Reshma Saujani - Girls Who Code Founder & CEO

Behind The ScenesEditorialOn LocationPhotography

Apr 16

Written By

Reshma Saujani is the founder & CEO of Girls Who Code, the international nonprofit organization working to close the gender gap in technology and change the image of what a computer programmer looks like and does. She is the author of Brave, Not Perfect and the New York Times bestseller Girls Who Code: Learn to Code and Change the World.

Last October, I had the opportunity to collaborate with Real Woman Magazine for a photo shoot of Reshma that took place in her New York City apartment. This was for cover and interior spreads, and Jess (the editor) really wanted to capture something vibrant. We settled on a red backdrop from Savage that would complement Reshms'a bright smile.

The shoot day started out great with no traffic issues from Philly to NY. But, as we were loading in to the apartment building we found a piece of 8x10 paper on the elevator that read "Out of Order". Dismissing the notice, we desperately attempted to coerce the elevator upwards. Some of the cases we bring along are extremely large & heavy so the thought of taking the stairs was not ideal. In the end, the elevator didn't cooperate on the way up, so we took the stairs. The good thing about arriving early is we allow space for moments like this to happen. It's pretty rare for logistics, security, talent, weather, etc to always line up and go just as we planned.

We were joined by Jessica Downey from the Magazine and Peter Yates Creative Director. I had Gene Smirnov as Lighting Assistant and Erin Spier as Makeup and general groomer.