We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Maria Tornberg a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Maria, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the best thing you’ve ever seen (or done yourself) to show a customer that you appreciate them?

My goal as a headshot photographer is to help actors achieve their goals; increase auditions, find agents, and ultimately land jobs in movies, TV shows, and commercials.

After a long career as an actress, I have cultivated close relationships with agents and managers who refer their clients to me and trust me when I, in return, introduce new talent to them.

I work with so many diverse, talented actors who often have a hard time getting meetings with agents, and with my connections, I have helped numerous actors sign with some of the top agencies in Los Angeles.

I know firsthand how hard it can be to find the right people in the industry, and I am so blessed that I can provide the guidance and support, and be the person that I wish I had when I started out.

Watching my clients thrive and achieve their goals with the headshots we create is very rewarding. And my clients give me so much in return. My job is so much fun! I have learned so much about how to be more compassionate, confident, and supportive, and how to create a safe space for people to be themselves. My clients have helped me grow so much as a person and artist, and I appreciate and feel so blessed to be doing a job that is so fulfilling.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I was born in Sweden and grew up dreaming of moving to America to do exactly what I now do. But life took a surprising turn when I got the opportunity to start my career in front of the camera as a model in Paris. After several years of living and working all over Europe, I finally took the big step and moved to New York to study drama at the Lee Strasberg Institute.

It only took a month for me to realize that I had found the right path. Soon after graduating, I landed a role in the movie Super Troopers which ended up becoming a success and opened a lot of doors for me and allowed me to relocate to Los Angeles. I was thrown into pilot season and auditioned for big projects but my nerves got the best of me. I was new to the industry and often typecast as the “Swedish blonde sexy girl”, a type that didn’t fit my soul. I had left the modeling business behind because I never felt comfortable being objectified and here I was, yet again, in the same position.

So I decided to write parts for myself that I wanted to play, directed two award-winning films, and fell in love with being behind the camera. I bought a Canon 5 Mark 2, which had a great video feature, and started to experiment with lighting and composition, basically taught myself to become a photographer and developed my visual style. I used my friends as models and actors and soon found that my passion was portrait photography. Many of my friends were actors who ended up showing the photos to their agents who in turn started referring other actors to me.

I very soon realized that very few actors understood what their brand identity was, what it even meant, and why it was so important. Many showed up to the session with a couple of shirts and were more concerned about presenting themselves as what they thought other people expected them to be rather than being true to their unique essence. This is the exact dilemma I had struggled with myself and by instinct, I found myself pouring all of my own experiences and knowledge into my clients, helping them find their brand identity; the very attributes that made them so unique and special. That changed everything.

I developed a brand strategy and when the actors applied that to their headshot sessions they were able to create very specific looks that made it easy for the casting directors to identify their brand, and thus their auditions and opportunities increased. My motto is “Know thyself, know thy brand!”

Many actors believe that they should be a blank canvas and that they can play any role but the truth is that no one is a blank canvas, we all communicate a visual message. The key is to make sure that the message is true to who you are and that is aligned with how other people perceive you.

Once you find your brand identity and cultivate it, your confidence as an artist will shine through, and people will notice, and that is what will take you to the next level. And remember, it’s an ongoing process, the work never ends. But most importantly, it’s supposed to be fun! It’s your dream and you get to create it, you are the CEO of your career so make sure you “know thyself and know your brand!”

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

I am a Headshot Photographer first but I also believe, that with my experiences as an actress and model, it is my responsibility to share my knowledge, educate actors about the business, and help them recognize scams and people with bad intentions.

It is so important that young actors learn about how the business works, what their rights are, and how to set healthy boundaries. Actors are artists but today you also have to be a business person. That is the conundrum, on one hand you have to be vulnerable and soft as an artist but on the other hand, you have to be tough and protective of yourself and your career.

My mission is to create a safe space for artists to be themselves, to create headshots that are a true representation of each actor, headshots that are exactly what agents and casting directors are looking for, and, most importantly, to help actors make a living doing what they love the most, to become the artists they were born to be.

Are there any resources you wish you knew about earlier in your creative journey?

I wish I had someone to guide me and teach me how to be a better business person, to be more true to who I was, and I also wish I had stronger boundaries. But then again, I would not be the person I am today had I not struggled through everything on my own. So in the end, I don’t wish anything to be different.

But I do wish for other artists to take the time to practice due diligence, surround themselves with the right people, come up with a strong career strategy with a cohesive brand identity, and create the best marketing tools.

In conclusion, your headshot can be the key to unlocking the door to a successful acting career. It’s important to take the time to get it right and to remember that it’s not just a photo, but a representation of who you are as an actor. By having a strategy in place and looking at the examples of successful actors who have come before you, you’ll be on your way to landing your dream roles and achieving success in the entertainment industry.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.tornbergheadshots.com
• Instagram: @tornbergheadshots
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100066841034348
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/maria-tornberg-1075b29/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@tornbergheadshots4229

Image Credits
Photos by Tornberg Headshots