B&A WEB ARTICLE

THE SELBY SAYS YES TO STARBUCKS MORNINGS 

Waking up isn’t easy. In his latest project with Starbucks, artist Todd Selby had the opportunity to follow three city dwellers who always say yes at the start of their mornings.  For Todd, the collaboration was a perfect match. “My whole interest is about interesting creative people and their spaces and getting to know their lives. I really love photography and film-making and illustration, so when I was approached about this Starbucks project, I was super jazzed. It’s always a dream to get hit up about a job that fits so closely to your interests.”

As director, photographer, and illustrator of the project, The Selby was able to fully immerse himself in the creative process. The concept for the project grew into conversations with each of the creatives they shadowed, which ultimately led to the final ideation process. Todd was involved every step of the way. He added the final touches to each image or motion piece with his illustrations. “Eighty percent of projects at this point for me are mixed in terms of film and photography, photography and illustration, or illustration and film; which is really fun.” Todd is always wearing many hats on a single project, “Integrated film and photography is definitely what I’m doing most of the time,” he noted.

The entire project took 3 days to shoot. In three mornings, he got to know the New Yorkers, their lives, and their morning routines. Working on the campaign was intensive but rewarding, as Todd was able to create a connection to each of the individuals. “What’s great about this project to me is that the talent and the people are so inspirational. Jaamal works for a nonprofit and gives sneakers to kids in his community, and he walks his sisters to school every day. Amber has her whole concept around yoga and broadening its appeal and she has a unique sensibility. Haley is a very special person in the world of fashion design - she’s really embracing all kinds of different people and sizes and color and body positivity. Love of color and pattern is definitely something that I’m really into; we definitely connected on our aesthetics.” Through this organic connection and process, Todd Selby was able to bring to life the most special and intimate moments in their mornings. 

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