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Rising Stars: Meet Angie Papanikolas

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Angie Papanikolas.

Hi Angie, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Hi! Thank you for having me today. I am so honored. My name is Angie Papanikolas. I’m a headshot, beauty and branding photographer and a makeup artist. I am the owner of Angel Studio Photography. It’s a full-service photography business.

To be honest, it’s funny because doing photography hadn’t ever crossed my mind, let alone headshot and branding photography. I was pursuing other art forms and the performing arts. While receiving my business degree in marketing, I took fashion design courses, started working as a makeup artist – which I’ve continued for over 20 years – and later began acting.

I was living in Los Angeles, following this deep desire to study acting and see where it led me. I realized getting amazing headshots would help me to break into the biz! In acting, your ability to get an audition starts with casting directors, who see small thumbnail photos of many actors and then quickly decide who seems right for the role, all based on a photo. So I started working with photographers. I would see the photographer’s work, like it, book them, show up to the shoot excited with lots of wardrobe choices, and have fun at the shoot.

But it never turned out how I expected. I had mostly mediocre and two downright AWFUL headshot sessions! By the end, I shot headshots at least 10 times and still wasn’t happy with the photo results. Most of the photos didn’t showcase me effectively, didn’t generate much momentum, or helped me get tv/film auditions or a tv/film agent, which was my ultimate goal. I got some auditions for commercials but not as many as I hoped.

I wasn’t having any success with the tv/film photos. However, I did land a great hosting agent (smiling/lifestyle photos are used for these types of auditions) and I was thrilled, but I got only one audition the whole year, and then she dropped me. She said, “I don’t know what it is and I like you, but I think it’s your photos. They are not working.” I felt I was right for a lot of different roles but my photos were not effectively marketing me. I was beyond frustrated!

I moved home to Utah and booked two films, a supporting role as a tough soldier in an indie sci-fi film, and the other as the female LEAD in an indie film where I would play an FBI agent! MY FIRST LEAD ROLE! I was so grateful! I was ready for Hollywood again and I needed those new headshots – powerful headshots that could get me out there auditioning so I could hopefully start booking roles! I moved back to Los Angeles. One day, I got set up to shoot with one of my acting coach’s favorite headshot photographers, and I loved his very cinematic style! I was excited to shoot with him.

We shot 7-8 looks in different outfits with different vibes, yet only one look worked. It worked because it showed my personality and focused on a type of role that I was well-suited for – the type of role I was getting booked for (as the cop/law enforcement/tough girl). This time, the photographer and I had a plan and intention to get that shot. We were on the same page and worked together to get it! That made a huge difference. Sure enough, that particular photo helped me get some film auditions! Wahoo! But still, there were a lot of other roles I wanted to play but I didn’t have that photo to help me get those auditions. I needed more photos again!

I soon signed up with a new commercial agent and needed updated smiley and lifestyle photos for her, so I booked with a photographer I had followed for years. I remember sitting in my new agent’s office, excited to show her my photos, when she looked up at me and said, “I hate to tell you this but these have really bad lighting! They are gray and shadowed.” It wasn’t a cheap shoot, but I had to start all over. Again!!!!!!!!

This was the final straw that pushed me into shooting photography. I decided I could not let this happen to people who were trying to chase their dreams and needed photos that worked. My frustration turned into my passion for finding ways to help people get better photos that marketed and flattered them.

I was praying a lot about what to do next. I had a friend who was a college photography instructor, who also took headshots. I must have shared my heart with him, and he was so kind to encourage me to start shooting! He was a technical person and yet he made this headshot formula sound so simple and assured me I could do it.

He emphasized that I was good with people and that I would be successful at it. So I didn’t think twice about it because he made it sound so easy. I thank God for him because if it wasn’t for him, I would have thought it was too hard to learn and I may have never tried to shoot. I started training with him and I quickly realized I was good at this! I had an eye to know how to flatter people, and I loved doing it!

