Her stunning images flash across the screen for just three seconds at a time, but three seconds on one of the most iconic shows in American TV history.
Mary Ellen Matthews is the photographic genius behind the Saturday Night Live ‘bumper’ shots, which feature that week’s host and musical guests in cinematic-style photos that segue into the commercial break.
Her lens has been capturing a conveyor belt of world stardom for 25 years, framing them in incredible staged images that can include props from a giant martini glass to rubber chickens as she nails SNL’s sense of humor.
Now, the 59-year-old official photographer for the show has chosen some of her favorites among the nearly 4,000 images that have made it to air during that time for her new book, The Art of the SNL Portrait.
‘I like to create a fun environment that keeps people moving,’ she told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview while visiting our Manhattan office to discuss some of her favorites in the 272-page coffee table tome.
‘I’m always looking for inspiration. Everything around me can become an idea or just a little bit of a spark for something.’
Mary Ellen Matthews is the photographic genius behind the Saturday Night Live ‘bumper’ shots featuring that week’s host and musical guests in cinematic-style photos that segue into the commercial break
The 59-year-old official photographer for the show has picked some of her favorites among the nearly 4,000 images that have made it to air during that time for her new book The Art of the SNL Portrait
Matthews’ homage to the Wizard of Oz featured the band Foo Fighters dressed up as characters from the classic film – including Dave Grohl as Dorothy
Matthews took over the role from her mentor Edie Baskin after working as her assistant following her start photographing rock bands and other celebrities in New York City.
But she’s brought her own often kooky style to the role, developing frequently wacky, intricate, colorful and spontaneous moments with major stars that could easily grace a billboard or album cover.
Celebs look looser, quirkier…maybe pushed a little further than normal as they have a teacup thrown at them to get a reaction?
Referring to her star subjects – many used to constant reverential adulation – she says: ‘Well, with the nature of these shoots there’s a little bit of ease, we’re going to have a little more fun that you’re used to.
‘So there’s something that comes with being on the show and doing these shoots that we get to go a little further for sure.’
Matthews photographs on Thursdays in the same 8H studio in CBS’s TV headquarters in Rockefeller Plaza where the show is broadcast two days later.
There’s bustle and hustle all around her. And she usually only has around two hours to shoot her magic after the intricate preparations because of the star’s other commitments for the show, which is celebrating 50 years.
‘The band’s rehearsing while we’re shooting and just all things are moving, sets are moving around… it’s a circus. So it creates this very vibrant energy,’ she says.
Matthews’ photographed actress Anya Taylor Joy wearing a stunning red chiffon gown with the bust covered up to her collarbone
Matthews shot comedian Ramy Youssef posing alongside a fluffy small dog as they gaze out a rainy window
Another SNL cast member, Pete Davidson, posed in Matthews’ photoshoot in a scene from backstage, surrounded by cue cards, lighting and a tinfoil tin filled with spaghetti and meatballs
Matthews’ photoshoot with SNL icon Tina Fey was meant to replicate a 1940s or 50s high-fashion magazine but instead of going with a delicate bird, they went with the more outrageous choice of a vulture
Matthews doing a photoshoot outside NBC’s studios where she captures comedian Sarah Silverman standing on a ladder using a wrench to fix Rockefeller Center’s iconic sign
Sometimes she plots a shoot down to the last detail. Other times it’s a wilder ride.
‘It depends on what it is and who it is,’ Matthews adds. ‘Sometimes there’s a goal, a mission in mind and a concept I’m trying to attain. Sometimes it takes a left turn, a right turn and we end up somewhere else. Sometimes just kind of see what comes of something.
Depending on the shoot, catching the star turn unawares is in the plot.
‘Sometimes I’ll just grab a prop. And you never know what you’re going to get,’ says Matthews. ‘Or I’ll just throw something to somebody and just say, ready. You’re gonna catch something.
Of the finished images themselves, Matthews says: ‘I do think them as billboards or magazine covers or album covers. They have a polish and a sparkle and a shine to them.’
But they’re on air for just three seconds. ‘Right, let’s go for 30 seconds, not just three,’ she laughs. ‘Anyhow, now they have a place to live, in the book, well some of them anyway.’
Here Matthews reveals an inside story of shooting some of the book’s classic images.
Travis Kelce, March 2023
Matthews channeled rock legend Jimi Hendrix setting light to his Fender Stratocaster guitar at the 1967 Monterey pop festival for this astonishing shot of NFL great Travis Kelce
Matthews took the inspiration for this astonishing shot of NFL great Kelce from rock legend Jimi Hendrix setting light to his Fender Stratocaster guitar at the 1967 Monterey pop festival.
The Kansas City Chiefs tight end had just won the Superbowl and had a glint in his eye as he fired up a cigar from a flaming football.
‘There’s something about the badassery of this Travis shot that I love,’ Matthews tells us. ‘That Hendrix moment but taking it one step further by lighting a cigar from the football. And he just owned the moment completely. He was up for the idea 100 per cent.
‘Travis has such charisma. He’s a sports guy but as we now known he’s a natural in front of the camera, and a lot of fun to work with.
