I get asked the following question quite often: “What has been your favorite job so far?” That’s always been a pretty tough question to answer, so I’ll respond something along the lines of “I dunno, it’s like picking which child is your favorite….” Well, that was then. Things have changed. The NFL kinda beat the shit out of the competition and took over the #1 spot. Here’s how I got the opportunity and what happened along the way.

If you lived, worked or visited Nashville during the months of March or April in 2019, there’s a pretty good chance that you saw the following image plastered on billboards, on TV, or on numerous other mediums.

That’s my image! The NFL contacted me in December of 2018 about creating an iconic shot of Broadway with all the neon lights shining on a Draft football. Naturally, I accepted and went to work.

Capturing this image was tough work….and DANGEROUS. You know that spot by Bridgestone where half the people in the right turning lane don’t realize it’s a turning lane, try to keep going straight and cut off the people in the left lane? That’s basically where I had to shoot the photo from. Well, my car was parked in front of Mellow Mushroom in the loading zone to “protect” me and my camera for this shot (don’t worry, Metro Police were informed and aware). In the couple of hours I was there, I saw no fewer than 15 near-wrecks and the death of 4 of my orange caution cones. In other words, there were safer places to be, but that’s where the shot had to be taken. Thank goodness I had the iPad so that I could safely stand on the sidewalk and wirelessly trigger the camera.

Outside of that, I did have one guy get pissed off at me because he had to unload his guitar case, literally, 30 feet away from where he wanted to. “That’s not cool, man. We’re just out here trying to make a living and you’re taking up too much space.” Well, Hank, I guess you’re gonna have to take 10 extra steps today, bud.

Getting drafted, so to speak

I delivered the photo and everyone was happy and pleased. The NFL did some retouching to it to get the lights exactly how they wanted and I think it turned out amazing. Naturally, after a job well done for the NFL, I figured it was time to press my luck and see if I could make my way into the Draft. Normally, I wouldn’t try something like that. Job’s finished, move on. But it was the NFL Draft. In Nashville. How many more opportunities like that would I get? I’d kick myself forever if I didn’t even try. What did I have to lose?

Long story short, they agreed to try and help me out with no promises. I thought we had it for a while, but things fell through and they weren’t able to provide me with credentials. I was bummed, but knew it was a long shot at best.

The very next day, the NFL called me again. Turns out, they could use a little help taking portraits of all the prospects and various celebrities and offered the spot to me. They told me that I would work for a few hours, get paid, then have credentials to the Draft for the entire weekend. HELL. YES. And get paid? I mean, I don’t know how in the world I could pass that up. I would have done it for free…..but I didn’t bring that part up 😁.

The Work

My job was to assist the NFL’s lead bad-ass photographer Eric Espino along with a small crew of other photographers from all over the country. We were tasked with setting up a studio inside a large tent placed between the prospect’s green room and the Red Carpet. The players would walk out of the green room, we’d wrangle them in to the tent, get their portrait and send them on to the Red Carpet.

We took the NFL 100 portraits of nearly every prospect that was drafted in the first round along with celebrities like Tim McGraw and Joey BadAss. Once we made it through the list, we closed down shop and got to go on our way to do whatever we wanted.

The Play

My credentials gave me access to the Draft Stage and Photographer Pit, the Red Carpet, the Media Work Area…..and basically everywhere I wanted to go except for the player parties and such.

The Photographer Pit was the coolest. It was right beside the stage where the picks were announced. As in, I could reach out and touch the players if I felt like getting kicked out and banned. It was also a place that very few photographers had access to. Maybe 15 or so? In the world? The NFL really knew how to make an old country boy feel special.

I watched and photographed almost all of the 1st Round. It was pouring down rain and absolutely miserable. I was soaked, but it didn’t bother me too badly. To add insult to injury, at one point, I got kicked off the stage because one of the security guards told me that my credentials didn’t allow access there. I was forced to leave the semi-protected shelter from the rain and walk into the downpour with my camera gear. That lasted all of about five minutes until I found that asshole’s boss and he let me back in.

On the way out, I stopped by the ML Rose food truck for a burger. Turns out, I was standing next to Demarco Murray in line. Apparently, he’s not a fan of waiting on a burger to get cooked. Just throwing that out there.

Below are a mix of some shots that I grabbed while there, some are iPhone shots, others are shot with my “real” camera, and the one of me with the football is from the same set as all the players.

Takeaways

• If you’ve never heard half a million people boo one person (Roger Goodell), it’s sort of spectacular.
• Many of the NFL people had great things to say about Nashville. Fantastic venue for the Draft
• The level of production and the logistics that went into making the Draft happen is INSANE. You really have to see it behind-the-scenes to appreciate it.
• All in all, it was an amazing experience that’s going to be tough to beat. That is, unless someone can get me in to Augusta or the Super Bowl. Any takers?