Transcripts
1. Introduction: As an actor, your headshot is the first thing that agents and casting directors will see, and your best chance to
get seen for castings. But far from being a simple
head and shoulders picture, an actor's headshot is actually
a very finely tuned piece of marketing material that
needs to be just right. Getting them wrong can cost us valuable time and money
when we are starting out. Welcome to this class on getting an outstanding actor's headshot. My name is Ed, and I have been a professional actor
for over 10 years. In that time, I've performed
on stages around the UK, Europe, and the United States. I've starred in award-winning
films, TV commercials, and voice-over, and I've also worked as a
professional model, being published in Vogue
and of course worked with many photographers on
both commercial shoots and in my own headshot sessions. In this class I'll be teaching
you everything that you need to know about
headshots as an actor, I'm walking you through a
step-by-step process to going out and getting your
own outstanding headshots, including understanding what separates an
amateur headshot from an expert one and how to stand out in a
crowded marketplace. How to find the
right photographer, decide on specific
looks that you want, and then be fully prepared for your first headshot session. How to feel relaxed and confident in front of
the camera by using some top secret
modeling techniques to capture your very best looks. Finally, how to choose powerful professional
headshots that will really attract agents
and casting directors. I'll also be sharing
some practical tips like how much to pay, what to wear, and basically everything that I wish someone
would have told me. If you're an aspiring actor, then headshots are one of the first things that
you are going to need. By the end of this class, you'll be ready to go out and get shots that will help you to stand out from the competition
and launch your career. One thing to note
before we begin is that in order to get
the right headshots, it is important to understand
your casting type. If you're not sure what
you're casting type is, then as well as this class, I'd highly recommend
checking out my other class here
on Skillshare, called finding your
authentic casting type, which ties in really
well with this one. Other than that though, we
are all ready to begin, so let's dive in
and get started. [MUSIC]
2. Project Intro: The aim of this class is to
walk you through each step of the process of getting
standout headshots, from understanding what
to look for to choosing a photographer and having
a successful shoot. But more than just
listening and learning, I really want you
to apply what we learn by taking action. Our class project is
going to be very simple. I'd like you to follow
along with each of the steps that we go through
during today's class, and then share your
progress with me in the project and
discussion tab, I'll invite you to
share details about any headshot
photographers you found, the types of look that you want, and even the actual headshots
that you end up getting. Doing this gives you
an opportunity to get extra feedback about
your decisions, to ask any further questions
that you might have, and crucially, to help you stay accountable to taking action. Right now, there is
nothing that you need to do other than be ready to learn. But as we go through the class, I'll remind you at
key points to share any progress that you've
made and keep me updated. But that said, let's jump into the first lesson where we're
going to answer some of the most common questions that actors have about headshots. See you in the next lesson.
3. Common Headshot Questions: [MUSIC] In this lesson,
we're going to answer some common headshot
questions to make sure that you are
completely clued up on everything you need
to know as an actor. We'll start with
some of the basics, and then get into more
of the finer details. But for now, let's start
with a simple definition. A headshot is a professional
photograph which is used to market
yourself as an actor. We use our headshots on all of our main casting profiles, so things like Spotlight,
Casting Networks, Casting Call Pro, StarNow, and so on, as well as emailing them
directly to agents and casting directors and other
industry professionals. Once you have an agent, they will use your
headshot to directly submit you for other castings. I should also clarify that
an actor's headshot is never a selfie or a DIY picture. Plenty of actors do try to take a headshot of themselves, but honestly, agents and casting directors will
spot this a mile away. If you want to
look professional, always use a professional
photographer. If you've ever been on LinkedIn, you'll notice that all
types of professionals will use headshots to promote
themselves online. But a lot more goes into
