As I said in Part I, if you are signed to an agency, you may well be asked to provide a headshot that plays to a specific strength. Basically, one that emphasises a casting to get you particular roles. Much of what I say below applies to you, but other sections are aimed at helping people get that first ‘wow’ headshot, so bear with me when I get to those bits.

Actor: Natalie Hayes-Cowley

Good preparation applies to everyone. The previous night on the town and waking up fully clothed in someone else’s bath with a cat sleeping on your head will not help you to look your best on the day. Yes, I’m being flippant, but you get the idea. Your photo, as an investment in your future career, cannot be overstated, so don’t waste your money – or the opportunity. I take my hat off to Drama and Performing Arts students; you have to work pretty hard at it, so try not to organise social events on the approach to your shoot that might compromise the way you look. Plenty of sleep and a healthy diet on the run-up, plus a haircut or trim if needed to get your hair looking wonderful – these are all good insurance measures.

Decide what to wear in advance. Remember that black and white headshots are standard in the UK, whereas the US favours colour. Plain black or mid to dark coloured tops are the most commonly worn and for good reason. They tend to flatter most skin tones and don’t ‘pull focus’ like a pattern, although you may wish to take a lighter top to try. White does have the advantage of reflecting light into the face, but a good photographer will employ the necessary equipment to fill in any unwanted shadows, so you don’t need to wear your own reflector! And, providing you have chosen your photographer well, you needn’t worry about blending into a dark background if your top, your hair or your skin tone is dark. Any photographer worth his salt knows how to use lighting to separate his subject from the background.

Actors: David Asher

Because your main Spotlight photo will be head and shoulders, the neckline of your top is critical. I don’t have strong feelings as to shape; what looks good on one person, doesn’t suit another. I would say only two things; avoid the extremes. Polo necks give the ‘severed head’ effect and plunging necklines/bare shoulders can look too glam. Anyway, the latter styles expose too much distracting flesh. Messy necklines are also problematic; for example, collars that don’t sit properly or ill-fitting tops that stretch and create nasty creases. Keep it neat and simple. Try a few tops and ask advice and, if you’re really not sure which style compliments your face shape and hair length, go mad. Take more than one.

Make-up. Men may just need a light dusting of powder to take the shine off their skin, but even this is not always necessary. Sod’s Law decrees that he who never gets a spot may spontaneously grow one for the event. Whereas a mole is part of you, a temporary blemish is fair game for a spot of concealer. A natural look is generally advocated for women. That doesn’t mean you can’t wear any make-up. When you go along for an interview or audition, you should look like you do in the photo and even if you don’t wear much as a rule, bear in mind that studio lighting can reduce the effects of make-up. For that reason, sparing and careful application to enhance your features is usually fine. Avoid red lipstick which can look unnaturally dark in black and white, heavy foundation or applying powder to foundation that is still damp. Take special care with the eyes: subtle shading is better than hard, dark lines and stay away from shadows containing reflective pigments. Remember, your eyes are what will connect you with the person looking at your photo. Very important!

I’m fortunate in that I can offer a qualified make-up artist (my wife), although this is unusual and it can work out expensive if you want to bring in an independent MUA for a shoot. A luxury indeed.

I mentioned hair briefly above. Obviously, you will arrive for your shoot coiffed and ready to go, but it’s worth just stating the obvious. Be very careful that your hair does not obscure your face. If you have a style where this is a potential problem, your photographer may choose an angle which cures it or you might consider taming it with a little hairspray.

The killer graduate headshot. That is what every fledgling actor needs to help get off the ground. In most cases, acting schools advise you to keep it broad. It’s a tricky call. Of course you want to show your range and versatility and, there again, if you’re well into your training by now, you probably know your ideal casting. From my experience, all I can say is: be yourself, leave the acting for the stage. Let your features speak for themselves and your personality will also shine through. You wouldn’t go to an audition in full costume and make-up to prove that you can play a part, so don’t try to be someone else in your key photo. In any case, too much expression, overt poses or obvious characterisation can look false and might easily give the impression that you lack the confidence to simply be who you are. Not good.

The muscles in your face and shoulders can hold a lot of tension, but you already know that. So, I find it always helps to warm up. Imagine that you are preparing for a performance. Do some facial exercises – everyone has their own favourite routine, but please avoid the massage so that you don’t trash your make-up. If I notice a subject getting tense again during a shoot, I just stop and get them to repeat one or two exercises. It works a treat.

Actor Stefanie Elliot

Connecting with the camera is easier for some than others, but a well practised headshot photographer will help you and may advise you on simple technique. Here’s my tip for the newbie; imagine that deep in the camera lens, where it fits onto the camera body, is someone important you wish to engage with (which of course is the case!) and that’s where you should be looking. A piercingly aggressive stare or your best come-to-bed eyes both have their place but please, not for your Spotlight main headshot. Neither is the detached, ‘fashion model’ gaze aimed somewhere overhead, or the furtively lowered lids of the fugitive. A confident, open connection with the person you aim to impress is what you want.

