With the Screen Actors Guild strive avoided, it is a great time to consider new headshots.
Speak with your talent agent or manager to see if you need them now. You can also look at the TVI Actors Studio Free Headshot Gallery online and see the top New York and Los Angeles Headshot Photographers.
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acting headshots, headshots, SAG
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Acting headshots are an actor’s calling card, so you want the best you can get. But finding a headshot photographer who meets your specific needs can be a time consuming and often expensive process.
Visit TVI Actors Studio where hundred’s of Acting Headshot Photographers exhibit their work. Updated daily.
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Talking with actors in both LA and New York, I keep hearing the same refrain: I can’t afford new headshots!
Times are tough, and actors have to pay for everything from classes, to gym memberships, to office supplies, and beyond… headshots are another item on the budget list, and high quality inexpensive headshots are hard to find.
Or are they?
While most photographers advertise and post their standard rates on their websites, most also have discounts available… but you may have to ask.
Check out my most recent post about inexpensive headshots. I would be curious to hear thoughts and feedback…
-N-
/// Coleman Photo/Graphix ///
Nick Coleman - Photography | Design | Graphics
nick[at]colemanphotographix.com
www.colemanphotographix.com
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I put a new post up on my website exploring what an actor would need to shoot his or her own headshots. There are definitely times when this would be acceptable (I’ll go over that in a future post), but this particular post covers what you would actually need in order to shoot a professional New York headshot.
-N-
/// Coleman Photo/Graphix ///
Nick Coleman - Photography | Design | Graphics
nick[at]colemanphotographix.com
www.colemanphotographix.com
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Headshot Blog is back, and set to be better than ever. We are now actively adding more photographers to the mix of contributors here on the site, and look forward to answering your questions about head shots, the photo session, and giving advice to anyone curious or confused about the headshot process.
Have a question? Send it in via the form on the right!
Talk soon,
-N-
/// Coleman Photo/Graphix ///
Nick Coleman - Photography | Design | Graphics
nick[at]colemanphotographix.com
www.colemanphotographix.com
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Today, as I was handing off retouching to a client and explaining the next step in the head shot process (namely, getting them printed at a reproduction lab), I found myself involved in a discussion on the finer points of paper selection.
Wait… don’t click away yet…
Your headshots can be printed on a few different types of paper–glossy, matte, luster (or pearl) to name a few; and then heavy-weight, photo-paper, and beyond. These descriptions are somewhat self-explanatory as far as what you’re getting in your final headshot prints, but have you thought about why those options are available?
In most circumstances, you want a luster finish. A glossy shot will reflect a lot of light, and most auditions I know of take place in less than ideal lighting conditions. How annoying is it to keep tilting a headshot this way and that to get a good look? A matte finish will look dull, as it won’t reflect much light at all (this can make the whites of your eyes look a bit dead, and your smile not as crisp and gleaming as you might like after spending a fortune on tooth whitening). The luster (or pearl) finish is somewhere right in the middle, and therefore a perfect choice.
The weight of the paper is a different story.
No, it’s not really referring to the gravitational pull of the paper towards terra-firma. Weight is the thickness/sturdiness of the paper.
Most photographic papers have a slightly glossy blank side, and the prints themselves are rather thin. These feel and look high-quality, but have you ever tried printing your resume on the back? If you’ve used an inkjet for this purpose… yuck. The ink slides off! You can use a laser printer to print the resume, but let’s come bak to that…
Heavy weight photo paper usually has a matte blank side, and feels thicker to the touch (like a light cardboard). It doesn’t have quite the same glossy, upscale feel as the typical photo paper but… wow! You can really print easily on that surface!
So which is better? It depends on your career…
Musical theater and theater performers attend a lot of open calls. The casting people at these sessions end up leaving with literally hundreds of head shots and resumes–most of them stapled (or glued) rather haphazardly together. It is quite easy for the two to become separated, and then how successful was your audition? Not very if you can’t be contacted. These performers can benefit a great deal from having the resume printed on the back (but don’t print more than a few at a time, otherwise you risk wasting a lot of headshots when you need to update your resume).
Television, film, and commercial actors have a different set of needs. These actors often audition for casting professionals who have to communicate with producers, directors, and associates on the other side of the country, and sometimes the world. When they see an actor they like, they will frequently need to send a headshot and resume to another decision maker. Believe it or not, they do this by fax. Yes, I know that email and scanned documents look great… but time is of the essence for these people and faxing is quick and efficient. Unless your resume is printed on the back of your headshot. Think about it… when you send a two sided page through a fax machine you have to either quickly flip the document over (and risk screwing up the fax) or first make a photocopy of the back side so you can send both sides through the machine. This is extra work for the casting director, and quickly gets old. How much easier is it to fax a headshot with a stapled on resume? Simply pop the two apart, stick it in the machine and walk away. Done.