an actor's headshot, because it plays a much more
active role in our career. Whereas a standard corporate
headshot is just there to show someone smiling and
looking professional, an actor's headshot has to
convey much more about you. It needs to give people an accurate portrayal
of your appearance, it needs to give them a flavor
of your personality and an exciting glimpse
into the types of roles and characters
you could play. All professional
acting headshots follow some basic rules. They are generally kept
to being portraits, although occasionally they
are done in landscape to show how you would
look in film and TV, they can also be either full
color or black and white. Although honestly my
personal recommendation here would be to
always use full color, as it gives a better
representation of how you look and it's pretty much
the industry standard. Now, there's only
ever you in the shot. Definitely no friends, no pets, no props, nothing that
distracts from you. Some photographers will use an interesting background to make the headshot stand out, but in general, all of
the attention needs to be only on one
thing, your face. Now another rule
is that you should always be looking straight down the lens rather than
off to either side. They do say that the eyes
are the windows to the soul and looking right down
the lens ensures that anyone watching your
headshot gets to see right into your eyes and connect with you
and your picture. Actors will usually
have a set of 3-5 headshots that each give
a slightly different look. Let's use my current
headshots, as an example. As standard you'll want to
have your main headshot, which gives an authentic and
real portrayal of you and usually lends itself
to castings for film, TV, and theater. This is also sometimes called
your dramatic headshot. I chose this one
as my main shot, as it gives a very
natural look and has a broad appeal across
different roles. Next step is your
commercial headshot. This is going to
be a nice, bright, warm picture which
will be used for, you guessed it,
commercial castings. Here you can see I'm smiling, and I'm looking nice and
friendly. As well as this. Most actors will also have
a few other images that highlight specific casting
types that they're aiming at. For instance, I chose this one specifically for period roles. This one for more of an
edgier dramatic look, may be good for a crime drama. Finally, a more
neutral everyday shot, which could be suited
for a boyfriend or a guy next door or
that kind of thing. While two headshots will
cover your basics, in total, my personal suggestion
would be for five to cover your main
or dramatic headshot, your commercial headshot, and then three
other options which highlight specific
casting types or genres. Again, if you're not fully
sure what you're casting type is or even what that means, then in very simple
terms it is the type of roles which you are most
naturally suited to playing. If you've already done
my other class on Finding Your Authentic
Casting Type, then by now you should have a great idea of
what specific roles you will be suited to and what type of headshots to
therefore aim at. Again, this is so important for marketing yourself
effectively in the industry and not
wasting your time and money on getting
the wrong shots. Check out the other class,
if you need further help. Let's wrap up all of this
with a brief summary. Headshots are professional
images that we use as actors to market ourselves
and submit for castings. They all follow certain
professional standards and focus on getting across
your authentic appearance, personality, and casting types. Ideally, we'll have a range of shots showing our
different looks. Now that we've
covered the basics, in the next lesson I want
to dive into some of the finer details
and show you what makes a truly
outstanding headshot by looking at some of
the very best examples. These are going to give you
a brilliant benchmark when it comes to choosing your
own headshots later on. Let's jump into the next
lesson and take a look. [MUSIC]
4. What Makes Outstanding Headshots: It takes only seven
seconds from meeting someone to develop a
first impression of them. But when it comes to
casting directors viewing our head shot, they have even less
time than that. That's because casting
directors often have literally hundreds of actors that are
submitted for any role. In order to thin out the numbers and speed up the process, they will do a quick scan of all the head-shots
and profiles to immediately get rid of any people who they
don't immediately like. What does all this mean? Well, if you want to be
seen for auditions, you need a head-shot that
stands out from the crowd. In this lesson, we're
going to analyze some real-life
examples to show you exactly what separates the good from the outstanding.
