1st
HEADSHOT WORRIES
Here is a portion of an e-mail I recently received:
Thank you so very much for taking up your time to talk with me. I’ve rewritten my resume and am interviewing with several photographers for headshots. However, there is one last question I should have asked you: what do you think I could be marketed as? That may sound like a broad question, but I liked and understood your comments about my old head shots, so when looking for new ones I think I need an idea of what I could be marketed as. I would obviously prefer mature roles over child roles. I have been told by a manager, that I have an “indie” look. Is there a market for me to play dark, dramatic, “indie” roles? Or is it better to show my teenage side? If you have a moment, let me know what your thoughts are on this.
My response:
i hope this response isn’t too ‘esoteric’ but here goes:
as far as doing a great photo session, i don’t think it’s necessary (at all!) for you to be concerning yourself with the question of marketing. how you look right now and, more importantly, how you ‘feel’ right now is ALL you should concern yourself with.
it is a triumph if you come away with a really simple, truthful, honest, (and most importantly, unselfconscious!) representation of your ‘essence’ captured in a photo.
it’s simple really.
my favorite shots are ones that seem effortless…with zero concern about how you WANT us to perceive you…rather, in a kind of (i like to say) state of ‘repose’ (http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/repose) at rest. waiting. perhaps THINKING about a reaction. but, it’s the moment BEFORE that reaction. (and by ‘reaction,’ i mean anything the photographer might say to evoke some expression from you. i like the shutter to capture the moment before the reaction INSTEAD of it.
think NOT about anything else.
hope that’s helpful!