There will always be exceptions… Theater people who prefer staples, Film and TV people who prefer prints… but do you prepare for the exception, or the predominant rule?
Break a leg!
-N-
/// Coleman Photo/Graphix ///
Nick Coleman - Photography | Design | Graphics
nick[at]colemanphotographix.com
www.colemanphotographix.com
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These are woeful days in the entertainment industry… with the WGA strike looming long, everyone is concerned about income… how long savings will last, when money will start coming in again… in a lot of ways, this time for performers resembles a stock market crash. Suddenly booming, then WHAMMY!
So how do you approach the sudden dearth in employment opportunities? Many actors will tend to hide… stop pursuing their acting career and spend more time at the (temp) office or the restaurant, saving pennies and waiting it out. But what many performers don’t realize is that this is a perfect time to TAKE ADVANTAGE of the situation.
The strike will end. Eventually. And when it does, who will be the more attractive candidate for all those network pilot auditions, the actor who spent the past months serving tables at the restaurant he works for, or the actor who put a few more classes under her belt, performed in an Off-Off Broadway play, and got brand new headshots to show off all that time she’s been spending in the gym?
It’s a no-brainer. Performers often put off a lot of those things because they don’t want to risk having to miss an important audition, or lose money because they had to choose an audition over preparing for a class, etc. Right now, you don’t have that problem!
Plus, casting directors are sitting around with, quite literally, next to NOTHING to do. They are using the time to see shows, cull their files of cruff, throw out old headshots, and call in new actors for general meetings. They’re still doing their work… are you?
So rather than bemoan the state of the industry, start making some progress. Use this time to play catch-up with actors who already HAVE new head shots, already HAVE that sitcom class under their belt.
It’s your time… use it wisely.
-N-
/// Coleman Photo/Graphix ///
Nick Coleman - Photography | Design | Graphics
nick[at]colemanphotographix.com
www.colemanphotographix.com
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How many times have you headed to an appointment, only to discover you’ve left the address at home. On your email. And now you don’t have access to a computer.
If you use Gmail, and you have a web-enabled phone, there’s a solution!
Gmail offers a free web-application that allows you to access your Gmail account on the go… which means you no longer have a reason to be late for your headshot appointment because you forgot to bring the address.
-N-
/// Coleman Photo/Graphix ///
Nick Coleman - Photography | Design | Graphics
nick[at]colemanphotographix.com
www.colemanphotographix.com
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While it isn’t often that I shoot outdoors, I will occasionally get a request from an actor to shoot a head shot session in the great wide open. Why not? Sun, clouds, warm weather, perfect!
Except not in October.
I can’t control the seasons people! Yes, global warming is making these early fall days feel more like summer afternoons, but for Pete’s sake don’t count on a clear day three months into October! If it DOES turn chilly you’ll end up with a runny nose, ruddy cheeks, and watery eyes. I suppose that might help you book a NyQuil commercial, but outside of that…
Don’t forget, Episodic Season is in full swing, and pilot season is just around the corner! Have a poorly advised outdoor headshot that needs updating? Now’s the time to fix it!
-N-
/// Coleman Photo/Graphix ///
Nick Coleman - Photography | Design | Graphics
nick[at]colemanphotographix.com
www.colemanphotographix.com
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When you’re having your headshots printed, you may find your reproduction house asking you what kind of paper you want to use. Traditionally, a headshot is printed on glossy photo paper, which has a somewhat glossy back (with a Kodak or Fuji watermark logo). In recent years, some photo reproduction houses have been offering a “heavy-weight” option–this is a new kind of paper with a matte finish.
So what’s the difference?
In the past, an actor had little choice but to print his/her resume, and then staple or glue the sheet to the head shot. With heavy-weight paper, you now have the ability to print right on the headshot! No more lost resumes!
Every casting director and agent has his/her own opinion on whether this is a good idea. Some people like that the resume is permanently attached, others prefer a stapled version which can be easily removed for faxing.
The only advantage to the heavy paper is the printing possibilities for your resume… it makes no quality difference for your photo.
-N-
/// Coleman Photo/Graphix ///
Nick Coleman - Photography | Design | Graphics
nick[at]colemanphotographix.com
www.colemanphotographix.com
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