I once had a conversation with a client who knew exactly what she wanted out of her headshot session… but said it wasn’t what she got.
Let me explain…
Lance Newton: Edgy Anti-Hero / Dylan McCollum: Gamer
Abigail Arnold-Ochs: Love Interest / Best Friend / Teacher
HOW DO YOU CONVINCE SOMEONE without an agent and without any experience, as in no credits on IMDB, that they don’t know what they don’t know? 🤔
My client had many grievances.
They ranged from what her makeup should and shouldn’t look like, to what the eyes are supposed to communicate— all of which, in her opinion, rendered her headshots useless.
Her lack of experience wouldn’t let her see that in order to be effective, her headshots were in fact what the industry demands they look like.
Zariah Holden – Kids Headshots: Disney Friend / The Bully / Studious
Danella Dutton: Urban Hip / Edgy Druggie-Criminal
Paul Braun: Upscale Business / Laurie Winchenbaugh: Student
As an example of how inexperience can misguide you, I want to focus on her idea about what a newscaster-host looks like.
She argued that a ‘real’ newscaster would wear her hair in a ponytail, because she herself did so as an investigative reporter 🕵️♀️ on an internet show.
While that may be true, based on our years of experience and constant research, we advised that she wear her hair down because no host on any major network or TV show wears a ponytail… major being the operative word here.
Because our goal is to get you auditioning for major paid TV work and not non-union internet jobs you get yourself without pro headshots.
Humberto Ramos: Blue Collar Worker / Edgy-Gangster, Thug
When graduating from free, low-paying, or non-union work to union, resume building, five-and-unders or guest-starring roles, it’s important to make the distinction between the two worlds.
The first is free, low-paying, or non-union for a reason. Everyone in the process involved, from top to bottom, is still learning and gaining experience, because production 🎬 doesn’t have the budget to hire pros with experience who demand high pay.
What does this mean for you?
It means often times (among other things), casting isn’t strong.
It means a 20-something year old may get cast as a CEO (I once had a twenty-something client ask me for a CEO shot based on her “experience”).
Rita Sever (clockwise from top left): Creative Professional / Upscale Love Interest / Girls’ Night Out
ON A MAJOR SHOW with any sort of a budget behind it, like on “The Morning Show” with Reese Witherspoon and Jennifer Aniston, a host will never 🙅♀️ be seen wearing a ponytail…except on the field.
And on a major show with any sort of budget, it’s unlikely a 20-year old would be cast as a CEO.
Zeus Oira: Gamer / Casual (BBQ) Dad
Janice Muller: BBQ Mom / Fitness / Heroine
Ryan Cortelyou: Office guy / Harris Solomon: Edgy Rebellious Teen
If your goal with pro headshots is to break out of the world of free, low- paying, or non-union jobs, you can’t keep doing what you’ve been doing in that world.
Your research should be based on where you want to go, NOT where you’ve been.
Anne-Cécile Bégot: Girls’ Night Out / Best Friend
Amanda Berning: Office Girl / Love Interest / Blue Collar
It’s important your character isn’t ‘real life’ as much as it is a stereotype. The stereotypical host wears her hair down. 💁♀️
In the end, it’s important to trust the professionals with experience and recognize it’s easy to be misguided by your own experience, or shall we say, lack of it?
Let me know in the comments below if by lack of experience, something you thought you knew but in fact didn’t know, led to the wrong headshot decision!
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I love helping you by putting out this free information (often written on weekends and evenings) so please help me spread the word by commenting and or sharing this post on your social feed! 🙏
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