The electric spirit of Saturday Night Live as captured by longtime resident photographer Mary Ellen Matthews
Andy Samberg in a giant martini glass. Billie Eilish peeking out of a pile of snow. Kevin Hart writing his own cue cards. Paul Rudd as Paul McCartney. Sarah Silverman dusting the NBC marquee. Alec Baldwin as the Godfather.
These are just a few examples of Matthews's bold, dynamic, and playful celebrity portraits that for over two decades have artfully highlighted the hosts and musical guests who help bring the show to life.
Week after week, photographer Mary Ellen Matthews makes magic happen on Saturday Night Live with her inventive, irreverent, and truly original photography for the “bumpers”—portraits of the host or musical guest that transition the show to and from commercial breaks.
Published on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of SNL and exquisitely designed by Pentagram, this book is the first collection of Mary Ellen’s remarkable body of work as well as a celebration of America’s longest-running comedy TV show.
* More than 200 color portraits and behind-the-scenes photographs * A foreword by SNL founder and executive producer Lorne Michaels * Mary Ellen Matthews in conversation * A thumbnail index of all the images with captions by the photographer
For any fan of photography and/or comedy, this is an absolutely brilliant book and one that is long overdue; hopefully this is just the first of other volumes to come. As the resident portrait photographer for over a quarter century, Mary Ellen Matthews has been one of SNL's most unsung heroes, producing consistently beautiful and generally hilarious portraits of the show's celebrity hosts and musical guests ON A WEEKLY BASIS. And then these "bumper" photos (used to signal the going to and returning from commercials) appear onscreen just once and for a mere THREE SECONDS before never being seen again…until now.
Technique aside — and Matthews is a brilliant technician, in terms of lighting, composition and then SNL's trademark hand-tinting — Matthews is as much a comic genius as any of the show's onscreen performers. Many of her photos are masterpieces of Dadaesque absurdity, while others are "blink-or-you'll-miss-them" parodies of/homages to the works of Arbus, Lichtenstein, Warhol, Hitchcock, Brooks, Dali and even Caravaggio; or bizarre spoofs of classic (and often obscure) images like the Beach Boys' Christmas or Rolling Stones' "Get Yer Ya-Yas Out!" album covers — which again, were onscreen for all of 3-5 seconds before disappearing seemingly forever; talk about ephemeral.
But now they live on, in this all-too-small sampling of what must be an Indiana Jones-sized warehouse of classic images. In the immortal words of Oliver Twist: "please sir, I want some more!"
ALL THE STARS.
(So okay, the following examples are all spoofs of some sort, but so many more pictures are also just lovely and often surprisingly revealing portraits — DO read for yourself, and I'm sure you'll have your own favorites)
Kristen Wiig as Robert Palmer with a turkey backup band on a Thanksgiving show
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler as Simon and Garfunkel; Tom Hanks as creepy Tom Hanks
The Foo Fighters as the cast of "The Wizard of Oz"
John Mulaney as Lou Reed, David Byrne and Patti Smith
This is such a fun book! The photographs are amazing and capture the essence of SNL in such a striking and memorable way. I enjoyed the behind the scenes explanations behind the various poses from both the author and those she photographed. It would be great to have all the bumper photos throughout the years captured in a single volume, but this is a wonderful start!
Driven by my current obsession with everything SNL for its 50th anniversary, I thoroughly enjoyed leafing through the “bumper” portraits exquisitely photographed by Matthews over the past 25 years, and lovingly compiled in this coffee-table-sized book. Her featured photographs are also shown in the back by photo, date, and subject and many of them have comments from Matthews or the celebrity pictured making some of the photos an even more intimate experience. She explains how she conceives and creates the portraits of everyone who hosts SNL, as well as the variety of musical guests, for the brief time they live on air after commercials during the live performance. Brief but informative. I enjoyed it all but especially the deeper dive into John Mulaney’s many shoots and their homages to a variety of artists and cutting edge humor, as well as the At Home photos taken for the Covid-19 programs done via Zoom. Great for fans of SNL or anyone who enjoys innovative and well-composed photography. Entertaining and joyful. Pay attention to the end-papers because it is chock full of other portraits not covered in the book. Readers who enjoy this book may also want to discover other portrait books like George Lange’s Picturing Joy or Annie Leibovitz’s body of work.
