The talent

With the plaid shirt we see Marc Mendell, SVP of Design for CBS Interactive, who drives the vision for the cover layout. To his right we have the photographer, Mark Mann, who has been shooting our covers since our 2015 December issue.

Action!

Once they square the details, Mark Mann gets behind the camera and Jesse works it!

While the photo session is going, our video team starts working to get material for our interviews.  

Looking for the perfect angle

In the corner we see video producer John Kim in action.

Two cameras

A wider shot lets us appreciate the dance between the two different cameras.

A closer look at the equipment

The shots require different lights to be handy.

The menu

Although this cover was released at the beginning of March, we actually had to shoot it back in December, and everyone involved got some tasty food that day.

Nom nom nom!

And we had to include some shots of the food.

Sweets

A closer look at the sweets to keep that energy going.

Work it!

Jesse working his magic for the camera.

The final shot

And after many takes, here is the result. 

Show and tell

The best way to get the shot you want is to explain it!

Changing things up

Taking inspiration from Jesse's love for cooking with a interesting twist.

Dinner for a droid?

This is probably a better lunch for R2-D2.

Dinner for a droid?

More props

Two cool chairs to play with. Which one do you like more? Send me a tweet @taniaglezaz.

I want to pet this chair

I had to include a closer look of this chair. Not sure if I think of Sully or Cookie Monster, but I really want to pet it.

The white chair

In the end we opted for the white chair.

The side view

This is a very cool chair, too. More futuristic-looking.

The front

How comfortable do you think this chair is?

Having fun

It may not look too comfy, but Jesse sure had fun during the session.

Now you know it wasn't blue

Thanks to the magic of editing, the final image had a blue chair. 

The chair shooting continues

Now we move to a stool.

The chair shooting continues

The chair shooting continues

The final version

This picture reflects the playful side of Jesse Tyler Ferguson.

Choosing the best shot

And after taking lots of photos, the creative minds work together to select the best ones. This is just the first part of the filtering process.

The video!

Read the interview

We had a blast with Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and we love the cover of our Spring issue. 

We hope you loved this behind-the-scenes look, and if you haven't had a chance, please check out the interview with Jesse.