Who photographed the image that inspired Air Jordan's Jumpman logo?

Who photographed the image that inspired Air Jordan’s Jumpman logo? Co Rentmeester photographed the image that inspired it.

Rentmeester, whose full name is Jacobus Rentmeester, photographed a young Michael Jordan in 1984 for LIFE magazine. The shoot took place in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, before Jordan played in the NBA, and used a ballet-inspired grand jeté pose to create the illusion of flight.

Nike later commissioned its own photograph of Jordan in a similar pose. That Nike image became the direct visual basis for the Jumpman silhouette, while Rentmeester’s earlier photograph is widely recognized as the inspiration for the concept and pose. Rentmeester sued Nike over the similarities, but the courts ultimately rejected his copyright claim.

Neil Leifer and Walter Iooss are also famous sports photographers, which makes them plausible distractors. Annie Leibovitz is a celebrated portrait photographer, but none of them took the influential Jordan image in question.