Viral Snoop Dogg Photo; And The Photographers Behind Many Others Like It

There's been a reaction image floating around the internet as of late of Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr., also known as 'Snoop Dogg' showing an exaggerated reaction to the artistic gymnastics women's qualification competition at the Paris Olympics. The image includes him holding up his sunglasses with his eyes wide and his mouth slightly ajar. A perfect reaction image to show one's surprise and awe. In fact, the image was so iconic that it was shared by French President Emmanuel Macron on his Instagram.

It's important to note, though, that these sorts of images aren't staged or choreographed, but rather shot in the moment by photographers who place themselves in the right parts of the room and keep out a keen eye for something truly unique and iconic.

The reaction image of Snoop Dogg was actually taken by a Getty Images photographer, Arturo Holmes. Holmes is a photographer who tends to do photography for special events involving celebrities like The Met Gala and The Oscars. He recently did an interview with The Hollywood Reporter alongside one of his colleagues, Maddie Meyer, a Getty Images chief sports photographer.

In the interview, Holmes talked about how the job felt very overwhelming at first, and that it took a lot of motivation and drive to be able to spot the key moments worthy of a picture as he bounced around different venues. After the image that he took was shared by the French President, though, the photographer shared that he felt very vindicated, and that it was worth it to be in this profession.

While Holmes was primarily in-charge of taking reaction images of celebrities during the Olympic Games in Paris, Maddie Meyer was in-charge of taking images of the athletes during water sports like swimming, diving and water polo. She was well-experienced at photography in the Olympics as this was her 5th time attending one. In the interview, she showed confidence in her craft, talking about how when one gets used to the noise and chaos at these events, it turns into a sort of white noise through which one can easily focus on their own work.

These interviews show that behind the images we share online or with each other, there's always a photographer with a keen eye and a focused mind.