Review Time
I would not recommend this company to my performing friends at all, after a bad experience I had yesterday. I was on my way feeling really excited to get my headshots done with my outfits planned out. I did my makeup in a lovely and professional standard, making sure there was no shine on my face with my new haircut. But after the session, I left feeling really deflated and appalled. Even though the photographer was nice to me, I felt the whole setup was not what I expected and was unprofessional. It was very much like I was in someone's office. In the brief, it said to bring something light and pastel coloured which is what I brought with me for one of my outfits but the photographer did not approve due to her saying it would make me look naked due to the matching tone of my skin which would not been the case at all as I worn in past photos before. I was also given this blotting paper to dab on my face to hide any shine but this was stripping my makeup off the more I was dabbing this which I felt like I had to. I was then told to leave my black off-the-shoulder top til last with my red lipstick but due to my disapproval of looking back at the photos with the lighting not being great and my hair looking really yellow even though my hair is not and my eyes looking wonky, the photographer told me that we are our own worst critic and the photos look lovely even though deep down they were not when I was looking through them. Also, the fact that I'll be paying my own money for the photos too. Due to the short timing, I did not have time in the end to wear the top I wanted to wear. Saying this, I do not think it would have made much difference due to the quality of the photos not looking great. This I would compare to getting your photos taken at the post office for a passport rather than professional quality. I emailed my complaint, and I received a response from someone within the admin team with her apologies with a few questions which I then responded to with the request for my deposit to be paid back to me. It is now today that this specific person from the admin team emailed me back completely ignoring the last email I sent with the response of 'We hope you enjoyed your session with us! I'm just emailing to say we have an outstanding balance for your session. Once this has been paid, we can send through your gallery for you to choose your images! You can find the invoice to your session here.Kindest regards'.
For me to pay before looking at my photos knowing that I am not going to like them is absolutely appalling especially with the policy of once you have paid, it is non-refundable so at this point, I feel like I am being conned. These photos would also not match the type of work I'm looking for!
I will never go with this company again. Disapproved by me!
I would not recommend this company to my performing friends at all, after a bad experience I had yesterday. I was on my way feeling really excited to get my headshots done with my outfits planned out. I did my makeup in a lovely and professional standard, making sure there was no shine on my face with my new haircut. But after the session, I left feeling really deflated and appalled. Even though the photographer was nice to me, I felt the whole setup was not what I expected and was unprofessional. It was very much like I was in someone's office. In the brief, it said to bring something light and pastel coloured which is what I brought with me for one of my outfits but the photographer did not approve due to her saying it would make me look naked due to the matching tone of my skin which would not been the case at all as I worn in past photos before. I was also given this blotting paper to dab on my face to hide any shine but this was stripping my makeup off the more I was dabbing this which I felt like I had to. I was then told to leave my black off-the-shoulder top til last with my red lipstick but due to my disapproval of looking back at the photos with the lighting not being great and my hair looking really yellow even though my hair is not and my eyes looking wonky, the photographer told me that we are our own worst critic and the photos look lovely even though deep down they were not when I was looking through them. Also, the fact that I'll be paying my own money for the photos too. Due to the short timing, I did not have time in the end to wear the top I wanted to wear. Saying this, I do not think it would have made much difference due to the quality of the photos not looking great. This I would compare to getting your photos taken at the post office for a passport rather than professional quality. I emailed my complaint, and I received a response from someone within the admin team with her apologies with a few questions which I then responded to with the request for my deposit to be paid back to me. It is now today that this specific person from the admin team emailed me back completely ignoring the last email I sent with the response of 'We hope you enjoyed your session with us! I'm just emailing to say we have an outstanding balance for your session. Once this has been paid, we can send through your gallery for you to choose your images! You can find the invoice to your session here.Kindest regards'.For me to pay before looking at my photos knowing that I am not going to like them is absolutely appalling especially with the policy of once you have paid, it is non-refundable so at this point, I feel like I am being conned. These photos would also not match the type of work I'm looking for!I will never go with this company again. Disapproved by me!
My daughter paid a large deposit but when got to studio she was greeted by what she described as a student. The company website did not match the service and my daughter said it was like having a school photo taken. Her lovely blonde hair looked yellow and they gave her blotting wipes to take away shine which lifted off her makeup. Her eyes looked half closed and the photographer only told her to look left, right and down. When she commented her disappointment the photographer said "We are our own worst critic". My daughter came home in tears. The photos were meant for her Spotlight profile but she won't be able to use them. Their contract is unprofessional and says you can't refuse to pay just because you don't like the photos and you only have 72 hours to attend a reshoot. So much misinformation and a total scam.
