If you have arrived here from my ‘ask a stills photographer’ article, great! For even more in-depth knowledge on how to become a unit stills photographer, register your interest for my book or my exclusive 1:2:1 mentoring sessions below and I’ll be in touch!

If you haven’t read the article, I absolutely recommend you check it out as it has tonnes of useful info and tips on how to start a career as a unit stills photographer and everything that goes with it!

Thanks and have a great day!

The post How to be a unit stills photographer appeared first on Aimee Spinks Photography.

Judy is such a great interviewer and in under 20 minutes we had covered everything from the business of stills, my experience on the set of Outlander, what it was like to work with Charlize Theron on The Old Guard, and much much more!

So grab yourself a brew and have a listen!

Want to check out the rest of the show?

The Electric Crush broadcasts live from the Tube City Center for business and innovation in McKeesport Pa. with your favourite DJ’s Punk and Judy on WMCK.FM – the new sound of the Mon-Valley.

To listen in you can download the Tunein app http://tunein.com/radio/WMCKFM-McKeesport-s256079/…

You can also use the Streema app http://streema.com/radios/WMCK.FM_McKeesport

You can use the WMCK.FM media player http://wmck.fm/mediaplayer.html

You can use your favorite streaming player (iTunes, Winamp, Quicktime, VLC, etc.) and enter this url: http://listen.wmck.fm:8000/listen.pls

You can also find them on Shoutcast here: http://www.shoutcast.com/Search?query=WMCK.FM%20McKeesport

And the newest option to listen http://wmckfm.radio.net/

The post I’m on the Radio! appeared first on Aimee Spinks Photography.

I’m proud to say I was shortlisted for the Arts and Culture award along with Alicia Daniels from Aston Performing Arts Academy; Daniel Alcorn from Badego/Birmingham Design Festival/Substrakt; Anisa Haghdadi from Free Radical (Beatfreeks Arts); and Laura Tellwright from Town Hall Symphony Hall.

In all honesty, I was certain I wasn’t going to win. The other shortlisted entrants were so strong and I’d always felt like an outsider to these kinds of events. My husband, Andrew Ward, is a thought leader on the tech scene and being the entrepreneur he his, runs several tech companies including his web app agency, Scorchsoft. As a result, he is a regular at these kinds of corporate awards nights, himself being a finalist for Birmingham Young Professional of the Year 2017, winning the Silicon Canal award for Most Influential Male in Tech in 2016 and also taking home his own Future Face award, this one for Entrepreneurship, back in 2016.

I had always bemoaned that fact that the arts never seemed represented in all of these various awards nights so I was delighted to see that the category for Arts and Culture was last year added to the Chamber of Commerce Future Faces Awards.

Working as a unit stills photographer means it can be really difficult to celebrate your work the way most established photographers do. We do not own the copyright to the images we create, and so it can be almost impossible to get permission to display work in exhibitions, books or submit them into prestigious industry competitions. I saw Future Faces as a rare opportunity to be able to share my successes and I am excited to say I won the award!

When you are just focused on doing the best work you can and forever strive to improve, it can be easy to forget how far you’ve come. I wasn’t sure if I had as much to shout about as some of the other shortlisted candidates, but when I sat down and thought about where I had started out and where I found myself now, I can honestly say it made me feel proud.

I grew up in one of the most economically deprived areas of the country, Blackpool, where the arts just weren’t seen as a viable career option. When you’re from a low-income background, you don’t have the financial safety net that enables you to take risks associated with a career in the arts, or even self-employment and many people in this situation feel a heavy pressure to put aside their passions in favour of a seemingly more reliable career path. Even after I achieved the highest GSCE results my high school had ever had, my friends and family would often suggest I have a “back-up plan.”