Let's take a look. The first thing we're
going to look at is the technical aspects
of the head-shot. This includes things
like the lighting, the background, and
the composition. Now, all of these
things are really down to the skill of
the photographer. But as actors, we want to
understand these things as well so that we know
what we're looking for. Let's look at some examples. This is a beautiful
head-shot which has been taken outside using
natural light. The actresses face has been really perfectly
framed and we get this lovely green blur behind
her from the background. Notice as well that although her face is really
well lit and bright, it's not being overexposed. In other words, we can still
see all the detail and texture of her face and
the lighting is balanced. This head-shot appears to
have been done in a studio. We are indoors and we're
using artificial lights. One thing you'll
notice is that in all the head-shots
that we'll look at, they will either be shot
using natural light, usually outside, or
artificial light, which is usually in a studio. Both of these options are great, usually comes down to the
preference of the photographer, what the weather
is like outside, or whether you have a
particular preference yourself. This shot has been
done in such a way to give a more dramatic look. The neutral background that's
been used keeps all of our attention
squarely on his eyes. Notice too interestingly, that the top of his
head has even been lit. Somebody can see as
hair. This gives us a really 3D image rather
than a flat image. Sometimes it can be a giveaway that the
shot isn't a fully professional if it looks more flat because it hasn't been
lit all around the actor. So imagine you're a casting
director or an agent staring at hundreds and hundreds of head-shots every single day, they all start to look the same. So part of having a
head-shot that stands out is having something that's
a little bit different. Let's take a look at
some more examples of how this can be done. So this head-shot is a great
example of using light and shadow in the background
to add interest. The shades create
what looks like a doorway or an opening
at the side of them. It's interesting and
it lets our mind start to imagine where this was, and what setting it
was taking place in. It adds a bit of
context to the shot, but without being too much to be distracting
from the actor. Now we get a similar
use of light and shadow in this head-shot, but also an example
of depth of field. This is a photography term that refers to the
background becoming blurred while the subject
remains in crisp focus. As we can see in this shot, the background of the shot is stretching out behind
him into the distance, whilst he remains
really clearly focused. This is a great way to
make your head-shot really pop out and
capture attention. Now at the height of
any scene in a movie, when the character is having their most emotional moment, where does the camera
go? That's right. It goes straight to
the eyes, of course. The windows to our soul. Now the eyes more
than anything else, convey our emotions. In head-shots, just
as in film scenes, there has to be, as they say, something going on
behind the eyes. You don't want your
head-shot to look like you're just posing for the camera or smiling vacantly. There needs to be something
that captivates whoever sees it and gets them wondering
about what you were thinking. So it's for this reason that a good head-shot
photographer really focuses on capturing
the eyes specifically. As actors, we can help them
do this by genuinely having a thought of an intention while
we're being photographed. Now, we're going to touch
on this again later on. But for now, let's look at some examples to
see this in action. Here's a great example of
having a powerful gaze. Looking at this, you
get the feeling that this actor is staring
right into your soul. It's hard to pinpoint
exactly what he's thinking, but you definitely
know that there is something that is going
on behind the eyes. This is another beautiful
head-shot which again, really does a wonderful
job of capturing eyes that are full of life
and full of authenticity. The eyes, like I said before, are the centerpiece of
any actor's head-shot, and a good
photographer will know exactly how to make them shine. So it's these three factors
that really separate a good head-shot from one
that is truly outstanding. The technical aspects,
which includes lighting, and composition, and things that the photographer
will take care of. The originality and
interest of the shot, which makes it stand out, and most importantly of all, the authenticity,
the personality, and the life that is captured
mostly through our eyes. Understanding this is
going to make our jobs much easier in the
next lesson when we're going to be looking at how
to actually go out and find a head-shot photographer
that we want to work with. So take a minute to gather your thoughts and
once you're ready, I will see you in
the next lesson. [MUSIC]
5. Finding a Photographer: Welcome back. In this lesson, we're going to walk through
the process of actually finding a headshot
photographer to work with. Now remember, we are not
looking for a friend with a camera or even a
normal photographer, we're looking for a specific actor's headshot photographer, someone who really niches
into this particular thing. I think the best
way to teach you this is by actually showing you my process and how I
would go about doing this. Let's jump onto the computer
and begin our search. All right guys, let's start
our search by specifying for an actors specific
headshot photographer so that we definitely
get the right person. Now I'm here in Manchester, so I'll search here as if
I was doing that for real. Here we go. Let's look
at what we've got. The first person
to come up here is David John Headshots.
