From The Archives: Actor/Director David Schwimmer
I had a great shoot a few months back with actor David Schwimmer of FRIENDS fame for a New York Times article. These days he’s directing movies and living in Manhattan with his wife and his new baby daughter.
Anyhow, as usual I wasn’t given much information about what or where I could or couldn’t shoot because my editors are working with his publicists. In general, the more people it takes to schedule a shoot, less information makes it’s way to me. Par for the course. I was simply told to meet David at the 92Y Tribecca.
Because I didn’t know exactly where I could shoot or how much time I’d have to bang out a portrait, I enlisted the help of my friend and fellow photographer Charles Ludeke. We arrived about 20 minutes early and checked out the neighborhood around the 92Y and quickly found a nearby location with a pedestrian bridge over the West Side Highway and a street with very little foot or car traffic. I took a few test shots of Charles before we headed back to the rendezvous where we were to met up with David.
Once David arrived, he was entirely friendly, non-rushed, and talkative. We really hit it off as his wife is also a photographer and we had a nice and somewhat geeky conversation about camera gear. He’s now familiar with DSLR cameras, using them for some of his productions.
For the most part, all the portraits I took were natural light with an extremely shallow depth of field. I used the city, streets, buildings, and bridge as a backdrop. I did break out a strobe (Canon 580) for one setup, but it was very simple. In fact, my assistant Charles became a human light stand and held the light for me.
All and all, I had a nice time and productive shoot. A few weeks before David had his new baby, he kindly invited me out to lunch to a restaurant in Greenwich Village. Not surprisingly he’s a great guy and just as friendly as he seems on the big screen.
David Schwimmer – Images by Robert Caplin
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Akways enjoy following your career and experiences. I am so very proud of the long time friendship we share. Continued best wishes. Joel
I stumbled across your site from a google search of “photographer to cinematographer” (I’m trying to go from being a visual arts teacher to move into your field) and I am thoroughly impressed with your stuff. Your site is now firmly ensconced into my favourites bar and I will be looking forward to your new work popping up on here.
(I always had the feeling that Mr. Schwimmer was probably a nice guy in real life.)
Keep up the inspirational work!
Cheers.
Thanks for this great tip (the one lighting David Schwimmer with the lone flash).
Awesome photos on your site!
Cheers!