Being the stubborn person I am, I ignored their advice and committed myself to a 3-year photography degree, moving out and accumulating thousands of pounds in personal debt knowing that my parents would never be able to support me financially if I didn’t make it work. I knew entrepreneurship would be important, so I supplemented my degree studies with my own reading and research into entrepreneurship and self-employment. As soon as I graduated I moved to Birmingham with my boyfriend (now husband) and immediately enrolled onto Birmingham’s BSEEN entrepreneurship program where I learned valuable skills on how to network, pitch, sell and market.

Now 28, 10 years after picking up my first camera, not only have I established a career as a professional photographer, but I’ve done it within one of the most difficult industries to permeate: big- budget film and TV. One rife with sexism and nepotism, though thankfully the former has definitely been on the out.

In a job that is typically held by men over the age of 40, I am now one of the youngest and exceptionally few female (I have only ever come across 3 others) unit photographers to have made it into this role full-time in the UK. Over the years I have had the opportunity to work with actors including Samuel L. Jackson, Margot Robbie and Oscar winner, Eddie Redmayne, photograph Stephen Hawking, and had my work printed on huge billboards across London.

Thanks to amazing photographers such as Jay Maidment and David Appleby who mentored me in my first months and gave me my first door opening opportunities, and to whom I will be forever gratefully, I have wanted to give back. To this end I have, and continue to try and give other young photographers the opportunity to shadow me on set, or give me time to answering questions about the job and offer advice. I’ve also spoken publicly at BSEEN entrepreneurship events about my experiences as a creative professional and entrepreneur, helping those at the start of their journey to make the right decisions, as well as provide free workshops to students at The Royal Conservatoire, Birmingham on actor headshots.

Though I feel I have achieved a lot since starting on my path as a unit stills photographer in 2011, I still have a long way to go in my career and I’m constantly learning and developing my skills. My biggest aspirations include being the main unit photographer on a big action or superhero movie, shooting a poster that makes in into my local cinema, and the honour of being accepted into the Society for Motion Picture Stills Photographers alongside the incredible photographers who constantly inspire me with their work such as Jasin Boland, Giles Keyte, Kimberly French and Jaap Buitendijk.

I want to give a huge congratulations for all the finalists and award winners of Future Faces 2018, as well as a massive thank you to all of the photographers who have inspired me, the programmes that have developed me and my husband who has been not only my best friend, but also my mentor and role model for the last 10 years, in helping me get to where I am today, and I hope that the arts will continue to get support and funding to enable others from less well-off backgrounds to follow their dreams.

Thank you to Edwin Ladd and Jas Sansi for the photos of the event.

Want to see what I shoot? Check out my portfolio!

The post I’m the Future Face of Arts and Culture! appeared first on Aimee Spinks Photography.

How to prepare for your actor headshot session…

Your actor headshots are a key marketing tool for your acting career, so it’s important to prepare yourself in order to get the most out of your session. Here are some things you might want to consider:

Think about your casting type.

A good actor headshot is not only eye-catching but also successfully conveys an actor’s casting type. For instance, if you typically play edgier, authoritative or confrontational roles, you may not want to have a bright beaming smile in all of your actor headshots. Conversely, you also don’t want to take those roles too literally and find yourself looking standoffish in your headshots. It’s about subtly suggesting at your casting type, rather than ramming it down the throat of the person viewing your headshots. You still want casting directors to think you’re friendly to work with! (For more of an idea as to what casting directors look for, check out my recent interview with CD Sharon Sorrentino and director, Tracey Street, HERE.)

I always like to have a chat with actors ahead of their headshot session in order to establish what their casting type is, as this allows me to tailor the session and give appropriate direction in order to bring this out in a subtle but effective way.

If you’re an actor at the beginning of your career, don’t worry if you don’t have a casting type just yet; it can take time and experience to fully discover. If you don’t have a casting type, it’s a good idea to think about the kind of roles you’ve enjoyed playing in the past and those you’d like to play in the future. This gives your headshot photographer a good starting point so they can make your acting headshots reflect these areas of interest and experience.

Dress appropriately.

