Photographer duo Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin have revealed the inspiration behind Taylor Swift’s TIME Person of the Year Cover Image.

Swift was named TIME’s 2023 Person of the Year and Dutch fashion photographers Inez and Vinoodh — known for their work for luxury brands and magazines — were chosen to shoot the pop star for three different magazine covers.

The photographer pair, who shot Swift once before for a 2019 Vogue shoot, captured the singer in the midst of her record-breaking Eras tour and called her “the ideal subject.”

‘Carrying The World on Her Shoulders’

The defining shot of Inez’s and Vinoodh’s three different cover images for TIME magazine features Taylor posing confidently in a black bodysuit and red lipstick, with her cat Benjamin Button draped over her shoulders.

Inez and Vinoodh tell TIME that the captivating snap was inspired by photographer Bill Hayward’s 1970s book Cat People — which features artful shots of entertainers, writers, and other professionals with their pets.

The pictures [in Cat People] are brilliant. It shows very well the relationship that people have with their cats,” Inez tells TIME.

“But at the same time, [shows] the way cats are kind of on their own—they’re a special breed of animal. So I got a vintage copy of it for Taylor because I know she’s a major cat lover, and her cats travel with her.

“And I said, ‘You know, I’ve always wanted to do a picture like the one that’s on the cover of that book where the cat’s on the shoulder of the girl.’

“It speaks to a sense of carrying everything on your shoulders but being defiant while doing so. And she agreed and that’s how that picture happened.”

‘The Photo Has Everything’

The photographers say that the image of Taylor with the cat on her shoulders perfectly embodies her cultural power in 2023.

“It really has everything: Her glamor, her power, her sense of empathy of carrying the whole world on her shoulders,” Inez says.

“Because if you do feel like that — she’s so involved in everything, whether it’s getting young people to vote, etc. — she’s always pushing for things that are outside of the music realm.

“I felt that there is something there in her body position that’s very powerful and strong. Her expression and the way she looks has this old Hollywood glamor but underneath, there’s so much power in her stance.

“The way she has Benjamin on her shoulders is kind of like, ‘Yeah, I’m carrying you all’.”

Swift is the first figure from the arts to be named TIME Person of the Year for her success as an entertainer.

The singer was picked from a group of nine finalists that included Barbie, King Charles III, and OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman, among others.

Image credits: All photos courtesy of TIME.

With Christmas fast approaching it’s getting to that time of year when people start asking what you want – a question I always find impossible to answer. But even when I’m void of ideas there is always something I beg people not to get me; camera or photography-related presents! Without meaning to sound ungrateful, the last thing I want is a mug shaped like a lens or a rubbish air blower.

As a photographer, the items on my wishlist are usually pretty expensive. That means that unless someone is feeling insanely generous it’s unlikely I’m going to get the photography lighting kit of my dreams (two Profoto B10 X Plus studio heads with all the light shaping accessories) or the Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 GM lens I have wanted forever. 

Just to clarify, I would never ask for these items either, I have never been one for excessive spending at Christmas, so to expect it back would be absurd, but in the past I have received DSLR holsters I’ll never use, or packs of scratchy lens clothes that remain in a junk drawer.

That’s not to say there aren’t some really good, affordable presents out there for photographers. I just think the person you’re buying for needs to specify that they want them, or you need to know the recipient so well you could handpick a coffee table book or print they will love. I have previously received an Instax Mini, a 35mm film camera, a Nikon 50mm f/1.8 lens and a prism but all of these have been on a wishlist so the person buying them knew they’d be put to good use. 

I love Christmas. I love the decorations, the excuse to eat and drink excessively, the coming together of friends and family and of course watching Christmas films on repeat, but what I cannot stand is present giving for giving sake. I have a soft spot for handmade or unique presents – perhaps a photo book, personalized photo calendar or a digital photo frame already loaded with photos. 

