Photo Gallery
EW's Best Photo Outtakes of the Year

USHER
April 13, 2008 · New York City
Photograph by Martin Schoeller
Schoeller hoped a lit match (it took about 20 tries to get this take) would ignite a new image for the R&B star, who has faced criticism for marrying his stylist. ''I wanted to show that he's not this little teenage sex symbol — that he's his own person and has a little edge,'' says the photographer. Schoeller adds that the singer was ''open to play and trying new things,'' such as letting his head be doused with half-and-half for one shot. ''I would have never thought in my wildest dreams that that would happen. But sometimes you get lucky.''