This past weekend I had the good fortune to do some actress headshots. I enjoy this type of photography as it guarantees two things:
1) I will be working with an artist.
2) I will be working with an artist who takes their craft seriously enough to consult a professional with this aspect of their career.
I enjoy working with other artists, even if they aren’t photographers. I usually pull inspiration for other ideas just being around them. I don’t fully understand what is going on there but that’s just what happens.
All that stated, actor headshots can’t just be done at random. If you have never done them before, then I highly recommend you do a lot of research into them before you try. The end results are for the casting director and your client needs that photo to jump out from all the other headshots the casting director is looking at. But it also has other parameters too, for example it must be a good representation of the actor or actress being portrayed without any of the usual photographer tricks. What the casting director sees is what the casting director wants when that person shows up, so no massive photo processing or edits.
Meanwhile, you must be able to pose the person in front of your camera with all those parameters in mind. Again, research is important, and I’d even go so far to say that you want to talk to some casting directors and ask what they are looking for. Remember, this is a process and there are various people along the way so taking the time to understand the process and the people involved will really help you give your clients the work they deserve and possibly the work that will get their foot through the door.
So, what I do for actor headshots is 2-fold: locations and poses. If the client has a location in mind, then I will work several areas in that location, so they get a variety of backgrounds. You would be surprised how much you can change the background by just moving 10 or 20 feet. I also try to throw in a portable studio setup just to get them that studio shot. If the client doesn’t have any locations in mind then I use a park I am familiar with (I am familiar with quite a few parks in Anne Arundel county, we got awesome parks). Likewise, if the client has looks they specifically need then I work with that, otherwise I go with “smiling” and “theatrical serious” and then a few others as the session goes on to give them options to match the part they are trying for.
But like I already stated, research is key as there are lots of small parts involved here that you need to understand.