Just finished a photo shoot this weekend for new theatrical headshots with a new photographer. When it comes to getting headshots, I'm like a kid in candy store or girl inside Sephora. If I don't set limits, I would spend my entire paycheck getting shot after shot. Your headshot is your primary marketing tool to get you in the room to audition for every role, and that marketing tool needs to be specific. The shot that gets me in for a toothpaste commercial is going to make the casting director's eyes glaze over if she's looking for a tough, smart-ass attorney.
I love getting really specific with each character I go after. Meaning which types do I look like and what unique personality traits do I bring to that type that might set me apart from the hundreds-- or thousands-- of other actresses of a similar type that will be submitting for the same role. I then get a shot to match it so I am prepared when that type pops up in the breakdowns.
This new photographer (whom I LOVE, by the way) told me she couldn't believe my range. Exactly, that's why I do it. You can't show range with one photograph, if you try it ends up just looking generic and vague. Get specific in each shot, so each submission is tailored to that role. Then as an added bonus, when you put them in a gallery on your website, people are blown away by your range.
I've been doing this for the last couple shoots I've done and have built a nice little collection of shots. Not an obscene amount, less than ten, but a collection nonetheless. If it gets to be as large as my shoe collection... then you can start worrying and schedule an intervention.
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