We recently connected with Russell Baer and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Russell 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 feel incredibly fortunate to have spent the past 25 years working as an entertainment photographer, doing what I love and making a living from it. This journey has come with its share of risks and has required a strong belief in myself. I began my career in my early 20s, experimenting with photography while surrounded by actors and models in the entertainment industry. I had recently moved to Los Angeles from New York, where I had been studying for the past 3 years at drama school and had originally thought I wild be continuing that path in LA.

I never really thought about being a professional photographer because I was never given the option of that as a real job. Growing up in Canada, that really wasn’t anything I had seen, so for me photography was just a fun hobby. When I began photographing my friends in LA I took it really seriously because I have always been the kind of person who tries to give everything 100 percent. I wanted to help them save money so they didn’t have to pay to get their photos taken. Headshots were very expensive and many times the actors didn’t even use the photos they had paid for. I decided I was going to be the one to save the day with my cool Nikon camera that my father bought me on a trip to Japan when I was in high school. And there my career began. Within a very short period of time my name started circulating around town and my my phone started to ring.

Next thing I knew I was getting paid to take peoples photos and had to now come up with a business model. Basically I had to learn on the job and it wasn’t until I was deep into working that I realized that this was my actual career path. SuddenlyI was becoming a full-time photographer which led to more actors headshots and modeling portfolios. And it wasn’t long after that I started getting my first magazine shoots and eventual higher profile covers. It finally dawned on me that this was exactly what I was meant to be doing. I was in a job that I loved doing an art that I loved and running a business that I loved. It started to happen and I welcomed my inevitable career.

The Photography industry was so much different in the late 90s early 2000s because the digital world hadn’t been invented. Clients were solely looking at photos on proof sheets which you could not hide your errors. I was always a perfectionist and worked so hard at learning my craft that. I made sure the consistency of the photos were the most important. That got me in front of a lot of people. It happened very fast but not too fast because I was ready for the challenge. Most of my jobs were ahead of what I hd already done. Meaning I was attempting to shoot in way that I really had no experience with. This meant a crash course in photography and I had to learn quickly. Continual new challenges and I had to appear like I already knew everything. Talk about “fake it till you make it”… that was really my life motto at the time.

I tried every single type of photography that I got offered. There were a lot of different things that came my way. I tried shooting stills on movie sets, even red carpet photography, working with architecture and photographing food …the list goes on and on. Back then when someone saw great photography they wanted to hire you no matter what they were looking for. They didn’t seem to care that they were looking at a great portrait. They would still hire you for something completely different. Somebody would see a headshot that I did and call and ask me to shoot a movie poster or a producers home shoot for a magazine and I would dive right in going all on instinct. It was a lot of fun but there was a lot of pressure of making sure you gave everybody what they were looking for. That can be a lot. The one thing I can say is I always encourage artists to try everything that comes their way. For me it always came back to the same thing. I loved working with actors and trying to catch the essence of that subject.

Soon I was working with a lot of celebrities and and ended up kind of branded as a Celebrity Photographer. The funny thing is is you don’t just shoot celebrities, but because you have shot many of them you get to that title. My first big magazine cover was Stephen Baldwin who was blowing up from The Usual Suspects. That was a great layout that got me a lot of visibility.

Cut to all these years later I’ve worked with a lot of Hollywood’s heavy hitters like Michael B Jordan, Kayley Cuoco, Shaquille O’Neal ,Jenna Ortega, Austin Butler, Ben Affleck, Elizabeth Moss, Jon Hamm and the list goes on. All of them at various times of their careers. Some of them at the beginning and some of them at the top but it’s always fascinated to see where their careers go. I even had an interesting reality TV career appearing on shows like America’s Next Top Model and a bunch of other ones. Always having to keep relevant and current is a big part of my job.

The industry has changed so much in the past five years. The biggest change I’ve seen is the disappearance of magazines. That was half of my job and watching them all slowly disappear has been crazy. The digital versions of the ones remaining just don’t hold up. So this is one of the many transformations I’ve had to overcome.

In terms of shifting and being able to stay ahead of the trends that is the biggest challenge. It’s hard to know if this {photography} would even be an actual a career path now considering the temperature of the industry of entertainment, which is been changing so rapidly. Having said that, I would never deter anybody for going after their dreams and I would always mentor and encourage anyone to do what they love. If you build it they will come.

Lately I’ve been appearing on panel discussions and giving Master Classes at acting studios. That’s been amazing being able to work with young actors and even seasoned ones. I recently did a panel discussion at the Screen Actors Guild and that was really exciting. Sharing as much information as I have after working in the industry all these years is what I love to do. And yes I have stories… many of them. I think what’s kept me going so long is that I always stay out of the drama every way I can and kept the focus on the work.

I love photography and I’m so appreciative that I get to do it. Even now after all this time I’m still as inspired as I ever was. Not to say it hasn’t been challenging at times because believe me it has, but I always gave every job 100%. Didn’t matter if I was shooting the highest profile celebrity or the every day man on the street. If I worked it was a good day.

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?

Photography was always a great interest of mine when I was a kid. I used to look at all the incredible portraits and magazines like Sports Illustrated and People and try to imagine what it would be like doing that.. I was always fascinated by the culture of Entertainment but growing up in a small town in Canada, those kinds of jobs were not something likely.

