![PATTERN ISSUE NO. 750 51
I
F YOU’RE A NAPTOWN NATIVE YOU’RE
pretty much required to love the Colts. And
if you’re into the spirit of the sport and the
shake of pom poms, you love the Colts
cheerleaders. Now combine those Colts
cheerleaders with some swimsuits and
a warm beach in Mexico at sunrise. What a
dream. You can have a glimpse at this with
the Colts 2015 calendar, but Danielle Smith,
stylist and CEO of Fresh Fettle, experienced
it in person when she styled their calendar
shoot.
After months of studying the cheer-
leaders and hoping for a way into the Colts
organization, Smith finally broke through. She
introduced herself to Kelly Tilley, the Colts
cheerleader manager, and was invited to
do the shoot with just two weeks of notice.
Despite the short prep time, a strong creative
team, and well-organized trip led to a suc-
cessful calendar.
“I really wanted to contribute and make
the Colts calendar the best calendar out of all
the NFL sports teams,” says Smith. “I’m really
confident that we achieved that. It’s not only
for the fans, but also the organization and
the cheerleaders themselves to know that
we put out a really good product.”
O
utside of the Colts organization,
Smith has worked with former
athletes for annual fashion
shows. She says the biggest
difference between athletes
and models is the structure
of the body. A great alterations assistant is
key to the right fit that works around strong
thighs and wide shoulders. But she says
most of the athletes are good sports (no
pun intended). They are fun and easy to work
with thanks to their big personalities.
Although athletes aren’t the main focus
of her business, she analyzes the sidelines
looking for potential clients. Eyeing those in
the spotlight or post career, she mentally
tweaks pocket squares or changes the fit
of a blazer. With sports organizations becom-
ing more open to partnering with the fashion
industry, Smith keeps herself available to
those who may need her services.
“The NBA has a huge fashion follow-
ing,” says Smith. “LeBron, Dwyane Wade, and
Russell Westbrook are working with excellent
stylists. They really started to give the NBA
new life in the sense of just walking from
their car to the locker room. It’s become a
catwalk in the last couple of years, as well
as postgame interviews. With Indianapolis
being such a sports-driven town, it’s bound
to happen here soon.”
Right now she’s pursuing a few ath-
letes quietly, keeping her eye on those she
believes are reaching a sweet spot in their
brand. But she is also interested in less main-
stream athletics, with a guilty pleasure for
track and strongman competitions.
“If I was asked to style a strongman
competition, I would be so excited. That’s
probably weird, but very true. I would do a
cartwheel while pregnant. I would find the
hottest briefs, shoes, and gloves ever, and
he’d be picking up a car or something.”
So regardless of your sport, if you’re an
athlete in Indy, look out, because Danielle
Smith has her eye on you.
S
TUNNING IMAGES OF ATHLETES
engaged in fantastically physi-
cal feats have been used to
inform, motivate, challenge,
thrill, and entertain us for as
long as, well, as long as there
have been athletes and cameras.
Getting those shots, according to pho-
tographer Marc Lebryk, can be almost as
difficult as the athletes’ acts. For the most
part, sports photographers are herded into
the same pen, and the majority of the shots
are replicated by every shooter in the con-
fined area.
“The process itself is often the empty
calories of the industry,” he says. “You’re
there with everyone else. Everyone’s shoot-
ing the same action. You can hope, and even
work, to find an original angle every time. But
there are a lot of games, and there is con-
stant demand to illustrate them all.”
Reaching to an old writers’ cliché used
to justify submitting generic copy needed
to fill the paper’s white space, the Irvington
freelance photographer explains what he
means by that empty calorie comment.
“Photographers have to ‘feed the
beast,’ too,” he says.
Think about those awesome shots that
seem so singular: Odell Beckham Jr.’s two-
fingered catch against Dallas; any X-gamer
flipping so fast over and over he’s just a blur;
the gymnast contorted so gracefully while
balanced perfectly on the beam; the thrills of
victory and the anguishes of defeat or injury.
“They’re amazing. They’re impossible.
They’re wonderful,” Lebryk says. “But look
at any newspaper, website, or magazine. The
next column over, or on following pages, are
more pedestrian shots that explain the other
sports stories. And the next day or week or
so, even those singular shots fade in the
rush of shots of the next amazing, impos-
sible athletic feat.”
It’s in the unusual that Lebryk gets his
deepest photographic satisfaction. Unusual
in the sense of the shot he took, not neces-
sarily the subject of the actual photograph.
For an auto dealer’s newspaper ad,
he once staged a scene where a new car
crashed into a 400-pound pumpkin.
