Photographer Nader Khouri helps SFO Airport take off
San Francisco Airport wanted to encourage travelers to enjoy the many shopping and eating options available across the terminals, so food and lifestyle photographer – and seasoned traveler – Nader Khouri was the perfect choice. “It was cool to have free reign inside the terminals – most shoots never make it past security,” says Nader.
Given just one day to capture six set-ups adjusted to both vertical and horizontal formats, the shoot gave Nader the chance to practice his skill at running through airports. “It’s one of the busiest airports in the world and we had a lot to cover,” he says, “This was all during operating hours. We spent a lot of time waiting for people to walk by, then quickly making decisions, getting the shots and moving on.”
They also had to earn their way inside. Granted far more access than a normal shoot, the team still spent an hour and a half in security, putting a day’s worth of equipment through the rigors of painstaking gear checks. Nader and his crew performed two thorough location scouts prior to shoot day to make sure they’d be ultra-efficient when they finally made it into the terminals.
The shots are currently in place in displays throughout the airport, as well as on SFO’s website. When asked how he pulled it off, Nader cites “preparation, patience, quick decision making and a little bit of serendipity.”
Up next for Nader is an update of food and beverage imagery for a major hotel chain, a cooking video project and sorting through the multitude of photos he shot on a recent personal trip through the fishing villages of coastal Spain. You can see more of Nader’s highly regarded photography work here.