Headshot Photographer Los Angeles

Before Chris and I shot together, we mapped out the plan over the phone.  Chris wanted to get some character headshots, so we decided to play it up and have fun on the shoot.  Here are three of my favorite looks we did that show off Chris’s versatility.  First, Chris portrayed a young businessman with cheap 99 cent store reading glasses (can’t beat that!).

Then we changed into a casual, student look.

And finally, we did blue collar/construction worker.  I think construction worker Chris looks like he could be student Chris’s dad

It was fun to mix it up on this shoot.

Check out Chris’s IMDB:  LINK

Earlier this week, I got to shoot with her Tara, who was accompanied by her mom and her buddy from school.  I haven’t done a headshot session with a kid in a while, and I enjoyed the fresh energy that Tara brought to the shoot.  While we covered the important topics such as Tara’s favorite subject in school (math) and how to say ‘butt’ in multiple foreign languages, Tara’s mom was on hair patrol (and she did quite a fine job zapping all the strays).  I think Tara’s bubbly energy really comes across in her eyes in these pictures.

With headshots, oftentimes, a small change can make a large impact.  Victoria, who’s about to graduate with a degree in acting (congrats!), is my latest client, and she has beautiful hair. We started with some soft curls in her hair, but as they started falling out as the shoot went on, we decided to make an adjustment.  She tucked the shorter side strands on both sides (they were holding the most curl) behind her ears, and brought the rest of her hair forward.  It literally took three seconds, but I think it completely changed her look!  Have a look at the before and after:

Before:

After:

As always, it was a fun shoot.  Victoria’s also the first actress I’ve shot who would stick her tongue out at me for every practice shot I did to test the light

Taylor is a model and performer straight from Tennessee.  We wanted to be a little bit more adventurous with the hair in these headshots, so my stylist worked her magic.

For the next look, we increased the makeup and tamed the hair back.  Taylor has amazing, piercing eyes, and I think it really comes across in these shots.  My stylist remarked that they reminded her of Nicole Kidman’s.  Do you see it?

Yesterday evening, Shiou (my friend and stylist for shoots) and I attended AMDA’s Photographer Fair. AMDA is a drama and performing arts college at the center of Hollywood. I had a table setup among a group of other headshot photographers, and we were showcasing our work to about 60 acting students.

Heading to the event, we severely underestimated rush hour LA traffic and were stuck on Sunset Blvd. while turtles with limps walked by us. Me + being late + being stuck in traffic is a terrible, awful, no-good, very bad combination. There I was sweating bullets, muttering prayers, with my blood-pressure shooting through the roof, while Shiou remained in the passenger seat her usual composed self.  It was quite the juxtaposition.  :)

We flew into the event with exactly two minutes to spare before all the acting students arrived. We threw our booth together faster than a bull with gas while I tried to calm my heart palpitations. Whew!

Once the event started, everything clicked like clockwork. I passed out cards, showed off my portfolio, gave out candy, and had a great time.  Got home that evening and already got the first headshot booking!

Here are a couple of pictures from the event and our wonderful setup:

I’m always happy to run into an Asian actor because while improving, I still feel there’s a lack of Asian representation in both television and film.  I’m even more happy to run into a Christian actor, because I feel like this industry is one where God really needs to gain more ground.

Arden happens to be both, and I enjoyed hearing her story of how she abandoned convention to follow a career path guided by inner leading. Coincidentally, Arden and I are both Texans and grew up in the same hometown!  Small world, indeed.

In addition to acting, Arden is also a great singer and has quite the following on Youtube.  This is one of my favorite shots from our session.

Arden’s also got a great smile, and has done a lot of commercial work both here in the states and overseas.  I think her vivacious personality translates well in the commercial shot below:

Here’s a link to Arden’s Youtube channel:  Arden’s Channel

I worked with Courtney through her agency here in LA (FORD Models) and I was definitely surprised when I saw her pop up this season on The Bachelor with Ben Flajnik.  Needless to say, because of Courtney, I’ve been tuning in this season and getting my weekly dose of petty drama.  Courtney has been chosen as this season’s villain and has quite a bag of snarky comments on the show, but I just wanted to share my two cents amidst all the harsh criticism from the viewers.  I thoroughly enjoyed working with Courtney, and contrary to her villainous role on The Bachelor, I thought she was incredibly sweet in person.  Beautiful girl who doesn’t take a bad picture.  I’ll be tuning in every week this season to see if she’s the final pick!  Go Courtney!

My headshot website is now featured on The Professional Actors Network, a site that seems to serve as a great hub for sites that are helpful to actors:

www.proactors.org

There seems to be a wealth of good information there!

I think one of the most important things I discuss with clients and what distinguishes experienced actors is knowing what roles that best fit their look.  In a sea of generic headshots, the one that stands out to me is always the one that matches the character of the person’s look.  A good exercise, for any dedicated actor, prior to a headshot session is to make a list of all the possible roles that are applicable given one’s look (e.g. edgy young dad, girl-next-door, jock, etc.)  The list should be as extensive as possible.  Then, the wardrobe should be selected based on the chosen looks sifted through the list.  Just my little two cents for the day.

Love this quote from casting director Renee Godbout on headshots:

“Headshots are the most important tool needed to get yourself in the door and can be done wrong far too often. So many actors feel that their headshots need to be this glamorous touched over representation of themselves, which is exactly what casting directors don’t want. Put simply, your main headshot should look like you on a good day.”

So very true.