“I was cleaning pumpkin out of my gear
the rest of the day,” he says ruefully, admit-
ting, “I didn’t really think that one through.”
A
nother time, on a shot where
he was partnering with a
friend for a Naptown Roller
Girls calendar, his buddy,
Greg Andrews, came up with
the idea of posing derby girl,
“Cereal Killer,” in an old enamel bathtub filled
with Fruit Loops. As the shoot waned, Lebryk
climbed on a chair for a different perspective.
Seeing what Lebryk was up to, stylist
Nikki Sutton made a suggestion, the model
got silly and tossed a handful of cereal at
him, grinning outrageously.
Cut. End scene. There’s the shot.
“Everybody sees things differently,” he
says. “I like to give [my clients] a shot they
wouldn’t normally get to see.”
He once covered a Bengals-Patriots
football game that played on despite a
torrential downpour. All of the other photog-
raphers sought shelter. The teams stayed on
the field. So Lebryk did, too.
“I don’t know why I sat there. But that
was the way I saw the game. Tom Brady
standing there and water just pouring down
everywhere. No one else saw it that way
that day.”
Except everyone who follows USA
Today’s “For the Win” page.
Lebryk, just 30, came to Central Indiana
via the Indianapolis Star upon graduation
from Purdue University. Hired to do commer-
cial photography for the newspaper’s ad
and special sections, he was often sent on
assignment with little direction. He pitched in
for sports shooting as needed, but really was
expected to just point and shoot.
Those seven years of shooting from his
own perspective are serving him well in his
freelance life.
Also serving him well are the connec-
tions he made those years. Clients range
from USA Today to Purdue, Indiana University,
Herff Jones, and Amazon. He leads work-
shops in photography for Roberts Camera
and teaches photography at Ivy Tech.
He’s grateful for the work and the word-
of-mouth that’s led him to many of those
clients. It’s how he gives back.
“Photography has been very good to
me,” he says. “In the beginning, I was so used
to having a regular paycheck that the idea
of not knowing when I’d get paid made me
afraid to turn down anything.
He’s hoping his next decade of pro-
fessional photography will settle down. He
wants to spend more time with his wife,
maybe grow a family.
But make no mistake: there’s much
more to come from Marc Lebryk.
“I’m of the opinion that my best photo
hasn’t been taken yet,” he says.
DANIELLE SMITH
WARDROBE STYLIST
TEXT BY ASHLEY MINYARD
MARC LEBRYK
PHOTOGRAPHER
TEXT CHERYL REED](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/941e6632-f3df-4b2b-802e-1305c6126ae8-150419141325-conversion-gate02/85/51_PATTERN-SPRING-2015-1-320.jpg)
51_PATTERN SPRING 2015
- 1. PATTERN ISSUE NO. 750 51 I F YOU’RE A NAPTOWN NATIVE YOU’RE pretty much required to love the Colts. And if you’re into the spirit of the sport and the shake of pom poms, you love the Colts cheerleaders. Now combine those Colts cheerleaders with some swimsuits and a warm beach in Mexico at sunrise. What a dream. You can have a glimpse at this with the Colts 2015 calendar, but Danielle Smith, stylist and CEO of Fresh Fettle, experienced it in person when she styled their calendar shoot. After months of studying the cheer- leaders and hoping for a way into the Colts organization, Smith finally broke through. She introduced herself to Kelly Tilley, the Colts cheerleader manager, and was invited to do the shoot with just two weeks of notice. Despite the short prep time, a strong creative team, and well-organized trip led to a suc- cessful calendar. “I really wanted to contribute and make the Colts calendar the best calendar out of all the NFL sports teams,” says Smith. “I’m really confident that we achieved that. It’s not only for the fans, but also the organization and the cheerleaders themselves to know that we put out a really good product.” O utside of the Colts organization, Smith has worked with former athletes for annual fashion shows. She says the biggest difference between athletes and models is the structure of the body. A great alterations assistant is key to the right fit that works around strong thighs and wide shoulders. But she says most of the athletes are good sports (no pun intended). They are fun and easy to work with thanks to their big personalities. Although athletes aren’t the main focus of her business, she analyzes the sidelines looking for potential clients. Eyeing those in the spotlight or post career, she mentally tweaks pocket squares or changes the fit of a blazer. With sports organizations becom- ing more open to partnering with the fashion industry, Smith keeps herself available to those who may need her services. “The NBA has a huge fashion follow- ing,” says Smith. “LeBron, Dwyane Wade, and Russell Westbrook are working with excellent stylists. They really started to give the NBA new life in the sense of just walking from their car to the locker room. It’s become a catwalk in the last couple of years, as well as postgame interviews. With Indianapolis being such a sports-driven town, it’s bound to happen here soon.” Right now she’s