photo #9262911

“The Kiss of Death” was photographed by @stefanruizphoto in 2006. The photo was commissioned for an ad campaign by 55DSL, a now-obsolete spinoff of the streetwear brand Diesel that began in 1994. The Spring/Summer 2006 campaign dared its audience to “Live at least 55 seconds per day.” The idea was to stimulate young people to find a little time every day to dedicate to something special and enjoy life to the fullest. ⠀ While it appears as though two lovers are defying death on the edge of a high-rise building in the picture, it’s actually “two shots put together,” Ruiz told me. “We attached a tethered Hasselblad to a long pole and stuck it out a window of a building on Union Square in NY.” ⠀ “We measured everything – distance, angles, height,” he explained of the image’s conception. “We also placed some dolls on the ledge where the couple would be.” ⠀ “We waited for the shadows, cars etc. I shot a few rolls of film. Then we set up some scaffolding on a roof. We put the camera in the same position to the scaffolding as it was to the ledge of the building.” The result was composited together to make it look like the pair were sharing their last kiss. “We shot the couple kissing over and over again.” ⠀ The two models in the shot were not a real-life couple, but were cast especially for the campaign. All rights and credit reserved to respective owner(s)⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