The New Face of Evelyn Elam

(Photo by Lisa Keating) Yesterday I experienced a new photographer and an incredible photo shoot. (THIS HERE IS THE OLD HEADSHOT--JUST SO THERE'S NO CONFUSION--KEEP READING TO CATCH THE NEW ONES.) I found my new photographer through Backstage West/Online. However, before I get too far into the present experience, let me elaborate on my past one.

The last time I had pictures done I was living in the Bay Area, preparing to move to L.A. I wanted to have pictures so I could hit the ground running and start looking for an agent. (The basic and yet vastly misunderstood "moves", right?) So, I went with a photographer that my husband recommended. He had shot with her years ago and I liked his pictures (though they were B&W). I checked out her website and booked an appointment. Easy as pie. Now all in all, it wasn't an awful experience, but there was a bit of a learning curve that I experienced with her. When I got there, she was running late with another client. When she got back she told her makeup artist to get started on me while she sat at her computer. She and her last subject went through the photos they had just shot. About 40 minutes later, she was ready to shoot me. My make-up was natural and fine. I did my own hair and it was a bit "pageant-y" but oh well (that was my thought at the time). In the meantime, my photographer and I hadn't even had what you would call a conversation yet. Inexplicably, I was nervous (gee, imagine that).

So, we go to shoot and I'm sitting outside on a stool in her garage in February (in Emeryville/San Francisco). Note: It's not as warm in the Bay Area in Feb as it is here in L.A. She had set up a little heater near the stool; but, what with the garage door completely open and all it didn't do much. So, I was cold and nervous and hadn't even had a conversation with my photographer and here I was spot-on in front of the camera. The only suggestion she had was to "slow down my thought process" so she could capture all the thoughts that went through my brain. Made sense at the time, now it sounds extremely stupid. "Move very slowly and try not to feel stiff." Ok....and cue "stiffness". It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't great either. I felt trapped on the stool and my hands were ice cubes. I was limited to the one drop inside her garage for whatever reason, weather, lighting, etc. My pictures turned out okay but there wasn't one that reflected the true me. And she didn't take much time to go through the photos with me like she had with her previous client. I looked guarded or motherly or bitchy in most of them. All hail the ice queen.

Second time around: older and wiser and more interested in finding a photographer I have "chemistry" with who will let me move and talk and play. He's not the fancy-schmancy-big-money-pro-"headshot"-person but I didn't want that anyway. Usually those people are women or older men and I realized, subconsciously, and later consciously that I needed someone who would pull the "me" out of me. That meant, for me, that I needed someone I could have some natural chemistry with. (Usually, for me, that's a heterosexual male. Usually.) In my opinion, my pictures turn out better if I'm intrigued by the person behind the lense. Some would say that needing to "have chemistry" with your photographer is the mark of an amateur. I disagree. As an acting teacher of mine once said, "There's no right or wrong, there's only what works". This works for me. We shot a good deal of pictures and of course you always have your share of the stupid faces and slack-jawed, empy-eyed moments; BUT peppered quite consistently throughout were AMAZING shots. I looked like me--or rather--the interesting and attractive me--the intriguing me. Bingo! Jackpot! There were well over 10 photos (I had a hard time limiting it to 25) that hit way out of the ballpark--for a variety of reasons and purposes.

(Photos by Tom Kiesche)
I wanted to try new things. Since he was open to that, we both had a bit of a learning curve in front of us. He's not a "headshot photographer". He's not going to tell you what to think of or who to think of or how to stand. That's what I love about his work. It's a communal thing. It was sort of like hitting that "sweet spot" with a fellow actor while working a scene. All in all he'd prefer I let the pictures do the talking and that I not gush about him--so I only mentioned his name once in the post. I think y'all can tell the difference between the stiff "headshot" and the "Evelynshot". Am I right? Oh--and the new photos you see here haven't been re-touched or cropped. I had to have my old headshots (top of article) re-touched 3 times and they still look odd to me. That alone speaks volumes. Dealing with photographers is part of our job as actors. The more you experience the more you know.

More pics to come of
--Evelyn Elam