Knowing your type can be the difference of working in the film and television industry or not. Many new actors have a hard time with the concept of finding their type for headshots. But its pretty simple, take a look at this guy, what type of role could he play? I would say your garden variety bad guy. Bad guys need love to, or should I say bad guys get roles too. The character should come through very natural, and not over done. Characters are not just bad guys, how about nerds, business guy or gal, moms, grandfathers or grandmothers, you get the idea, everyone in our lives is a character. Who are you! 

How about image number two, what do you think is he a little over the top or is her right on target? Let me know your thoughts.

 Personality is more important than perfect headshot. What! did I just say that out loud? OK, I did say it, but it's true, personality in your headshot  is more important than a perfect headshot. That casting director isn't a photographer teacher he or she is not grading your picture on the technical aspects of your image. But they are trying to find an actor, and actors need to have personality, and it is important for it to show in your headshots. 
 As a photographer my job is to try and get that personality out of you! How I do it is top secret and I can only tell you if you have a CIA clearance. OK, you don't? I guess I will have to trust you not to tell anyone...If I see this anywhere on the internet I will know it was you that told, and I will send my highly trained attack cat to your house, she has a special talent of ripping off you window screen when you don't feed her. This is the secret part ("secret...Make your client feel comfortable and their personality will come out on its own, a couple ways I do this is with my winning personality, music, candy, you get the picture...secret end)  
 If your headshot has you down because your not getting noticed the way you know it should, Its time to turn that frown upside down and add some real personality to your Los Angeles headshots. You want to be one of those people who's phone won't stop ringing not one the phone never rings.

Here we are in a New Year were does the time go? One minute  it's January 2013 next thing ya know it's January 2014. Well Happy belated 2014! 

So now you have taken that amazing acting headshot and you're ready to print but the photographer took the headshot in the landscape orientation. Oh Oh! What do you do? Have it printed in landscape or crop to the portrait orientation? Your acting coach says "dont print in landscape you kill yourseeeeeelf!" Maybe she didn't say you'll kill yourself but it was something close to that. So do you take her advice and crop and print in portrait style. Was that wrong? Should you have done it in landscape? The answer is either is fine, currently there are tons of modern photographers capturing and printing acting headshots in landscape, as well as tons of old school photogs capturing actor headshot in portrait. So what does this all mean, are the casting directors getting confused and setting fire to the landscape shots? No, remember the casting director has a job to do if the shot is a shot of an actor that they are looking to cast, they are not saying man if this guy would have printed in portrait I would have given him the job, but because this headshot is in landscape I hate it! "and were is my lighter" My belief is like many things in photography it can be very subjective. My advice would be get the best shot of yourself with a quality photographer, and the rest will take care of itself.





written by Kerry James 

To sum it all up, character actor headshots can be a great asset to up and coming actors and it can open up multiple marketing avenues for their agents and their careers. 

Kerry James

How much should I pay for headshots in Los Angeles? That is the question, in today's competitive economy, and not to mention the difficult economic times we are living in. Price can become the key and most important part of how you will decide where to get your headshots. Which makes perfect sense right? Ok lets focus in on that idea. You want to change your life with an Acting, or Modeling career, and your trying to do it by find the most cost effective way. Let see its kinda like racing in the Indy 500 but your car is the cheapest most cost effective slow maybe won't make it to the finish line, heap of metal in the race, and your wondering why didn't I win. So does that mean pop the top off your budget and shoot for the stars. Not exactly, what I mean is its time to get to work and do as much research as possible, find out what are you getting in the headshot package, first and foremost can the photographer you choose actually light properly and is actually a real photographer. Your eighteen year old cousin Timmy who took a class in high school that one summer, probably shouldn't be your first choice, he just sounds good to you wallet. After you have figured out that the photographer is real, and has quality work, the next question is, what does that package include retouched images, how many looks, studio, prints, reshoots if needed, the list goes on and on. Now lets cut to the chase, how much should you pay for Actor headshots in Los Angeles? I think of it in three tiers, tier one your cousin Timmy $50-$100, poor work. Tier two which is the mid range $200-$500 good to excellent work. Tier three top range $600-$1000 these guys have developed name recognition that carry top end pricing good to excellent work. 

My conclusion to How much should I pay for headshots in Los Angeles? is if your starting out or if your a seasoned veteran, look to the mid range guys and find someone you can connect with, that have a package that fits your needs, and that will be your guy, he or she will help bring out the best in you, which will translate into work for you. Don't let price be the barrier between you and getting work. Remember like the Indy 500 use smarts and research to get to the top 3 and enter the winners circle. Use Timmy and you will be at the back of the pack forever.

    When searching online for tips on how to get the most out of an actor headshot session, mostly what I found was where the actor should go, who's the best, who's the most expensive, who's is the best for the least amount of money and the number one result was for the photographer on how to take the perfect headshot. But what about some information for the hundreds or thousands of new actor talent, and hopefuls that knock on the grand doors of Hollywood every year looking to make their mark in the fabled city. 
    Many young actors do their best to prepare by asking fellow actors from their acting classes, researching tirelessly to find a talented photographer, and  others are lucky enough to just have a look or be that shining talent that casting directors just can't say no to. However, for those just starting out, these next few points may help during the process of achieving a great headshot.

1. When you are finally in front of the camera, don't let nerves take over, and remember this is not like any other image you have taken before. Go into your character, this image needs to show personality. The best way to achieve this is to think about the character you would like to portray. Once you have it in your mind it will translate to your expressions.
2. Do your homework, make sure the photographer takes headshots of people like you, and that he does them very well. Also look for personality in the images.
3. Meet or call the photographer before the shoot to make sure, you and she or he has a good working chemistry. You can tell if a photographer is passionate about their work in five minutes, if you don't feel their passion or their quality of work is lacking, find someone else.
4. When posing one goal is to show a strong straight jaw and neck line. The photographer should be able to assist with this, but you can practice at home in the mirror by posing with your chin down and leaning slightly forward toward the mirror, also play with the angles of your face. With a little practice you can make your headshot shine.
5. Lastly, this one may sound silly, but trust me it is the most important. Be prepared, put as much effort into getting your headshot right as possible, because it is your calling card and the right actor headshot can take you from the idea of being an actor to actually being a great or actively work actor.

One of the most asked question I get as a Los Angeles headshot photographer is "what color should I wear for my headshots." It's a very good question and also one that has an answer that has changed from time to time, place to place and headshot to headshot. I could give you the regular run down blue, grey no whites, and blah, blah, blah. Before I get to far into the weeds, let me say I still believe that you should wear lighter brighter colors for commercial and darker items for more dramatic theatrical looks or character looks. But come on people we are creatives, lets break some rules. Try it! Break one, I promise you will love the feeling. Actors, and photographers we are all living in a world filled with creativity,  and Yes, it comes with it's praise and a ton of criticisms, but when someone breaks a rule and stands out of the crowd, some may call him great, ahead of his time, or genius in his field, but in reality he is just a rule breaker  who has decided to follow his creativity and leave behind the crowd with the rule books.  Something to think about, money, rules, guidelines deadlines or art, creativity, passion, love, ambition, motivation. So here I find myself in the weeds. "what color should I wear for my headshots." Answer, keep it simple, bring your favorite tops, shirts, and more than one. We will sort through them, and guess what in your favorite shirt you will feel like a million bucks, and your image will feel like that too.

Fast Tip...
This video with Liz Fuller has some great pointers to how to arrange your headshot in your portfolio, and how to figure out what type of headshot you need to take for you style and career. Great quick information, Kerry James Photography