George Pimentel | Celebrity Photographer
As a celebrity photographer, how do you know you’re in the right place? Answer: when George Pimentel is there with his camera.
Last year following Sundance, I wrote about my sheer utter **fulfillment** at the opportunity to get to know renowned celebrity photographer Norman Seeff. It’s one of my all-time favorite posts — please, check it out if you get the chance because in doing so you’ll learn mostly everything you need to know about me; and, more importantly, you’ll be led to explore Norman’s work.
This Sundance, I’d like to pay homage to another photographer that I find inspiring, and for different reasons: George Pimentel. As per his bio, George
has covered national and international celebrity events such as the Oscars, Emmys and Golden Globes. George ignited his passion for celebrity photography in 1993 when he was just an enthusiastic movie fan, grabbing “one shot” of his favourite celebrity—Robert DeNiro. Presently George still oversees the family [photography studio] business while contributing to magazines such as Flare, Hello and US Weekly. His photos are seen around the world.
My first introduction to George’s work came years and years ago via any of the number of celebrity magazines I pored over as a teen. “Photo credit: George Pimentel.” There he was, on almost all the shots that kept my attention. Until, there he was… right in front of me at this year’s Sundance. This [self-described] scowling guy stood in front of the photog pit, more important than the barrier, allowed entrance into the celebrity realm while the rest of us huddled in a mass, elbowing one another and bumping second cameras and battery packs. What made HIM so important, I wondered, as he stood in front of me (like, literally right in front of me, to the point where I wondered how I was going to get my shots if he stood there all night). And then I recognized the name on his badge. No.Way. Like, HUGE no way. And then I realized why all the pit shooters were basically bowing down to George, talking over one another to get his attention or silencing immediately when he started talking. We were his minions there, in the presence of one of the greats. You saw the recognition in the celeb’s faces, too. Like, when he asked Anne Hathaway to turn to him for a shot, she grinned, ‘for you, George? Anything.’
I worked three red carpets with him, which meant that we actually spent a fair amount of time together because the media arrives anywhere between 1-2 hours earlier than the celebrities in order to nab a spot, chillax, upload photos, or send your work to your outlet. Or, to chitchat, which was often the case when George showed up. I think we were all just smitten & curious. And what was so wonderful about George is that he held court effortlessly yet confidently, unknowingly didactic, always casual, and often humorous (unintentionally? I dunno — he was just so honest that sometimes I laughed at his candor even if he didn’t mean to be funny). Basically, I enjoyed hearing his take on everything that came up in conversation. He talked about shooting the Cannes Film Festival and Vanity Fair parties, the integrity of retouching/photoshopping, photographing Gwyneth with her Dad (and how she keeps a print of the photo in her home), being eager to get home to his kid’s hockey game, and the definition of paparazzi as per Fellini & its literal translation meaning “buzzing insects.”
One of George’s stories resonated with me SO so much that, halfway through it, V tapped my shoulder to hand me my speedlite, and I waved him away so I wouldn’t miss a word. George described how he’d recently photographed a fancy event and that someone from the fancy event had emailed him requesting a photo. Not unusual. The man wanted the high res photo for free. Again, not unusual. The man indicated the exact pixel sizing he wanted for the image and then relayed that it would be used to advertise the man’s business. Ummm, not only unusual but insanely entitled. Long story short, after telling the man that he’d be happy to send him the image for a (small – I think, anyway — $100?) price that included usage rights, George received a scathing email from the guy, who more or less wrote that, if it was up to him, George would never work in the industry again.
The finale? George sent him the high res photo, complimentarily, out of guilt or photo-shaming or whatever it is that people like ‘that guy’ get away with all the time. George told us that it ruined his day — but whether his day was ruined by the email exchange or the fact that he ended up sending the photo to the jerk isn’t entirely clear. Both, I’m sure, and I say that because this exact situation happens to me over and over. And every time, I feel manipulated, disrespected, and angry. Angry at myself, mostly, for not standing up for myself & my profession. After all, if a chef came to your party, would you expect him to cook for free? Why, then, is a photographer always expected to give away his/her livelihood for nothing — and, when a shooter requests money for doing, oh, their job, why do people make them feel horribly guilty for wanting to get paid for their work? The fact that Mr. Pimentel, a 20+-year veteran of this industry and one of the world’s most renowned celebrity photographers, goes through the same thing that I do is both reassuring and deeply disturbing. Because it appears as though I’m going to have a lot of ruined days ahead of me.
Another noteworthy part of the story: even though George sent him the photo for free, he never got a thank you. [And, sadly, that doesn’t surprise me one bit. After all, whenever I give in to an thoughtless client, I never get any gratitude either. But, at least my conscience is clear, right?]
On a more fun note, this spring, George’s work will be celebrated in a high end publication entitled One Shot: A Lifetime of Work by George Pimentel (Magenta Foundation). Glancing through a few of the images, what moved me 20 years ago continues to attract my eye — namely, the elegance, charm, and consideration that George’s lens brings to the controversial genre of celebrity photography. I hope the book includes his anecdotes as well because the man’s got a vault of fantastic stories and interesting perspectives.