Let's take a look. Immediately when you arrive on an actors headshot
photographer website, you should always
see their portfolio of previous pictures. This is obviously a great
place to start to give you an idea of their style, the looks that they go for, and the work that
they've already done. We can see here that a lot of these have been
done in a studio. We can see the background there. But also there are a few people who have
been shot outside, so from that we can infer that this particular
photographer does both indoors and outdoor shoots, which is great if you
have either preference. Now what we see one good
thing about being outdoors, like you see here is
that nice soft lighting , whereas indoors, you get a bit more
of a high contrast between the light and
the shade, but again, this is only really something which is a
personal preference, there's definitely no
real right or wrong. What I would do here is I'd
be having a scroll down, looking at all the
different headshots, really trying to get a feel for this particular
photographer's style and how they like to shoot. Usually you can start to see
some themes coming through. Let's just check
out the prices now. Here we go. For the Manchester
location it's £160. The important part is what are you getting for that price. Here we have four edited
finished headshots, extra images at £10 each, so of course, if
you do want more, I obviously recommend five, you can buy them separately, and that's going to be
around 90 minutes off time. This is a fairly
standard type of package that you definitely
get here in the UK. Interestingly here, you can see straightaway, London location, he's having to charge a different amount
simply because the price of studios of spaces in London
is more than Manchester, and that's the same thing that happens all around the world, that's why location
is so important. Let's jump back into
the Google Search and look at another
photographer. Let's see who we've got here. Let's look at Tony Blake. Now full disclosure guys, Tony Blake is where I got my own headshots done recently, so I know Tony personally. I've actually been to
him a couple of times and I obviously really
like what he does. Straightaway here
on Tony's website, you can see his personal
style coming through. Now I know that Tony likes
to use natural light. In his studio, he has these great big windows
that let in lots of natural daylight
and it gives all of his head shots a certain tone, a certain color
palette, you could say, that I think is really obvious when you're scrolling down, and they've all got that
same quality to them. You might recognize a few here that we've
already looked at. I think one of the things
that Tony does really well is capturing the eyes and I know that he goes to great
lengths to really make sure that your eyes really get
captured in the shot, something I think he
does really well. Again, after you've
had a look through, I would go on to the
prices and we can see here Tony has
got his own details. Again, I think you can also add on extras to that if you wish. Everyone seems to have a
slightly different way of setting up their
fees and their prices, it's just our job when we're
doing our research to make sure that we are
getting a decent price. Another thing that you can
also look out obviously in everyone's website
is a bit about them. It says here about
Tony's background, how he's worked in
different types of photography for
different productions, really good to just
have a little read of this thing and get
to know the person. Let's take one more look. If we go back to our
search results here, let's check out Tom Barker. Now interestingly
on this website, these images are clearly
not actors headshots, they're more commercial
photographs. But I do think if
we scroll down, we should find potentially his actors headshot
portfolio. Here we go. Here are his actual
actors headshots, obviously that you can
distinguish them quite clearly. The first thing that
I really like about this set of photos is the color. It's really popping out. Got this lovely blue
backgrounds going on, the actors clothing,
and their hairstyles are all really popping out
with this lovely crisp color. Now it definitely feels like most of these have
been done in a studio. One of the benefits of that
is that you can artificially light the actor to bring out whatever color and whatever
contrast that you wish. That's obviously
what Tom is doing here with his own
particular style. Again, no right or wrong, it's very different to
the previous one with Tony where you can see
the natural light, but it's just a question
of your preference. A really nice selection
of shots here. A lot of different people,
a lot of different looks, different angles,
and I think as well, one of the interesting
things here is that you can see that a few of these shots
have been done outside, they have not all been
taken in the studio. You can see that
there's been a range of different backgrounds
that have being used. I think that's a
really good thing because rather than just having the same actor stand against the same wall every single time, this photographer is really
going to some lengths to make sure that all of his shots are a little bit different. I think that most good actors
headshot photographers will do this for their own
creativity as much as anything, they'll want to make sure that
they're trying new things, trying different locations, and keeping things fresh. Once we've had a
look through, let's go back to the pricing. Again, we've got a set of
three different packages here. The middle package here, £195. You've got a choice between a studio location or a mixed, meaning you can go outside. This one is offering
