Behind the Scenes: Creating the Poster for the New Joe Lieberman Documentary

I’m excited to share a small personal story about my part in creating the poster for the Joe Lieberman documentary, “Centered.” Lieberman had an extraordinary political career, from his many years as a senator to becoming the Democratic vice-presidential nominee in 2000, so it was meaningful to contribute to the visual storytelling around the film.

The project started when the film’s executive producer, Rob Schwartz, who served as Lieberman’s chief of staff for many years, handed me a giant plastic shopping bag filled with campaign buttons, bumper stickers, pins, pencils, and other political memorabilia. The idea was to use these artifacts somehow in the poster.

I talked through the concept with the film’s director, Jonathan Gruber, a longtime colleague from my days shooting HGTV’s “Curb Appeal.” Jonathan imagined Lieberman’s face being featured prominently, which made sense. Rob, however, really wanted the political artifacts to play a major role. I understood both perspectives, but I also found Rob’s idea compelling. These objects were not just props. They were small pieces of history from a long public life.

My job was to photograph the memorabilia in a way that felt intentional and visually interesting, even if the image would ultimately serve as a background. I arranged the objects and lit them with warm, hard light that mimicked morning sun, giving the image a nostalgic feeling and bringing texture and depth to the buttons, stickers, and other artifacts.

While I’m proud of the background photograph, the final poster really came together through the work of the graphic designer. They incorporated an archival image of Lieberman that felt humble and human, and it matched beautifully with the lighting in my photograph. The title treatment, designed to resemble a campaign button, tied everything together in a smart and subtle way.

Seeing the final poster was incredibly satisfying. My photograph became the visual foundation, while the archival image of Lieberman brought the human focus to the foreground. For me, this project was more than a photography assignment. It was a chance to contribute one small piece to a much larger story about a remarkable political life.

Below is my “studio” setup in my garage for the creation of the image. Love it when a paint can comes in handy!