Middle school hallways are full of students trying to impress others with their sneakers, but rarely is it the teacher who has the most heat on feet. That’s the case in Lehi, Utah, where Andrew Dutton teaches. Dutton, who goes by AD Sneaks online, has amassed over 300,000 Instagram followers thanks to his elegant sneaker photos and his quest to wear a different pair of sneakers every day this past school year.
Dutton did it, going 170 days without repeating shoes. He wore everything from Sauconys to Nike Air Max to SB Dunks to New Balance, ASICS, Jordans. Hype pairs, general release pairs. Collaborations to original colorways. Action Bronson New Balances. Concepts x Nike SB Dunks. Unheardof x Adidas. Union Jordan 1s and 4s.
Some of the shoes the students loved. Some got a side eye. It made them curious as to what he was wearing on foot. Dutton, who’s 36 and teaches digital media and manufacturing tech classes, would fill hisfill in his students in on the history of his shoes, giving them the backstory on the pairs that piqued their interest.
“It was cool to give them info on some of these shoes that don’t make the rounds on social media,” he says.
Besides documenting his outfits, Dutton is well known for his still life sneaker photography. His sneaker photos have become popular because of how expressive they are.
“I can control the position of the sneaker and pose it any way I want to get the feel of the sneaker,” he says.
We had the opportunity to talk to Dutton about his everyday sneaker project, but also his thoughts on sneakers, photography, and where the two connect.
When did you get into sneakers?
I got into sneakers in the early 2000s when I was in middle school. Played a lot of basketball and loved seeing some of my favorite athletes at the time in their sneakers. I loved Allen Iverson’s signature line. I loved what And1 was doing with Vince Carter, and when they signed on Kevin Garnett and Latrell Sprewell. I grew up in Idaho and didn’t have a Foot Locker or any big stores. I would always get the Eastbay magazine and dream of different sneakers. My parents never really bought those kind of things for me, because they didn’t have a ton of money.
When did you start taking pictures of sneakers?
I started doing sneaker photography a little before the pandemic. Posting on my personal Instagram story to show my friends the shoes I had in my collection. That was all on my phone. When I started taking pictures with a camera, that was over the pandemic, when we were all home and I didn’t have much to do, so I just took pictures of sneakers in my collection in my basement. I’ve been into photography since high school.
What’s the first sneaker you ever photographed?
The first sneaker I photographed, and it’s kind of my lowkey personal grail, and I tried to go over the top, was the “Laney” Jordan 5s. I had the 2013 version of the shoe. Back as a kid, I saw a local high school basketball player wearing them. I didn’t know what they were at the time. I just thought they were super sick. And down the road, I was able to pick up the later released version of them. I tried to spend some time on them and make sure they looked good.
When did you get the idea to wear a different sneaker every day to school as a teacher?
It was something I thought of right before the school year started. I was going through my sneaker collection, figuring out which pairs I wanted to get rid of. Downsizing, counting them, I realized, “Man, I probably have enough shoes to wear everyday of the school year.” I thought it would be a fun idea and even cooler to document it. I didn’t tell my students about it. They kind of caught on and were asking questions throughout the school year. It was cool for them to ask what I was wearing that day.
What were your students’ reactions to you wearing a different sneaker every day?
As the school year went on, my students looked forward to what I was wearing. They’d ask questions about each specific shoe. Not every single shoe was “high heat.” A lot of them were general release shoes that I loved to wear. So it was cool to give them info on some of these shoes that don’t make the rounds on social media.
Which sneaker got the biggest reaction out of them?
Right before Christmas break, when it was our ugly sweater day, I wore the CPFM Flea 1s. The hairy ones that you can cut down. And the kids were like, “What are those?” They were roasting me. Some kids thought it was cool, some kids thought it was the ugliest shoe they’d ever seen.
How do you photograph sneakers?
I have a mini studio set up in my basement with backdrops and lighting. Usually the pair I wore that day is the pair I like to photograph. I like to play with colors and highlight certain parts of the shoe. It really depends on the shoe itself. If it has really cool details on the sole or the back of the shoe, then i’ll try to highlight those sections of the shoe. I’ll use my pictures to tell the story of that shoe.
What’s the most difficult sneaker to photograph?
Any Jordan 11. The “Concords” or the “Space Jams.” Because of that black patent leather—reflects everything. If you look really close at the patent leather, you can see everything reflecting back. It’s really hard to get the light just right, and my position just right, where those reflections don’t come back in the photograph and show me in a position where I’m photographing the shoe.
What do you like the most about photographing sneakers?
The ability to control all the variables. I can control the lighting. I can control the position of the sneaker and pose it anyway I want to get the feel of the sneaker. I used to do portrait and wedding photography. It was fun, it was enjoyable. But the amount of control you’re able to have with a product like a sneaker is really satisfying because you can have total creative control with the subject. You can set the mood. You can make it really bright or dark or colorful with the tools I use.
Have you worked with any brands yet?
I started to do freelance work with Under Armour and taking pictures for their social media. I started doing work with boutiques, taking pictures of ASICS, New Balance, and Sauconys for this boutique down in New Orleans, which has been pretty fun. No big campaigns yet. I was able to get the Oregon PE that GOAT released on Air Max Day and was able to shoot them. My ultimate goal is I’d love to shoot campaigns for brands, just to be able to work with people at any sneaker company. Just to see the process behind the scenes of how they go about launching a product.
What’s your thoughts on the awful leaked sneaker photos?
It’s funny, right. Someone probably just pulled it off the factory and used their old flip phone to snap a quick photo. It’s something that bothers me, honestly, because any time you get those leaked photos, whoever gets the first photo, it makes the rounds on social media. They’re doing it so they can get clout and recognition for being a sneaker leaker. But I think it robs the brand from being able to tell stories, especially on collaborations. I’d be frustrated if I was a brand and a product I worked on got leaked out and all people saw was the shoe without the story that goes with it.
But it’s funny when you see these awful potato photos going around social media. I don’t think it would be too difficult to take out your phone a snap a quick pic. I have no idea what camera they’re using, so it’s pretty comical when you see that stuff.
