Over the next couple of entries I’m going to use a case study to look at how small changes in posture, expression and lighting can drastically change your headshots, as well as discussing what to look for when it comes to choosing your final headshots from a shoot that may well contain several hundred! First let’s look at posing!

So you’re getting ready to book your first session with a headshot photographer? Have all the confidence in the world in front of an audience but don’t know what to expect when your audience is a lens? Don’t panic! I’m going to give you some quick tips on what to aim for during you next actor headshot session by using my recent shoot with actor, Torin Pocock, as a case study! Torin is a multi-talented performer and has an extensive portfolio when it comes to presenting, radio and even has a bit of modelling under his belt though when you see his photos, I doubt the latter will surprise you!

Torin however wants to start to really focus more on his acting and realised that getting a solid set of actor headshots was the way forward. We had a brief chat about his previous experience, the type of acting he has done in the past, the type he hopes to do, as well as talking about his casting type.

As an actor it’s really important to understand your casting type – whilst variety is great, it’s vital to know your niche as well as how casting directors might view your headshot. Once you’ve identified this, speak to your headshot photographer and help them to understand the way you need your actor headshot to come across.

In Torin’s case, his personal character seemed to reflect his casting type: strong, charismatic and confident. These were the traits we wanted to draw out of the headshots so that a casting director might see him as either a potential leading man, the heartthrob, the middle class businessman or one of many other characters fitting these characteristics. All this had to come across within a very small number of professional actor headshots.

A key thing to remember when it comes to actor headshots, is that the slightest movement or change can dramatically change the impression a headshot gives. For instance, if the camera is looking up at you, it’s going to put you in an authoritative position within the frame – something synonymous with strong or perhaps darker characters. This can then be emphasised further by narrowing the eyes slightly (never ever go overboard with this) or raising the chin a little.

In direct contrast with this, if the camera is looking down at you, you are placed in a slightly more open position in the frame, synonymous with being friendly and approachable. Again this can be emphasised by a slight smile to create a completely different shot from the first, without having changed much at all.

Having said all this though, it is vital to remember not to overdo any of it. When I say ‘looking down,’ or ‘looking up,’ I mean only by very small increments! The same is to be remembered if a photographer asks you to tilt or move your head to one side – don’t stand side on to the camera and try craning your neck back to it. Be as front on as possible as this gives a casting director the clearest view of you possible! Look at the difference between these two shots:

Other things not to overdo are expressions! If you want to show you’re a friendly, approachable person who enjoys a laugh, don’t give the camera ear to ear smiles – even if it’s genuine, it is often far too much for an actor headshot. Keep your smiles small, or better yet, simply hint at them as it gives your headshot a little more intrigue! The only exceptions to this rule are if you really are a huge and funny personality and really want to show this off, or you want a more fun and contemporary shot to use ALONGSIDE (not as) your main headshot. Which of these looks better to you?

In contrast to this, if you want to come across as brooding or menacing, tone down the pout and for the love of all that is acting, don’t scrunch up your eyes! Your eyes are by far the key feature of a good actor headshot and is often the part that draws a casting director in. You therefore don’t want them hidden under over narrowed brows or hair!

Instead of pouting your lips, relax and part them slightly; this looks far more natural whilst also maintaining a hint of passion and sex appeal (don’t believe me? Check out most of the images you see of models in high fashion ad campaigns). When it comes to giving the camera a more intense look, rather than narrowing the top of your eyes, instead try raising the bottom. If you’re not familiar with this technique, it may sound a little odd, but the feeling you want to achieve in your eyes is the same one you get when you have a genuine smile that spreads to your peepers. Now you just need to practice how to do it without smiling! See how much better the second image is?

If you struggle with these techniques, a good headshot photographer will be able to give you direction and exercises to try out on the day in order to help you find it.

If you take away one thing from this entry, remember to keep everything feeling as natural as possible as this is ultimately what we need to achieve in your actor headshots. If you have found any other techniques relating to posing that you have found particularly useful in your own headshots, feel free to leave a comment or drop me an email via aimee@aimeespinks.com for your chance to win some free headshot images!

In the next entry, I’m going to be discussing how you go about selecting your final images!

Stay tuned!

The post How to Pose for Actor Headshots appeared first on Aimee Spinks Photography.

I must admit I am a fan of both, though they each have their pros and cons.

Outdoor Headshot Photography:

Shooting outdoors has the advantage of making photos, particularly headshots, look more natural than their studio counterparts. This is largely because a studio backdrop is a contrived space, so no matter how natural an actor’s expression might be, we are instantly aware they have deliberately posed for a camera. A good photographer knows how to put an actor at their ease to achieve a great result no matter what the space however there’s just something instantly more natural about seeing a shot taken in the great outdoors.

Outdoor Headshot Photography: The Pros

• A world of backdrops to choose from…
  • Whether you’re a fan of the brick wall, leafy haze or sky; there are so many different locations you can use as a backdrop to your headshot.