This is a fun book for anyone who is a fan of SNL and perhaps wondered how those "bumpers' (the quick shots shown usually before or after a commercial break, and which are usually funny or whimsical) come about.
There are tons of them here, although many had to be left out, since there are new ones each week and this photographer has thousands. If you watch the show, you'll remember lots of them, and probably have some favorites. I did, although there were a lot I also didn't remember, and sometimes I had to check who the person actually was, because they are often styled so specifically to look like someone else. Some make you laugh out loud as you turn the page and first see them.
It also gives some detail about the SNL weekly schedule. When they pitch their ideas, when they do the table read, when the photographer actually gets to grab the guest host to do some photos, etc etc. Interesting stuff if you're a fan.
Each photo is just shown on a full page, but if you look at the back of the book, it shows them all in smaller size, with the name of the celebrity and sometimes a comment they have on the photo. It's unfortunate that some of the photos take up a double page, usually with the person's face right down the middle, so it's not easy to see their whole image. Other than that, very cool.
Solid collection of the SNL bumper photos from 2000-2024 with some decent text from the photographer, Mary Ellen Mathews, and a bit from the celebrity subjects as well. A special chapter was included with John Mulaney, who especially enjoys working with Matthews; that was interesting info that was new to me. Most interesting were the few pages of behind-the-scenes photos that went into the final shot. Wished there were more of those. Maybe there will be a second book of photos.
I love the photos themselves, but was dismayed at how many had the celebrity's face in the crease of the book. Photos where the person was on the side worked okay for 2-page spreads, but most of them should have been placed on one page. I did not like that the photos were only labeled in the back in the index, with only a few stories about them. I wish they would have been labeled on the main page they were featured and had the story about them right there. The collection as a whole also felt a bit all over the place, with multiple shots from some hosts while others were absent. I did like the John Mulaney part with the deeper dive into his series of photos.
SNL has perfected the art of “bumpers”— an image that leads into or out of a commercial break. Although sometimes only seen for as little as three seconds, these creative photographs of hosts and musical guests have reached iconic status. In this coffee table book, photographer Mary Ellen Matthews shows off a collection of some of her favorites while also sharing her process. Although the reader needs to flip to the back for the subjects’ names and occasional anecdotes (annoying), it’s a delightful treat.
Read it for the pictures, not the text. The photographs were gorgeous, creative, impressive, sometimes laugh-out-loud funny. My only complaint about the pictures was the lack of captions. I would have appreciated knowing who the celebrities were as I paged through it, instead of waiting for the photo index at the end of the book.
The book didn't contain a lot of text, but what little there was was repetitive. It could be summarized as "How GREAT is that?!" All you really need to know is: - It all started with bumpers from the show that used to be in the studio, whose bumpers had a picture of Johnny Carson. A photographer called Edie did her signature bumper portraits for SNL She was GREAT. Eventually Mary Ellen (this book's author) was hired as her assistant and after many years took over. Btw, bumpers were originally used to signal when it was time for an ad ("After these messages" used to be a typical bumper), but on SNL, it's part of their signature look. - Lorne Michaels gives free creative reins to people he trusts. He's GREAT. - The show is stressful to create, and the bumpers too. They take photos on Thursday, and everything has to be done by Saturday night. They do get help with costumes, props, hair, etc. The crew is GREAT. The results are GREAT but not perfect. - They run their ideas past the host, who sometimes have their own ideas. The hosts get a personal memory book as a souvenir. The hosts are GREAT. So are the bands. - The pandemic was a creative challenge, because everyone had to work from home. The bumpers turned out GREAT anyways - with pictures of her dog, even her refrigerator contents, etc. I actually found this section more interesting, because I find creative challenges interesting. - There was a special section written by multiple host John Mulaney. He thought everything was GREAT.
The photo index had some notes about how individiaul photo were made, but there wasn't much of interest, really. It would say things like they "somehow" got an idea, that this picture was done 100% physically (ie not in photoshop), that the crew did GREAT lighting, etc. And how GREAT was it to see Paul McCartney sit at the piano and give an impromptu concert of Beatles songs? Btw, the photographer has a huge collection of art and photography books, and you can see various influences (like Dali, Magritte, etc.)
I’m a big SNL fan and an amateur photographer, but the book wasn’t as exciting or inspiring as I expected, it was pretty disappointing. Of all the portraits, only about 10% really hit me—the ones that made me go “ohhh this is fun!” and made me want to study how they were designed. The rest felt kind of flat. A lot of them just looked like basic portraits with some pop-art-stylize Photoshop edits thrown on top. They didn’t have much soul.
