And I wonder if even guys who go for that sort of thing really want to hear the director, the photographer, and the models talk about making an ad.

FORBES: Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue: Beautiful Models! Ugly Ads

As the creative director at Calvin Klein, he drew notice with provocative black-and-white snapshots by Bruce Weber. (The photographer is also Shahid's Abercrombie collaborator.) One print ad for Obsession fragrance, for instance, featured naked bodies wrapped around one another.

FORBES: Anticlimax

In the early days of his career, he assisted established photographer Trevor Key before setting out on his own, shooting his first ad campaign at age 27 for Gucci.

WSJ: Contributors