The Golden Globes are just the beginning of a month's long award season.

Film and television stars have been doing weeks of publicity, including posing for celebrity photographers. One of them is Los Angeles Times photographer Jay Clendenink, who joined Spectrum News 1 anchor Lisa McRee to talk about some of the behind-the-scenes moments during his photoshoots for the Oscar Roundtables. 

Since the photoshoots took place during the coronavirus pandemic, the production was done differently.

"It's funny because we have still been working since the pandemic began," said Clendenin. "And for me, mostly doing portraits and celebrity stuff; I have done everything from FaceTime to virtual shoots with people remotely. Getting to these in-person again was amazing, and I think it was because we waited so long where testing was available, so we all were tested. And we made sure we stayed in quarantine to make things as safe as possible."

Clendenin explained how celebrities have responded differently to the photoshoot safety guidelines.

"Some people have been more relaxed than others, like arriving without a mask, but some of them keep it on until the very last second before pulling it off. I think overall, what has been interesting about this is, if I get to do it in person, meaning we've all been tested and we're all clear, I think they are more excited that we're actually in person again. Because when I do them virtually, it is a pain, and sometimes we have to reconnect because the signal drops. There is a lot of miscommunication; we have to go back and forth. So the in-person gets people more excited now that we are getting closer to normal," said Clendenin.

Before the coronavirus pandemic, one of Clendenin's favorite memories was photographing actor Sacha Baron Cohen during the 2012 Oscars red carpet.

"I am excited for this year, but I am also sad because I do not get to see what crazy antics he pulls off for Borat because I know he would. In 2012 at the Oscars, he came to the red carpet dressed as The Dictator and had two women with him in these military outfits. He had an urn and was throwing ashes on the red carpet, and security was so annoyed with him. And we love it because things like that do not usually happen on stage. While he was shaking the urn, all the flashes are going off; he is loving it, and security guards grab the urn and yank it away."

Clendenin also captured a memorable moment for actress Frances McDormand after she won an Oscar for Best Actress.

"My job after the Oscars is to go to the Governor's Ball and photograph everyone with their Oscars at the party. And I photographed Frances McDormand getting it engraved, and then we go back out into the crowd, and I saw her out front, and she looked distraught. That was when she realized she lost her Oscar and is freaking out and looking at everybody. That started the whole controversy of a guy who just picked it up and walked away with it."

After the 2020 Oscars, Clendenin captured a special moment between actor Joaquin Phoenix and director Todd Martens.

"During the Governor's Ball, I spot Todd and try to make my way over to him," said Clendenin. "I make eye contact because he had been shooing away photographers. After all, they did not want to do photos anymore. Then he sees me, and I am pointing at my face to see if he recognized me, and he did, so I went over to him. I told him I wanted to get a picture of him with Joaquin. So he grabs him, and Joaquin leans in and kisses Todd on the cheek. It was really fun to get something different than all the other ones."

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