'Walking Dead': Behind-the-Scenes at the EW Cover Photo Shoot

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MICHELE ROMERO for EW

Norman Reedus getting prepped for his close?up. We ended up adding more blood to his body because he felt his rough-and-tumble character Daryl Dixon looked too clean.

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Norman gets some blood on his arm from his makeup artist. Her makeup kit is full of bottles marked zombie blood.

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MICHELE ROMERO for EW

I have a cool job.

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Who knew ”blood” came in so many colors and varieties?

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Norman checks his cell phone. Will this moment become another flash of Instagram-ready brilliance?

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Daryl’s crossbow and wipes used on Norman. [Ed. note: Steady your pulses, ladies.]

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Pro tip: Actors—including Andrew Lincoln, who worked incredibly hard in the 100-degree Atlanta heat—achieve a splatter effect by beating up a sponge soaked in prop blood.

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Photographer Dylan Coulter set up a glass screen so his camera wouldn’t get zombie blood on it during Andy’s set-up.

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I wondered where one orders a gallon of zombie blood. I was asked if I wanted to use zombie blood or human blood. The difference? Human blood is lighter in color.

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MICHELE ROMERO for EW

If Lady Macbeth were a makeup artist, this would be her job on the set of The Walking Dead.

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Steven Yeun and Lauren Cohan are locked and loaded for their cover shoot.

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The artists known as Maggie and Glenn went through the motions for their shot about 10 times while The Black Keys’ Turn Blue played.

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Steve really got into it, practicing his scream before each click. It was fascinating to watch these actors concentrating on their direction. They all gave 1,000 percent that day.

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We got to borrow zombies for 10 minutes to set up this shot for the magazine opener. They look like a band that would open for Gwar.

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Prop table with Daryl’s arrows, Rick’s watch, a knife, etc. Love that it was all just lying there.

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More tools of the trade.

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Every artist has his or her medium: this makeup kit looks like a paintbox—only the colors are blood and guts and dirt and gore.

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Walking Dead fans all the way from Montana wait at the gates of the Terminus set, which is actually in an old railway station in Atlanta.

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MICHELE ROMERO for EW

Stand?ins for Glenn and Michonne hang out the day before the shoot (or ”prelight” in industry terms).

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The shoot producer marked safety cones with directions for EW. While I took this snapshot a security officer told me to watch out for copperhead snakes. [Ed. note: Guess walkers aren’t the only dangers lurking at Terminus!]

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'Walking Dead': Behind-the-Scenes at the EW Cover Photo Shoot

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