These photos of Chloe Sevigny for were taken using Zoom

Last Updated on April 27, 2020 by Kristen

When I saw Chloë Sevigny on the cover of The Cut’s May issue, I figured the editors dug up photos from a previous shoot. Or maybe they shot her just before the coronavirus put everyone into quarantine. Or maybe the photographer made sure to stand 6 (10?) feet away to take the pictures?

Then I read that photographer Elizaveta Porodina shot the Gen X icon using the same technology everyone else is using for meetings, weddings, funerals and reunions: Zoom. I had to re-read it a few times to believe it, and then I double-checked on the photographer’s Instagram account. Indeed, the photos were shot through Zoom. And I have so many questions!

Did she use a camera to shoot the screen while on the app? Did she take screenshots? A combination of both? What type of computer (or phone?) were they each using? What advance planning went into the shoot? How long did it take? What type of editing did she do? How did the photographer work with the fashion director and others who were involved in the shoot?

The Cut answers some of those questions in its article Behind the Cover: Chloe Sevigny, but not  that many.

“‘The big trick is how can it be truly your piece that you’re really proud of,'” Porodina told The Cut. “For that reason, she’s keeping her ‘tricks’ a secret,” the magazine writes.

But apparently they were blessed with strong, consistent internet. And Porodina could not have had a better subject. Sevigny has a long career of acting, modeling and being a fashion maven behind her, so she came in handy as “location scout, hair stylist, makeup artist, costume designer, and on-the-fly creative director.”

The results are incredible, and so in line with Porodina’s photography style that I never would have guessed they were taken with Zoom. The photos and the article are a fascinating look into Sevigny’s world as the 45-year-old shelters in place at nine months pregnant.