Kenneth Ruggiano’s Got it Covered
Oklahoma based photographer Kenneth Ruggiano has a flair for shooting editorial with a style. His work clearly reflects his fine arts background, and his unique editorial work has been featured in Forbes and ESPN Magazine. A few weeks ago Kenneth landed one of four coveted cover shots for the most recent issue of The Hollywood Reporter. The job was to shoot NBA superstar Kevin Durant, but not in his typical OKC Thunder basketball jersey.
Kenneth got the gig by standing out through his impressive portfolio. “Oklahoma is such a small market that most major publications don’t really know anyone there.” Thankfully THR reached out to Kenneth’s agency Redux Pictures, and they recommended him as the man for the job. It was so last minute that Kenneth only received the email about the job a mere 24 hours before he was supposed to shoot it! “The nature of shooting celebrities is that schedules are up in the air until the last moment. I didn’t know if the shoot was definitely on, but I rented some extra gear and lights just in case.” Thankfully Kevin Durant was able to clear a half hour of his busy schedule for Ken. However, the hurdles didn’t end there.
The original plan was to shoot at Durant’s lavish downtown Oklahoma City apartment, but on the day of the shoot, Kenneth’s team was informed that they’d need to find a new location. After scrambling to find a new spot (the magazine didn’t want to shoot in a hotel room, and shooting outdoors was a no go due to security concerns), Kenneth finally had a stroke of genius. He reached out to a friend at the Oklahoma City chamber of commerce who put him in touch with the manager of Devon Tower, a newly constructed high rise with a gorgeous rotunda area which would be perfect for the assignment. Kenneth quickly agreed and scrambled with his crew and his gear to get there and set up the shoot.
After setting up, Kevin Durant arrived in a t-shirt and camouflage pants ready to pose for Kenneth’s camera. “I was actually excited because I think this is one of the only times where KD has been photographed in street clothes and not a basketball jersey,” Kenneth recalls. After thirty minutes of shooting, Durant had to be whisked away to his next appointment. What Kenneth’s crew didn’t realize was that one of the photos they took was going to be selected for the cover of The Hollywood Reporter’s first annual sports issue.
In fact, the magazine never formally told Kenneth that they were going to run it on the cover, although they were ecstatic with what he produced. “I actually didn’t find out it was going to be on the cover until a friend linked me to a picture Durant had posted on his Instagram feed,” Kenneth said.
To see more of Kenneth’s artistic editorial work, check out his FoundFolios portfolio.