Hi Bonnie,
You probably won’t be able to answer any of this, but I’m going to ask anyway.
Does [a specific headshot photographer] have a bad reputation with casting directors? Are CDs sick of his work, and not looking at headshots taken by him? In other words, would it be a total waste of my money to have headshots taken by him?
There’s a lot of very anti-[specific headshot photographer] stuff “out there.” As far as I can tell, it’s all actors who are saying it, but I can’t tell. I’ve recently heard from another teen girl’s mom — whose daughter is signed with Abrams — that their agent will not accept headshots from him.
I met with him, and he is a sleaze, no doubt about it — and an added bonus, I ended up with a major bronchitis attack because of his smoking during our “meet and greet” with him — but it’s the work I care about.
Anything you can illuminate would be totally appreciated.
Thanks so much,
Lisa Appelbaum
Hi Lisa,
As you can probably tell from my series of columns on headshots good and bad, I’m not a fan of any work that is very washed out, overly touched up, cropped in way too tightly, or far more about selling a photographer’s brand rather than any particular actor’s type.
Because I’m a big fan of an actor identifying and marketing toward his or her type, I find that some photographers’ headshots just don’t serve that purpose. And I believe headshots by the photographer you’re asking about are also ridiculously expensive, compared to what other photographers charge.
I’m not a fan of his work, but that goes for any headshot that I can play “name that photographer” from a mile away, with. And there are several photographers like that out there. I need to get the feel of the person in the photo, not the person who took the photo. This photographer is not the only one who has such a specific and identifiable brand that it overshadows the subjects. (And that’s fine, in the world of photography, but in the world of headshot photography, it’s gotta be all about the subject. We have to get you when we see your headshot.)
But maybe that’s just me. I can’t tell you how others may feel about his work (I mean, I’ve heard. I know what some of them think, as we’ve talked about his — and other photographers’ — work, on panels, at lunches, at networking events, anywhere any of this sort of stuff comes up), but it’s not my place to volunteer what they say about him.
Will a casting director not look at an actor because she shot with any particular photographer? No. That’s silly. There’s no boycott on anyone’s work. Casting directors don’t have to love your photo (or photographer) in order to give you a shot at an audition, if everything else is lining up. So, if you click with him and love his photos, awesome. Do what works for you. It’s not going to keep you out of the room, even if we do have a negative reaction to his shots in general. (Could that feeling we get affect how we feel about you, before we’ve met you? Maybe. Depends on the CD. And we’re always looking for ways to cut down the list of potential candidates for a role. Might some CDs use “she shot with so-and-so” as the reason to cut you from a list? I can’t imagine that, but, hey, you never know. Nor can you ever try to control for all possible factors, which is why it’s best to do what works for you, rather than worrying about what any one person would prefer that you do. In the end, it doesn’t matter.)
Obviously, if an agent is saying that she can’t (or won’t) be able to submit you if you use a photographer she’s not crazy about, that’s important to know. An actor must provide the people on his or her team of reps with the tools to do their job well. But I would imagine most agents just want you to have great headshots that look like you! That’s really the bottom line.
I say, find a great photographer whose work you love, who gets your type, who you would enjoy working with, and who is affordable. Once all of that is lined up, you’re on the way to getting some great headshots that you’ll be proud to share with the world.
Bonnie Gillespie is living her dreams by helping others figure out how to live theirs. Wanna work with Bon? Start here. Thanks!
Originally published by Actors Access at http://more.showfax.com/columns/avoice/archives/001101.html. Please support the many wonderful resources provided by the Breakdown Services family. This posting is the author’s personal archive.