The Behind the Scenes Details on Hannah Jeter’s SI Swimsuit Cover Shoot Make It More Iconic

Jeter scored a front-page spot on the magazine’s 2015 issue.

Hannah Jeter was photographed by Ben Watts in Tennessee. / Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

Hannah Jeter is a brand staple of the 2010s at SI Swimsuit. Beginning her legacy with a breathtaking 2013 debut in Guilin, China, the model returned to the fold for four consecutive years afterwards. Amid her half-decade stint at the magazine, Jeter earned her first cover spot with a magical shoot in rural Tennessee.

While we’ve all seen the final images, you may not be aware of exactly how these photos were captured. Spoiler alert: Jeter made it look a lot easier than it was.

Hannah Jeter was photographed by Ben Watts in Tennessee. / Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

“We were shooting [in] the stream, and I was freezing,” the model admitted on the set in 2015. “I was only waist deep maybe, but then they were spraying me with water [...] My knees were originally on the rocks, so it was not comfortable.” But you’d never be able to tell, as Jeter looked ethereal in this magenta string bikini bottom in the glistening water.

“People think that our job is so easy, but it’s hard to get those shots,” Jeter added while walking through the process of posing. “There are a lot of things that we do as models that I’ve never done, and I tried to look pretty doing [them].”

Hannah Jeter was photographed by Ben Watts in Tennessee. / Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

For example, posing on a swing, which “felt so strange” according to Jeter. The model put her multitasking skills to the test, saying, “Trying to cover up, then trying to twist so I got a good booty shot [and] trying to hold onto the swing with one arm isn’t easy either. There [were] a lot of elements that went into that shot to make it just right.”

With her hair flowing in the breeze and a sultry stare, photographer Ben Watts snapped this mid-air image of Jeter as if time stopped. The model elaborated that for Watts, this was simply pure talent.

Hannah Jeter was photographed by Ben Watts in Tennessee. / Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

“You never really sit still with [Watts],” Jeter told SI Swimsuit. “He wants to find the perfect mistake. He wants that little twinkle in your eye, and he captures that beautifully.” We’d have to agree, as Watts was able to encapsulate the magic of the Tennessee landscape alongside Jeter's timeless beauty.

Hannah Jeter was photographed by Ben Watts in Tennessee. / Ben Watts/Sports Illustrated

“Each year that I get invited back is just as exciting as the first time,” Jeter beamed. “It doesn’t even feel real." The SI Swimsuit model closed out her legendary run in the 2010s with stops in Tahiti and Mexico, and her jaw-dropping cover issue hit newsstands back in 2015.

Watch Jeter’s entire 2015 feature in Tennessee here!

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