Throughout the storied history of Saturday Night Live, one of the show’s main identifiers has been the bumpers. These are now iconic images of the various hosts throughout the years, having started in 1975. Over that time, there’s only been a handful of photographers taking the lead on those bumper images. Since 1999, the lead photographer has been Mary Ellen Matthews.
Matthews and the SNL team have collaborated on a new book, titled The Art of the SNL Portrait. This is the first official collection of images of Matthews work that has been compiled, and it has been released now in conjunction with the show and Abrams Books.
"The Art of the SNL Portrait" book cover & everything else to know.
The book features over 200 images and behind the scenes photographs, featuring Billie Eilish, Alec Baldwin, Andy Samberg, Paul Rudd, Sarah Silverman, and countless others. It also features a foreword from Lorne Michaels, and a conversation with Matthews, conducted just for the book.
It comes out March 4th, 2025 & is available to pre-order here.
