MEET ROBERT

I am a Los Angeles based photographer, who specializes in actor headshots for both commercial and theatrical.  I also provide corporate headshots as well as portraits for all social media venues.  Check out my fashion and lifestyle portfolios too!

Photography has always been a passion in me since I started taking pictures when I was in high school. Periodically, I would pick up the camera and found myself lost for hours in the art and sensuality of creating something from what I saw.

I have tried many things in life, having been a baseball player then a lawyer and then fell into the international modeling world as well as TV commercials. I was fortunate enough to have lived 15 years in NYC, Paris and London represented by the top modeling agencies and traveling the world doing major advertising campaigns for clients such as Armani, Ralph Lauren Polo, Burberry to name a few. I also became the face of Gillette commercials in the 1990′s as well as the notorious shirtless window washing Diet Coke guy in TV commercials. During this time, while shooting with the likes of photographers Bruce Weber, Steven Meisel, Patrick Demarchelier, Victor Skrebneski, Matthew Rolston, I was constantly watching them and their lighting and creativity. I learned from the best and what a photography lesson it was!  

I now live in Los Angeles and have been acting in TV, Films and Commercials. Some of my recent credits include Nancy Drew, Californication, CSI NY, CSI Miami, Drop Dead Diva, Tyler Perry's The Haves & The Have Nots, Chasing Life, 90210, Lexus, Cadillac, Chevy, and more. Moreover, I have ventured into Producing TV shows and films, and my first drama project, entitled Chess, has been recently bought by Showtime. Another project on my slate is a comedy and is entitled, Red State, which is a comedy about an extremely wealthy and menacing yet loveable Russian Oligarch and his quirky family who immigrate to Beverly Hills, but find out that his politically incorrectness and bluntness clashes with the elitist society.

You can check out some of my images at my personal and actor website at http://robertmerrill.com

So why photography now, when I appear to be so busy with acting and producing? Because it is a passion and I can’t stay away. I feel that all of my experiences in front of the camera as a model and a currently working actor gives me something extra to give back to you. I know what Casting Directors want to see in your headshot to get you called into their office. They have told me repeatedly, that they want to see the “essence” of you, not some blank expression, or blown out picture or something that doesn’t even look like you when you walk through the door. Let’s make it real.

I have teamed up with the incredible, renowned, top headshot photographer, Peter Hurley (http://peterhurley.com), who is based out of NYC. Peter and I have known each other for years as we had the same NYC modeling agency, Click Models. Peter has started a off-shoot company called Headshot Crew, which is an amazing mentoring and referral service to talented photographers that he trusts and recommends. I am blessed to have become a Headshot Crew Associate Photographer (https://headshotcrew.com/robertmerrill) here in Los Angeles and am looking forward to working with him on projects in the future. As we both agree…we are 10% photographer and 90% therapist.

I am so grateful to all of the talents out there who have given me the opportunity to photograph them. It is a collaboration where we both give and the photographs are special and powerful. ”Confidence With Approachability”.