Nothing to do with Acting

“Ant-Tone-Eee give me a hug,” an elder Middle Eastern woman said with an accent as thick as chickpea soup… Course the funny thing to me was she was tapping her cheek with her finger as she said it… But three-year-old Anthony didn’t move, he was too into a man-made waterfall and potted plants.

Yup, all kinds of people go to botanical gardens on weekends. And this Saturday, I was one of them.

I was sitting in the “you’re allowed to drink coffee here” section of the gardens, penning away in my slick new black journal… Describing the very productive morning I had shooting lilacs, daffodils and tulips… Writing about all the masses of other shutterbugs with their over-sized L-series lenses and their high-end cameras... Scribbling… Etching… Journaling… When a question popped into my head…

With all these digital images being taken with all these really super professional grade cameras… Why would anyone want to purchase my shots, or anyone’s shots for that matter? I mean, after all, we all have very similar equipment… We’re all using the same light… We’re all shooting the same flowers… So, what makes my shots any different from any one else’s? Or anyone else’s shots so different than mine?

All right… So, maybe this does have something to do with Acting.
I lied.
Get over it.

Think about it, we all get the same lines. We all get recorded on the same videotape, with the same video camera. And many of us are the same type, or very similar types… So, what makes the difference between any of us? Why does one person get hired and not another?

I think I know the answers to both questions, which are in my opinion the same answers regarding photographs and actors. However, I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Later on Saturday, I had a commercial audition (I’m not a big fan of weekend auditions, though if you get the job the money spends the same). To save time the Casting Associate did something I’m not sure I’ve ever experienced before… He had all of us auditioning for the role of the construction worker, in the room, at the same time… And one by one we’d each slate to camera, do the look, and then exit out of the room. Out of twenty seven people, I was number twenty six… So, I saw everyone’s shtick… No lines… Just different faces, different heights, different attitudes, and different clothing…

Only a few Photographers will ever sell their shots…

Only five or so Actors will be called back…

Only one Actor will get that job…

“Ant-Tone-Eee give me a hug too!”

(pictures by me)

-- Quiche out ~ Tom Kiesche