Behind the Adidas × Pharrell Underwater Campaign | BullTech & Outex
Oct 11, 2026
Behind the Scenes at the Adidas × Pharrell Underwater Shoot with BullTech and Outex
Underwater campaign photography demands more than a compelling image. Go behind the scenes of the Adidas Originals × Pharrell Williams shoot to see how BullTech Miami used Outex camera housings and tethering technology to keep underwater capture connected to the production team.
How underwater photography, technical teamwork, and tethered camera technology helped bring the VIRGINIA Adistar Jellyfish Triple White campaign to life.
For the Adidas Originals × Pharrell Williams VIRGINIA Adistar Jellyfish in Triple White campaign, the answer involved a talented creative team, underwater photographers, sophisticated camera setups, and the technical expertise of BullTech Miami, using Outex waterproof camera housings and underwater tethering technology.
The results are striking: a sneaker seemingly suspended beneath the water, an athlete poised above a brilliant blue pool, and split-level compositions connecting two worlds in a single frame.
But the story behind those images is just as fascinating.
Bringing the Jellyfish Vision to Life
Introduced in July 2026, the Triple White edition of Pharrell Williams' VIRGINIA Adistar Jellyfish celebrates a footwear design inspired by the movement and flowing forms of a jellyfish.
Featuring Adidas athlete and college football star Jeremiah Smith, the campaign combines sport, fashion, and an imaginative underwater aesthetic.
Behind the camera, photographer and director of underwater photography Tom Kneller worked with a production team that included underwater photographers David Homcy and Fernando Sanchez, alongside specialists responsible for lighting, digital capture, and underwater safety.
Supporting this work was BullTech Miami, whose role was to make the technical demands of underwater production manageable without compromising the creative vision.
BullTech Miami: Connecting the Underwater and Digital Worlds
BullTech Miami specializes in technical support for commercial photography productions, particularly advertising, fashion, and catalog shoots.
BullTech provides digital technician services as well as underwater technical support. Its role on this campaign focused specifically on underwater support and tethering.
One of its specialties is underwater camera tethering: connecting cameras operating underwater to computers running professional image-capture software.
On this production, BullTech Miami provided underwater technical support and tethering expertise for the underwater and split-level photography, working alongside David Homcy and Fernando Sanchez, who is also a co-founder of BullTech Miami. Split-level photography captures scenes above and below the surface in a single image.
Digital technician Javier Ignacio Sanchez managed capture on the computer side of the workflow. Javier also recommended BullTech’s underwater tethering expertise to the production team and helped bring the company onto the project.
These images demand careful coordination among the photographer, talent, lighting crew, divers, and digital technicians.
And that's where Outex comes into the picture.
Watch the behind-the-scenes production clip.
Behind the scenes of the underwater campaign production. Footage courtesy of BullTech Miami.
How the Underwater Tethering Workflow Works
In a traditional commercial photography studio, cameras are often connected directly to computers through a process called tethered capture.
As photographs are taken, image files are transferred to a computer running software such as Capture One Studio, allowing digital technicians, photographers, and creative teams to review the results on a larger screen.
This enables the team to evaluate critical details such as focus, lighting, exposure, composition, product placement, and styling while the production is underway.
Underwater photography introduces an additional challenge: how do you maintain that digital connection while protecting the camera from water?
That's where Outex comes in.
The Outex waterproof camera housing and Cable Pass-Through system provide a sealed route for a compatible tethering cable through the housing, maintaining a wired connection between the camera and the external computer.
On this shoot, BullTech supported the underwater camera connection, while Javier managed computer-side capture, linking the underwater work with the production’s Capture One Studio workflow.
The process connects three critical elements:
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Underwater image capture: A professional Nikon camera operates inside an Outex waterproof housing, allowing the photographer to compose and capture images beneath the surface.
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Waterproof data connectivity: Outex's cable pass-through system creates a sealed route for a compatible tethering cable through the housing while maintaining the camera's wired connection to the external computer.
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Digital capture and review: Images transferred to the computer-side capture workflow managed by digital technician Javier Ignacio Sanchez, allowing the production team to review photographs and coordinate adjustments with the underwater team.
Taking your tethered workflow underwater? Explore the Outex Cable & Tethering Pass-Through Add-on Kit.
The advantage is significant: underwater photography no longer needs to operate as a disconnected part of the production.
Instead of waiting until the photographer leaves the water to review the results, the creative team can assess the work during the shoot, communicate adjustments, and maintain a consistent workflow between underwater and conventional studio photography.
Camera, Lens, and Housing Setup
The production used different setups for work below, across, and above the surface:
- Underwater photography: Nikon D850 and Nikon Z9 cameras with the Nikon 14–24mm f/2.8 lens, supported by Outex camera housings and BullTech’s underwater tethering expertise.
- Split-level photography: Compositions combining above-water and underwater subjects in a single frame, supported by BullTech’s underwater technical expertise and Outex housings. The specific camera-and-lens pairing for these images is not identified here.
- Above-water photography: NIKKOR 35mm f/1.2 and 85mm f/1.2 lenses.
Outex's universal, modular housing design accommodates different camera and lens combinations while preserving access to camera controls and professional optical performance through glass ports.
Behind Every Great Image Is a Great Team
The behind-the-scenes footage reveals another dimension of the production: photographers working underwater, safety divers coordinating activity, lighting equipment positioned around the pool, and a dedicated team managing everything happening above and below the surface.
It's a reminder that the most memorable photographs rarely happen in isolation.
They are the result of creative vision supported by experience, preparation, teamwork, and technology that performs when it matters.
We're grateful to BullTech Miami, Fernando Sanchez, Javier Ignacio Sanchez, David Homcy, Tom Kneller, and the entire production crew for sharing this fascinating look behind the scenes.
Projects like this demonstrate why we created Outex: to help photographers take the cameras, lenses, and professional workflows they already trust into environments that would otherwise limit their creative possibilities.
Bring your tethered workflow underwater.
Explore the Outex Cable & Tethering Pass-Through Add-on Kit and review the product details for your setup.
For more about universal camera housings and accessories, visit Outex.com.
Production Credits
Campaign: Adidas Originals × Pharrell Williams — VIRGINIA Adistar Jellyfish Triple White
Featured Athlete: Jeremiah Smith
Photographer / Director of Underwater Photography: Tom Kneller — @tomknel
Digital Technician / Computer-Side Capture: Javier Ignacio Sanchez — @lightisbeauty
Underwater Photography: David Homcy — @davehomcy
Underwater Photography: Fernando Sanchez — @cayetanophoto
Underwater Technical Support & Tethering: BullTech Miami — Website · Instagram @bulltechc1
Lighting Director: Mitchell Stafford — @mitchellstafford
Photo Assistants:
- Luis Rosa
- David Burns — @daveyxburns
- Ashley Reda — @ashleyreda
Set Medic / Rescue Diver: Cody Figueredo
Safety Diver: Brandon Selts
Read the official Adidas campaign announcement.
Behind-the-scenes materials and production information courtesy of BullTech Miami.