Here’s a couple of photos from a recent photo session. Hilary’s from Derby, currently studying dance in Bedford. She’ll soon be graduating so needs some good headshots to help in her job-hunting. She chose me after seeing my work on my website, contacted me and we arranged a shoot.
She was well prepared for the session, choosing a simple top to avoid distracting attention from her face. Casting directors need to know about a person’s appearance as well as their ability to dance, so these headshots are an important part of any dancer’s portfolio, just as they are for an actor.
Relax and be natural
As I’d never met Hilary before I’d prepared the studio with a basic lighting set-up that I know works for most subjects, so when she arrived it was just a case of making a few adjustments to suit her features. We had a chat and took a few test shots just to get her relaxed, then got down to work. I tend to take a lot of photos simply because what I’m hoping to capture is something of the real person, and that can often be expressed in a fleeting tilt of the head, or a smile that’s gone in a second.
We had a break and viewed the images on the computer. Hilary liked the look of the shots but we decided to shoot a few more with a slightly different lighting set-up that created a more “glamorous” look.
Choosing and editing the best headshots
The session lasted just over an hour and Hilary was able to leave with thumbnail images of everything we had shot, in order to decide which ones she liked best. She made her selection quickly, and then I sat down to edit the chosen images. This really involved some simple “cleaning up” of the photos, converting them to black and white, and cropping them to 10 x 8 format.
I burned the photos to disc and passed them to Hilary so she can add them to her online profile.
Creating the right image
If you are an actor, dancer, or any other type of professional person it’s important to create the right impression through your profile photo. Rather than getting your friend to shoot it on their iPhone it’s worth getting a professional job done – my rates are very competitive. Contact me via my website, or phone me today on 07709269577.