Pixiq

March 25, 2011 is Aretha Franklin's 69th birthday.  I've photographed the "Queen of Soul" for the last five years and it's always a blast, but the first time working with any client sets the tone for the relationship.  Every time I photograph Aretha or any client I spend time doing research on them to learn as much as possible about them.  While doing research for my first shoot I learned that Ms. Franklin loved yellow roses, so on the day of the shoot I had yellow roses waiting in the makeup room with a small note saying "here's to a great shoot"!  She loved them and we've been working together ever since.  

I've just photographed Ms. Franklin for her new CD which will come out sometime this year!  While photographing Ms. Franklin I played collection of my favorite Aretha songs, and she always sings along.  As I was shooting the image that is now the new cover, I started singing along as the entire room was overcome with joy.  However, Ms. Franklin abrutly stopped singing and said, "Jordan!  Honey, don't sing"!  The entire studio roared with laughter, including me.  It was a great day.

Happy 69th Birthday Aretha Franklin!