What's in a headshot?
Actors and Performers need headshots, plain and simply. This is your resume, it is the first thing a Casting Director will look at, the first idea of who you are and who you can be to them. Amateurish shots, images that do not represent you, that do not convey the character you are going to play. Images taken by friends, or that look like they were. Busy backgrounds, brick walls, clouds, trees and skies. You have to ask yourself this simple question;
What are you selling?
If you are selling trees then by all means, be a spokesmodel and stand in front of them. if you are selling you, then you need to have a polished resume, not one done in crayon. You must be the focus, the only thing in the image. Are you the Girl Next Door, the Tough Guy, the Parent, Victim or Love Interest? What role are you going for and do you have an image to suit.
All the different faces, all the different characters. All the different roles you could be playing and the only thing that might be holding you back is a lack of images that truly sell you. Unless you only play a single type of character you need multiple headshots that you can have readily available for the role and character you want to play.
When I decided to get into headshot photography I did a very simple thing. I found out what Casting Directors in places like NYC were looking for in the images sent to them. While the easy answer is "A Good Picture", the reality is quite different. With hundreds of actors all vying for the same role, the easiest way to reduce the pile is to toss the pictures that are not professional.
The Corporate World is now a visible world. It is a world of social media, of business media, of public appearance. Long gone are the days of just your name on a shingle outside of your office. Now visitors to your websites expect to see who they are working with, who they are investing their time and money with.
Here is the one thing you will never see me present as part of your corporate image;
Cheesy, staged, fake work environment images. You know what I mean, you see them all the time.
Here is the boss looking thoughtful and insightful while holding a piece of paper and looking at the smiling underling. Here is a meeting that was just interrupted in mid laugh so that the photograph could be taken. These things never happen. No one leaps into your office and shoots off a picture as you are working. It's fake, it looks fake, it sets you up as being fake.
I want to present you as you really are, as you really want to be seen.
You are trustworthy, approachable, intelligent and capable. In short, you and your team are the sort of people smart people want to work with.
Absolutely you should have working images. Desks filled with productive staff, factory floors producing those goods we so desperately need. They should be real. They should be so real that a visitor would look, see the same sort of things happening and know you are the right one to trust.
Almost all of my images are my unedited, as shot photos. Now why on earth would I do that instead of showing the perfect, final product? Simply I want to show my dedication to one thing. Taking a good image the first time, not being sloppy, grabbing a picture knowing that later on I can edit it to death. Do it right the first time and the polishing becomes easy, the truth is already in the image.
Actors and Performers need headshots, plain and simply. This is your resume, it is the first thing a Casting Director will look at, the first idea of who you are and who you can be to them. Amateurish shots, images that do not represent you, that do not convey the character you are going to play. Images taken by friends, or that look like they were. Busy backgrounds, brick walls, clouds, trees and skies. You have to ask yourself this simple question;
What are you selling?
If you are selling trees then by all means, be a spokesmodel and stand in front of them. if you are selling you, then you need to have a polished resume, not one done in crayon. You must be the focus, the only thing in the image. Are you the Girl Next Door, the Tough Guy, the Parent, Victim or Love Interest? What role are you going for and do you have an image to suit.
All the different faces, all the different characters. All the different roles you could be playing and the only thing that might be holding you back is a lack of images that truly sell you. Unless you only play a single type of character you need multiple headshots that you can have readily available for the role and character you want to play.
When I decided to get into headshot photography I did a very simple thing. I found out what Casting Directors in places like NYC were looking for in the images sent to them. While the easy answer is "A Good Picture", the reality is quite different. With hundreds of actors all vying for the same role, the easiest way to reduce the pile is to toss the pictures that are not professional.
The Corporate World is now a visible world. It is a world of social media, of business media, of public appearance. Long gone are the days of just your name on a shingle outside of your office. Now visitors to your websites expect to see who they are working with, who they are investing their time and money with.
Here is the one thing you will never see me present as part of your corporate image;
Cheesy, staged, fake work environment images. You know what I mean, you see them all the time.
Here is the boss looking thoughtful and insightful while holding a piece of paper and looking at the smiling underling. Here is a meeting that was just interrupted in mid laugh so that the photograph could be taken. These things never happen. No one leaps into your office and shoots off a picture as you are working. It's fake, it looks fake, it sets you up as being fake.
I want to present you as you really are, as you really want to be seen.
You are trustworthy, approachable, intelligent and capable. In short, you and your team are the sort of people smart people want to work with.
Absolutely you should have working images. Desks filled with productive staff, factory floors producing those goods we so desperately need. They should be real. They should be so real that a visitor would look, see the same sort of things happening and know you are the right one to trust.
Almost all of my images are my unedited, as shot photos. Now why on earth would I do that instead of showing the perfect, final product? Simply I want to show my dedication to one thing. Taking a good image the first time, not being sloppy, grabbing a picture knowing that later on I can edit it to death. Do it right the first time and the polishing becomes easy, the truth is already in the image.
Black and White is not Dead.
Colour brings the world to life but there is still the desire to find the dramatic, the stronger imagery, darker shadows, that only black and white is able to bring out.
Working With Professionals.
Working with professionals in the industry, such as in this case, a Makeup and Fashion Expert, to produce promotional images. The many changes, the clothes, the styling, the pizza, the long hours and the definite "worth it" factor.
Getting to You, the real You
As I said, these are basically un-retouched photos. Look at the faces, the expressions. You can see the personality, feel the presence of them. You know who they are just by looking. Your headshot should be representing you, professionally, expertly and the first time. I could post only the perfected, touched up ones that are the best of the best. I post these to show that capturing you should be done right, from the first shot onward.
