Please enter your email and website or LinkedIn to receive more information about our free and paid accounts.
Please enter your email address below and we’ll send you instructions on how to change your password.
Celebrities. The demand for news, gossip and photos of these larger than life individuals has increased enormously over recent years, which has kept celebrity photographers busy. Working with photographers and photo editors, I hear a lot of interesting celeb stories. There’s plenty of talk about the glamor and excitement, but also a lot about the challenges faced. Digging deeper to see what the celeb photography world is really like, I contacted celebrity photographers for some insight, such as San Francisco-based photographer Gabriela Hasbun and Santa Monica, Calif.-based photographer Robert Gallagher. I also spoke with Los-Angeles based photography duo Larsen & Talbert, as well as EMMY magazine’s photography director, Rose Cefalu. Here’s some of what they had to say:
Who’s been really fun to shoot?
Perez Hilton. He totally brought it on to the shoot. He was really fun, creative and engaging. He just went for it. I barely had to tell him what to do which gave us so many great options to choose from at the end.
– Gabriela Hasbun
There have been so many really great experiences over the years. I think when the talent is genuinely interested in the magazine and photographers realize it’s about collaboration is when you get the best images. Recently, [we] shot the cast of Hot in Cleveland and we recreated, “The Birth of Venus”, the cast was whole heartily on board and the cover image was priceless!
– Rose Cefalu
It is great when we really get to see people in their own element, doing something they enjoy. We spent a day with Bo Derek at the ranch where she keeps her horses. We took a truck out to follow her on her horse – it was really a great day. Also, We flew to London to shoot Keira Knightley once. We both love London and Keira is lovely! It doesn’t get much better than that.
– Larsen & Talbert
What are some challenges you’ve run into while shooting celebrities?
Luckily, I haven’t really had a bad experience yet. These guys are super busy people like everyone else, so they want to make sure they are not wasting their time on set. So make sure you come prepared for everything. Even for them to walk out on you. Because when they are done, they are done.
– Gabriela Hasbun
Time—We are always very careful not to make anyone wait on us. We go to extreme measures to get there very early and have every detail marked out. Trust—We plan to keep working in this business, so it is important for us to earn our subject’s (and their publicist’s) trust. We want them to look good and feel good about their experience. The majority of celebrities are very professional and a pleasure to work with. Usually, the bigger the star, the easier things are. You don’t get to be a well known actor unless you know how to collaborate and work well with others.
– Larsen & Talbert
I think the demands of personal publicists make can be the most challenging part of the photo shoot. However, usually shoot days run smoothly.
– Rose Cefalu
I can tell you that yes, celeb shooting has it’s challenges, mainly political, and you have to quickly learn how to be a good negotiator. Usually, I’ve found that the moment you get the actual talent in front of the camera is the easy part. They are usually creatives, and understand that this is nothing but an exchange of creative skills. They’ve been there, whether on stage or on set, so I think they get what I’m trying to do. But it’s often cutting through the corporate safety net that is the tricky part. Especially if you have an idea that may be pushing the boundaries just a little.
– Robert Gallagher
Let us help you Find Photographers, source Stock Photography,
Produce Your Shoot — or just reach out to hear more!