Sometimes, you hope a portrait tells a story—either showing the celeb’s personality, their iconic roles, or the vibe of the SNL characters they played. Or at least, you’d expect something visually clever or aesthetically surprising, like fuse with nature, landscapes, or artifacts. But most of the photos just didn’t deliver on that. Maybe that’s because these photos were originally just meant as quick 3-second pre-show visuals, where the whole point is just to feature the host’s face fast. It honestly feels like the photographer was just volunteering for SNL. Was the whole shoot basically just about giving the hosts a couple of complimentary portraits? The best ones are already on Instagram or some website somewhere, so there’s really no need to own the book.
Also, it’s not a full archive or a curated collection from the first season of the show, or from when Mary first started at SNL. It feels random, a casual selection than a carefully thought-out retrospective. As an SNL 50th anniversary release, it falls short. I’ve always believe that SNL sketches and Updates are actually clever reflections on society, even a kind of social art. But these portraits don’t really capture that more thoughtful, ambitious side that makes SNL so special. There are also very few behind-the-scenes shots, and barely nothing focuses on the cast themselves. Glad they put Andy Samberg on the cover.
Also glad I didn’t rush to buy it, I really thought it’d be a must-have for fans. I read through the whole thing at Barnes & Noble, with the public library holds waitlist being super long. Anyways, ty B&N.
I mean many of the portraits are fun and well-done. But the big spreads often have the person centered at the book’s middle so they don’t have great impact with a crease down the middle. The interviews with celebs are kinda boring. John Mulaney’s interviews are surprisingly bland. Many pictures barely have any details or are just like “idk this was fun.” It’s unclear why some were selected Would’ve liked maybe fewer photos but more fun antics and stories, more info about the actual “art” of it (as the title suggests). Kinda repetitive detail about how busy everything is etc. I liked when references were included but there were many with just nothing was written. As usual, Lorne Michaels sounds like a bit of a tool. Probably more interesting for a hardcore SNL fan than a casual watcher, but fine for a quick flip through at the library. Paying $55 for this feels like an insult though.
This is a very entertaining book of photos. Some are really great, so clever and fun. Others, I wondered why they were selected. At times, the book format ruined the photo with the crease in the middle - I wished some had been formatted smaller to keep them intact. I enjoyed the guessing game of who's who but did go through the index and look at some photos again. All the back stories were interesting. John Mulaney's insight into his set is terrific; clearly, the photographs are meaningful to him. These little gems are over in a flash during the broadcast, if they even get their screen time. I’m happy these were released and I think there could be more marketing opportunities, perhaps a digital format or a seasonal book (all Christmas, for example). A huge round of applause to all the photographers and their support teams.
I got this book because I asked for it as a birthday gift. My loving husband bought it for me. I am a big SNL fan and I love all the behind the scenes info I can get. This book is pretty and has great interviews. However, I have to give it a 3 because of some full page spreads where the celebrity’s face is swallowed into the gutter of the book. Like it’s egregious. Easily fixed by swapping some photos for others, or making the photos not span the spread.
It was also a choice to put the index of who’s who in the back. I wish each page had a small name of the celebrity at the bare minimum. This especially would’ve come in handy on those spreads where the face is basically completely gobbled up by the center of the book.
Signed, an annoyed graphic designer! Hire me next time!!!
This book was a triple delight. First, I read the introductions and forewords. Those set the stage for what was to come next--beautiful, fun and funny portraits of the guest hosts and musical guests for Saturday Night Live. I loved looking at the photos and seeing if I could recognize the celebrity, and seeing if I could understand the photo. (Next there was the heavily captioned John Mulaney section--fun.) Finally, there were thumbnails of each photo with the person's name, and sometimes quotes from photographer Mary Ellen Matthews about the photo or quotes from the actor/musician in the photo. This three part compilation was very satisfying. It was yet another great book giving me insight into the world of Saturday Night Live.
Sometimes you just need to zone out, drink some Climbing Kites, and flip through an oversized book of large pictures with a really cool holographic cover. That's what I did.
Small question 1: when the author talked about how difficult it was to cull 24 years of photos down and pick what makes it into the book, why use 2 pages inside reprinting a photo already on the back cover?
Small question 2: why were there 20 pages of John Mulaney? I questioned it more before getting to that actual section but even with the explanation, it still seemed odd.
