i've almost exhausted nyc h/shot possibilities....don't mind spending up to a G for great shots..recomends?

See, that is the problem. Actors think they have to spend a ridiculous amount to get good shots and that is NOT the case. As long as there are people who will cheerfully stick their ass in the air to get $%^#ed, photographers will continue to be ludicrous with their rates. $500 is the ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM you should pay. Consider this- You can shoot for an hour and have many great shots to choose from. If a photographer is good with Photoshop, he can touch-up the ones you choose- say two or three- in an hour. I know this as I have observed many at work. Hell, I get my footage for my reel produced in a few hours!! That said, that is about two hours work for the photographer. $250 an HOUR if they charge $500. They ain't plastic surgeons! Seriously.....

quote:

Originally posted by miss stone:
Consider this- You can shoot for an hour and have many great shots to choose from. If a photographer is good with Photoshop, he can touch-up the ones you choose- say two or three- in an hour. I know this as I have observed many at work. Hell, I get my footage for my reel produced in a few hours!! That said, that is about two hours work for the photographer. $250 an HOUR if they charge $500. They ain't plastic surgeons! Seriously.....

Alleging that using Photoshop can transform an inferior photo into a great photo is like saying that using a great microphone will transform an inferior singer into a great singer.

This is complete nonsense. Professional retouching can improve a photograph, but it can't make it great. If that were true, you wouldn't need professional photographers at all -- all you'd require is Photoshop and a computer. You could simply have your mother take your new headshots, for free. It's done everyday.

Can you still work using a crappy headshot? Absolutely. But when you do, think on this: You'll be competing with actors better looking than you, with better resumes than you, with more experience than you, with a better agent than you, and with a better headshot than you. If you you believe that this is the best way to promote our acting career, this may be the best approach for you. But I have a term I use to describe these kinds of actors: "Unemployed."

With the introduction of the Internet "b," shopping for a good photographer is as easy as surfing the net and pressing, "ENTER." Virtually every top headshot photographer in NYC is listed in the Reproductions Headshot Directory, which can be accessed at: www.reproductions.com. Simply enter your Zip Code, visit the Headshot Photography Directory, and you're good to go. While I always advocate meeting the photographer in person, simply by "letting your fingers do the walking," you can cut down on the stress and difficulty of finding a good photographer significantly.

“Whatever works.”

www.robertkim.com
Check out my all-new ”Before & Afters”
www.imdb.com/name/nm0453647/

quote:

Originally posted by Robert Kim Photography:
[QUOTE]Originally posted by miss stone:
Consider this- You can shoot for an hour and have many great shots to choose from. If a photographer is good with Photoshop, he can touch-up the ones you choose- say two or three- in an hour. I know this as I have observed many at work. Hell, I get my footage for my reel produced in a few hours!! That said, that is about two hours work for the photographer. $250 an HOUR if they charge $500. They ain't plastic surgeons! Seriously.....

Alleging that using Photoshop can transform an inferior photo into a great photo is like saying that using a great microphone will transform an inferior singer into a great singer.

This is complete nonsense. QUOTE]

I am NOT alleging that at ALL. I said people should be willing to pay $500 for someone good. My point was that the photo will always need a little touching up no matter WHO takes it. In addition, if someone knows what they are doing i.e. a professional- it can be done in a very short period of time. i.e. an hour. Hence my initial statement- $500 for two hours work is PLENTY. Of course, there are those photographers with the God complex who will SCREW you out of more. But hey, whatever. Maybe you have mom and dad's cash and it's no big deal.... But I personally would like to use Dennis Kwan for my next session. I have not yet met him, but from what I have seen posted online, his work is GOOD!!!!! People look very natural, outdoorsy, real and fresh in his photos. THAT is what is in right now....

What photographers charge for their services has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with this discussion.

Professional retouching is an art, an entirely different service completely separate and apart from a photographer's ability.

Don't confuse the two.

“Whatever works.”

www.robertkim.com
Check out my all-new ”Before & Afters”
www.imdb.com/name/nm0453647/

Not confusing. $250 for the session and the skill- $250 for the retouching.

There have been many recommendations on this board. Check out Kenny Pang, Hobermans, Jordan Matter for starters.

b - check out Peter Zielinksi. pjzstudios.com

i mention him a lot because he's a great photographer, and highly affordable. he took my hshots, and they're the best ive had so far.

quote:

Originally posted by miss stone:
See, that is the problem. Actors think they have to spend a ridiculous amount to get good shots and that is NOT the case. As long as there are people who will cheerfully stick their ass in the air to get $%^#ed, photographers will continue to be ludicrous with their rates. $500 is the ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM you should pay.

Originally posted by CSilvera:
"There have been many recommendations on this board. Check out Kenny Pang, Hobermans, Jordan Matter for starters."


"For starters" CSilvera, The Hoberman's charge $1,000. per headshot session, Jordan Matter, well over that.

I'd be interested in what Miss Stone would say to your recommendations.

There are so many headshot places in NYC, too many to count. Check out Ross Reports.

Robert Kim tends to be prominent in ads and show some good work. Can't afford Robert Kim though.

