[Professional Headshots by Vanie]
The answer may seem obvious…
… but I sometimes hear actors talking about which photographer to choose based on whether or not the photographer is a commercial photographer or a theatrical one.
And that always makes me think, don’t you want BOTH commercial and theatrical headshots out of ONE session? 😳
Here’s the question you should be asking: Can the photographer bring out both my commercial essences AND my theatrical essences?
Related article: When You Hire a Photographer, What They Do is What You Get
Because here’s the thing, the line between commercial and theatrical has blurred over the years.
Traditionally, commercial meant, smiley and theatrical meant, non-smiley. You can always take that to the next level with the choice of colors for both wardrobe and backgrounds with brighter colors being more commercial, and darker colors being more theatrical.
Aaaand you can take that to the next level with lighting. Brighter lighting for commercial and edgier lighting for theatrical.
BUT… most looks cross-over from commercial to theatrical.
In other words, if you can play a Suburban Mom in a one hour drama, wouldn’t you also play a Suburban Mom in a commercial? Makes sense right?
What changes from the commercial version to the theatrical version is the context. So in a headshot, what we change in place of context, is your essence.
When we’re shooting the Suburban Mom, I’d direct you so that there’s an emotional arc from commercial essences to theatrical essences FOR THE SAME LOOK.
When a look is a crossover, we keep the lighting and colors neutral so that it can be used appropriately for both markets.
And of course, if a look is not a crossover, like the villain for example, we go all in on edgy lighting, darker clothing etc.
Make sense?
What are YOUR experiences when it comes to commercial vs. theatrical? Let’s talk in the comments below!
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Yes, actors say this because of the style of the photos a photographer tends to have. And it seems to me a photographer might develop a particular style because that particular look/style is something they like and are good at. In general in life people tend to lean into what they are good at or what they may feel more of affinity towards. And just as not all actors can do both comedy and drama well, not all photographers can do both commercial or theatrical shots well. This is why actors sometimes label them as one or the other.