six edited pictures, so that's a really good amount, it seems like a good deal. There you have it, guys. That's three really
good examples of headshot photographers
right here in my home town of Manchester. As you can see, it doesn't take long to go and check
out their style, make sure that they are all
ticking the necessary boxes. Once you've checked all those, it really does come down to
your own personal preference. I really recommend
not trying to second guess what a casting
director would prefer because they're all different
people but going with what photographs and what
photographer you like the most. With that said,
let's jump back into the course and pick
things up there. Hopefully you now have a better
idea of how to search for a photographer and the specific
things to look out for. Let's finish this lesson with a quick summary of what
we've just covered. You want to find a
headshot photographer who specializes in actors headshots. The best place to
start with this is by a simple search of your nearest city
and then compare the different
photographers to see whose style you most prefer. Check out whether they
offer a studio shoot, an outdoors shoot, or even better, both, especially if you have
a specific preference for one or the other. Also compare different
prices to make sure that you're
getting a good deal. Now a quick note on prices, it does vary widely, of course, from one
photographer to the next and from region to region. For example, here in the UK, my personal recommendation
would be to pay around £150-£300 for a full headshot session which should include a few hours of their time and 3-5
finished headshots. But depending on where
you are in the world, of course, this will
be very different. My best advice is to price up a few different
photographers and make sure that you're
getting a good deal which is the going
rate in your area. Now it is over to you. At this point in the class, I'd like you to
start the search for your own headshot photographer by following the exact process that we've just done
here in the class. Once you've found a
photographer that you like, I recommend reaching out
to them and inquiring. As part of our class project, feel free to drop a comment in the Projects and
Discussions tab right here in Skillshare to
update me with your progress. Now it's always good to
get a second opinion, so if you do find a
headshot photographer that you like and
you're interested in, then feel free to drop a link
in the Discussions tab and ask other people for their
opinion and their advice. Everyone watching this
class is going to be either a working actor
or an aspiring actor, so anything that you ask or mention will be useful
to other people too. Good luck with your search. In the next lesson, we'll
be looking at how to prepare for your first shoot, including deciding your types, what to wear, planning out only specific changes,
and lots more. See you in the next lesson. [MUSIC]
6. Preparing For Your Shoot: [MUSIC] With headshots,
as with much of the acting industry,
preparation is key. Before arriving at
your headshot session, there are some key things
you will want to prepare. In this lesson, we'll
cover my top tips and advice to make sure that you get the most out
of your session. The first thing you
need to think about is what types of headshot
you want to go for. Most photographers will
ask what types of look that you want or
what ideas you have. It's really good that we
give this some thoughts beforehand and that we arrive on the day with some ideas in mind. Now, earlier we mentioned
the 3-5 headshots that most actors will want to have : the main or dramatic headshot, a commercial headshot, and 2-3 others that show off
specific casting types. Now, the first two you probably want to
have are standard. But what other options
might you personally want? Consider your casting
type and ask yourself, what roles are you most
likely to be casting? From that, what specific
headshots would be most useful to have in order
to go for those roles? For instance, if you
really go to comedy, then you might consider
a specific headshot that shows off your
phone playful side. If you have a great
look for Perry drama, then something that
plays into this. If you specifically suit a certain roles such
as the professional, the villain of the jock, then you could go
for a headshot which specifically illustrates you
as that type of character. Whatever it is for
you have a few of these ideas in mind
ahead of your shoot, and then when you turn up, you can specify to
the photographer what kind of looks you
really like to get. Once you've got
your looks in mind, it's time to think
about clothing. Now, although your
headshots only show off a very small amount
of the clothing that you've got on around your
chest and your neck, it's surprisingly has a really big impact
on the overall shot, so we need to get this right. To keep it simple, here are three things to
consider with clothing. Firstly, always keep it neutral. You really want to avoid
any obvious logos and branding or anything
that is just too distracting on your clothes. You also want to be
weary of any stripes or patterns as these can sometimes become distorted
in the photograph. Ideally, we're looking for more plain and neutral clothing, a little bit like what
I've chosen to wear today. The next thing to
think about is color. This is really important. Depending on your eyes, your skin tone, and
even your hair, different colors
will be more or less flattering for your
particular face. You really want to figure out
which colors suit you best, and then consider this when
choosing what to wear. Now, we looked at
this example before, and this actress has done a
great job of her clothing by matching the black hair with the black of the top
