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John Hryniuk: Celebrity Impersonators

Heidi: Where did this idea come from considering you don’t live near Hollywood?
John: The idea of photographing impersonators came from doing one on one portraits with real celebrities at the Toronto International Film Festival. Unfortunately you get about 3 minutes in a boring hotel room. You can’t really be very creative in that amount of time.

How much time do you typically get with them?
About five years ago I though it would be really interesting to photograph impersonators because they give you all the time you need. I thought if I had the real person in front of me how would I photograph them? The other great thing with impersonators is there usually are no cranky egos to deal with. They are pretty much willing to do anything you’d like except something that would portray the celebrity they’re impersonating in a bad light.

Are you shooting these while on other jobs?
No, every year I take time off to travel and shoot the projects I want to work on. There isn’t any pressure or expectations from art directors or clients. Its about having fun. I call it a working vacation. I discovered its really important as a professional photographer to work on your own personal projects. You have to make the time to shoot things for yourself otherwise you will burn out.

How do you choose the characters and where do you find them?
In terms of casting its easiest to attend their yearly conventions in Las Vegas and Florida etc. I usually choose the most realistic looking ones, here some of the places I’ve found people.

The Annual Celebrity Impersonators Convention Las Vegas , on linkedin,  you tube, another convention in Las Vegas

How long has this series been in play?
The series is still an ongoing project. I think I will probably search out individuals and attend a few more meetings before it will be complete. The impersonators all do this part time or full time for a living. Which makes it even more interesting for me. I don’t only love photographing people but also finding out all about them when I do. There is also something about photographing in the United States that find unique than any other place in the world. The culture lends itself well to this kind of project. It is very different from Toronto, Canada where I live as its much more conservative.

A few times while working on this project I felt like I was on a TV reality show. I asked the boy who was impersonating Elvis why he was doing it he hesitated for a moment and responded: “ Because my mom made me. “

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