What is it that you are simply not getting from all these photogs? Are you being realistic about your look?

quote:

Originally posted by Robert Kim Photography:

quote:

Originally posted by miss stone:
See, that is the problem. Actors think they have to spend a ridiculous amount to get good shots and that is NOT the case. As long as there are people who will cheerfully stick their ass in the air to get $%^#ed, photographers will continue to be ludicrous with their rates. $500 is the ABSOLUTE MAXIMUM you should pay.

Originally posted by CSilvera:
"There have been many recommendations on this board. Check out Kenny Pang, Hobermans, Jordan Matter for starters."


"For starters" CSilvera, The Hoberman's charge $1,000. per headshot session, Jordan Matter, well over that.

I'd be interested in what Miss Stone would say to your recommendations.

CSilvera is on my ignore list....

I know in DC, there are a lot of great photographers, and the average is around $800. Thats a three hour session, with hair and makeup. I've seen costs up to $1,400 before. Now, my last session, I paid $175, but I got what I paid for!

It was grainy looking, and it didn't stand out at all. Not saying what Miss Stone said won't hold any ground. All it takes is that one great shot. I think $500 is very reasonable for a session, but I don't see $900 being all that bad if you're getting quality work, and you're allowed to maintain the rights to the images. My mom was a professional photog for quite sometime. (she manages a 50s-60s coverband these days...she rocks!) Anyway, she always wanted to do my headshots for me. I always told her NO! For one, she wasn't a "headshot" photographer. She did weddings, and events. It takes a trained eye and an imaginative spirit to capture the essence and energy of one's soul. I think if a photographer has made a living with this work, they can charge what they want (within reason) if its worth it! Remember, this is our business card. It is the doorway to many opportunities, you want it to be just right!

$300? $800? $500? $1000? Sorry!

These prices are pretty steep. In NYC, there are a LOT of good photographers here that you can get for $200 that have a studio, that give you a contact sheet, and CD with a choice 8x10 you pick. I burn a copy of the CD and put the original in a safe place, pick out the best pic or split on two different shots for variety in submissions and look for 1st time printing deals which are everywhere in NYC where you can get 100 for less than $100.

So I think it's about research and taking the time to care to pay attention to detail. I can spot a good photo from a bad one, and a person's portfolio can tell me a lot about their work and their "eye".

A headshot, a simple, clean, true to your face headshot that's not overly produced, is appreciated a lot more by casting people than an overly brushed one or one that you don't even look like when casting calls you.

I've gone to meets with casting directors who have called it one of their biggest pet peeves -- when the actor looks nothing or very little like the photo submit because of the overproduction done on it.

And my photos? Not airbrushed. I was there to view the pics and they were fine. Have gotten good work with them. I also think if people were just brutally honest with themselves and assessed their "type" or what they can truly realistically play and wear, they would save themselves a LOT of time and money and agony and not put themselves in the poorhouse in the process.

A crisp clean classic comfortable button front long sleeved shirt (think Classic Gap) in either black or white would be fine and goes a long way -- you want to wear something that doesn't overwhelm or detract from your face.

After a lifetime of shooting headshots professionally, I've come to the conclusion that, EVERYONE IS AN EXPERT.

Whether or not that is true makes no difference. They are all "experts." Experts in lighting technique, experts in wardrobe,
experts in hair and makeup, expert in posing, experts in retouching, experts in everything there is to know about photography.

These 'experts' come in every form imaginable -- from agents and managers, to friends and family, to actors both experienced and inexperienced. But they share the same, identical quality. They are all experts.

What a photographer charges for their services is always of paramount concern to most struggling actors, but it means little compared to what a great headshot can do for a career. You've heard at least a million times, "Everything is relative." What this means to the actor is this: If you paid one dollar for a headshot and it doesn't do anything for your career, you overpaid. If you paid three thousand dollars for a headshot and it makes all of your career goals come true, you got a deal (I have a headshot of Sharon Stone by Victor Strebneski that cost me five thousand dollars, twenty years ago. I consider it a bargain).

Let me break it down in terms of acting. Julia Roberts is one of the highest paid female stars in history. Whether her acting skills are commensurate with what she charges is debatable, but the income she is capable of generating is not. She has what is referred to in the industry as "Box Office," the unquestioned ability to produce successful motion pictures, day in and day out. Another term to describe this ability is, "Reputation."

Photographers are no different.

quote:

Originally posted by miss stone:
But I personally would like to use Dennis Kwan for my next session. I have not yet met him, but from what I have seen posted online, his work is GOOD!!!!! People look very natural, outdoorsy, real and fresh in his photos. THAT is what is in right now....

Woohoo! Thanks for the shout out miss stone.

Mr. Kim, your Julia Roberts analogy is spot-on.

While it is totally understandable that when you're starting out and possibly broke, you may be very sensitive to price, it's important not to lose sight of the big picture. You might pay $300 for a mediocre headshot that gets you called into 1 or 2 auditions a week. Or you could pay $800 for a kickass one that gets you called in for 5 or 6 a week. Book just one or two extra BACKGROUND gigs with your higher-priced killer headshot and you will have already have made up the difference in price.

Also, I will probably be raising my rates in September (Sorry! Gotta go with the laws of supply and demand...) But Miss Stone, you can have my current rate whenever you like. ;-)