• Bring the photographer to you…
  • Are you an actor living in London but absolutely love the work of a Birmingham headshot photographer? By having your headshot photography session outdoors, the photographer can come to you without having to worry about additional studio hire charges.

• Flattering light…
  • If you’ve got yourself an overcast sky, you’ve got yourself some instantly soft and flattering light to work with without having to spend ages working out a complex lighting setup – giving you more time to work on your perfect headshot look.

• Save money…
  • A lot of headshot photographers will charge less for outdoor photoshoots as there are no studio costs to take care off. It’s also a great way for photographers without studio access to create great images.

• Bokeh
  • You know that nice out of focus haze you get on headshots taken outside? Gorgeous isn’t it? Good luck matching it in the studio.

Outdoor Headshot Photography: The Cons

• Rain!
  • Arranging a headshot photoshoot outdoors leaves you to the mercy of the unpredictable British weather. Even in summer you never know when it might rain: that’s why all of my outdoor headshot photoshoots have a backup plan so that you’re shoot can go ahead uninterrupted and without your images suffering in quality!

• Lack of privacy…
  • Most outdoor locations are often public spaces so there’s never a guarantee that you won’t have an audience or find that the area you wanted to shoot in isn’t occupied by happy picnic-ers. Again, always have a back-up plan! A good location is one that has many opportunities for a range of backgrounds should one not be ideal or available.
  • Want to have a change of outfits? Need a full length mirror to check your hair or touch up your make-up? This is another consideration to be aware of when booking your headshot photography outdoors. Make sure your photographer has an area where you can make all your necessary adjustments!

• Background Distractions…
  • If you’re lucky enough to not be distracted by others during an outdoor photoshoot, you need to make sure your image has no visual distractions. A good actor headshot is all about showcasing the actor and not letting the viewer be distracted by a rogue leaf, conflicting colours or that annoying strand of hair the wind blew across your face. To help prevent these problems, I always recommend what clothing options to consider so that a cut or colour doesn’t prove distracting as well as reviewing each image as I shoot to check for other tiny distractions.

• Fewer lighting options…
  • Though I have my own flash lighting I can take out on location, most photographers’ kits don’t have anything powerful enough to overpower the sun. So if you want something dark and dramatic and are only free to shoot around midday, you’re probably best having a studio headshot photography session.

• Limited working hours…
  • Once the sun goes down, unless you want a dramatic night shoot (probably not the most ideal for a Spotlight-ready actors headshot) you’re pretty stuffed. Especially if you need your headshot session to fit around your crazy schedule during the Autumn/Winter months!

Studio Headshot Photography:

Many headshot photographers favour the studio over using an outdoor location as it provides them with a secure, tried and tested space that is within their full control. Though this is the case, a good studio headshot requires much more technical understanding by the photographer in order to achieve a great look as they are responsible for moulding the light from scratch for every set-up.

Studio Headshot Photography: The Pros:

• Privacy…
  • Unlike shooting outdoors, a headshot session within a photography studio provides full privacy; great for the more camera shy subject!

• Make-up and changing areas…
  • Following on from the privacy point, by having you headshot taken in a studio, you also have access to changing areas and make-up rooms to make preparing for your session nice and easy.

• Lighting control…
  • Based in a fully equipped photography studio, I have access to all the lighting equipment I could need to create a vast range of looks. From dark and dramatic to bright and cheery, no matter what your preferences, chances are I can create the right look for you.

• Review your images on a big screen…
  • It’s all well and good checking out your headshots on the back of a camera, but why do that when you can take a seat with a cup of tea and have a proper look at your photos on a big screen?

• Full Control…
  • Once you book a studio headshot photography session, it’s booked. No having to worry about the weather or if the area you want to shoot in is available – by shooting in the studio you are guaranteed a fully professional working space without any distractions (including freezing temperatures)!

• Any time…
  • Do you have a busy schedule to fit your headshot session within? Though we may not have much sunlight in the wee hours of the morning or late at night, the studio can provide all the light you need any time; day or night.

• Background choices…
  • Though most headshot photographers only offer one or two (usually just black and white) coloramas to have your headshot against, book your headshot session with me and you’ll have access to a studio containing almost every colour backdrop you can think of as well as wallpapered room sets should you want to mix up your headshots with some more contemporary portraits.

Studio Headshot Photography: the Cons

• Price…
  • Studio photography sessions are often more expensive than their outdoors counterparts due to studio rental costs. If you want the best of both worlds however, I offer up to 90 minutes of photography both in a fully equipped photography studio as well as outdoors for just £175. This includes your 5 favourite images fully edited and supplied as full res JPGS in colour as well as black and white.

To be honest, I’m struggling to find more cons about studio headshot photography. Of course a lot of it comes down to your choice of photographer – I have seen many studio headshots over the years shot by photographers who just don’t know how to use lights creatively. They often shoot completely flat images against a plain black or white background or go for a completely blown-out high key shot usually used for catalogue or product photography.

