How this AP photographer captured Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s iconic kiss
Taylor Swift kisses Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce after an AFC Championship NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Sunday, Jan. 28, 2024, in Baltimore. The Kansas City Chiefs won 17-10. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
AP Photographer Julio Cortez set out to capture postgame images of the world’s most popular couple, Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift, after the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Baltimore Ravens to advance to the Super Bowl. With some quick thinking, he got the shot that made front pages around the world.
Here’s how he made this extraordinary photo.
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Why this photo
To me, it was easy to understand the importance of the moment. Ever since she was first spotted at a Chiefs game on Sept. 24, social media has gone crazy for images of Taylor Swift watching her boyfriend, Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce. Swifties were suddenly interested in football. Swift was even thanked in social posts for giving fathers and daughters something in common to talk about on Sundays. And now it was impossible to avoid the Swift-coming-to-Baltimore buzz. Baltimore social media meme accounts had fun placing images of her at landmarks in the Charm City. My favorite bakery in Lutherville, Md., made cookies and cupcakes with some of those images. All of this reaffirmed my wife Emily’s comments throughout the week: “This is going to be big!” And so, it was.
How I made the photo
As the Ravens kept missing opportunities to score in the second half, I started preparing myself for what the postgame would look like. I was teamed with editors Mike Stewart and Alyssa Goodman, AP staff photographers Matt Slocum and Alex Brandon, and freelancer Nick Wass. Once the game ended, we had several jobs - make the sports images of the celebration, dejection and trophy presentation. And if the Chiefs won: photos of the Swift chaos on the field.
Slocum and I would be inside the pen in front of the stage, and when I saw he locked up the prime center position, I decided to see what was going on behind the stage. As I turned the corner, I saw the entourage of players and coaches along with their family and friends. Tucked away in the middle of TV cameras, security personnel and players, was Swift standing next to Kelce’s mother, Donna. Having a talented team of AP photographers allowed me to focus on Swift while they took care of the trophy presentation.
I knew I had to get closer to Swift and Donna Kelce. I convinced security that if I was on the other side of the scrum I would be out of the way. Locking that position was key - I was able to make a photo of Swift raising her hands when Kelce was introduced onto the stage.
After months of Swifties seeing telephoto images of the pop star celebrating her boyfriend’s accomplishments, a photo made with a 12-24mm lens gave us the first up-close look of her at a Chiefs game – it’s much more personal. It was a true moment of joy and celebration. In my mind It was the shot. I was happy. But I didn’t stop working.
After, Kelce had a conversation with his brother, Jason Kelce, I rushed to get into position as Travis reunited with Swift. They exchanged words of affection and gave each other a simple and quick peck on the lips – THE photo.
The image was made through a technique called a “Hail Mary.” That’s when a photographer takes the camera away from the eye and reaches up with a wide-angle lens to get above a group of people to capture the moment. As I saw the kiss happen, I snapped the camera’s shutter button and hoped that the focusing was on the couple. Within seconds, the moment was over. Kelce went off to meet his teammates and Swift walked off the field.
Why this photo works
When I looked at the back of the camera and saw I had decent images of the kiss, I quickly thought “this is THE Shot.” I was happy to see the kiss because the moment humanized the couple and gave the Swiftie World a candid look at their intimacy.
