How to make Your Headshots Stand Out From The Crowd

If you take a good look at a few different casting shots you’ll notice one thing in common to all the good one’s (that’s the one’s that work and one’s you like). Almost magnetically you’ll be drawn towards the eyes.This is because they are the focal point of the whole shot, it’s not the ears nor is it the background.It’s the eyes.

As an actors headshot photographer in London it’s my opinion that they should always look straight into the camera.That’s right at the person who eventually looks at your headshot.Try to make a connection with the person that is looking at your headshot.The idea is to make a connection and impress the person looking at your headshot. This is essential for a great headshot and everyone needs a great headshot.This may seem obvious but there are many instances of actors looking off camera.If you look at some actor’s headshots you’ll see the actor focused on some mythical object miles away or gazing over the shoulder of the photographer leaving them with a blank lifeless look in their eyes. I’m deadly serious about this as it’s critical that there is some form of connection with the viewer.If you look at some shots you’ll see the actors looking over the shoulder of the photographer or even worse staring off into the distance with the kind of glazed eyes you’re more likely to see on a dead fish.

As your main calling card an actors headshot has to have impact. As your primary piece of visual marketing your headshot must have impact. Therefore we don’t want our eyes to be blank and lifeless, do we? We want your eyes to be looking directly into the lens, focused in the correct place, and much more importantly to have some depth of emotional content in them. It only has seconds to make the right impression; it’s crucial that your eyes are not blank and lifeless. Let’s make sure that whoever is looking at your shot see’s the fact that you’ve got depth to your personality. Picking the right headshot photographer is very important – in fact it is absolutely crucial.This is where picking the right headshot photographer is very important – to be precise it’s critical. If you’ve made the right choice of the actors headshot photographer, they will help you express the emotion that gives your eyes depth and content to your personality.
It’s much like a good director giving you inspiration and drawing out of you your very best performance.
Similar to a good director, inspiring and directing you to get your very best performance. Without these instructions and the confidence inspired by a good photographer some actors find it difficult to express the necessary emotions required.Over the years I’ve had many, many actors compare the way I work to that of a good director, which I’ve always found to be a fantastic compliment and has helped me build an enviable reputation in London.For years I’ve had many actors liken the way I shoot to that of a good director, in the way I encourage and draw out their personality.

I know lots of actors hate having their headshot done, they can’t stand the thought of peering into the lens, and it makes many, many actors uncomfortable.
This alone makes many actors unwilling to have an updated headshot done on a regular basis preferring to hold onto a good shot that maybe years out of date (this is something I’ll cover in another article). I’m aware that lots of actors pale at the very thought of having their headshot done, they find it challenging in an uncomfortable sort of way looking directly into the lens sometimes feeling as though they are ‘locking eyes’ with the photographer. I fully understand the many reasons why actors find having a new headshot done so difficult and luckily I have my own style and techniques for getting around this.Some actors feel awkward and worry about their minor imperfections and idiosyncrasies, but I have a way around this.

In plain English we’ve established that it’s all your preparation, if you give a little thought to how you can help your actors headshot photographer to get the very best out of your headshot session then you’ll benefit tremendously by having yours stand out and make an impact.So there we are. In plain language we’ve recognised, For more great tips get my free “7 Secrets Of A Great Headshot” click here 7 Secrets Of A Great Headshot

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