HEADSHOTS | Information
Headshot (ˈhedˌSHät) = noun = 1– a photograph of a person’s head ; 2– a bullet or gunshot aimed at the head
To make it clear from the beginning: a headshots is not a fashion portrait or a beauty portrait. For me at least, it is not. Although it is important to get the best version of you, making a portrait that could be interpreted as “beautiful”, it is not my final goal. We all have our own beauty that makes us unique. If you are not comfortable with who you are or how you are, a portrait that hides all that it won’t help you to much either. The purpose of a headshot is to show your audience the qualities you possess as a person. For me, it’s an image that communicates your individual personality in a way that is confident, trustworthy and approachable.
THE SESSIONS
STANDARD SESSION
It is not just a simple act of taking a picture. Each session is a deliberate process with a deliberate outcome. My goal is to create personal, unique and interesting images that express the best of you and evoke something of your own character. It’s a building process. We get where you need to be step by step. It’s not about speed and there’s no expectation that you jump in front of the camera and get the best headshot ever with the first picture we take. While the amount of time this takes to achieve for each person varies, you can expect a session to average anywhere between one and a half and two hours, sometimes even a little more.
Before we begin a session, we go over all of the attire you’ve brought with you and figure out which items will suits you best for your headshots. This is an important step, since what may look and feel great on you in person, may be a complete distraction in your headshot. As for clothes, bring clothing that you feel completely comfortable wearing, keep in mind that if you’re not comfortable in your clothes, it will show in your images. Also, avoid anything overly textured or patterned, anything with logos, images, or writing. It’s just a distraction that pulls attention away from what really matters – you. Finally, I recommend that you have a selection of simple tops (shirts / blouses) with varying neck lines for your session and at least one white top and one black / dark gray top with you. After the clothing is sorted out, we move into the actual shooting.
An essential part of every session is the time we take to review images and figure out what works best for you and what does not. This allows us to adjust as we go. We only keeping the good shots and we are deleting everything that simply doesn’t work. It`s an opportunity to let me know if there is anything you personally feel we missed or could be improved upon. As I mentioned above, it’s not about speed, it’s about getting great images.
After the session I will do a last review of all your images and I will create an online gallery for you, and you will be provided with a link to choose the final images. The chosen images will later receive a professional retouching and in about a week they will be sent to you.
OBSERVATIONS
Makeup – In general, for women I prefer light and simple makeup. It’s better to start with a natural look and avoid anything excessive. Men can also wear makeup, but I think they really don’t need any. During the session you can add or make adjustments to your makeup.
Hair – your hair is entirely up to you. I think however that it’s best to wear it as you normally would and have it in a good condition. Bring with you whatever products/items you need to keep it that way.
Accessories – less is more; a simple pair of stud earrings can be fine, but anything larger or more colorful tends to become an unnecessary distraction in your images.