We recently connected with Rob Flate and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Rob thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

I started studying photography in high school and then went to UCSB and was doing it there for. couple years – film and dark room stuff. But then I moved back to LA and was pursuing acting and sort of forgot about photography. My daughter was born in 2007 when I was 26 and that’s when I got a new digital camera and thought I could make a living shooting actor headshots.

For many years after that I was still calling myself an actor, but not really doing anything about it. I was waiting tables and probably had 1 or 2 photography clients a month – hardly anything. When I was about 36 I made the conscious choice – “I’m not an actor. I’m going to focus on photography.”

When I made that decision I went all out. Shooting as much as I possibly could. If I didn’t have work I was scheduling a free shoot with someone. I was emailing every agent in LA offering deals and free test shoots. Staying up late every night editing photos, posting on IG, putting my website together, etc.

After about 6 months of that my schedule all of a sudden went from 1 or 2 paid clients a month to 5-7 a week. I was getting paid to shoot 5 days a week. After 3 weeks of getting all my shifts covered at the restaurant I thought, “I guess this when I quit my job!”

So I did, and have been a professional full-time photographer since then I haven’t had to wait a table in about 7 years.

I shot out of my living room for the first 3-4 years and in March of 2020 (About 4 days before the world shut down) I moved my business into a proper studio in DTLA in The Bendix building. Those first few months of covid were scary, but once I went back to work things started moving again and it’s really great to have a dedicated work/creative space outside of our home.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m Rob Flate. Born and raised in LA, I studied photography in high school and college, but then dropped it to pursue acting. I was in acting class and doing that whole thing, but my heart was really never in it and I was not putting in the necessary work to be successful. But because of that experience and my background in photography I was able to get into the headshot business and that’s been great for me.

Headshots have a single purpose – to get an actor auditions. They do not necessarily need to make the actor look their best. They’re not about finding the right angle or being a beautiful portrait. They’re a tool to help an actor get in from tof casting directors and show them what they can bring to the table for an acting role.

Casting directors want to see real people. Directors want to cast people in their projects who feel like they have a real life. My headshots work because my singular goal when I’m shooting someone is capture the real them. I don’t use lighting tricks for distracting backgrounds. I want the viewers’ attention to go directly to the actor, not to the quality of my photo. A genuine point of view should be be conveyed in that image to grab a casting director’s attention and call them in for an audition.

I’m interested in people and who they really are, and that’s what I try to get in a headshot. Not some idea of some type of character that I think will help sell them – just the real them.

Over the last 6 years or so I’ve built relationships with many top agencies and managers in LA who refer me clients because of this.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

It took me a long time to understand the amount of work it took to actually get good at something. I sort of coasted by when I was younger – able to get decent grades and go to college with no real effort. But when it came to really starting my life nothing was happening. I was half-assedly pursuing acting, DJing and photography and could never understand why I wasn’t making it. Why wasn’t I on a show making $40,000 a week? Why wasn’t I DJing at Vegas clubs? Why did I only have 2 headshot clients a month? I didn’t understand.

When I made the decision to put all my eggs in the photography basket and I started dedicating real time to building my artistic and technical skills and also my business, I started to see thing improve. And now, 7 or 8 years late, seeing how far I’ve come and still how far I could go, is eye-opening.

There are the rare cases of someone who just sort of pops off right from the get go, but nearly every success story is full of ups and downs and real time dedicated to figuring out the endless nuances to being an artist and business owner.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding thing in my job is when I find out how my headshots actually helped someone in their career.

I’ll get messages on IG or emails from clients telling me that since we shot their auditions have doubled and they booked 2 commercials. Or someone booked a recurring role on a show after they started using our shots.

It’s cliche, but helping others really is the most rewarding and important thing one can do. And when it happens it feels great.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.robflatephotography.com
• Instagram: @thiguyrob