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Isaiah Tanenbaum Theatrical Photography and Design
- Brooklyn, NY 11238 (map)
- (917) 692-5737
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Theatrical Photographer
Request a quote
Isaiah Tanenbaum Theatrical Photography and Design • Brooklyn, NY
- You'll be asked a few quick questions that will help describe your needs.
- You'll be asked to provide your contact information so that Isaiah Tanenbaum will be able to get in touch with you.
- You'll have the option to get competing quotes from other qualified service professionals, saving you time and money.
I specialize in headshots for actors, writers, and business executives, as well as production and rehearsal photos.
Headshots set-ups: on-location (unique!) or fully-lit indoor studio (easily controlled!), or on-location-with-lights (not even clouds can stop us from making you look awesome!). We will do as many wardrobe and location changes as you like, until you start getting fatigued (most sessions last about 2 hours), near you, near me in beautiful Prospect Park, or at a studio.
All sessions include light retouching, a DVD with high resolution shots, and permanent hosting online, so you always have the photos handy when you need them.
You won't find a better deal anywhere, I guarantee it. Pay nothing and get some guy with a camera, no reflectors, no studio lights, no experience. Pay more and, well, you'll be paying more. Who needs that? Look your best and don't overpay.
Additional samples, pricing, and equipment/software list are available upon request. See more at my website.
Question and answer
Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?
A. Your headshot is your calling card. It's the primary way that casting directors interact with you before they know you, and it's how they think about you after you've left the audition room. So don't hire the cheapest photographer who contacts you -- they won't know what they're doing, and they won't get you a shot that gets you work. Instead, ask around and find someone whose style is a good match for you and whose equipment and experience is up to the task of making you look great.
Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?
A. It's easy to pick up any cheap SLR camera and call yourself a photographer. That's what I did, years ago! But to take truly great headshots -- headshots that will book someone an audition -- requires time, experience, and equipment.
And here's an insider secret: a $10 shower curtain and a powerful flashbulb gives you the "high key" white background that is all the rage right now. (example of mine: http://www.flickr.com/photos/isaiaht/6971685771)
Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?
A. I believe that each photo session is an opportunity for the subject to express themselves as much as it is for the photographer to practice his craft. Every session is a unique experience, and produces unique styles of shots, because every person I shoot is a unique individual.
Don't settle for any photographer who will make your headshot look like every other actor's out there. If his book contains a dozen actors in the same poses, with the same lights, framed the same way, you're not dealing with an artist, you're dealing with an assembly line.
And don't settle for the "guy with a camera" on Craigslist. Your headshot is your calling card, it's how you market yourself. You need it to be great, and that takes experience and equipment. I believe I offer both.
Q. If you were advising someone who wanted to get into your profession, what would you suggest?
A. Start small. I'm a Canon guy myself but Nikon is the other great brand, and both have great SLRs for only a few hundred bucks. The kit lens will get you off the ground and teach you how to frame a shot, how to set exposure levels, and how to time your shots to capture the best possible moment.
Take lots of pictures.
Get a lens with a wide-open f-stop. Canon makes a 50mm fixed lens that opens all the way to 1.8, and it only costs $100. It's the best money you'll ever spend on a lens.
Take lots of pictures.
Make your friends pose for you. Take your camera to parties and capture moments when nobody is looking.
Take lots of pictures.
Read up on photography blogs. Strobist is great for the flash photographer on a budget. Photojojo has great ideas and toys to spark your creativity. Flickr is still a great source of amazing artistic photos. Even your local newspaper freelancer takes great shots now and again. Look at all these shots and figure out what makes them work.
Oh, and take lots of pictures.
