It is completely normal for actors to feel uneasy at the idea of a photo shoot. It’s odd, isn’t it? We’re happy to do any number of things that make us look foolish in front of large numbers of people, but ask us to act normal in front of a single person with a camera?
F-R-E-A-K O-U-T!!!
In order to capture your best headshots, you need to be as relaxed in front of the camera as you are on stage. And that, my friend, is all about having the right frame of mind.
Your headshot is not about you. Really.
Remember that this photo session is not about you, the person. Rather, it’s about the product you have to offer as an actor, your actor type. The two are very different. Your worth is not tied up in the roles you book. Your actor type is what is being photographed; that means that this photo session is about your customer. So, who is your customer?
Depending on your goals as an actor, your customers might include:
- College Admissions Panels
- Summer Intensive Selection Committees
- Directors
- Agents
- Casting Directors
- Marketing Executives
Did that last one throw you for a loop? Surprisingly, for many commercials, it is not someone in the industry who finalizes casting, it is the marketing folks at the company for which the ad is being made.
For example, if I want my headshot to speak to a college admissions director, what do I want it to look like? How do I want it to come across? What is important to that person?
Flip the internal script on what this photo needs to be.
The college admissions person needs a class of actors who are diverse in look.
I can’t control who is applying, or who is already at the school.
The college admissions person wants a class of actors who are excited to be at that school and doing that work.
I imagine my first day at my dream school.
Or, for a director…
The director for a play wants the best person for each role.
I know my actor type and I am ready to show up and do the work in the rehearsal room.
Make it a game. How can you turn every doubt or uneasy feeling into something you can do for the person who will be looking at your photo?
Do you see how you turning your headshot photo session around from being focused on you, to being focused on who you are taking the photos for, changes how empowered you are? You get to show how awesome you are, how smart your are.
DO YOU NEED NEW HEADSHOTS?
ARE YOU IN THE LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY, AREA?
I’m hosting a day of Quickshots, a series of 20-minute/1-look headshot sessions for $65, on February 28th. We will spend 20 minutes focused on your needs for a headshot, making sure we have at least one great look. You will receive all shots within 24 hours, and I will do light retouching on one photo, delivered within a week of our shoot. Reserve your spot today!