Everyone loves a Polaroid—there’s something about its instant, tangible quality that feels more emotional and real than anything we capture on our phones. At least, that’s what people often say. But flipping through Bad Bunny by Stillz, a collection of 84 portraits of the Puerto Rican artist taken by his close friend and frequent collaborator, those sentiments start to feel genuine.
“I’ve always collected photos of friends and family—even before I met Benito,” Stillz shares over the phone. “It wasn’t something he asked me to do; it was more like a personal project I kept up the whole time.”
The two first met in Las Vegas, not long after Stillz—then an 18-year-old Colombian American photographer and director—had dropped out of high school and moved from Miami to New York. “We became really close right away,” he says. “He invited me on tour, and I’ve been with him for the past six or seven years.”
Their bond is clear in the photos, arranged chronologically from 2019 to 2025. The images capture Benito in music video looks, post-award show moments, and casual downtime. The collection not only tracks Bad Bunny’s evolving style (and hairstyles) but also shows his growth as an artist. “I wanted it to feel like an archive—this is every photo I’ve ever taken of him, except the ones after the book was made,” Stillz explains. “Benito and I were flipping through it yesterday, and he’d see certain outfits and say, ‘I have no idea why I was wearing that.’”
The process also sparked some nostalgia. “He paused at the vampire shots from ‘Baticano’ and said, ‘This is the best video we’ve done together!’ It was really cool because we collaborate all the time, but we don’t always stop to reflect. It was special to look back and talk about it.”
Stillz has directed at least 23 of Bad Bunny’s music videos, along with projects for Rosalía, Rauw Alejandro, and Omar Apollo. His debut feature film, Barrio Triste, which he wrote and directed, premieres at Venice Film Festival this month before heading to Toronto and New York. “My career’s moved fast, so making books helps me pause and remember the stories,” he says.
His favorite photo in the book is the cover shot: Benito in San Juan, about to sip from a coffee cup. “It was early in our friendship, right before his first show at El Choli. Those were big days for him, and it’s just this quiet moment—eyes half-closed, holding what I think was actually tea. It felt special.”
The book will be available this weekend at Bad Bunny’s residency shows at El Choli, where he’s been performing since late July to promote his latest (and greatest) album, Debí Tirar Más Fotos. It’s also at the Bad Bunny pop-up in San Juan’s Plaza las Américas starting today—though sharp-eyed fans might’ve already spotted copies Stillz left in Puerto Rico’s “take-a-book, leave-a-book” libraries, sometimes with Benito tagging along.
“We felt like photos were a theme of this album, so the timing was perfect,” Stillz adds.”Finally put together all the images,” Stillz says. “But I still plan to take more portraits for many years to come…” The book’s cover features a photo of Bad Bunny taken before his debut performance at El Choli in 2019.
Courtesy of Stillz