Ina Garten Portraits for the New Yorker

Photographing the Barefoot Contessa in her home in the Hamptons

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The first thing PR manager told me when I arrived at Ina’s Hampton home was, “Don’t do anything weird.” For my photo setup, I brought my usual bag of tricks — lights, mirrors, prisms, gels, mylars, and gobos. “Define weird?” I asked. The manager stared into my soul, “Just keep it simple. Natural light, no drama, and nothing avant-garde.”