that she's wearing. In this example, the actor
has chosen a t-shirt which compliments the tanned
complexion of his skin. The colors just
work, don't they? They just look nice
and it really makes the whole shot more
pleasing to the eyes. Now, the right colors are obviously going to be
different for everyone. So take some time to figure
out what works best for you. If you really want a second
opinion, by the way, then feel free to
share a picture on the Discussions tab and ask people for what
they think as well. Finally, variety, it's
a good idea to get some variety in
your headshots by wearing different
types of clothes. Now, photographers will
often ask you to bring a few different options
with you on the day, as it gives them
more chance to be creative and more to work with. Consider different types of clothing that suit
different roles. For instance, a t-shirt
to be more professional, a jumper to be more
warm and friendly, even something like
a leather jacket if you want to be more edgy. Now, you don't want to pick anything that is too obvious, but the right
clothes should give a nice subtle expression to the types of characters
you'd be perfect for. Allow agents and casting directors to just
more effortlessly imagine you in those roles without making it too
blatantly obvious. Now alongside clothes,
some actors like to change up their overall look
in-between shots. For instance, some
people might arrive with a big bushy beard
and then shave it off halfway through
the photoshoot to get a completely different
look in the second half. Or I might arrive with
my hair tied back and then let it
down, for instance. As well as this, you
might bring makeup and use that to change
your look as well. But obviously remember
that less is always more. Now, you don't have to
do any of these things. It's not mandatory, but it's worth
thinking about and considering whether it
would be helpful to you. Any good headshots
photographer will be more than happy to accommodate
such changes. Finally, you also of
course want to arrive on the day looking at
your absolute best. This one might seem obvious, but in the days and weeks
before your session, remember to stay hydrated, drink lots of water, get plenty of rest, and avoid any big
nights out or partying. That was quite a
lot to go through. Let's just quickly
summarize those key points. Firstly, think about the
different looks you'd like to go for and plan out the different headshots
you would like to get. Keep your clothing
plane, neutral, and in colors that
suit you well, and that hints at
your casting types. Plan out any specific changes to your hair or makeup that you would like to make on the day. Then finally, make
sure to get plenty of water and plenty
of beauty sleep. [MUSIC] Next stop is time for your actual
headshot session. In the next lesson, we're
going to be looking at what to expect on the
day of your shoot, how to deal with any nerves or stress or anxiety
that you might feel, and some top-secret
techniques from the world of modeling that are going
to help you to look your absolute best on camera. See you in the next lesson. [MUSIC]
7. At Your Photoshoot: Even for actors who are
used to being filmed, a head-shot session can feel awkward and even uncomfortable. I remember in my
first ever session not really knowing what
to do with myself. Should I smile? Should I
tried to look serious? Should I act? Or should
I just be natural? I didn't know Now, a good head-shot photographer
will help you to relax and give you directions
throughout the shoot. But from an actor's perspective, here are my personal best
tips for making sure that you enjoyed the session and
get the most out of it. Before starting the shoot, make sure you have some time to discuss your ideas
with the photographer. It's really important that
they know what you want unless you're both on the
same page before starting. You can tell them about
your casting type, about your experience, and any specific looks you'd
really like to get. Remember that a good
head-shot session is a creative collaboration. You're both working
on this together. Now as soon as the
cameras starts rolling, it's easy to start getting a
bit of performance anxiety. It can even feel
like you have to perform for the photographer
and do a good job for them. Now, something that always
really helped me is to remember that I
am the customer. The photographer is
getting paid regardless of how the shoot goes
so I can relax, I can take my time and I
can take the pressure off myself in order to
enjoy the experience. Now when we do get a
little bit stressed out, what naturally happens
is we start to build up tension in our
facial muscles. We can get a tightness
in our forehead, sometimes around our
cheek and jaw bone, and even our lips can get tight from trying
to smile too much. Now this all happens
subconsciously when we feel nervous or self-conscious. But the camera will pick it up even if we
don't realize we're doing it and our photos will look awkward and they
will look stiff. Now models get around
this problem by using relaxation techniques to remove the facial tension
before a shoot. The best way to explain
this one is to show you so follow along and
do this with me. First, we're going to open
up wide and then go small. Now we're going to turn
around our lips. Try this. You can take your two fingers
and just start to give yourself a nice little massage between your cheek
and jaw bones. Finally after this, we can blow our lips, [NOISE] like that. Now you probably going to
feel really silly doing this, but it honestly is
a massive help. It really relaxes your face
and it stretches out all of these facial muscles which can hold that tension if
we're not careful. Ultimately we get
photos which look much more natural and
