Our security guards were terrified: SNL photographer reveals behind-the-scenes secrets of shooting Bieber, Tina Fey & more
Mary Ellen Matthew’s job is as fun as it looks.For the past 25 years, the 59-year-old photographer has been shooting always iconic, often whimsical portraits of stars to serve as “bumpers” — images that appear on screen before a commercial break — for “Saturday Night Live.”“The bumpers are probably the least appreciated part of the show, but anybody who knows the show knows how much they mean,” the show’s head honcho, Lorne Michaels, writes in the foreword to Matthew’s new book, “The Art of the SNL Portrait” (Harry N.
Abrams, out now).The book follows in the footsteps of SNL’s 50th anniversary special and features dozens of the nearly 4,000 portraits Matthews has created of the show’s hosts and musical guests over the years.It’s “the best job in the world and, quite certainly, the only one like it,” Matthews, who uses both real-life props and digital editing to create the portraits, writes in the book’s introduction.There’s rarely a dull moment in her workday.While many of the images are shot in the studio, Matthews loves getting outside and incorporating elements of the city.
She fondly recalls capturing Jim Carrey hailing a cab with a llama named Pierre in the pouring rain and snapping Jason Momoa with a guitar on the edge of Top of the Rock.“His security and our security were like terrified,” she said.Here, she shares six other images — and the stories behind them — with The Post.When the former cast member — who has long been rumored as a top contender to replace Michaels when he retires — hosted in 2018, Matthews wanted to create an image out of a high-brow fashion magazine from the 1940s or ’50s.
She thought it’d be “sweet” to have Fey holding a bird but wanted something more “ridiculous” than a little bluebird or peaceful dove.“I thought … how can we push that into a more playful place? And then I thought, it’s a big bird.
And then what’s the most ridiculous bird that she could be ho...