About You
I used to think that you would think "You want people to see the real you." That's nice idea - a great idea even. But stop and unpack this for a moment and this is not so simple. There is you, there is your image of you, there is the image the world has of you, and then finally there is the image you think the world has of you. AND this is not even taking into consideration your work and the relationship between you and your work - especially when YOU are your work. Think about that. That is a lot. No wonder most of us freak the fuck out when it comes time to shoot. Yeah sure it might be easy to capture you but just what YOU are you talking about.
So yeah, about you - let's get into all of THAT - let's work with your image of yourself.
About Me
I trained as an actor and spent years agenting at various commercial talent agencies. I continue to coach and cast actors and direct voiceover projects (during which I had the privilege to direct some amazing talents, from Gary Oldman to Dakota Fanning to 50 Cent). My approach to photography has also been informed by my academic work; I recently earned an M.A. in Spiritual Psychology.
Whether I am working with "just" the voice or just the image, the common thing that I always seem to come back to is connection. Connecting to myself, to the camera, to the moment, to you, and in those good moments connecting to my heart. Moment by unanticipated moment, living into standing up IN myself as opposed to standing up FOR myself.
About Us
I fall into the “work from the inside out” camp. My experience directing actors in a voiceover setting revealed a fundamental misconception: Voice-over is about the voice and how it sounds. Well sure the voice is important but what really matters, however, is who the actor is inside – the INTERIOR voice and how IT “sounds.”
I’ve found that celebrity voiceover actors succeed not because they have great voices, but because they’re great at tapping into their OWN voices. They convey authenticity (and thus connect with the listener) by bringing THEMSELVES to the work.
It’s the same with photos; a good picture has less to do with how you look – or the pose you strike – than how you ARE. We’re not looking for the idealized, perfect you; we’re looking for the perfectly IMPERFECT you.
So here’s what you can expect from our session: There will be breathing. An embrace of the moment; we’ll tune the signal to “being” “here” “now.” And hopefully all of those notions of the "YOU" will fade organically into the present-in-the-moment you, the engaged you – the authentic, real you.