I had a voice reel done by the lovely Aidan on 19 July..made me feel at home and relaxed. Was patient and honest with my script delivery. Considered I was 20mins late...Would definitely recommend on the voice reel. Not had the experience of the photography.I too paid what I could..£99 as they were having a discounted offer for their birthday celebrations.Would definitely recommend for voice reel. Although yet to receive finished reels but will do, in about 3 weeks.Will update once reels received.
If you click on the website, you'll see they also provide voicereels and, being an actor, I kept being hit with their 'Pay what you can' ads on Facebook (Meta). I have a good showreel, and decent headshots, but thought it was time to get a voicereel together, as an actor had recommended I join their voice agency. I clicked on the 'pay what you can' voice reel offer. I actually thought it might be as philanthropic as it sounded but...The first thing you get is not a "what can you pay" query, but a list of prices you might be willing to pay, the lowest being £75. It then asks that, if you want to pay a lower price, you email them at the 'aktaphotography' address they provide. I emailed them saying "I was hoping I could get a voicereel for £40 and then pay more when I get my first job."They quickly replied:"Lovely to hear from you! Thank you for letting us know your affordability. Could you also reply back with your Instagram and Spotlight handle please.""Spotlight handle"??? I gave them my full name. I gave up my Instagram handle, too.Both requests struck me as red flags. "Spotlight handle" suggests they wanted my name, which I thought they could look up themselves on Spotlight, if they were in any way reputable professionals. Anyone involved in the industry would know what to actually request, with regard to your Spotlight membership, and it's not a "handle". My Spotlight details are shared with professional agents, those who are considering me for work, not those I am paying so that I can secure work for myself (except for Spotlight themselves, and even that is currently being challenged by Equity, the actors union). Industry professionals pay to access Spotlight, but Akta want you to give it up for free, as if you are auditioning to do their "pay what you can" voicereel.With respect to access to my Instagram, I'm not hugely active on social media (-where's the time?!). My Instagram is quiet, I prefer Facebook (Meta), and my social media is largely private. Clearly they want to use my social media to promote their products but they don't offer to do this after creating the product, and with my consent. They are on the hunt for what can serve their interests. "Pay what you can" comes at the cost of intrusion in to your personal media and access to your professional media. It's not an honest offer. Rather it's exchange you are being drawn in to, without any clarity as to why they need this information to start with.After their initial response, in under 24 hours, Akta then took five days to reply with: "I hope you are well! Can I get a direct link to your spotlight please?". Preferring to take up the offer with the voice agency, to whom I had been recommended, where I pay a lot more but I end up with a quality voicereel and being taken on by a reputable agency, I didn't respond, lacking trust in what's on offer.The final response I've received from them arrived this morning:"Thank you so much for applying to our Pay What You Can VoiceReel initiative.Unfortunately, your application has not been successful for this round. However, we would encourage you to reapply for another edition here. Feel free to apply to as many editions as you wish, as a previous application does not diminish your chances of success in another. We sincerely thank you for taking the time to submit an application. Although this outcome may not be what you had hoped for, we look forward to receiving another application from you in the future.Kindest regards,""What I had hoped for"? I had hoped for something more honest than a surreptitious mining of my social and professional accounts.What appears to be a philanthropic gesture on the part of the Akta voicereel initiative (and their photography/showreel efforts I suspect) is actually intrusive access to your social and professional media. "Pay what you can" comes at a cost. It may well be a cost you are willing to pay but I found it rather sneaky: nothing explained upfront, with your details requested, and mined, before they decide if you are 'good enough' for them to accept at a low cost. It's a commercial exchange but they are not being upfront, or honest, about the access they are requesting. They put you in a position to provide this information without actually coming good on their offer until they've evaluated your content. Their final response can leave you feeling under pressure to reapply, offering up what they require, without question.It's not philanthropic. You are essentially auditioning to have a cheap voicereel made, at the extra cost of your personal details.Their emails are possibly just cut and paste responses, for each request they receive, but now you can decide for yourselves whether or not you'd like to audition for their 'pay what you can (once we've evaluated how suitable you are to serve our needs)' cost.
Claim your business profile now and gain access to all features and respond to customer reviews.
Akta Photography is a leading portrait photography company, based in Great Western Studios. Specialising in actor headshots and career development, we are the first headshot company to support actors in using their portraits effectively, working hard to aid the industry that we love.
By actors, for actors.
komando.com
shop.2000ad.com
polotno.com
onceupon.photo
gyaniversity.com
varodatic.com
barnettghostwriting.com
evilgreed.com
turntablelab.com
artifactuprising.com
