Does your headshot photographer really care about the outcome of your shoot?

Well they should because it’s your career they’re messing with!

I received this nice comment today from a lady who I photographed yesterday. It’s a fairly common testimonial apart from the last few words – “you cared about the outcome too, so thanks” Thanks for yesterday, you made taking headshots easy and enjoyable! It felt like you cared about the outcome too, so thanks.

Wow! that made me think about my position as a headshot photographer and the results I deliver.

I didn’t think I altered my approach to this client from any other client, I try to treat everybody the same – and I do care about the results of my headshot session.

However it made me think. I’m sure there are headshot photographers out there with huge ego’s, who are very busy or maybe don’t need to worry the flow of clients as they think themselves to be ‘great headshot photographers’ and the clients will come anyway. Possibly there are photographers out there who don’t know any different – but not many.

The crux of the matter is this, do we as headshot photographers care about what happens to our clients once they leave the studio? Should we care whether the headshots we give them actually do anything for their careers, whether or not our headshots help them get work, hep them get past the initial selection process to the audition stage. I think we should.

Headshots and Auditioning

Admittedly once they get to the audition it’s up to them to show their acting skills and ultimately weather they get the part is up to their auditioning skills, but for many clients they won’t even get close to that stage without a great headshot to get them past the keen eye of a Casting Director.

Out of sheer professional duty we should care, but more importantly morally we should care weather or not we gave the client the right headshot, the right advice and weather it’s working for them as an actors headshot. I’d hate the thought of one of my clients being constantly told that “their headshot was rubbish” or ” it’s not showing you very well” or ” it’s just not you”.

It’s a tough business this acting game and everybody expects to take some knocks, but we can cope with those providing there are some ups to go with the downs. However if an actor has a poor headshot – and they don’t know it – because they’ve paid a lot of money to a ‘professional headshot photographer’ – they’ll soon get fed up with the rejections and think it’s themselves who are at fault. When it’s not it’s the fact that they have a poor headshot and may well have been given poor advice. The ego’s of many in this business can be fragile at the best of times lets not add to the difficulties actors face by being sloppy in our attitudes.

I think a large part of my business ethos is to give people a great headshot coupled with expert advice that I have learned over the 20 years of working in this field, after all many of the clients we shoot are young, or new to this business and like all businesses we should work hard at giving our customers a superior service – if only for the purely selfish reasons of customer loyalties and good testimonials.

I’m sure that if I didn’t care bout my work, about the clients needs I am photographing or getting the very best headshot for that person word would soon spread, and we all know bad news travels fast.

And finally remember -  it’s your career they’re messing with!

Related Headshot Photographer Articles

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It is with great sadness that I offer the news that the legend called Herman Leonard has died at the age of 87 in Los Angeles. Rad the full obituary here.

Leonard was one of my favourite photographers and I have to say a massive inspiration
to me in my photography career. His use of backlight in the creation of mood in those early smoke filled jazz clubs has touched many people. I’m sure there are many, many homes with Herman Leonard photographs on their walls. I know I have.

So inspirational were his photographs to me that in my recent exhibition I used backlight to give mood to some of my shots. Now I am not saying hat I copied his style – I may have tried to emulate some of his shots earlier in my career, I admit that freely but never cme close.

But without conscious thought, in my Ambiguous Misdirection Exhibition I have developed my own style of photographing the female form with that uses backlight and mood to give very distinctive ‘feel’ to each photograph.

Thanks for the inspiration Herman Leonard

Fine Art Photography Related Articles

• Herman Leonard, Famed Photographer, Dies at 87 (prweb.com)
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Actors Castings Then and Castings Now

The sands of time go marching on and as they do inevitably things change, sometimes for the better and sometimes for the worse. Here’s an intersting article from Bruce Kimmel a well-known American actor.

Bruce Kimmel on the ‘Partridge Family”

So, there I was, moderating a Q&A with very busy, very well known, wonderful casting director Jeff Greenberg. When he was a young actor, Jeff had gotten his SAG card on my film “The First Nudie Musical.” I said to him, “I wouldn’t like to be an actor today.” I told him I could never deal with the casting process as it happens today. He said to me, “Oh, it’s the same as when we were doing it back then.” I said, “Oh, really? Let’s compare how I would get a major guest shot on a TV show and how that would happen today.”

I told him exactly how it used to be. My agent would call, tell me I had an appointment for such-and-such show, tell me what the role was, and give me the time and place to show up.

Here’s the link to the full article

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