A photographer who knows how to get the best from you will probably ask you to try slightly different angles of your head, so allow yourself to be directed. If you are asked to raise your chin or incline your head, small movements are best; if it’s not enough, he or she can always let you know. It’s much easier to get it just right that way. Your photographer will be aware of lighting and composition. It’s not about making you look drop-dead-gorgeous but, on the other hand, he or she should not be going all out to make you look your worst. Truthful, but sympathetic is the best balance. If you wear specs and are keeping them on for your headshot then that’s fine but, if you want shots without them, remove them well in advance so that they don’t leave marks. You may decide to hedge your bets and have some with and some without. In that case, start without. Sounds obvious, but it’s easy to forget little things like this. Plan ahead and you will avoid getting flustered or holding up the shoot schedule.

So far, I’ve talked about studio shots, although there is no reason why you should not have an outside headshot. Natural light and a light breeze to lift the hair off the face can be magical. When I shoot outside, I throw the background out of focus and use appropriate ‘fill’ (flash or reflectors) to balance the light falling on the face. The option to shoot outside depends on the facilities available, but it is always nice to have a choice and exterior shots can be eye-catching because they are not the norm.

If all this feels like information overload, don’t panic. I’ve just pointed out things that, in my experience, make for a successful shoot. The preparation is certainly something you might like to take on board but, when you get to the shoot, remember you won’t be alone. Believe me, we photographers want to capture the best shot just as much as you do so we’ll go all out to make it a positive experience with a fantastic result. Call it professionalism, call it vanity if you like…

In the third and final Headshot Blog, I’ll round off by talking about choosing your photos, photographers’ copyright and any other aspects of the final process that I think might be useful.

I suspect, like many professional photographers, I viewed weddings as not particularly creative; a mixture of crowd control and trying to get all eyes looking down my lens, rather the lenses of the 40 or so other digital cameras being wielded by guests pointing and shooting from every available viewpoint. I then began to think about it; why can’t wedding photography be creative? Clearly a new mindset was required here. I decided I would treat each wedding as a separate project, maximise the locations, shoot the bride as if it were a fashion shoot, use lighting techniques that I use for commercial magazine work and aim to produce images that I am proud to put in my portfolio or enter in competitions, from each wedding.

Beautiful bride at Belvoir Castle wedding

So that’s my approach to weddings now, but it takes thorough preparation. In order to focus completely on the job in hand, I only ever shoot one wedding on a day and normally only one a week. From the start, it’s important that the couple feel comfortable with me, have a chance to brief me on their particular requirements and know exactly what I will deliver. That means meeting and getting to know them before the big day. I also have to scout the venues in advance and plan exactly how I am going to shoot everything. Apart from the day of the wedding, I allow up to a day for location scouting; not only where the ceremony and reception will take place, but also a quiet, romantic spot where I can photograph the bride and groom alone. Then there’s a half day allocated to preparing all the equipment and briefing my assistants. When it’s all over, I spend at least a day sorting the images and making selections for proofs. Once that is done and the pair are back from their honeymoon, I arrange to meet and to go through the proofs with them, before putting the images on a web gallery for friends and family to view.

The next stage is to create an album, story book or DVD. Sometimes wheels are put in motion immediately, sometimes a year later – no problem, it’s a busy time for the newly weds and the images will be there when they are ready to make their final decision on presentation.

Wedding photography is one of the most challenging and rewarding aspects of my business; there are no second chances – it is arguably the most important day in the couple’s life and the responsibility for me as a photographer to record that in a creative way is enormous, but I love it. The best bit? Seeing the bride’s face when she views the images for the first time. I love my job.

For shots like this I tend to use manual, first I take a couple of test shotsof the ambient light and get it around 1 stop lower than normal then I set the SB900 on manual at -1/8 power as a starting point and go from there.

I wanted a wide shot that showed the beauty of the lake for Elsham to use on their stand at this week’s Lincolnshire show, the 3 white ducks were most obliging and all looked at Laura at the same time – something I can’t get some wedding guests to do!

Elsham Hall gardens and country park

When I got back and started processing the images in Lightroom, I realised how much Laura had a Garboesque (if their is such a word) look, the hair and the dress just begged for something in post process. Fortunatley I had taken a few for Laura to use in her portfolio and here are a couple that have had a little tweaking.

Laura does Garbo at Elsham Hall

Laura does Garbo 2

Elsham is a fantastic location, not just for weddings but all sorts of other events. This year they are having three open air theatre evenings and a fashion show, I’m planning on running a day’s training course for photographers there at some point.

For more information check out their websites, the main one is www.elshamhall.co.uk and for a list of events and details of hire www.elshamhallevents.co.uk or if you are at the Lincolnshire Show tis week pay them a visit on their stand, Jof and Elaine will be delighted to see you and don’t forget to say Andrew sent you.