can see in the reflective space helmet the location of the photographer, his sidekicks, how the lighting is setup, what their vans look like, etc. The main article of this cover story has an even better picture…five or six guys and they all have reflective helmets.Â
Copyright Vanity Fair, August 2007
The magazine photos that really make me think are the close up portraits of an actor/actress where the only reflective surfaces are the eyes. I never before had looked into the eyes of a celebrity as closely as I do now.  I always thought Cooper was just really into a certain celebrity and liked looking at her for hours, but really he was studying the photograph and how it was shot. Then he showed me the secret. In the eyes you can make out the shapes of the light boxes and where they are located.  Whenever I looked at the cover photos in the past I would read the tag lines, look at the celebrity, then dive into the magazine. Now, (with Cooper’s guidance) I have a deeper appreciation for what is actually going on and try to imagine what might be on the other side of the cover girl/guy. Ok, I suppose I have hit my geek level for the morning. Â