Uploaded May 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
How can a 24-50mm camera lens stand out in the saturated standard zoom category? The Thypoch Voyager 24-50mm f/2.8 accomplishes this with its vintage look in a modern lens. Join Nick around New York City to see this lens in action.
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How can a 24-50mm camera lens stand out in the saturated standard zoom category? The Thypoch Voyager 24-50mm f/2.8 accomplishes this with its vintage look in a modern lens. Join Nick around New York City to see this lens in action.
Shop the Thypoch Voyager 24-50mm f/2.8 at B&H: bhpho.to/4wsQusL
Learn more on B&H Explora: bhpho.to/4wtldWp
Learn about Exclusive Benefits with The B&H Payboo® Credit Card here: bhpho.to/3ViS27c
Shop @ B&H:
bhphotovideo.com
Subscribe to the B&H Photo YouTube Channel: bit.ly/SubscribetoBHPhoto
Head to our B&H Event Space YouTube channel for more seminars! bhpho.to/EventSpaceYouTube
Subscribe to the B&H Pro Audio YouTube Channel: bhpho.to/BHProAudioYouTube
Follow us on Social Media
- tiktok.com/@bhphoto
- facebook.com/bhphoto
- instagram.com/bhphoto
- twitter.com/BHPhotoVideo








![Encore: The Art of the SNL Portrait, with Mary Ellen Matthews
Live From New York, its Saturday Night! That single sentence has become a catchphrase for devotees of comedy and popular culture for more than 50 years—generations of fans who willingly turn their attentions from the height of weekend revelry to the televised antics of Saturday Night Live.
As this illustrious broadcast wraps its 51st season, were releasing an encore of our 2025 chat with SNLs photographer-in-residence Mary Ellen Matthews, while we busy ourselves backstage to bring you some exciting changes and an upcoming new look to our own show.
Week in, week out for more than two decades, Mary Ellen has conjured visual magic behind the scenes, creating inventive and irreverent portraits that air for three seconds each as so-called bumpers that transition to and from the shows commercial breaks.
During our spirited chat about what is arguably the worlds best photo gig, we follow Mary Ellen from a fateful 1993 phone call, inviting her to assist the shows founding photographer Edie Baskin, through her journey from mentee to team leader. Along the way, we pull back the curtain on the creation of some iconic images and learn what it takes to be in the drivers seat [with] a whole busload of very important people to take care of.
My job is to make this easy and fast, she notes. And I dont want anyone to be overthinking anything because theyve got enough to worry about with all the sketches and all the pre-tapes and their responsibilities to the rest of the show, which is the most important thing.
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0:00 Intro
3:00 Living the dream as SNLs resident photographer while being creative under stressful deadline pressure.
4:44 Mary Ellens early immersion in photography, at the side of her hobbyist father.
6:56 Arriving in NYC, early work for a record label, and the call to assist SNLs founding photographer in residence, Edie Baskin.
11:55 SNLs transition from film to digital, plus the cameras Mary Ellen shoots with today.
15:37 Conceptualizing the weekly portrait shoots and collaborating with subjects.
20:31 Behind-the-scenes of a dicey photo shoot, plus SNLs weekly production timeline.
27:25 Episode Break
28:12: Beyond portraits, the images Mary Ellen shoots as props for SNL sketches—sometimes with a 4x5.
33:11: The scheduling of SNL portrait shoots and getting portrait subjects to have fun.
36:34 Testing for shoots, the atmosphere on-set, and flying by the seat of your pants.
40:06 Communicating with a celebritys team to get everyone on the same page about shoots and concepts.
42:30 The general workflow of SNL portrait sessions: from shoot preparation to editing and post-production.
45:07 Advice for emerging photographers looking for work or applying for an internship.
As a top entertainment portrait photographer, Mary Ellen Matthews is specialized in creating iconic images of well-known personalities—from pop stars to sports legends to rock gods. Since 1999, she has been photographer-in-residence at Saturday Night Live, where she’s responsible for creating the distinctive look of the shows still images. Through her exuberant presence that puts subjects at ease, her creative and playful styling on set and intensive fine-tuning in post, Matthews produces unique and recognizable portraits under the manic deadlines of live TV. What’s more, in 2010, she began directing SNL’s video clips, including the show’s opening title sequence.
Recent clients include Peacock, Hulu, Netflix, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Studios, and Prime Video, as well as publications such as Variety, Rolling Stone, Marie Claire, and the Spanish edition of Harper’s Bazaar. Most notably, in March 2025, Matthews’s first book, The Art of the SNL Portrait, was released to mark the 50th anniversary of this revolution in late night TV.
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- https://copiousmanagement.com/mary-ellen-matthews
- https://www.instagram.com/maryellenmatthewsnyc/
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