much more confident. Now in a typical
head-shot session, the photographer will take
hundreds of different shots. What we really don't
want is for all of these to have the
exact same expression. We don't want to
have a still face. Fortunately, there's another
great modeling technique here that we can utilize. Usually the photographer
will take a picture maybe every few seconds. In order to make
sure that each of our shots are
slightly different, models will suddenly shift their expression
between each shot. These movements are just
micro changes to their smile, their eyes, their
angles and so on. From an outside perspective, you probably wouldn't even
notice that they were moving, but they consciously are. The camera really picks up on all of these slight changes. Meaning that in any given
set of photographs, they end up with a
whole assortment of slightly different
angles and unique shots, rather than the same
exact expression repeated over and over again. This technique is really easy once you get the hang of it. As well as given you
tons of variety, it also helps you to
stop feeling all cold or stiff because your mind
is on something else. I'll also make your
photographer's life much easier. I can
promise you that. My final tip is about having
a thought behind your eyes. The eyes are something
that we've mentioned a lot in this class. In every great head-shot, the actor captivates
attention because we can see that there is something
going on behind their eyes. We might not know what, but we can see an
intention in their look. Now in order to make sure
that your head-shots have the same intention behind them, you're going to want to make
sure that you are having certain things in mind
while being photographed. For instance, if you want
a really warm smile, you might remember a fond memory of being with your family and friends and picture this while the photographer
is taken your shot. If you want to look
more serious then you might imagine feeling
this way inside. Or you might simply look down the barrel of the lens
and think to yourself, I want this job, which is going to give you that intense enthusiasm
and confidence, which will come through to the person looking at the photo. Now there's no right
or wrong to this. You can't be creative. But rather than worrying
about how you look or how you want to come across focused
on a specific thought, feeling, or memory, and let your expressions come across
to the camera naturally. Doing this, we'll put that glint in your eye that captures the attention of agents
and casting directors. Let's summarize my top tips
for the day of the shoot. Always make time to discuss your ideas with the photographer beforehand and make sure
you're on the same page. Remember not to put any
unnecessary pressure on yourself to perform and that you are the paying customer here so you get to really enjoy this. Keep your face free
from tension using the quick relaxation
techniques that we showed and make sure that you
vary your expressions by using the micro movement
changes that models do. Finally, always try to focus on a specific
thought, feeling, or memory to keep an intention and an
intensity behind your eyes. Once your head-shot
shoot is done, the photographer will usually get back to you within a week or so with all of the pictures
that they've taken. The challenge now is
how do we take 325 of the head-shots and
narrow them down to 3 - 5 finished pieces. In the final lesson
in today's class. I want to share with
you my best advice for choosing the most powerful
professional shots. See you in the next lesson. [MUSIC]
8. Choosing Your Shots: Welcome back. Once
your shoot is done, the photographer
will send back all of the usable shots
that were taken. These are called
your proofs and are just smaller versions of each shot in the row,
unedited versions. It's in our job to
sort through all of these and pick out
our favorites. The best way to
start this is simply by going through
every picture and noting down any that
really stand out to us. You want to identify a few great options for each of the looks
that you wanted. A few for your main headshot, a few for your commercial look, and a few for each of the specific casting types
that you were looking at. But before we begin
the selection process, let's clarify what specific
things we are looking for. [NOISE] The first thing you
want to look for is variety. Remember that we don't want each headshot to look the same. There is honestly nothing that casting directors find more
frustrating than seeing a selection of headshots from
a particular actor where each of them has the exact
same expression and emotion. Really what that tells them
is that you're wooden and boring as an actor rather
than alive and dynamic. Bear in mind that whatever
shots you ultimately choose, you really want to make sure
that there is a variety in terms of the expressions and the emotions that
they are displaying, as well as in terms
of any clothing or appearance changes that
you made during the shoot. The next thing we want to
look out for is authenticity. Let's say somebody
I've mentioned a lot. It can be really
tempting to simply pick all the shots
where we look the most handsome and beautiful
[LAUGHTER] but remember that we also
need to be authentic. If you walk into the
audition room and the casting director doesn't recognize you from
your headshot, that is a massive
problem and will certainly do you no
favors in your career. In fact, I've even heard of
stories of actors missing out on work because of
exactly this problem, so try to be objective and choose a selection
of shots that give a far overall representation of how you look on a good day. Finally, there is
the wow factor. This one's a little