‘We did a light a football on fire but of course for safety reasons we couldn’t hand him that. So there’s a bit of Photoshop. I sketched it out and he knew exactly how this was going to look.
Alec Baldwin, February 2009
For Matthews’ shoot with Alec Baldwin, the photographer took inspiration from Marlon Brando’s iconic opening shot in the 1972 film The Godfather, but instead of a real cat they used a stuffed animal
The opening scene of the 1972 blockbuster The Godfather has Marlon Brando as Don Corleone holding a stray cat. Matthews took that as her cue but with a twist for Baldwin, who has hosted the show a record 17 times.
‘I think it was Alex who came up with the Godfather idea,’ she says. ‘So I said to our head of costume, can we put him together?
‘And not being able to get a cat, we found a stuffed cat. Which to me puts that shot into our world, SNL’s world.
‘Because it has some comedy to it. There’s a ridiculousness to it. And you know, we’re not doing the exact image, we’re making our version of it.’
Baldwin’s appearance though is very Don Corleone in the movie. ‘He inhabited that moment of doing Marlon Brando but doing it in an SNL way, for sure,’ she says. ‘We really leaned into it even more by putting the SNL logo in that same type, the finishing touches on it.
‘Alex is such a good actor. I’ve shot him six or seven times for the show and worked with him outside of it. He’s wonderful, just wonderful. He’s so full of ideas. He has those cinematic, archival references that we lean into.’
Dave Chappelle, November 2016
Comedian Dave Chappelle has the distinguished title of being the only person allowed to smoke on set, Matthews saw this fact as so iconic that she had to incorporate it into the shoot
Comedy great Chappelle has had one distinct quirk in his SNL appearances. Matthews believes he’s the only person who’s been allowed to smoke on set, as reflected in this shoot.
‘We were just shooting the s*** together, just talking. And he was smoking a cigarette and I thought this was just such an interesting introspective moment to get on camera.
‘It has a more relaxed vibe. Being on the show at that time meant a lot to him. It’s been said he’s the only person who gets to smoke on set. And why is that? I don’t know.. because he’s Dave Chappelle.’
Jennifer Lopez, February 2010
Matthews decided to capture Jennifer Lopez’s beauty up close in a tight shot. She described the process as a ‘kind of dance you do’ and a ‘conversation’ between the subject and the photographer
‘Jennifer is one of the most wonderful people I’ve ever worked with,’ says the celebrity photographer. ‘She’s absolutely gorgeous, just so giving in her collaborative way.’
Of this striking atmospheric photo, she says: ‘I didn’t know her before this shoot. Sometimes it’s not like I’m going to know exactly what I want from somebody, especially if you don’t know them.
‘And that’s the kind of dance you do. It’s a conversation., something develops and it’s a way to get to know the person gradually.
‘With Jennifer, I wanted to do a close-up and it just seemed right. She was connecting beautifully.’
When superstar Justin Bieber showed up on set with pale blue and white clothing, Matthews got the inspiration to put him against a cloudy background for the photo
It was the pale blue and white clothes Bieber turned up in for the shoot that gave Matthews the inspiration for this image, she says.
‘I thought it would be really fun because he’s dressed like a cloud. And I was thinking of him falling out of the sky, but it does look like he could be going up also. And then just to kind of mix it up a little bit, make it an orange sky. Why not?
‘I’d worked with him before and it was a very casual atmosphere. Generally, I don’t want to take up too much time because the host and musical guests have other responsibilities.
‘So this is meant to be a little bit easy and I don’t want them to think too hard about it.’
Of Bieber himself, currently worrying his fans concerned about his health, she says: ‘I found Justin delightful, this was one of his third or fourth times on the show.’
Timothee Chalamet, November 2023
It was a collaborative effort between Matthews and Timothee Chalamet for the final photo. She said he made the decision to go outside for the shoot, despite the risk of swarming fans, and that she went with a black-and-white scheme because of the clothes he wore
Matthews says of the star nominated for best actor in this year’s Oscars for A Complete Unknown: ‘We’re in Central Park, New York City and it was his idea to go there. He said, I want to go outside, so we got some security and we thought let’s see what happens.
‘We moved as fast as possible and kept it moving because we knew he’d be spotted. Fans saw him and he was very good-natured about it.
‘We were talking down this path and I said, give me the classic click our heels together. And he did it perfectly. With the umbrella it’s a bit like Singing in the Rain, but without the rain. It was a beautiful fall day.’
Of the decision to produce the shot in black and white, she says: ‘With his black coat and the black umbrella there was something about it that felt like it was from another time.’
Aubrey Plaza, January 2023
Matthews said Aubrey Plaza made her idea of recreating Sharon Stone’s chair scene in 1992 psychological blockbuster movie Basic Instinct into her own through her delivery
Behind the scenes of Matthews photoshoot with Aubrey Plaza. It’s a collaborative effort with her crew on set as a person holds up a white panel to direct the actress’ shadow
Sharon Stone’s chair scene in the 1992 psychological blockbuster movie Basic Instinct is one of Hollywood’s most iconic images of all time. When Matthews decided to recreate it with actress and comedian Plaza, there was an unexpected twist.
