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If your headshot makes you look green, agents assume you can’t act.
[Los Angeles Headshot Photography by Vanie] Guest Blog by Sinclair Jones of 2nd Street Artist Management I recently had the pleasure of working with Sinclair Jones, who has built a successful career as a manager placing talent in shows like Prison Break, Law & Order, CSI, Southland, and a number of feature films. I was pleasantly surprised by what Sinclair had to say about the importance of quality when it came to headshots. I had learned from a SAG panel I attended that cheap headshots make an actor look green-- a sure deterrent from calling him in, but little did I realize agents also...
The number one headshot mistake
[Best Headshot Photographers by Vanie] Hey look at me and how pretty I am. That’s what I see in headshots over and over again. And over and over, agents ask actors to re-shoot their headshots. Why? Because though pretty, their headshots lack personality--it’s simple, really! Unless you're a model or one of the pretty people in town, you shouldn’t shoot pretty, because pretty won’t sell you when you walk in the door---your personality will. NOW, I'M NOT SAYING GO TAKE A SELFIE with your iPhone and post it on Actor’s Access. What I AM saying is to use a photographer that can light well, but...
How to alleviate your headshot anxiety
[Los Angeles Headshots by Vanie] Have you ever seen a friend’s headshot, fallen in love with the picture, asked who the photographer is, and made an appointment with that photographer, only to get mediocre results and worse yet, a bad experience? I hear that story frequently. I also get those phone calls myself, and I stop that potential client from making an appointment and insist on a consultation first. FOR ME, IT'S ABOUT SETTING EXPECTATIONS, communicating what the shoot will entail, and preparing myself for any unexpected requests to alleviate any surprises during the session. For you,...
“When you try to be everything to everyone, you accomplish being nothing to anyone.”
[Commercial and Theatrical Headshots by Vanie] “WHEN YOU TRY TO BE EVERYTHING TO EVERYONE, YOU ACCOMPLISH BEING NOTHING TO ANYONE.” I wish I could write like Bonnie Gillespie! That is a direct quote from one of her newsletters. If you’re an actor, and you’re not subscribed to Bonnie’s newsletter, you are missing out, so click HERE and subscribe! She’s a former actress, current casting director, blogger and contributor to a weekly column on Actor's Access called The Actors Voice. Her tagline is, “Living my dreams by helping others figure out how to live theirs”. It’s brilliant and describes...