bit hard to explain, but you definitely know
it when you see it. As you're scrolling through dozens and dozens of different
pictures of your own face, certain ones will just
naturally stand down. Perhaps there's an intensity in your eye is or the
lighting is just right. But if they stand out to you, then the chances
are they will stand out to other people too, so look out for that
wow factor and make a note of any that you think
are particularly good. Now that we know what
we're looking for, let's start choosing
our options. I've recommended
spending at least a few days looking through
all of your shots and then picking out around 10 to 15 that you
think are really good, making sure to
include options for each of the main
looks that we wanted. Once you've made your
initial selections, what you really need now
are some second opinions. If you have an agent,
that's perfect, go straight to them and ask
them for their thoughts. If you don't have an agent, then you're going to
have to find some family or friends who you can ask for their point of view. They will often have a
very different perspective on things than you do. They might prefer completely
different shots to the ones that you've
chosen, but that's fine. It's all really useful feedback, and it's important that we
hear this in order to make the right final decisions
on which headshots we want. Once you've got
all the feedback, you can take another day or two to make your
final decisions, but don't feel like you
have to rush the process. Taking time to sleep on
things is always a good idea. Once you've settled
on the three to five headshots that you want, look at them all side-by-side, and then ask yourself
these questions. Are they all unique? Do they each say
something different? Do they show off my
range as an actor? At this point, is there any
that you start having doubts about or that you
realize are too similar? Go back to your proofs and look for any alternatives
that you could switch in to be absolutely sure you have chosen the
best of the best. When you're finally set, send your options back
to the photographer. At this point, they're going
to ask you if you want any specific
touch-ups or editing. Let's look at this next. [NOISE] Your photographer
should not be doing anything drastic like changing the shape of your face or the color of your eyes, but it is standard practice to do what are called research. This includes things
like brightening up the eyes, covering up a spot, or remembering the
odd flyaway hair, which is definitely
a problem I have. Once this is all
done, you should then generally have your final, final headshots back within
a few weeks, obviously, depending on how busy your photographer is and
what their schedule is like. That is it. You now have your own outstanding headshots that fit your casting
type perfectly. But what now? Where
do we go from here? You want to start promoting yourself as an actor
in the industry. This will include
emailing headshots to your agents, contacting
casting directors, and ensuring that you
have great profiles set up on all of the main
casting sites in your area. I'll be releasing more
classes very soon which cover all of this, from getting your own agent
to submitting for castings, and even filming
self-tapes from home. [MUSIC] If you would like
to hear about any of these new classes I'll be
launching here on Skillshare, then please follow my
profile and you'll be notified as soon
as they are open. For now, though, let's summarize everything
we've learned in today's class and
the key takeaways I would like you to remember. [MUSIC]
9. Summary & Key Take-aways: Seriously, who knew that
there could be so much to getting your picture taken?
It's unbelievable, isn't it? But because of the nature
of the acting industry and the way in which the
custom process works, headshots are a
fundamental part of your successful
career as an actor. Over the years, they
have gone from being a simple head and
shoulders picture to this highly specialized
technical marketing tool. Hopefully, by now, you
are in the process of finding and booking your
own headshots sessions. After everything that we've
covered in today's class, I really hope that you were
in a fantastic position to go out and get your own
outstanding headshots. As a final summary, here are a few of
the key takeaways that I'd most like
you to remember. Our headshots or
something we share with the world and we all want
to look our very best. But, we must also keep in mind that things
need to be real and we need to make sure
that we're giving an accurate portrayal
of how we really look. Secondly, a headshot
should make it easy for casting directors to
imagine us in the role. Always consider the types of roles you are suited to first, and then base your headshot
choices around these. Finally, variety is essential. The difference between your
headshots might be subtle, but it's very important. Make sure that the
final shots that you choose show you off in a range of different
expressions and emotions. Finally, please
remember to complete the class project by sharing any progress that
you've made so far with me in the project and
discussion tab below. I'd really love to hear about any photographers you found, any sessions that
you've got booked in, and especially to see any headshots that
you've had taken, that would be amazing. Please also ask any questions that you might
have and I will do my best to give you
a personal response. Finally, if you enjoyed
the class today, please consider
leaving me a review, which will help other
people to find it too. Thanks so much for
joining me here today. My name is Ed, and this
has been my class on how to get an outstanding
actor's headshot. Bye for now.
Ed Darling, Actor, Speaker & Creator