‘I thought of it in a cab on the way to the shoot,’ she says. ‘There’s something about Aubrey that could do that moment – the strength of Sharon Stone, she had it in her, I felt it was right for her.
‘She loved the idea and the props department found everything to make it work. When I pitched it to Aubrey, she was like, guess who’s here?
‘Crazily, Sharon was also at the studio…with Sam Smith, who was the musical guest, they were performing together. Weird and what a wild moment.
‘Sharon is being interrogated in the movie, we referenced the still and tried to light it the same. Aubrey is a wonderful actress and she brought that moment back to life again, but in her own interpretation. There’s something in the way she’s delivering it, her pose, that is Aubrey doing Sharon. Not a complete copy.’
Kieran Culkin, November 2021
Matthews said Kieran Culkin was one of her favorite photoshoots and that she wanted to play with movement in the large coat he had worn on set
A consummate diplomat, Matthews reveals Culkin, who nailed the Best Supporting Actor Oscar this year for A Real Pain, is ‘I’ve got to say, just one of my favorites.’
It was the first time she’d photographed the brother of Home Alone star McCauley. ‘We had so much fun together, the whole crew,’ she says.
‘We were doing a color gels look and I love movement. He had this big coat on and I had to drag the shutter a little bit, which meant a slower shutter speed. So you get these colors seep into the image a little more as he was moving.’
Sydney Sweeney, March 2024
For Sydney Sweeney’s photoshoot, Matthews said the ‘magic quality’ the young actress had was perfect for her idea of centering the photo around her being stuck inside a crystal ball
The Once Upon a Time in Hollywood star has a certain magic quality according to Matthews. ‘She’s a young girl who’s just so vibrant, she’s got a little bit of va-va-voom in a playful way,’ she says.
The incredible black and white image of Sweeney came after ‘I must have seen something that had to do with a crystal ball, or like a snow globe.
‘But I thought, instead of snow, let’s just have her inside. And then she’s trying to get out. This wasn’t anything I’d sketched. I just thought, let’s play with this object and she really loved that concept.’
Another photo of Sweeney in the book, showing the behind the scenes of this shoot, reveals her in a stunning low-cut red dress in a giant martini glass. ‘It was a reminder of the old burlesque shows, the girls, the martini, their feet up. She loved that too.’
Mick Jagger, May 2010
When Matthews was given the task to photograph Rolling Stones legend Mick Jagger, she said she was ‘awestruck’ and that no props were needed
Matthews easily deals with worldwide names all the time, but admits this one of Rolling Stones legend Mick made her ‘awestruck’.
She says: ‘I was so excited… starstruck, awestruck, all of that. I mean, my goodness, a musical hero. I’m representing the show so I have to rise to that occasion. So that was incredible. He’s been on the show a few times, and this was the second time I’d photographed him.
‘There’s no props here. It was in the earlier days before I started leading into concepts and scenarios. But I don’t think you need to for him. He is enough on his own.’
Lady Gaga, November 2013
Lady Gaga’s photos were distinctly her with the tiny white Kleinway child’s piano, the platform heels and her classic messy bob. Matthews said the superstar’s instincts when it came to posing were organic
The tiny white Kleinway child’s piano, the gigantic boots, the small stool and giant glasses… and an instinctive pose.
‘I have a bunch of props around for spontaneous ideas and this seemed right at the moment,’ says Matthews. ‘I love how Lady Gaga just organically went into that position, that’s the beauty of it.’
The singer and actress collaborated with Bradley Cooper for the A Star is Born soundtrack Shallow, which won the Best Original Song Oscar and a Golden Globe in 2019.
‘She’s such a pro, she’s at the top of her game,’ says Matthews. ‘Everything she does is with a level of perfection. She’s setting the bar for everybody.
Janet Jackson, April 2004
Matthews wanted to give singer Janet Jackson a character to play, so the duo decided on jazz singer Billie Holiday
‘I just thought, give Janet a character to play,’ says Matthews. The result was one songstress beautifully recreating another in jazz singer Billie Holiday, who died in 1959. ‘And it was the right choice, she loved the idea.
‘We got the gardenia and I worked stylist to pull together the perfect dress and the perfect flower. We had a little bit more time for that one so we created six different looks in that shoot.
‘We changed outfits a bunch and she even brought in her dog at the time. I’m a dog person, so in my book the more dogs the better.’
Scarlett Johansson, April 2007
Matthews’ said martini glasses were loved by SNL – as seen with the photo of Andy Samberg used as the cover of her art book – and was used to capture Scarlett Johansson essence as a ‘party girl’ in the shoot
‘We love a martini glass at SNL,’ says Matthews of the jaunty shot of Johansson, the world’s highest-paid actress in 2018 and 2019.
‘I just love that photo, just the absolute joy and sparkle in her eyes.. It’s just so sparkly. For something like this, I might say to her, you’re a party girl, raise a glass to life. And that’s the way it was conveyed.
‘Scarlett is one of my absolute all-time favorites.’
