Review: Shoot with a Portfolio Career Musician
“I know quite a lot of photographers, but when I saw photos that Anna had taken, I thought that she had managed to capture the real spirit of a person, not just their face. Her images were quite intriguing and interesting – they weren’t just a load of boring headshots. There were some very interesting compositions and her images are really creative; this is one of the reasons that it is likely that I will book her for future photo shoots, including one for my vocal group the next time we want to do an album cover. I love Anna’s work because not only is she artistic, but a very good photographer; It was the combination of these two things that appealed to me.
“I’m a professional musician with a ‘portfolio career’; I’m not just a singer, I do so much more including vocal coaching, conducting, adjudicating and workshop leading. I needed a mixture of different shots to represent me across all of these elements of my job. These included a few more glamourous images to use to promote my solo gigs, a full length shot for posters and a friendly headshot for when I’m adjudicating or promoting workshops and community events. I also needed a shot to show me in action conducting. I think that’s one of the reasons that I was attracted to Anna’s work; I thought she could create all of those different images for me and she absolutely nailed it!
“Before the shoot there were some really helpful discussions about what I wanted and needed. Anna and I had a phone call, and a zoom meeting which was really informative, then Anna set up a Pinterest board of images for me to look at and steer her to the ones I liked or didn’t like. I found it really helpful to be able to see images and choose which styles appealed to me and to discuss why.
“I imagine that some clients will be very, very clear on what they want, and there’ll be others who are less so – I was one of the ‘less so’! Anna was amazing at guiding me and helping me to make decisions. It was a very fluid, creative and collaborative process, where I was led but felt in control. Often, I don’t know quite know what I want but the Pinterest board really got the ball rolling.
“The studio experience was really lovely. Anna and her assistant made me feel at home with endless cups of tea! It was very relaxed and quite informal in the breaks between shots, but when the photographs were being taken it felt very professional. It really helped to have two people at the shoot; Anna focused on creating the image, and on getting the angles and the composition just right, whilst her assistant helped me to ensure that a wayward bra strap wasn’t showing, and my hair wasn’t out of place. The attention to detail was amazing. It was a really lovely, calm and fun experience.
“The final results are amazing. I still can’t believe it’s actually me in some of the images! I’ve got five amazing, and very different images of me that I can use in so many different scenarios. I’ve had so many positive comments, and quite a few of my friends have already asked for Anna’s details.”