I’ve done a whole in-depth blog post on what to wear for actor headshots HERE which covers everything including which colours are best and why, what fabrics are most ideal and which necklines suit different looks.

The bottom line is you need to make sure you look professional and in something that isn’t distracting so stay away from bright colours, patterns, collars and logos. Make sure your tops are crease and stain-free and be sure to bring options so your photographer can advise on the best tops for you and the look you want to achieve as your choice of tops can make a surprisingly huge difference.

Be fresh!

This might sound obvious but don’t go partying the night before you’re actor headshots; you will look and feel tired and is that really the vibe you want to give to casting directors?

Make-up

A bit of natural, subtle make-up is fine, but avoid looking too glammed up; casting directors want to see the real you. Generally speaking, you’re pretty safe with a light foundation paired with mascara and subtle eye-liner.

If you have woken up with a zit, don’t panic! Most photographers can very easily remove spots and other non-permanent marks but I strongly advise against asking your photographer to remove scars, moles, freckles or tattoos as a casting director will not be impressed if you walk into their audition looking different to your headshots!

Hair

As for your hair, be sure to bring a comb and a bobble, particularly if you have long hair. Even if you don’t normally like you hair up (or even down) it’s worth experimenting with both options during your session as it can have a big effect on your look, especially when working through different expressions and postures.

If your casting type sees you in a lot of period dramas, wearing your hair up can work well with fortifying this suggestion, particularly if in a loose bun or updo that can easily come down half way into your session. A slicked-back ponytail or bun can often work well when trying to give off a practical, confident or authoritative appearance as they are very practical ways to wear one’s hair.

Having the hair down is great for giving a casting director an idea as to the length and thickness of your hair as this can also impact your casting, especially for shows and soaps who don’t expect to ‘wig up’ their cast.

Gentlemen with longer length hair should also consider bringing bobbles or bands to show hair both up and down as, like with their female counterparts, it can make a huge difference to your look.

It’s also important to have options to remove hair from your face should you have particularly thick or unruly locks that have a habit of covering you up – casting directors don’t want to see you hiding behind it!

Trust your photographer

You’d be surprised at the number of actors who are confident on stage and screen but who hate getting their headshots done! It can be an intimidating thought, especially if it’s your first time getting them done. I’ve worked with many actors who do not like being photographed and they have all left smiling with headshots they love and an experience they’d recommend to others. No matter how uncomfortable being photographed might make you feel, a great photographer will know how to put you at your ease and direct you in a way to get amazing acting headshots. My headshot sessions are a collaboration; we work together to see what kind of approach works for you and gets you the best results possible. Every session is tailored to each individual actor in a personal service designed to help you relax, have fun, and leave with headshots that will get you the auditions you want.

Don’t just take it from me! Here are what my previous clients say about their experience with me.

Interested in booking your next actor headshots? Find out all about my sessions along with prices, HERE. In the meantime, why not check out some of these useful links?

The post How to prepare for your actor headshots appeared first on Aimee Spinks Photography.

Jenny can be found on Spotlight HERE.

Below are some of our favourite headshots from the session:

Other stuff you might like….

The post Actor Headshot Photography with Jenny Jenkins appeared first on Aimee Spinks Photography.

Sam is a diverse young actor who isn’t afraid of a challenge and whose previous roles have varied from the heart throb to the villain. Though a particularly strong screen actor, Sam also has extensive stage experience with recent performances at the Crescent Theatre seeing him play characters such as Henry in Lord of the Flies, Bean in Fantastic Mr Fox and taking the lead role of Luke Eveshim in a Christmas performance of one of my favourite Roald Dahl stories, The Witches. 

You can check out a preview of Sam playing Henry in this great little teaser trailer for Lord of the Flies:

Want to find out more about Sam? Why not follow him on Twitter or Instagram?

Other stuff you might like….

The post Actor Spotlight: Sam Malley appeared first on Aimee Spinks Photography.