My sister let me use her professional camera,I got a 50 mm lens for Christmas and started taking a lot of photos to learn and practice. Then I began taking headshots of people I knew until I started booking clients I didn’t know. Now, here I am today with my own business called Angel Studio Photography.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Having my own creative business and being my boss is a dream, but it comes with a lot of challenges. I have to hustle and be very disciplined. It requires heavy planning, yet because I am a free spirit, pre-planning can be difficult for me. But I am learning that to have both a successful business and a balanced life, I have to plan and stay intentional.

For example, If I want to set up photo shoots in another city like Los Angeles, I need to plan and promote it much more in advance than my free spirit self would prefer, for it to be booked out successfully. In my personal life, even scheduling out a “girls’ night” is a must.

Otherwise, I could end up working for days without a break because there’s always something that needs to get done. Also, I can be a perfectionist, making things take longer to get done, like my photo edits! But I’m working on it.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Angel Studio Photography is a very helpful, hands-on, full-service headshot and branding photography business for actors, models, business leaders, realtors, entrepreneurs and brands. I offer full-service photography, which means I can cover every detail of the shoot from offering wardrobe styling, to makeup, to hair, to helping clients figure out best looks to shoot, to helping choose flattering colors to wear, to location scouting, to producing large commercial shoots. I now shoot in Salt Lake City and Los Angeles – and plan to shoot in Las Vegas, Florida and Hawaii soon!

I have made it my mission to help others get striking photos that pop – photos that work for them to open more doors and brand them more effectively for the work they want to do.  I get extremely passionate about helping my clients get amazing photos!

I specialize in actor headshots, professional headshots, branding photoshoots, beauty portraits, model portfolios, product photography, lifestyle, fashion and commercial photography. I do a lot of brand and branding photo shoots in this social media age. For those who don’t know exactly what a branding shoot is, I like to think of it as a deeper look into the life, style, work and personality of the person or brand I am shooting. Branding shoots incorporate different sets, props, themes and settings to really showcase what a brand/person does and who they are in their business. It is a great option for businesses, entrepreneurs, realtors, artists, influencers and service providers who want to grow and attract more ideal clients, and who need a variety of photos for social media, websites, public speaking, email marketing, ecommerce, etc.

Being a people person, I get to know my clients and I am a big believer in consultations where I hear about my client’s hobbies, work and goals so I can give better ideas about their best possible looks to shoot and ways to capture their personality. I offer these consultations free with my sessions.  I also help clients relax and have fun in front of the camera, using favorite music to set the tone of a certain look or vibe.

I also teach a makeup class (coming out soon) that teaches clients how to do their own photo shoot makeup for on-camera work, photoshoots or events. It is called Photo Perfect Makeup. And of course, I make sure to integrate what I learned from all those bad photo shoots (and one good one) into my shoots for clients.

There is a lot that goes into a great shoot, but the direction, planning, and figuring out specific looks help. These are all things I wished I had been offered years ago when I was trying to get headshots in Los Angeles as an actor. Now, with what I’ve learned, I hope I can help others get photos that they not only love, but that help them get more opportunity and momentum!

We’re always looking for the lessons that can be learned in any situation, including tragic ones like the Covid-19 crisis. Are there any lessons you’ve learned that you can share?
When Covid-19 first hit, it felt like time dragged on forever. But then, in the blink of an eye, years had flown by! I realized that I needed to be very intentional to reach my goals and grow my photo business, or time would keep flying and I’d be in the same place. Indecisiveness or perfectionism would get in my way, but I learned the more I stalled on getting things done, the more procrastination it bred. Stalling was a passion and motivation stealer!

I had to work to ignite the passion or I would not end up launching my makeup class or build up my business! The same thing can go in waiting to set up a much-needed photoshoot. If it doesn’t get done, time just goes by and more opportunities are missed. That is why I’m passionate about making my whole process fun and easy to do a great photoshoot, get it done well, and hopefully get my clients more work and opportunities with awesome photos.

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Image Credits
Angel Studio Photography

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