Craig Calefate often finds himself in glamorous surroundings—TV and movie premieres, watch parties, White Lotus photo shoots in Thailand. But when talking about his job as a senior photo producer for WarnerMedia’s HBO and HBO Max platforms, he is quick to tell people that more often than not, he is hunched over his laptop, communicating with freelance photographers, coordinating logistics, and touching up photos.

In a makeshift alley outside of Grauman's Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Craig Calefate checks event photos in real time at the season 2 premiere of the hit show ‘The Last of Us.’
In a makeshift alley outside of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, Craig Calefate checks event photos in real time at the season 2 premiere of the hit show ‘The Last of Us.’ Photos courtesy of Craig Calefate

He developed a passion and talent for photography as a child. His grandfather, who worked for Kodak, had an old Canon 35-millimeter camera. Calefate found it, fixed it up, and soon became the de facto family photographer. When he arrived at Fordham, he decided to major in media studies and visual arts, and put his skills to work as a photo editor at The Observer, the award-winning student newspaper. During his last semester in spring 2009, he landed a role at NBC as a photography intern, setting him on a career path that has included stops at Sony Pictures Entertainment and Apple.

“My internship at NBC made me realize that this world existed,” he says. “And I immediately said, ‘This is what I want to do.’ I love entertainment, I love TV, I love films, and this is a perfect way to marry those interests.”

In his role at WarnerMedia, Calefate says, he splits his time among several key tasks: hiring photographers, editing photos, getting shot approval from actors (from Parkey Posey to Pedro Pascal), and selecting final versions to use for marketing and publicity. The photo shoots he’s coordinating can be on set or in out-of-character settings like cast interviews, actor portrait shoots, or red carpet events.

“The biggest excitement is seeing our photos out there on billboards or in newspapers or on social media,” Calefate says. “Seeing that the work is getting out into the world.”

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