We were lucky to catch up with Chris Lonsberry recently and have shared our conversation below.

Chris, appreciate you joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

I’ve been into photography on and off since I was a child. I shot motorcycles for several years and contributed to a number of regional and national motorcycle magazines.. made some covers, wrote stories, covered rallies.. all that. Because I was doing photos, video and writing, I chose the name Chris Lonsberry Media to encompass all I thought I was going to be doing. At some point, I decided I should be getting paid. It _was_ a lot of work. And then I found out that people valued your work as long as it was free. So, thinking that there wasn’t any money in motorcycle photography unless you were one of the prolific few, I started thinking about what else I could shoot.

Portraits are nice but you can mostly only sell a portrait to the person in the portrait. Why would I pay money for someone I don’t know? And landscapes are nice but I’m not a GREAT landscape photographer and I wouldn’t buy landscape photography. So, everywhere I looked I ran into this wall. And how can I sell someone something I wouldn’t buy?

I was at Imaging USA, which is the annual convention for Professional Photographers of America (PPA).. and I had just taken a shotgun blast of classes. Everything and anything. I took fashion classes and boudoir classes, even though I had no interest in doing boudoir photos. And right before I went into one of my next classes, I got a message from my wife that she had lunch with a family friend of ours, Shelby Busey, who was driving 5 hours to Atlanta to get headshots because she couldn’t find industry-standard headshots in Charleston. I reached out to Shelby and told her that, if she didn’t love her next headshots, I’d like a crack at it. (I had time to learn what an “industry standard” headshot was.)

I ended that conversation and went into my next class with Gary Hughes, a great headshot photographer out of Orlando. He talked about his mission statement and it had nothing to do with him, his talent, his art, etc. It was all about helping people get the headshots they needed to accomplish what they were trying to accomplish, whether that was a business purpose or, as I heard it, an acting career. Helping people accomplish their goals? I could sell that because I can believe in it.

So I went and studied with top people like Peter Hurley, who is phenomenal. I think his approach to the person in front of the lens might actually be more important than the technical parts, although there’s value in those too. I learned a lot but I didn’t want to repeat what he did. And I went out and studied with Vaney Poyey in LA. I love her approach and she’s probably influenced me the most in that sense, especially since a large part of her work is actors. I think she elevated me a lot. I closely follow/study great headshot photographers like Dana Patrick in LA and Lumosia in the UK.

I’m a big believer in specializing, which seems to be something many photographers don’t want to do. I think that, if you’re going to become world-class at something, the only way is to let it consume you. It’s allowed me to put much more attention specifically into headshots. Of course, I spend a lot of time honing my photography skills. There will always be a place to get better. I haven’t taken the ultimate and perfect headshot that’s guaranteed to get you called in.. yet. But I’m working on it. My wife says I’ll never be happy with my work. That’s true. Everyone has room to get better. I also spend a lot of time researching the field of acting. What are Casting Directors looking for? How do I give my clients the BEST chance to stand out when Casting is scrolling through (potentially) thousands of thumbnails? I mean.. even down to color science and psychology. I talk to as many working actors as I can. I spend so much time researching that I sometimes have to remind myself I’m not trying to be an actor.

Chris, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’m a headshot photographer just outside of Charleston, SC. I specialize in actor headshots but also do business/corporate headshots. Occasionally, for my personal projects, I may shoot something more portrait or fashion-y, but all the business does it headshots. But my biggest focus is actor headshots that strategically give you an advantage. One of the things I tell people all the time is that, “Actor headshots are not portraits.” Or they shouldn’t be. It’s not about how good-looking you are. Or how artistic the photographer is. An actor’s headshot is a specific tool to do a specific job. Knowing that, we can leverage everything we can to make sure it’s as effective as possible. That’s kind of my whole philosophy and approach.

I think I covered a lot of my history in the previous question but just for some more..

