Actor Headshots, Model Portfolios & Portraits For Any Purpose. Travels nationally often.
Canon EOS D30
In 2001, I bought my first DSLR — a Canon D30.
With a whopping 3 megapixel resolution, interchangeable lenses, and the ability to shoot more than 24 photos at a time (without having to go get them exposed at the local retailer), that camera taught me so much about photography.
Canon EOS Kiss (Film)
Fraser Island Sunset. Australia 1994. This represents the first long exposure photograph I ever took. In film, no less! Maybe this is when I fell in love with silhouette photography, too?
This was taken after an adventure-filled day exploring the world’s largest sand island via a 4×4 jeep — which was even more exciting sitting on the “wrong” side of the vehicle and having to use the stick shift with my left hand.
The person in the photo is an American student friend I made and traveled up the east coast with during my last 2 weeks in this incredible country.
It was an amazing adventure. Can’t wait to go back.
Canon EOS Kiss (Film)
Another pic from the first series of photos I took with my fancy Canon film camera in the weeks following my arrival in Brisbane, Australia in 1994.
Canon EOS Kiss (Film)
I bought my first film camera in the fall of 1993 in anticipation of a trip to Australia in 1994. It was a Canon EOS KISS (film camera). And the beginning of a 25-year history with Canon before I transitioned to Sony in 2019.
This is one of the first pics I took after my arrival in Brisbane.
I didn’t know I wanted to be a photographer then, I just knew I enjoyed taking pictures. And I loved having something to look at to remember things I’d seen and experienced.
It wouldn’t be until 10 years later that I’d get into it professionally.
A headshot is, in most cases, an 8″x10″ photo taken of a model or actor. A headshot commonly encompasses a subject’s head and shoulders, with the focus being almost completely on the subject’s face. However, some “headshots” can often include as much as 3/4 of the subject’s body (called a “three quarter” shot).
If you’re an actor wishing to audition for roles, headshots are an absolutely necessary part of the process.
An 8″x10″ headshot is essentially “a business card for actors” which is presented to casting directors who decide whether a person has the right “look” for a particular part for a role in a movie, tv show, or theatrical part. It is not a “glamour shot”.
A good headshot is intended to market a person “as they are” (you should look your age, for example), but in as positive light as possible, accentuating the subject’s best qualities. A good headshot will often provide the viewer with a glimpse into the person’s character, or show their potential for a particular role a casting director is looking to fill.
Some photographer may claim that their headshots will get you work, but this isn’t entirely true. A good headshots can help you get your foot in the door and called in for an audition, but it won’t get you hired if you can’t follow it up with your acting chops.
A headshot is almost 100{dcffd43726133daeb6db98a6264148e9655107ea582a8464768083791b383b96} of the time the absolute only thing a casting director has to judge you by. And if your headshot isn’t good and grab their attention in about 1/2 of a second, you’ll get passed over without a second chance or a second thought.