But I cannot stress enough how much I do not want to be on the receiving end of photography-themed Christmas tat. Christmas isn’t about how much stuff you get or how much someone spends but if you are going to be giving presents this year, try and make sure they will not go to waste!

If you’re still looking for gifts and you do know who you’re buying for, then we have an extensive guide to the best books on photography.

British photographer Oli Kellett has taken his camera from New York to Rio de Janeiro, obsessively capturing one everyday aspect of big cities: Crosswalks. In his images, these banal parts of urban infrastructure transform into dramatically lit, cinematic scenes featuring people waiting to cross, suspended in a moment of rare peace amid the typical hustle and bustle that goes along with living in a city of millions.

“I’m interested in the idea of stillness and contemplation,” said Kellett in the London gallery HackelBury Fine Art, where a solo show of his work, “Waiting for a Sign”, has just opened. The large-scale pictures are drawn from his long-running series “Cross Road Blues” — the title a nod to the Robert Johnson song — which captures people at intersections frozen in contemplation, deciding where to go. For Kellett, this becomes a symbol of the bigger life decisions of choosing a direction.

In one photograph, a street cleaner stands alone in a narrow sliver of sunlight, gazing upwards at something out of shot as he begins to cross an unusually empty major road in Boston. In another, a small group of people, all different ages and looking different directions, are caught in the dappled bright light reflected off a building in Chicago, as they choose what to do next.

Kellett’s exhibition is accompanied by his first monograph, “Cross Road Blues”, presenting a curation of the series from start to finish. It begins in Los Angeles in 2016, where the idea evolved unexpectedly. “I wanted to make some work about the 2016 election,” Kellett explained. He decided to take pictures on Hope Street in Downtown LA, to capture a snapshot of the political climate, with the street choice a reflection on the iconic Shepard Fairey “Hope” poster of Barack Obama.

The idea of creating a politically-infused portrait of a street didn’t manifest in the way Kellett imagined, but he did capture one image that stuck: a woman waiting to cross the road, illuminated by golden sunlight. “I felt like it was this idea of a political crossroads,” Kellett said. But as he took the idea further, capturing more people at crosswalks around the country, he realized: “It’s not about politics, it’s about individuals.”

Most of the “Cross Road Blues” images are taken in US cities, from Phoenix and Atlanta to Chicago and Seattle. Grid street layouts lent themselves to capturing crosswalk photos, and the architecture of downtowns formed the perfect backdrop — urban, grey, often not immediately identifiable — to focus on the individuals in the picture. “There were some places I went that felt far too romantic,” Kellett said, citing New Orleans as an example; those images didn’t make the cut. “It was almost too beautiful.”

Despite needing a certain generic urban-ness for the settings, the pictures are in no way devoid of beauty. Light plays a crucial role, with dramatic shafts of sunshine — particularly at sunrise, sunset or reflected spectacularly off buildings — illuminating the characters of his images in perfectly composed ways.

In fact, it all looks highly orchestrated, like a film set. But Kellett insists that not a single one is staged. The photographs result from him walking around chosen cities, looking for the right street corner — often a few blocks away from the busiest streets — and waiting until the light is just right, the place is peaceful, and there is someone waiting to cross in a way that feels compelling. “All these pictures rely on chance,” he said.

The series drew to a close in Rio de Janeiro, where Kellett happened to capture a man frozen in an almost John the Baptist-like pose with his finger held aloft towards the sky. “I knew this was the end of the project,” Kellett said.

Indeed, a look back across the pictures reveals the subjects to appear like sacred figures might in historic religious paintings: contemplative, bathed in golden light, often gazing upwards. As such, although the photographs are steeped in a contemporary urban landscape, they betray a timeless sense of humanity.

Kellett isn’t sure what’s next now the series has ended, but he seems to be leaving it up to chance: “It’s about walking out the door and not knowing who you’re going to find,” he said. “Or where you’re going to go.”