Copper
01-23-2009, 02:00 PM
I work for a magazine that deals with commercial production. Since about 90% of our features profile directors and cinematographers, we usually have headshots running with our articles. The pictures usually come from a PR firm or the director just takes one with his or her digital camera and e-mails them to us.
And that's where it gets...interesting.
One would think if a trade publication were writing a story about you, you'd want to present yourself in as professional a manner as possible.
Not so.
For example, I just had a talk with the EiC about which headshot of a particular director to run--the one with the director's head on a stick, or a picture of that same director that looked like it was scanned from a photocopy of a shopping club card.
And theres another in this issue where I have a wonderful shot of the back of a cinematographer's head looking at a monitor. And lest you think that the guy was being clever by putting his face on the monitor, the monitor is out of focus.
Then there was one where the picture was cropped so half his face is out of frame.
Also there was the wiseguy who photoshopped himself so that he looked black--complete with an afro.
Some other gems:
-A director who photoshopped his head onto his 12 year old nephew's body.
-Another director who photoshopped a llama onto his body.
-A directing team where one is brandishing a bloody machete and holding his partner's head up as a trophy. Oh, and the severed head? It has snakes photoshopped onto it.
Now, I get that they're creative, and they can be "wacky." The problem is explaining the pictures to a publisher with no sense of humor.
*sigh*
And that's where it gets...interesting.
One would think if a trade publication were writing a story about you, you'd want to present yourself in as professional a manner as possible.
Not so.
For example, I just had a talk with the EiC about which headshot of a particular director to run--the one with the director's head on a stick, or a picture of that same director that looked like it was scanned from a photocopy of a shopping club card.
And theres another in this issue where I have a wonderful shot of the back of a cinematographer's head looking at a monitor. And lest you think that the guy was being clever by putting his face on the monitor, the monitor is out of focus.
Then there was one where the picture was cropped so half his face is out of frame.
Also there was the wiseguy who photoshopped himself so that he looked black--complete with an afro.
Some other gems:
-A director who photoshopped his head onto his 12 year old nephew's body.
-Another director who photoshopped a llama onto his body.
-A directing team where one is brandishing a bloody machete and holding his partner's head up as a trophy. Oh, and the severed head? It has snakes photoshopped onto it.
Now, I get that they're creative, and they can be "wacky." The problem is explaining the pictures to a publisher with no sense of humor.
*sigh*