Maybe 3.5 Beautiful photography but possibly the worst designed art book I have ever seen. Many of the photos have been spread across two pages and integral part of the images are lost in the gutter of the book. Other photos are just suspended in the middle of white pages. There are no identifiers for photos, so if you don't know who the subject is or when the photo was taken you have to refer to an index in the back. I can't stress enough how much this sloppy design, stole so much from really beautiful photographs by Mary Ellen Matthews.
A lot of fun. Two issues, only one legit: First, I was mad that the hosts/musical guests weren't named -- there's a few people I don't recognize. But everyone's named in the back, with a thumbnail and (for most of them) a little blurb about the shoot. So unjustified outrage. 😄 Second: I appreciate that they wanted to run some of the great shots big, but having someone's face folded up in the middle of the book doesn't work for me. Wish they hadn't done any doubletrucks. Otherwise, I really enjoyed this; I always love seeing the bumpers every week.
What a fun way to spend a few hours, paging through this amazing coffee table book and its beautiful, creative artwork. Anyone who has ever watched Saturday Night Live is familiar with these cards, known as bumpers, and this book provides the background on many. I especially enjoyed reading the foreword and other articles with artists, colleagues and celebrities involved in the shootings. And the photo index at the back of the book is also informative and fun. For SNL fans this is a fun read. It's the perfect gift for the Saturday Night Live lover in your life. Highly recommended!
I never really thought about the "bumpers"—the images of the guest host or musical act that appear on Saturday Night Live before and after local stations air commercials. These are extraordinary and often whimsical posed photos of Emma Stone, Paul Rudd, U2, Lil Wayne, Idris Elba, and many other famous people. I enjoyed learning about the process and the creative contributions of the people being photographed. And I never knew that after each broadcast, the host gets an embossed photo album with the bumper portraits and at least one photo from each sketch.
Very charming coffee table book of Matthews's portraits of guest hosts and musical acts. The photos are presented as large as possible, and the small amounts of background text enhance rather than drown them out. MEM's compositions are vibrant and dynamic, with lots of fascinating portrayals of both humor and glamour, often wittily alluding to famous works of art. Interesting if you're after contemporary pop culture photography in general, enjoyment of SNL specifically not required!
fajne, ale na początku typiara narzeka, że ojejku nie może zamieścić tu wszystkich zdjęć i musi jakieś pominąć (np. sammy'ego) a potem 1 zdjęcie pojawia się w tej książce 3 razy, nie podobało mi się też, że te opisy były na końcu, jakby nieintuicyjne, a mi się bardzo podobały, no ale wg typiary selling point tej książki to to, że te zdjęcia są wydrukowane po raz pierwszy 🥺 i chyba nie skupiała się zbytnio na tekście
This is such a cool book. It's been decades since I tuned into SNL to watch it live, but I remember the photos of the host they would flash leading into commercials. I never gave much thought to what went into them, but it turns out to be a pretty interesting creative process. This book showcases some of the photographer's favorites from the past 25 years. My only complaint is that the book gutter is pretty deep--too much of the two-page spread photos are obscured.
This is a beautiful book! The photos are amazing! Two complaints....1 the descriptions of the photos are at the back of the book. This is a large book, so it is difficult to go back and forth. 2 Some of the pictures were spread out over 2 pages, leaving crucial parts in the fold. Other than that- great book!
What a fantastic collection of bumpers from SNL! It was very interesting to learn Mary Ellen Matthews' inspiration and process for creating such incredible images. The included comments from the actors and musical guests in the index was very entertaining as well.
Beautiful book with a variety of photos from the past 20 years of SNL. There’s also a glimpse into how photographer Mary Ellen Matthews gets the shots and a bit about her predecessor and mentor.
As with all things SNL50, I wish there were photos from years 1-30 as well.
Photos are incredible, but the book itself leaves something to be desired. So many pictures have the celebrity's face in the crease of the binding, making it distorted or hard to see. I was hoping for some more behind the scenes information, but it's 90% a coffee table book.
love the pictures it's just a shame the layout let's it down, a lot of pics are buried in the crease and I wish everyone photo throughout the book had the name of the subject and the comments, not all bunched at the end.
cool book to read more about the SNL process and see these pictures for longer than 3 seconds! I love reading someone’s thought process and background story. Fun coffee table book- wish they put more pics in though.