Blog - Posts tagged ‘photo’
Whatever photo you chose to use from a photo session will need enhancing slightly, this could be anything from removing blemishes and loose fly-away hairs to colour and contrast balancing, and even more drastic edits – but beware…
The power of digital photo editing is immense, whatever you can imagine is possible, just look at the dove beauty commercial that was released to show how advertisers manipulate images, but is manipulation a positive thing or not?
Headshots must be natural, you need to look like yourself when you walk in the audition, if you want a thinner nose, there is no good making it thinner on a photo if you don’t look like that normally (same goes for ears, eyes, foreheads, lips, cheeks and double chins I’m afraid!)
Some photographers re-touch photos more than others, when people were solely shooting on film and working with prints, any touch-ups needed to be done very scientifically in the development stages, now, with the use of digital computer technology, all photographers have access to some kind of photo software, but it’s how they use it that’s important.
Probably the most important aspect of post-production is colour and contrast balancing (that, and zit removal, no one wants to stare at those) just by adjusting the contrast slightly on your photo, you can enhance the whole feel of it.
Try to avoid ‘the washed out look’, a lot of photographers, especially working in black and White can over expose photos slightly to blow out the skin and therefore make it look smoother.
I very rarely ‘airbrush’ anyone’s skin on headshots, as on the right hand photo below, with the quality of digital being such high definition, you can tell instantly and it looks plastic, great for beauty product advertising, but not so much when people want to see your real skin tone.
Be specific. When selecting your photos to be edited, let your photographer know any issues that you may have, you may end up having to spend more money getting them done again of you don’t.
Be realistic. You need to accept your image for what it is, refining, tweaking and beautifying photos is fine, but if you are using your images for self promotion, keep it real.
Great portfolio session last week with actress and dancer Laura Louise Wells, It was a really enjoyable afternoon and the images we got are great… Thanks Laura!
I was honoured to be commissioned by Christine Croshaw to take her portrait last year. Christine is a distinguished pianist and celebrated professor at Trinity College of Music, London. She has won numerous awards for her playing, and has had a successful career as a recording artist and solo pianist.
You can find out more about Christine HERE.
Some shots from a shoot last year with fantastic singer-songwriter Nikki Rogers for her new album Once In A While. We shot out on Location in Kennington, South London and also in the freezing cold and snow in West London, Nicki is a true professional, and great to work with so we still managed to capture some stunning shots. You can listen and buy the album HERE and find out more about Nicki Rogers HERE
Here is a selection of headshots from this week, from left to right: Melissa Green, Christopher Dixon, Charlotte Sutherland, Nikki Bentley, Jaz Deol and Leanne Verey, a really great mix of people and a very fun week. Thanks guys!
Had a fantastic shoot today for changeling theatre companies new poster, for their summer tour of Merry Wives of Windsor. The theme was 50′s house wives, and our model was Louisa Quinn. We shot the whole thing on white and although we only needed the one image, we ended up with about 15 great shots that we could use.
Here is the poster courtesy of Michael Yeowell at Blue Rabbit Creative (www.bluerabbitcreative.co.uk) who did an excellent job creating it and i’m sure will be using more of the images for various publicity leading up to the show next summer.
The changeling theatre companies tour will be taking place summer 2010 all over southeast England, for more information visit www.thechangeling.co.uk
One of the most common questions I get asked during a photo session is what makes a good headshot? It’s a fair question too, think how much you judge people on first impressions, your headshot is the first meeting, within a nano-second the casting director, agent or general employer will have made a judgement on you that most of he time will result in you getting a phonecall or being placed in the bin.
A friend of mine used to assist a very well known TV casting director, and her sole job each morning was to open the pile of 30-40 A4 sized envelopes and bin the contents (alas, the 10×8 sized headshot print has been wiped out nearly entirely by digital copies, but I imagine the email inbox gets the same treatment. ) she would occassionally be given briefs of certain looks to keep an eye out for, and that is when the headshot that stood out caught her eye.
This is not to say that every casting director does that, you have to remember that they are busy people who seek to find the right actor rather than have it thrust upon them, but that’s not to say the right photo can’t convince them to call you in for a meeting because they are intrigued.
Your headshot has to be real. The real you, but this doesn’t mean it can’t have a bit of character, one common misunderstanding is that you must have neutral actor photos, why? At what point in your life do you walk around in a neutral actor way?
You go through a whole range of emotions from minute to minute each day, happy to sad, angry to calm, energetic to lethargic… Those are just some of the extremes, I could go on, but the point is that humans are capable of so many different emotions, why should you not show some in your casting shot?
I’m not talking about tears and big grins, 97.56% of a headshot is all about the eyes, conveying a range of emotions through your eyes is not an easy thing to do, it takes focus, concentration and forethought, but it’s also about being relaxed with your photographer.
But where can i find a good photographer? You need to find a photographer that you are happy with, that you can relate to in some way and build a relationship with, you wouldn’t expect to do a performance opposite another actor who you don’t know and are unsure of, feel free to ask questions and take advice from friends and colleagues.
I personally don’t even click the shutter on my camera till I have built up a rapport with my client over a cup of tea, for me, being a photographer is not about churning through clients, it’s about taking time to relate to each person and capture a photo that will deliver for them.
