Jay-Z and Alicia Keys – World Series 2009 – Images by Robert Caplin

Wow, what a night!

While shooting the World Series for MLB’s public relations dept., I had the opportunity to get some pretty exclusive access to Jay-Z and Alicia Keys’ performance prior to the opening pitch. What I found so amazing about the experience was that I felt I was documenting a genuine moment in both performer’s lives.

Jay-Z and Keys started their walk to the stage from center field which created this amazing scene where they were walking towards me far off in the distance while the Jumbotron overpowered the stadium with their larger-than-life figures. Upon arriving to the stage entrance, which is where I was shooting from, they had a few moments to wait until the live broadcast began when they could take the stage. At that point, you could tell they were super excited as the hammed it up to the camera and shared animated glances at each other. I would imagine, no matter how many concerts or stadiums they’ve played in the past, this had to be one the the most memorable moments in their lives happening in front of me. I know both are native New Yorkers and Yankees fans, quite an honor it would be to play for the world LIVE on television and in front of thousands at the Stadium. I was truly honored to have been given that opportunity. I’ll never forget this evening, that’s for sure. What a show!

I hope you enjoy the photos!

Congrats to the Yankees and to Jay-Z and Alicia on the killer evening!

Here’s the broadcast on YouTube!

More World Series photos to come….

Uma Thurman – Images by Robert Caplin

Due to some Facebook requests, I’m going to bring out my Uma Thurman shoot.

This session was another press junket type situation at the Regency Avenue on Park Ave (Same as Phillip Seymour Hoffman) and for this junket she was making her rounds for her upcoming movie “Accidental Husband”, though I wasn’t shooting her for for that particular movie. As it turned out, I was scheduled directly after the entire day of interviews and photo-shoots for Uma, so she was dead-tired when her day was over and her publicists told her she has just one more shoot with me for the LA Times.

One of the thing’s I’ve learned about shooting celebrities is that time is VERY limited. Often less than 5 minutes and you’re done….this shoot was no exception. For beginners, I was given a hotel room what was literally turned upside-down with couches pushed vertically into the corners and a big round table littered with empty bottles of water and soda. I started with her out in the hallway of the hotel, directly outside the room I was given to photograph. Inside the room, I also had two more portrait situations set up so I could throw Uma in on the fly, if she gave me the time.

Right when Uma was arriving, I could just tell she was worn out and didn’t want to have to have anymore pictures taken. Oh boy…. I literally took a few frames in the hallway and she said:

“Ok, you got it, that’s enough, right?” and started to walk away.

“Actually, we have just a few more set up inside the room!” I interrupted in an excited tone.

I was able to persuade her to continue and enter the discombobulated room I was provided. At this point her hair/makeup stylist, a flamboyant fellow of about 5’5”, kept asking me to show him the photos on the back of my camera. Normally I decline because that leads the actor and the publicists to want to see and approve, but this time I obliged because I wanted the shoot to continue smoothly past 5 frames! It actually turned out to be a benefit because the stylist really liked the photos and he was extremely vocal about it, which cheered Uma up considerably!.

From there I snapped a few I’d prepared earlier at the window and in the corner of the room. I’ve found that getting to the shoot extra early helps me figure out a number of portrait scenarios so I have more than one set-up to choose from in the end. It also gives me time to have lighting in place and ready so the talent only has to step onto the mark.

Here’s a video I took the day of the shoot….it was originally for my grandmother back in Ohio…so excuse the nonsense talk. I cut most of it out! Tiffany Clark was assisting me the day of that shoot:

Uma was happy I only took a matter of minutes to complete her portrait session and took a snap with me!

Philip Seymour Hoffman – Images by Robert Caplin

Some time ago I was assigned to take a portrait of Academy Award winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman for the Los Angeles Times. It was back when he had three films releasing in three months: Before the Devil Knows You re Dead, The Savages, and Charlie Wilson’s War.

Normally when I shoot celebrities it’s during a “press junket”, which is when the production company is promoting a new movie and they invite the press to interview/photograph the cast. They’ll typically rent out an entire floor (or more) of a fancy-pants hotel (this time the Regency Hotel on Park Avenue) and they give me a hotel room to set up some quick portraits. I usually get about 10 minutes to take a portrait….usually less. Also, the celebrities are usually flanked by their publicists who like to give me a hard time and tell me what to do and how to take the photo. Fortunately for this shoot, the publicist was extremely kind and corporative when I asked if there was a chance we could shoot on the roof of the hotel, rather than in a hotel room.

The hotel manager brought my assistant and me to the roof to scout it some good locations and I quickly realized it’d make for some good photos. Philip was kind enough to climb up to the very top and sit on the edge of the building…I actually think he got a little worried as when he was sitting on the edge, when I asked him to change poses, he said, “Um, no thanks”.

All and all, a successful shoot!

Of course I had to get a shot of myself on the edge!

US Soccer – Images by Robert Caplin

October turned out to be one crazy month involving quite a bit of traveling.

I was commissioned to shoot a documentary assignment for ESPN The Magazine to photograph the US Soccer team in their quest to make it into the upcoming 2010 World Cup being held in South Africa. The assignment was to generally hang out with the team at practices and hotels prior to and during two qualifying matches, the first of which against El Salvador held in Salt Lake City, Utah. The following day I hopped on a jet AND followed the team to their next game against Trinidad & Tobago way down in the Caribbean. I cant complain about that!

Though I was afforded better access than most to the team, I still was very limited. I was given only the first 15/20 minutes of practices and the normal press access during games. I worked with the team’s publicist to photograph them hanging out in the hotel, loading onto and off of the bus, as I was also staying at the same hotel.

Beyond working, the highlights of the trip including visiting my pal and fellow photographer Chris Detrick at his home in Salt Lake and firing up the BBQ. Also, down in the Caribbean I was able to spend the day prior to the soccer match buzzing through the windy mountainous roads to the exquisite beaches in Trinidad. I also had the opportunity to try Shark and Bake (fried shark sandwich), which is apparently is the national dish of Trinidad. It was alright. :)

Check out the rest of the archives from Slat Lake and Trinidad.

Here’s how the spread ran in ESPN The Magazine:

Soccer Layouts – Images by Robert Caplin

Kim Kardashian Night Out – Images by Robert Caplin

As I mentioned in my previous post about Madeleine Albright, I’ve shot a few of these “Night Out” columns for the NY times that put a reporter and myself out for an evening chilling with a celebrity-type.

I got the assignment and was told I would be photographing Kim Kardashian….but I wasn’t exactly sure who she was. I’d heard the name on TV a few times…but since I watch all my TV on Hulu, I dont see all the reality TV that on so often. So I googled her and quickly became a little too familiar with her….

Anyhow, I met up with Kim and her sister, Chloe, the reporter and another of their friends at a hip/modern dinner spot called Delicatessen. It was a strange experience for me because I felt like I was with these celebrities who I really had no knowledge of. In fact when we left the restaurant I got scared to death by a paparazzi! Little dude scared the crap out of me! So after dinner we headed to a club called Avenue where we hung out for a spell….and that was pretty much the night….

Take a gander at the article here.

You’ll notice she was on her phone under the table twittering….this was before I really knew what the heck Twitter was….she asked my username and i didn’t even know what it was. (You can see her asking me in the third pic in the slideshow) I guess she was going to tell her fans she was hanging out with me and the reporter….I later looked at her page and saw she has over 2 million followers…dang that would have gotten some eyes on my website.

Guess what my twitter account is? @robertcaplin ….sigh