Once I became a working photographer in Los Angeles I worked tirelessly at perfecting my craft. I was lucky enough to get paid for what I love doing. The advantage was I was quite young when a began so the stakes were not quite as high as they would be later in life. Years of working incredibly hard at my craft have kept me current and I’m still in love with what I do.

Client relationships were one of the most important thing and having the ability to be able to step in front of people and own your space was something I learned quickly. If you know or at least pretend to know what you’re talking about ha ha ha people will listen. And if you have the work to back it up it just keeps getting better.

As a photographer I have photographed pretty much everything at some point. But my focus and specialty I would say at this point in time is portraiture. My clientele ranges from the highest profile celebrity to the every day man on the street who may need photos for a variety of reasons. People rely on me to capture there essence, whether it’s for an actors headshot, a fashion layout, or a website design featuring all of the company members looking as good as the ever have. I got into photography because I wanted to make people look good. I wanted to show people in their best light. Being able to bring out the best part of a human is one of my favorite parts of my job.

At this point my photos have been seen in pretty much every magazine on stands today and yesterday. My portraits have appeared in most publications including Time Magazine, People Magazine Marie Claire, Teen Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Men’s Fitness Life & Style, News Week, Numero Netherlands and the list goes on. Digital magazines are fine but they will never compare to seeing that beautiful hardcopy portrait in a magazine fresh off the new stand. Still we have to shift in our industries and change with the times.

I think what sets me apart from other people is that I really understand human behavior and what people are looking for. Within seconds of meeting somebody I know exactly what it is they’re looking for in their photos and what I can bring out. And getting the response from a happy client is always the most satisfying part. I’m good at helping clients realize what they want.

A lot of times a client comes to me trying to explain what they’re looking for and I have a unique ability to be able to cut through it quickly and explain to them exactly what they need. All I need is a brief conversation and I can take it from there. I don’t know if it’s from all the years I’ve been doing it or just a unique ability but I always understand my client before I start shooting. Weather is an actor looking to update their image through photography, or a brand looking to update their image online, or a company or corporation hiring me to create a new kook for their clientele.. It at all feels natural to me.

I am really proud of the fact that I don’t have any kind of a snob appeal to my job. I look at every photo shoot on the same playing grounds no matter who I’m photographing. I have worked with a lot of very well-known people but I don’t approach my shoots that much differently when I’m shooting anybody else that isn’t a known name. A lot of people out there that need photography that aren’t celebrities. Some people just want an amazing photo of their family that will live on for generations.

I always laughed at Michael Caine who said take every single job you get offered and he was an academy award winning actor. I think what he was saying was don’t think you’re bigger than anything no matter what you’re history of work is. Work is work do your best and take what comes your way. I’ve always liked that philosophy. I think because of that, I’ve got to work with so many people all over the world. And I’m most proud of my extended history of shooting portraits in this industry for such a long period of time.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

I’ve been several times in my career where work is just completely slow down for various reasons. And when you are self-employed that can be intimidating. Somethings I had to get past work Covid, slow times in the industry, union strikes which completely stopped work, and changing trends.

One particular time was during the actors strike which seem to go on forever and the longer it went on the slower business became for everybody and the trickle down effect was inevitable. When a person who is create about their job is no longer being created can be incredibly frustrating. Not only monetary but from the creative standpoint of expression.

I had decided that this was the time I needed to put up my Gallery Show and start working on project I had been waiting multiple years to do something like this. However, It can be intimidating when nobody is asking you for the job but you want to create it. And that’s what I decided was going to be my next big challenge.

Over the years people were asking me when I was going to put up in Gallery Exhibit, but my biggest question was what with the show going to be about. Photography is such a broad spectrum that there needed to be at through-line to tie the theme together. At that point I didn’t know what that would be.

Finally, it came to me that the theme of my show was just as my career had been. The inevitable portrait. In a world of scrolling and short form digital photography on Tablet’s it was time to bring back the portrait and put it in front of people. So I went back through my entire 25 year catalog and photography to come up with a chronological photography story of my journey with what I chose as the most significant photos through my time behind the camera.

So I started chipping away at it and somehow within a few months I had a show up and ready to go. And that took a lot of trust in the universe considering I started with nothing but an idea. I just kept working and meeting and talking to people and researching and eventually I had 70 giant portraits ready for a gallery show. It turned out to be one of the best nights of my life. There I was standing in a gallery in Hollywood surrounded by all of my work. It was the most surreal night of my life, and all the people that came just made it that much more fantastic.

Another reminder for creatives not to be afraid to try something. Especially if it’s coming from your most creative side.

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

For me the most rewarding aspect of being a creative is seeing your work in completion. Along with that response from your audience and the overall satisfaction that love what you have created. Also that being something that can live on for years. In this case it’s the Images.

It’s also really rewarding seeing your work when it’s not expected. I remember being on the subway in New York and seeing a photo I took in an ad and I was ecstatic telling everybody “I shot that photo” and people kept looking at me like I was crazy.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.russellbaer.com www.hollywoodhopeful.com
• Instagram: @Russell.baer
• Facebook: @russellbaerphotography
• Linkedin: Russell Baer
• Twitter: @russellbaer
• Youtube: https://youtu.be/zyTC89WpnfA?si=Oo4T7hn4tqtPglGt

Image Credits

All photos taken by myself of my original work. Profile photo of me taken by Laurie Steiner-Halperin