A transition from Isolation to Working Again
First and foremost, I have to say that it feels so good to get back into the studio. So many of us experienced hardship during our time in isolation; I was lucky to be able to continue photographing people with my COVID-19 Portrait Project. The project turned into the most meaningful work of my career and I was so humbled when Canada COVID Portrait (a project put on by the National Gallery of Canada) picked up eight of my photos. It was equally as insane that Krissy Vann of CTV Morning Live ran a story on my project, which you can see here. Thank you to all the amazing people who agreed to be part of my project; I will share a special bond with you forever.
Now it is time to get back to Vancouver Photo Studios and get back to work. One of my “COVID resolutions” was to start blogging and share my work and experience with my community of actors in Vancouver.
Daniela Carmona was one of my first acting headshot clients since getting back to the studio. She is a supremely talented actor and a television host for Latin television. I have worked with her a number of times over the years and she gets better every time. She is always so warm and friendly. It is certainly a different experience working with my clients with new safety regulations in place, but that does not stop us from getting great headshots. Everyone is trying to make a fresh start right now (hey, apparently I am now a blogger?), so why not start by updating your headshot portfolio!
Oops!
Daniela and I had a bit of a funny start to our headshot photoshoot which forced us to reschedule. I showed up to my studio and realized I had left my headshot camera at home. I have my full frame Sony camera for headshots and my medium format Phase One camera for my editorial work. The Phase One is an incredible camera with the best image quality around, but I have to use flash lighting with it and I prefer continuous light for headshots. I’ve been a photographer for ten years now, so it would be no issue working with the bigger camera and switching over to flash. Problem solved; a hiccup, yes, but we could run our photoshoot smoothly.
Daniela was travelling from Victoria to Vancouver, so after a long journey, she walks into the studio with a big laugh and smile and says “Brandon, I forgot my clothes.” I said “In the car?” “No, I left them in Victoria.” That’s right, she left her clothes on the island. Oops! It looks like both of us had a bit of COVID isolation brain. She was in town for a few days so we decided to reschedule her actor’s headshots for another day.
The Results
One of the major selling points to my new commercial photo studio is the large loading bay, also known as a garage door. This allows me to use natural light in a way that I was never able to do in my home studio. I shot all Daniela’s headshots with a combination of natural and studio light.
Here you can see how the natural light makes her skin glow and brings out her eyes beautifully. She has so much mystery and power in this image. This may be my favourite image that Daniela and I have captured over the years.
Here is another example of how a combination of natural and studio light can really bring out her incredible eyes. Once again, I feel that this is a very powerful headshot.
Here is that smile I was talking about! Doesn’t it make you smile, too? These are the clothes she had to go out and buy since she forgot hers; I would say she made some pretty good purchases!
I am so lucky to have the opportunity to work with so many amazing actors in Vancouver. I often have to pinch myself with the talent I get to work with, whether it be with Daniela or literally any other actor in Vancouver. Times are still very difficult for all of us, but our film industry will recover, and I am so proud of all of you for staying strong. If you are ready to update your headshots but you still feel uneasy about the pandemic, please review my COVID-19 Safety Measures. I look forward to working with more of you as I continue to work hard to get better every single day.
Let’s Work Together
To book your actor’s headshots, please email me at mail@brandon-hart.com. If money is tight, let’s talk about how we can make something work for you because your acting career is the most important thing for you moving forward. If you haven’t followed me on Instagram yet, you can find my main photography page at @brandonhartphotography and my headshot Instagram at @brandonhartheadshots. I look forward to working with you!
Cheers,
Brandon Hart
