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Headshot Experience: Collaborating with an Actor/Director & Creating a Shared Vision

3/17/2019

 
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The experience of working with another creative on a photographic project can result in better work than either envisioned or could have made alone. The photos I've taken with Rachel Keown Burke were created in a collaborative, supportive, reciprocal and energizing environment and I'm proud of what we made together.

The first opportunity I had to work with Rachel was in January 2018 when she was directing a disturbing drama, Bug, on Stagecrafter's 2nd Stage. Together we planned the shoot with specific shots, themes, color toning, and moods in mind. When I arrived at the shoot, we moved smoothly from one set up to the next, 1,2,3,4,5. It was the first time I ever worked tethered - a cord from my camera immediately showed the resulting photos on my tablet which Rachel was holding as I took the photos. Together, we were able to see what we were getting and tweaked and critiqued in real-time, and left the session knowing we had succeeded. The photo above is from that shoot and depicts the character Agnes in all her broken, frightened, confused loneliness.

A year later, Rachel reached out again for headshots for herself. I have seen her as an actor twice on stage, so I knew there were many expressions I was looking to capture among her compelling range of emotions. Eliciting the depth and breadth of her skill as an actor was my goal. Again, we had a plan to show powerful, centered, fearsome and other expressions. Having such a self-aware actor in front of my lens gave us both so many options to choose from. Her transformation before my eyes was fascinating and thrilling.

Making a photography subject happy with their portrait is top priority. But when the process has been creative, collaborative, and supportive, its magic translates into special photographs.


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    Blog: Stories from Behind the Lens

    As much as I revel in the final image and love returning to look at them again and again, the process of making a photo is also a treasured experience.

    Here are a few of my favorite photography experiences.

    ● The Importance of Mastery
    ● Headshot Experience: Collaborating with an Actor/Director & Creating a Shared Vision
    ●  Answering the Yearning to Create through a Personal (Mastery) Project: 5 Things I've Learned
    ● Almost Ready for the Reveal: What it feels like just before sharing a creative project with the public.
    ● Set Lofty Goals - Then Make Them Happen
    ●​ What My Father Taught Me about Collecting the Beauty in the World

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  • Portrait Photography
    • Portrait Session Galleries
  • Stories from Behind the Lens
  • Testimonials on Photography
  • Fine Art Passion Projects
    • My Quarantine Photo Diary
    • The Musicians' Portrait Sessions
  • About Stephanie Hall
  • Contact