PHOTOGRAPHERS
A listing in Backstage Magazine Online of New York photographers (paid for by the photographers; many of them concentrate on Broadway but this doesn't mean they don't have experience shooting opera singers) can be found at the link below:
www.yourtype.com/survive/finding_a_photographer.htm#Photographers
A site listing multiple photographers in LA and NYC:
Some cheap alternatives for when you care enough to spend the very least:
When it comes to your materials, you should always buy the best quality you can afford. Cheap shows, and cheap does not look professional. However, sometimes you just don't have the money for really good quality. In that case, I suggest the following:
1. Glamour Shots. Yes, that bastion of the mall, that perpetuator of big hair, bubblegum pink lighting, and those ugly sequined blouses in the shape of butterflies. Insist on looking elegant instead of "glamorous" and ask for black and white film; or take your photo to a reputable lab and have it transferred to black and white. One of my friends actually did this and her headshot looked great.
2. Boudoir photographers. You know, they take naughty pictures of you in sexy lingerie to give your honey on Valentine's Day. They're not as popular as they were in the eighties, but they're still around. I had my first professional headshots done in one of these places, and even though I now have a new one, some opera companies still use that old shot. Seriously big eighties hair and dangly earrings and all.
NYC:
Julie Brimberg
Jeffrey Gershon
(212) 629-6195
$160 - 300
Nick Granito
(212) 684-1056
$285 for 5 rolls, 36 exp.
Brian Haviland
(212) 481-4132
www.backstage.com/directory/east/pho1999013054151.asp
$200-490
Lisa Kohler
(212) 595-1934
202 W 82nd St
New York NY 10024
Dennis O'Brien
(212) 366-1828
A satisfied customer says: "His $500 fee included hair and makeup from an excellent stylist who has done tons of headshots and makeup for major fashion magazines."
Christian Steiner
(212) 724-1990
300 Central Park W.
New York NY 10024
$1200 for ½ day shoot with changes of clothes and hairstyle. First photo is included. Each additional photo is $200.
Gary Suson
420 West 14th Street, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10014
Studio: (212) 645-2550
Voicemail: (212) 802-7197
"It was under $400 and other than things being a bit rushed at my appointment, the results were really good. He does mostly actors so he's not super receptive to the desire for an 'opera look' but that was fine for me because I wanted to be able to use my pic for musical theatre as well."
Thaddeus Watkins
LA
Bob Millard
1435 Gardena Ave., Studio 10
Glendale, CA 91204
(818) 247-4700
Fax: (818) 247-4000