TOP SHOT.
Once upon a time, super snapper Andrew O’Toole accidentally cultivated a name for himself in the business of hair. Now this Aussie photographer is in high demand on home shores and in the UK, shooting winning collections for many of our industry heroes. His work is impeccably polished and fashionably forward, and now he’s bringing his methods to the masses. Andrew joins an all star cast in Hair Expo’s hit new seminar ‘Award Winning Creativity’, showing this Queen’s Birthday long weekend. culture’s Hayley Miller chatted to the man behind the money shot.
Hayley // Your humble beginnings in the business of photography?
Andrew // My first shoot was for the business magazine BRW – a man in a blue suit! I didn’t know how to use a camera, but think I at least got it in focus. I think my second shoot was a band for Rolling Stone, and my third shoot was a group shot of the Essendon Football Club. I moved to London the following year when I was 24 and my first job was assisting on a British Vogue beauty shoot.
How did you find yourself in the midst of the hair fashion realm?
It was pretty much a series of random events 10 years ago. A photographer was kicked off a hair job at the studio I was running, and I was brought in to help out with the lighting. I took a few Polaroids and was given a three-day job on the spot. All three collections won – one of them being Umberto Giannini’s British Hairdresser of the Year collection. At the time I had absolutely no idea about hairdressing awards, and now a decade later I shoot at least 20 collections a year. I had not intended to specialise in shooting hair at all, it just worked in so well with the beauty editorials I had started shooting for various magazines, and was an easy leap to make.
What were you doing five years ago?
That was the birth of my second daughter, so I was probably covered in poo and spew! I was shooting quite a bit of hair as well as editorials for a couple of UK magazines such as New Woman and Glamour. I also remember spending lots of time renovating my house in Sydney, so I must have had quite a bit more spare time than I have now!
Who’s been your biggest career influence?
I used to assist [the photographer] Helmut Newton for Vogue whilst I was living in London; as far as a career mentor, craftsman and mate he was incredible.
Would you say that you have a signature ‘Andrew O’Toole’ direction that comes through in your shoots?
I think my signature style is more in the compositional ‘space’ of my shoots, and this probably also reflects the way I interact with models. I’d never made a deliberate attempt to create a certain look for my ‘brand’, but there are certainly things I do and don’t like. I’d describe it to people as ‘fashion-based beauty with a bit of strength and sexuality’. I don’t work too hard on maintaining a certain style – it’s really just the way I love to shoot women.
Your photography has helped many hairdressers snatch trophies from their competitors. Are there some collections you just get a good feeling about?
Most of the winning collections I’ve shot have had an incredible amount of thought put into the concept. If I shoot black and white, it may be because I think most other people will shoot in colour; or if I shoot longer ‘fashiony’ shots it may be because I think most other people are shooting tighter beauty shots – there’s ALWAYS a reason. Sometimes I get a pretty good feeling that I’m on the right track, and I’ve been fortunate that a lot of the time it’s paid off.
Which collection has been the most memorable win?
Lisa Shepherd’s collection for British Hairdresser of the Year in 2006 – Lisa had consecutively won the titles of British Colourist, and Midlands Hairdresser back-to-back over six years, so it was a very nice cherry on the cake! We’d also lost a good mutual friend a few years prior, so on an emotional level it was pretty special.
Is there a distinct difference between working with Aussie hairdressers and UK hairdressers? Do you find that your style of photography needs to change with each market?
It’s exactly the same in each market. Both the UK and Australia draw inspiration stylistically from each other, and the same challenges apply in each market. My UK shoots tend to be a lot ‘bigger’ in terms of more shots per day, and often there TV crews if it’s a celebrity stylist, which can add to the craziness. And whilst UK stylists also have a bigger pool of models from which to shoot, it may not help if there are a hundred hairdressers all trying to shoot in the same month of each year, each wanting to use the same models.
You’re on the team alongside Sharon Blain, Jayne Wild, Gary Latham, David Glover and Benni Tognini to present the Hair Expo seminar ‘Award Winning Creativity’… what’s the backbone of this seminar?
If you want to get an insight into why certain people, year after year, win awards, then this is the seminar to catch. Not only are all of the presenters actively shooting their own collections, they’re also educating and art-directing others – at the highest level. We’ll all be drawing on personal experiences but nothing will be scripted or staged between us.
What do you hope to inspire in your audience?
Hopefully they’ll walk away with a sense of the magic that can happen on shoots when things are truly creative, and once you tap into that passion how addictive it can be.
When you flick through the pages of a magazine, are you ultimately encouraged or disappointed by the direction and quality of photographic collections?
The quality of some collections is pretty amazing. It’s certainly changed a lot from 10 years ago when there were pages and pages of pretty bad headshots. Now there are incredible models from big agencies and well-known fashion photographers showing up all over the place! The future’s certainly looking pretty good for the hair industry.
More and more hairdressers are trying their hand at photographic collections for submissions to magazines and competitions – what is the key element to getting it right? And is there a fatal flaw that many fall into?
The key element is the quality of the ‘team’ and the way they work together. I’m fortunate enough to work with great stylists and clients with big budgets, but at the end of the day (regardless of how much money is spent) it will ultimately be judged against the amazing quality of work in high-end consumer magazines. So if your work doesn’t look like it can go in a glossy magazine, chances are it won’t! The fatal flaw for the inexperienced is ‘the shoot with the lot’ – big hair, crazy make-up, props and way too much retouching. I’m a very strong believer in keeping it simple.
What’s the first thing you do to fix a shoot that’s going wrong?
Best tactic is to sort it out immediately. Sometimes it may be the client and I sorting out creative issues, and other times we may need to stop the shoot, call everyone together and problem solve. It can often get a bit heated, but it’s much better to sort it out sooner rather than later.
Describe yourself during a shoot…
I think I can be pretty intense and focussed when I’m shooting but that stops when I put the camera down. I used to get nervous on shoot days when I was a bit younger, but now I’m very relaxed most of the time.
Where will we see Andrew O’Toole in five years?
I’ve just landed an agent in New York so hopefully I’ll get to spend a bit more time over there. I think maybe I’ll be shooting a little less hair – people will be well and truly sick of me by then!