The Moment : Lauryn Hill

Lauryn Hill in Hallway
Brooklyn, NY, 1997

Background

Lauryn Hill on set of of the music video, for Common’s “Retrospect for Life.” This duet with Lauryn Hill was produced by NO ID & James Poyser, from the album, “One day it will all make sense.”

The Photographed Moment

In addition to collaborating on the song, Common picked Lauryn to direct the video. This video would be Lauryn’s directorial debut. The video featured cameos by Pete Rock, Black Thought, Mase (De La Soul), Questlove, and more, all in support of Lauryn and Common.

When I arrived on set, the taping of the video was in full swing, and Lauryn and crew were handling all that needed to be accomplished, moving from scene to scene.

I had been watching Lauryn’s progress since 1993, from the Fugees, to her own solo album, to producing records for others, and now directing. It made sense to me that she could and would do this as well.

The shot of Lauryn in the hallway was captured in between takes of the video. It was a moment of stillness; Lauryn just needed a moment to herself from within the chaos, but she still allowed me to remain in her space and photograph a few moments.

A limited release archival print of this image is available in Signature Series 2.0