After a number of years in this business, which will go undisclosed, I feel comfortable saying it doesn't matter who you go to for headshots, if you don't bring yourself to the picture, you won't get "the shot." But what the hell does that mean?
It means that your headshot should capture your eyes, show something going on behind your eyes, and completely look like you. Not some character you think you should be playing, just you. And with all I know and thought I knew about headshots, I was more than enlightened when I watched this SAG Foundation video, "Your Headshot From Every Angle," taped earlier this month.
Guests included casting directors Stuart Stone, Marci Liroff, and Geralyn Flood and photographers Sara Corwin, Alan Weissman, and Kevin Major Howard. Among many other things, I learned that Sara Corwin is really defensive about her high prices and Kevyn Major Howard might be slightly off-balance and/or an evangelist.
Bottom line, if you're an actor, it's totally worth it to see what they're saying.
Last week I said to my boss, who is, well... older than me (could maybe be my mom), "Hey look, we have almost the same shoes on!" To which she responded, "Aren't you a little young for that?" I looked down at the brown mary jane- style flats I'd bought at Ross. Point well taken. I'm starting to have the style of a middle aged teacher. That's not so good.
Then there's the issue of what my agents keep saying about my headshots. "We want to see something more hip, contemporary. A more modern hairstyle."
Message received. I need a new hairstyle and if possible, a stylist.
Operation makeover! Stay tuned!!