My mother always had a camera until she was diagnosed with MS at about the time I was 7 or 8. So I was interested in photography by proximity. I was interested in gadgets, period. I remember being young and seeing ads for the Canon AE-1 35mm camera in the magazines. To me, it was like porn. But I was a child and had no money and, honestly, wouldn’t have known what to do with it. (There may be another reference to porn there but I’ll let that go.) I own a Canon AE-1 now. I don’t use film for work but I love to shoot it for fun.

I took photography one year in high school so I’ve been in a darkroom and developed my own film. Admittedly, I think I was high for much of that class, having recently discovered the ganja. But it would have been fun either way. I think I still have some of those pictures. I don’t develop my own now because I have more than enough to keep me busy than to stroll down another rabbit hole.

A few years ago, I was working through my ancestry and researching my biological grandfather, whom I never knew. I found out he worked for Eastman Kodak (sales, I think) and found newspaper ads where he was running a portrait side hustle out of his house. Apparently, photography is genetic.

What’s worked well for you in terms of a source for new clients?

I was at a headshot class with Peter Hurley and talking to one of the other photographers. We started talking about how frustrating it is that I see photographers who have no idea what they’re doing other than owning a camera who offer $30 for 30-minute “actor headshot” sessions. I’m aggravated for the actors who are spending (wasting) money on photos that aren’t going to work for them taken by people who know little or nothing about the industry and what’s needed. It makes me sad but the other photographer I was speaking to pointed out that those people will always be out there.

The foundational thing to building a client base is to elevate your work so much that you can’t be ignored. I may shoot in Charleston, SC but I want my clients to have headshots that can compete in tough markets like NY or LA. Your goal as a photographer isn’t to take pictures. Your goal should be to take phenomenal pictures.

Of course, the party doesn’t matter if no one comes.

I think the best new source of clients for me has been word of mouth. I’ve gotten my biggest business/corporate jobs through someone who told a company, “I know a guy.” At least one of those was another local photographer. Of course, the acting community is very relational. Many people get roles because someone referred them. It’s similar to headshots. Actors tell other actors. Once they have a favorite, that’s who they go to and that’s who they refer.. sometimes without considering other/better options. It can be almost cult-like but it goes back to community. That’s, perhaps, been the toughest shell to crack but I’m working on it. It just takes time to chip away the shell.

One very practical thing I did was to partner with an acting coach who runs The Class Acting Studios and does in-person classes. She needed a location and I worked a deal for her to use my studio space. We share a basic idea that we’re equipping people to reach their goals and dreams so our philosophies align.

From a “marketing” perspective, I can’t stop actors from going where they want for headshots. But I can “intercept” people who are investing time and money in training, which tells me they’re serious about their careers. I have a chance to introduce myself, befriend many of them, show them another option and talk about why I’m a great choice for them. You can’t buy that kind of interaction and I’m grateful to know all of them. If they get their headshots somewhere else, that’s their choice but now it’s an educated one and that’s the most important thing.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

Unfortunately, I don’t remember the book I was reading but the author said, “As a business owner, your focus is no longer that product or service. It’s now sales.”. I think that’s one of the hardest things for creatives to grasp. I see people all the time who say, “I love photography and I want to start a business”. I can relate to that but I always want to tell them that, if they love photography, they may want to think long and hard about a business. Suddenly, photography becomes 20% of what you do. The rest is marketing, customer acquisition, management, legal, logistics, web design (if you do it yourself), SEO (if you do it yourself.. and if you don’t.. it’s expensive) and the list goes on. Once in a while, you get to use a camera. It’s a heavy lift and there’s a lot of competition around the bottom. I’m not saying people shouldn’t do it. I’m just saying you should know what you’re getting into. You’re almost better off saying “I love building a business” and choosing photography. I don’t know a lot of creatives who love the business side of it. It’s usually a necessary evil. The thing that drives me is that I could potentially help someone succeed in a career that brings them joy and/or success.

So.. getting back to the question of pivoting, that’s been the mental pivot I’ve had to navigate.

Contact Info:

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