Covers
08.09.10
Runner's World Goes to the Dogs
September issues aren't only big for the fashion bibles, but the fitness books as well. Kory Kennedy, DD for Runner's World, sends along a cover shot better suited for a gatefold and this note:At Runner's World we love runners of all shapes, sizes, and species.See the full cover after the jump...
Photography by Gregg Segal
The Runner's World creative team:
Design Director: Kory Kennedy
Photo Editor: Andrea Maurio
Deputy Art Director: Marc Kauffman
Associate Photo Editor: Nick Galac
Assistant Art Director: Christine Snedecor
Assistant Photo Editor: Kathleen Huff
Production Coordinator: Carly Migliori
This is a classic. I love that little dog in the middle whose feet are all off the ground. But Kory, come clean....was this a one-shot cover, or was there a little manipulation? Regardless, it's brilliant! Great work.
What a fun, great-looking cover. Nice work!!
Love it! Can't wait to see the issue in person!
I LOVE it!!! There is nothing better than putting man's (and woman's!) best friends on the cover and what a great way to stay in shape! Go adopt a shelter dog, save a life and get healthy too!
While we would have loved to capture this in one shot, it just wasn't gonna happen. It turns out that a mixed-up pack of dogs don't take direction very well (even the so-called pros) and some breeds just don't play very nice together. This process of the shoot is better explained by our Photo Editor, Andrea Maurio, who was on-set with Gregg Segal and crew wrangling these beasts into some semblance of a proper photo shoot...
"The cover was shot with the dogs running towards the camera on their own. Unleashed! They had to cross over a mark so the photographer could capture and "freeze" the action. In order for them to hit their mark, we divided them into "dog-friendly" groups of 2 or 3 per pack, and had them run repetitions so that we could capture them running with all four legs moving at full speed. Some groups were tethered together by their collars with a light thread that broke (and had to be re-fastened) after every shot. The shots also involved a series of practice runs to get the dogs used to the firing strobes. Not an easy task for most dogs unless they are in Special Forces overseas!"
"All of the dogs were provided with treats and water after each run by their trainers. We had groups of dogs waiting off set in an air-conditioned motor home so they could be rotated in and out without missing a beat. But no matter how pampered our models were, at a certain point dogs will be dogs and their attentions span waned. They became more focused on squirrels and could care less about our need to capture proper running form. And I am most certain they do not even know what that means. So many more variables to consider than our typical two-legged model cover shoots."