“If I could say anything to people who need my product for their
careers,” explained Matt Dunn, “I would probably say, ‘Your face matters
and it was a gift given to you by God? You particularly as an
individual are a miracle of his creation. Your face is an incredible
miracle that needs the clarity, a way to differentiate you from someone
else. I’m trying not to sound arrogant in all of this but it really
comes down to, I am a powerful communicator with when it comes to a
person’s face. I can see their magic, their potential. I know how to put
it on a piece of paper so that an audience “sees their magic.” This is
why many people I photograph continue to say I am the first photographer
who really saw the real them.

“To actors and models, stop playing with fire,” Matt continued.
“These are your careers. Don’t let five years of your life go by with
mediocrity as your tool.” And Matt knows actors and models, having
worked with many A-list actors in Hollywood and New York City
supermodels along a career that has spanned more than 2 decades.

Matt directs the subjects though his double doors on his studio “set”
with ease. One might think a photo shoot would center on one subject,
but in Matt’s style, anywhere from five to eight actors and other
professionals are working. There’s spectacular group camaraderie and
sometimes a diva with attitude, as is true with any Hollywood set—and
this gives a reality to the experience. More importantly, the group
shoot takes the pressure off any one individual and affords plenty of
time for wardrobe changes, makeup touch-ups, and new hairstyles (some
women go into up-do’s, while men may shave off their 5 o’clock shadows
after doing some more rugged looking shots).

In the true spirit of community service, Matt wants to make sure
parents have a good, current photo of their children should they need it
in a time of crisis. “I feel so strongly about it. Any child under the
age of five on the planet to come visit with us for 15 or 20 minutes and
we will shoot them for free, and we do that in support of Amber
Alerts,” said Matt. “We hope that nobody ever needs to use my picture
for that purpose, but I do know, however, when I see the children who
have been abducted, and their pictures on television,” he continued,
explaining that often the photos available to the media during Amber
Alerts are outdated.

“But what I love giving back to the community of actors and models,
or people who need to have head-shots for the purpose of career—what I
enjoy so much about it is the glow in their faces when they see
themselves on film through my camera,” exclaims Matt. It’s exciting to
see that you’ve really touched someone’s heart about who they are, and I
think if I have appreciated and learned anything, it’s that everybody really does have a
unique gift, and I’m able to, through the camera, not let an audience
see the photography side of it, but more importantly see the person
who’s being photographed.”