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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
National
Olivia Williams

Dad who photographs some of the world's most famous faces

A man has lifted the lid on life capturing the world's most famous faces.

Andrew Zeiderman, who grew up in Formby but now lives in Los Angeles, is a photographer and cinematographer. The 39-year-old has snapped many famous faces for adverts, documentaries and other shows.

The dad-of-one said he focused on photography while studying for his Bachelor's degree in London and then made the natural progression into motion pictures. Following this, Andrew moved to LA to pursue film and complete a Master's degree in cinematography at the American Film Institute.

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Speaking to the ECHO, Andrew said: "I got into Central Saint Martins in London to do graphic design and there I learned about photography, going into the darkroom, developing film. It was never really a hobby it was more about what I was passionate about and what I enjoyed doing.

"I started to work in London after university I worked as a photographer doing fashion and stuff and all that kind of business. I always wanted to live in America and I actually called a university in New York.

"It was NYU I think and I said 'I want to do film or something like that' and they told me that my degree was too similar and I had done a degree that was too similar, and they recommended the American Film Institute for a Masters degree.

"I applied there and got in. So I moved there in 2006 and it always what I have been into, being creative and all that kind of stuff."

Through his work, Andrew has met many stars, including the likes of Oprah Winfrey, Lizzo, Gene Simmons, Snoop Dogg and Katy Perry - just to name a few.

When asked what it is like to meet all these celebrities, Andrew told the ECHO: "When you meet them, they become normal people. For example when you shoot with Oprah Winfrey you shoot at her own house, I say her house but its her estate with like 10 houses, when you shoot with them you're professional and there isn't a lot of dialogue usually, but sometimes you will chat with them.

"I have chatted with Oprah and she is just nice. It is just business really."

Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons photographed by Andrew Zeiderman (Andrew Zeiderman)

Andrew said throughout school he enjoyed being creative, but mainly focused on art and painting. However, this naturally progressed into photography and cinematography.

The 39-year-old has worked for Netflix, Amazon Studios, NBC, Discovery, HBO MAX, and OWN as director of photography. In 2022, he directed his first network show for Discovery+ and HBO MAX.

Speaking about his work and the relationships he builds with celebrities, Andrew said: "[Celebrities] always like us, as in the camera people, because we make them look good. You tend to have a quite good relationship with them.

"It is fun, I'm not going to lie it is fun, it's kind of a bizarre world sometimes."

Andrew said he gets asked about the celebrities he has met a lot and keeps a list to refer to. He has even visited Stevie Wonder's house.

He said: "I went to Stevie Wonder's house it was his birthday, I wasn't invited, but we were filming something as part of a documentary. That was interesting with Stevie Wonder because he is obviously an icon. Katy Perry was really nice."

He said a celebrity meeting which has stuck with him was while he was studying at the American Film Institute and he met Scarface actor Al Pacino. Another celebrity interaction which Andrew remembers was when he met singer Usher outside of work.

He said: "The point about Usher is, we filmed him in Aruba for something and again I didn't really talk to him, but then you bump into them somewhere like a restaurant in LA and they say hey - things like that are kind of cool."

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