Who's in the Crew? - Spotlight on Matthew Hamilton

NAME: Matthew Hamilton - https://mhamiltonvisuals.com
https://www.instagram.com/mhamiltonvisuals
https://headshotcrew.com/matthewhamilton 

WHERE DO YOU LIVE? Philadelphia, PA

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN SHOOTING HEADSHOTS? I started shooting headshots right before Peter released his book “The Headshot” which was in 2015. So I would estimate it has been about 5.5 years at this point. I remember someone had hired me to shoot headshots of their team and I was putting it off until I could finish the book! 

WHAT ELSE DO YOU LIKE TO SHOOT? I like to shoot any type of portrait and I prefer to work in the studio. My day to day work is headshots but sometimes I will step back from my subject a little further and show more of them and their style. I have been hired to shoot everything from real estate to product, but nothing is quite like photographing people. There is always something unique about each person I photograph and that keeps it new and exciting. 

WHAT IS YOUR LIGHTING SETUP FOR HEADSHOTS? For years now I have been using the Flex Kit and there hasn’t been much variation to it. I have always used two lights (parallel setup) no matter what brand they were (early on they were 1 by 1 LED panels, then Kinos). More recently I have been experimenting with different lights for my background as I incorporate color backdrops into my portfolio. In order to create this, I have created a setup with a Lastolite Skylite and one Litegear Litemat Spectrum behind it. With this setup, I can easily go from a white background to any color I want. 

TELL US A LITTLE ABOUT THE SPACE YOU SHOOT IN.  DO YOU OWN IT? RENT IT? LIVE IN IT? Just before I began to shoot headshots, my family bought a massive building right up the street from where I live. After a few years (might still be going on…) of cleanup and renovations, we outlined different areas for different purposes. It is home to my studio space, along with a professional film and photo studio, and two recording studios. Because all of the businesses are owned and operated by the same people and we are all in similar genres, there is a lot of overlap in the work that comes in. There may be a band recording in the studio, who then gets their press photos done in my studio, and then films their music video in the film studio.

WHEN DID YOU FIRST DISCOVER PH AND THE HSC? I originally found Peter when he was a guest on “The Grid” podcast with Scott Kelby years ago. I was more familiar with a different guest they had on so I began following the podcast and luckily the very next episode Peter was the guest on. From there, it was full speed ahead and I joined the HSC soon after reading The Headshot book (hesitated a bit before joining). 

HOW LONG DID IT TAKE YOU TO JOIN THE CREW ONCE YOU FOUND IT? I am not sure exactly how long I waited to join but I definitely did wait a bit. At the time, for each week you were a member you got access to a new coaching video in the library. I remember getting frustrated wishing I had joined sooner but then realizing I sort of started this journey early (I was 19 when I joined). 

WHAT IS ONE THING PEOPLE WOULD NEVER GUESS ABOUT YOU?  I left high school during my junior year and finished my schooling online (when it was not a “regular” thing). I felt regular high school wasted a lot of time that I could be spending doing something I actually enjoyed. I was able to spend my extra time learning photography and videography and began to get jobs before I graduated.  

WHAT IS ONE THING YOU WISH PEOPLE KNEW ABOUT YOU? For crew people… I am down to help out however you may need it. Seriously just reach out if you have any questions!