I found this very surprising as I’ve been involved with so many productions with child actors and participants that it seems like such an obvious thing to have. Perhaps I’ve just found myself working with children on a regular basis because I’m just about as small, young and energetic as they are, but it still just seems like the sensible thing to be armed with when working in an industry that often has under 18s as part of the process.

That being said, not all productions involving children have required me to have one. Though it isn’t a legal requirement for people working with children or vulnerable adults to have a DBS certificate, it is good practice that increases the safety of those on set, particularly when working with children on a one to one, unsupervised basis.

On one hand it’s a shame that things such as the DBS check are needed to safeguard those at risk, but by the same token, it does ensure a greater level of safety for the most vulnerable.

So, any productions out there looking for a friendly female unit still photographer with a DBS certificate, come and say HELLO!

The post Got a DBS (CRB) Certificate? appeared first on Aimee Spinks Photography.

Below are the wonderful actors who took part with links to their Spotlight page, followed by several shots from the show:

Alex Ranahan
Claire Seller
Eamon Turley
Eleanor Buchanan
Ellie Forrest
James Edge
James Rowson
Perry Jacques
Rebecca Currie
Roseanna Baggott

Rebecca Currie

Eleanor Buchanan and James Edge.

James Rowson and Eamon Turley.

Eleanor Buchanan and James Edge.

Ellie Forrest and Claire Seller.

James Rowson and Eamon Turley.

James Rowson.

Roseanna Baggott.

Roseanna Baggott and James Rowson.

Claire Seller and Ellie Forrest.

Alex Ranahan.

James Rowson.

James Edge and Eleanor Buchanan.

Eleanore Buchanan and James Edge.

Roseanna Baggott and Rebecca Currie.

James Rowson and Roseanna Baggott.

The post Theatre Photography: Vieux Carre appeared first on Aimee Spinks Photography.

The Cast:

Alex Ranahan
Alexia McIntosh
Ashia Llorente
Dom Hartley-Harris
Gabrielle Killick
Jacob Wright
Jaime Seal
Jarrard Richards
Joshua Ford
Katherine Swan
Lucy Glassbrook
Matthew Socci
Robin Tambs
Samantha Olson
Zachary Paul Lawrence

The post The Broken Heart appeared first on Aimee Spinks Photography.

Up until now I have covered a range of work from TV and small independent films, right up to big blockbusters, but TV doesn’t get to the cinema and unfortunately working dailies on even huge productions doesn’t get your name on the big screen either as the credit rightly goes to the person predominantly responsible for the role. I was happy to see my name on the credits of Jupiter Ascending but it’s not quite the same when it’s only for being an assistant photographer.

So, imagine my surprise when walking down the steps of Oxford Circus tube station, when I saw this:

I had already seen the fantastic montage the design team had made out of my stills but I had never expected to see it on a billboard! Needless to say, that made my day. The weekend was rounded off nicely with a lazy Sunday spent at the cinema, binge watching two movies back to back, the first, being The Falling.

The film feels unclassifiable in genre and sits in a category of its own; as an exploration of multiple emotional and challenging themes. It would be easy to focus on the mass fainting hysteria that sweeps the school and think the film was all about discovering what caused it but I feel like that would be missing the point of the story. To me, the mass fainting was simply one tool with which to look into the psychological aspects of growing up, hormones, relationships both sexual, social and familial, and viewing them all intertwined and totally inseparable from one another as you would as someone experiencing it personally, rather than just as an outside observer. It is beautifully ambiguous, equal parts uncertain and bold and to me, reflects the state of mind of the protagonist, Lydia Lamont (Maisie Williams) who is both confident in her convictions yet also lost in her grief and naivety of her age.

With an exquisite soundtrack by Tracey Thorn and beautiful cinematography from Agnes Goddard, a brilliant crew and a talented cast, it was a great piece of story-telling to be a part of.

The post The Falling Stills appeared first on Aimee Spinks Photography.