My first promo. The whys, whats, and hows.

A few months ago, I decided I wanted to do things differently. I knew I needed to market myself, but I didn't want to stick to the classic photographer methods of postcards or local ads. Two reasons for this. One, I hate doing things the way I'm supposed to. That's boring. Two, why use a classic method when there's all these new and innovative ways to go about things?

As I've mentioned before, I made the switch to Canon after years of shooting Nikon, because of their lead with HD video in DSLRs. So why not use these new capabilities? Why pay to air it locally when youtube will make it available to the whole world, for the bargain price of free? I make something that hopefully entertains people, they repost it, it potentially goes viral, I get some more business. Sounds like a plan.

First things first, though. What to make the promo about? Should I talk about the quality my photography and why you should want to shoot with me?... Nah. Too pretentious, and my work should speak for itself anyway. I've seen a few photographers brag about how their headshots open doors, but I always figured that's what doorknobs are for. So I won't use that line. What I needed was to get people to see the work, and let them make a decision from there. I figured, best way to do that is to make people laugh, and push them in the direction of my website. Thankfully, absurdity is becoming a much more mainstream style of comedy these days. And since I'm a big dork with an odd sense of humor, I would be allowed to play to my strengths.

Now, what would the content be? Well, I had a few small comedy shorts that were stored away in the back of my head, so I went with those. Only difference is, I would be in front of the camera instead of behind, and I had to bookend them with promotional content. I think I could handle that. So I have three promos planned right now. The first is embedded below. It was the first because, well, it was the easiest. Good practice, and a good way to figure out if I could handle being an "actor". The second is in production. And the third is the big one, so that will take some time to organize.

Before I go, I want to thank my good friend Todd Drow, who was the man behind the camera for this commercial. You have no idea how hard it is for me to let someone else look through the lens. I needed someone whose eye I could trust, and he did a great job.

And lastly, I have a favor to ask of you. You know how I mentioned the promos going viral? Well, that's where you come in. If the ad works and makes you laugh, please post a link to the youtube video. Facebook, Twitter, you name it. This goes double for people in the Los Angeles area. And it goes triple for anyone with a lot of actor friends who are in the market for headshots. Thanks, everyone. I greatly appreciate it.

Shot with a Canon 7D, 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 lens, and 50mm 1.4 lens.