A good studio photographer knows how to craft their lighting to create an intimate looking headshot that makes the actor stand out. But in this regard, it’s not just about the lighting. You know that sharp-eyed focused look you find in some actors headshots that just make them jump out from the page? I have several tricks, tips and exercises I often get actors and models to try in order to make their headshot appear much more striking than their competitors and make their eyes really speak out.

Since I’m deviating slightly from the original topic of outdoor photography vs studio headshot photography, I will call it a day on this blog entry and look forward to your thoughts on your own preferences.

So, let me know – do you prefer your headshots taken outside in natural light or done in a photography studio?

The post Actor Headshots: Studio Photography vs. Natural Light appeared first on Aimee Spinks Photography.

Ever heard of femto photography? In this amazing TED Talk, Professor Ramesh Raskar unveils a camera developed by he and his team in the media lab at MIT, that can photograph a subject at a trillion frames per second. The video above demonstrates the camera’s ability to even record light itself as it moves across the frame as well as how this photon-imaging technology may one day lead to cameras that can see ‘around’ corners as well as inside the body without X-Rays.

Check out the TED website for more info HERE

Update: here’s a  shorter video looking at the concept of ‘shooting around corners.’

[youtube url=”http://youtu.be/JWDocXPy-iQ” full=”yes” ]

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I met Ted whilst working on Matt Chambers’ (Dr. Daniel Granger, Doctors) short film, For the Love of Eli.

He invited me on set of Doctors to observe the logistics, creative and technical elements behind the low budget TV drama. The first thing that staggered me was the speed of shooting. Blocking and rehearsals were done in a matter of minutes before lighting was rigged up and a scene filmed.

It was my first time inside a purpose built studio set with more lights than people and removable panel walls making shooting in seemingly small rooms a whole lot easier. The aim of my visit was to learn as much as I could about the kit and processes in place on a busy commercial set and I made the most of my time talking to Ted, the camera crew and the sparks to learn what I could.

The lighting setups were very straight forward and mainly involved the deployment of 350 and 650 watt tungsten balanced Arri lights with a daylight gel alongside a Kino or two. Below are a few quick reference shots to the setup of one particular scene shot in Dr Carmichael’s office.

As you can see, the interior is lit by a Kino about a metre away from where the cast would be (I was not permitted to photograph the artistes), and an Arri shooting through the glass window. Additional lights were setup around the office to illuminate any exterior areas that might make it into shot through the open door. This was primarily done with a few Arri’s bouncing the light to keep it soft and unobtrusive to the key scene.

What I loved about the studio was the fact that there were so many lights that nothing needed to be taken down between scene changes – additional lights were just brought in and the others were left standing. This saved so much time whereas on a set with more limited equipment, everything would have to be constantly set-up, taken down, moved and re-setup again and again. I would love to have those kinds of resources on projects – productivity would be through the roof and my creative ideas would know no bounds!

As well as the technical side of things, I also quizzed the crew on practical things like scheduling, expectations of product and budget on this kind of production. Being a perfectionist I hate releasing anything less than the best I can achieve (and then some) which although is great for maintaining high production values, can be detrimental to productions working to a tight schedule and small budget. As Scott put it: it’s better to hand over a completed script’s worth of work with a few small issues than a half-finished script of perfection – at least then you are keeping the client happy if not yourself!

All in all it was a good day and I feel like I learned a lot, particularly in regards to the logistical side of things. My thanks go to Ted for inviting me along and putting up with my endless questions and to the crew for a good laugh! I hope to have an opportunity to work with them again in the future!

The post Unit Stills BBC Doctors appeared first on Aimee Spinks Photography.

With a request from actress, Angela Peters, to create a portfolio of cinematic images with a dark action based feel, I trundled the kit down to Moseley Bog (a beautiful nature reserve where Tolkien took inspiration for the Shire in his books, The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings) to have my first bash at shooting day for night.

It’s a pretty straight forward process. Simply set the aperture and shutter speed to underexpose the environment to the degree you like and then adjust the flash light until the subject is lit as desired. As the exposure for the ambient light is fixed, any changes to the exposure of the subject should be made by altering the light outputs, not by altering the camera settings.

Fellow tog, Lucas Brodowicz assisted with the lighting, and tricker friend, Jay McCormick, was our stand in model for our brief test shoot.

We shot for about an hour and a half using 2 lights on spill dishes at about 4pm in the afternoon. I’m not sure how I feel about the shots – I would have prefered to shoot on snoots however the light wasn’t reaching the photocells to trigger both flash heads and with my Twinlink radio triggers getting repaired I was forced to shoot with a cable. Once my triggers are back in tow I’d like to try out lighting the scene again using snoots instead.

Anywho, here are a few shots taken t’other day. Nothing has been edited on the main images to give you an accurate idea as the lighting we were playing with.

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