pursuing a few ath- letes quietly, keeping her eye on those she believes are reaching a sweet spot in their brand. But she is also interested in less main- stream athletics, with a guilty pleasure for track and strongman competitions. “If I was asked to style a strongman competition, I would be so excited. That’s probably weird, but very true. I would do a cartwheel while pregnant. I would find the hottest briefs, shoes, and gloves ever, and he’d be picking up a car or something.” So regardless of your sport, if you’re an athlete in Indy, look out, because Danielle Smith has her eye on you. S TUNNING IMAGES OF ATHLETES engaged in fantastically physi- cal feats have been used to inform, motivate, challenge, thrill, and entertain us for as long as, well, as long as there have been athletes and cameras. Getting those shots, according to pho- tographer Marc Lebryk, can be almost as difficult as the athletes’ acts. For the most part, sports photographers are herded into the same pen, and the majority of the shots are replicated by every shooter in the con- fined area. “The process itself is often the empty calories of the industry,” he says. “You’re there with everyone else. Everyone’s shoot- ing the same action. You can hope, and even work, to find an original angle every time. But there are a lot of games, and there is con- stant demand to illustrate them all.” Reaching to an old writers’ cliché used to justify submitting generic copy needed to fill the paper’s white space, the Irvington freelance photographer explains what he means by that empty calorie comment. “Photographers have to ‘feed the beast,’ too,” he says. Think about those awesome shots that seem so singular: Odell Beckham Jr.’s two- fingered catch against Dallas; any X-gamer flipping so fast over and over he’s just a blur; the gymnast contorted so gracefully while balanced perfectly on the beam; the thrills of victory and the anguishes of defeat or injury. “They’re amazing. They’re impossible. They’re wonderful,” Lebryk says. “But look at any newspaper, website, or magazine. The next column over, or on following pages, are more pedestrian shots that explain the other sports stories. And the next day or week or so, even those singular shots fade in the rush of shots of the next amazing, impos- sible athletic feat.” It’s in the unusual that Lebryk gets his deepest photographic satisfaction. Unusual in the sense of the shot he took, not neces- sarily the subject of the actual photograph. For an auto dealer’s newspaper ad, he once staged a scene where a new car crashed into a 400-pound pumpkin. “I was cleaning pumpkin out of my gear the rest of the day,” he says ruefully, admit- ting, “I didn’t really think that one through.” A nother time, on a shot where he was partnering with a friend for a Naptown Roller Girls calendar, his buddy, Greg Andrews, came up with the idea of posing derby girl, “Cereal Killer,” in an old enamel bathtub filled with Fruit Loops. As the shoot waned, Lebryk climbed on a chair for a different perspective. Seeing what Lebryk was up to, stylist Nikki Sutton made a suggestion, the model got silly and tossed a handful of cereal at him, grinning outrageously. Cut. End scene. There’s the shot. “Everybody sees things differently,” he says. “I like to give [my clients] a shot they wouldn’t normally get to see.” He once covered a Bengals-Patriots football game that played on despite a torrential downpour. All of the other photog- raphers sought shelter. The teams stayed on the field. So Lebryk did, too. “I don’t know why I sat there. But that was the way I saw the game. Tom Brady standing there and water just pouring down everywhere. No one else saw it that way that day.” Except everyone who follows USA Today’s “For the Win” page. Lebryk, just 30, came to Central Indiana via the Indianapolis Star upon graduation from Purdue University. Hired to do commer- cial photography for the newspaper’s ad and special sections, he was often sent on assignment with little direction. He pitched in for sports shooting as needed, but really was expected to just point and shoot. Those seven years of shooting from his own perspective are serving him well in his freelance life. Also serving him well are the connec- tions he made those years. Clients range from USA Today to Purdue, Indiana University, Herff Jones, and Amazon. He leads work- shops in photography for Roberts Camera and teaches photography at Ivy Tech. He’s grateful for the work and the word- of-mouth that’s led him to many of those clients. It’s how he gives back. “Photography has been very good to me,” he says. “In the beginning, I was so used to having a regular paycheck that the idea of not knowing when I’d get paid made me afraid to turn down anything. He’s hoping his next decade of pro- fessional photography will settle down. He wants to spend more time with his wife, maybe grow a family. But make no mistake: there’s much more to come from Marc Lebryk. “I’m of the opinion that my best photo hasn’t been taken yet,” he says. DANIELLE SMITH WARDROBE STYLIST TEXT BY ASHLEY MINYARD MARC LEBRYK PHOTOGRAPHER TEXT CHERYL REED