Bradley Whitford

Steve Schofield

Benito Martinez

Steve Schofield

Fred Savage

Steve Schofield

Jill Soloway

Steve Schofield

Jon Hamm

Steve Schofield

Jonathan Banks

Steve Schofield

Olive Kitteridge cast and crew

Steve Schofield

Peter Dinklage

Steve Schofield

Tony Hale

Steve Schofield

Tracy Morgan and Megan Wollover

Steve Schofield

Uzo Aduba

Steve Schofield

Kevin Dunn, Timothy Simons, and Gary Cole

Steve Schofield
Fill 1
Fill 1
October 09, 2015
Features

The Sixty-Second Alliance

Photographer Steve Schofield captures magical moments at the Emmys.

When winners, presenters and other Emmy-night notables sat for photographer Steve Schofield at the 67th Awards, he often had only a minute to get his shot.

Not just any shot, mind you, but an official Emmy portrait at the backstage photo lounge, this year sponsored by Chase Sapphire Preferred.

The 2015 studio had a new shooter in Steve — a cheerful, modest Brit who now lives in L.A. while some of his works remain in London, hanging in the permanent collection of the National Portrait Gallery. New also was the Emmy studio look: four sets in hues of black, blue, white and gold, with lush props and varied lighting.

The sets, Steve explains, were intended as almost small theater spaces, which his subjects — most of them actors — could use as they would any creative space.

“I’ve always enjoyed photographing actors,” he says. “There’s a collaboration that happens when we make the photograph together. They bring something to the table that’s unique, and allowing them to flourish in front of the camera, even if I only have them for a minute  — which was the case for many of them — it goes a great way toward producing a more interesting portrait.”

How his subjects react to the space and to Steve himself — and how he in turns reacts to their reaction — form the substance of the image, one that might be shot in a fraction of a second.

“If they have just won an award, they might be feeling a euphoria,” he notes. “The adrenaline has kicked in, and it’s almost as if they aren’t reacting to you or anyone else in the room. Other times there can be a genuine moment where you have that person connect emotionally.”

As was the case with Jon Hamm, among others. When he posed for Steve, the actor had just captured his Emmy as lead actor in a drama series for the last season of Mad Men, after seven consecutive nominations.

“They make a slight movement or gesture,” Steve explains, “and you think to yourself, ‘That’s it — we’ve got it. That’s the image that tells the story.”

Browser Requirements
The TelevisionAcademy.com sites look and perform best when using a modern browser.

We suggest you use the latest version of any of these browsers:

Chrome
Firefox
Safari


Visiting the site with Internet Explorer or other browsers may not provide the best viewing experience.

Close Window