How do I pick THE headshot?!
So you've had a great photo shoot, and been left with a mind boggling selection of photos of your face to sift through, but where do you start? 1. EMBRACE YOUR FACE.
It's so easy to be critical of your own face, you don't like your nose, your ears, or the mole on your cheek, the left eyebrow, but they aren't going to change I'm afraid.
Being honest about your appearance is the first step to accepting that your facial features are the thing that's going to sell you.
A lot of people do not realise that when you look in a mirror everyday, you see a flipped reverse of your face, the opposite, which is why a lot of the time it can have such a negative impact seeing your face the regular way round in a photograph, even our phone cameras flip a selfie nowadays!
What you think looks normal (i.e the reflection) is actually the opposite and what other people see is normal and can leave you feeling confused about what you truly look like, look at the images above to see how different someone can look in a reflection. 2. USE YOUR CASTING TYPE
What are the casting types that you are trying to portray in your headshots? Even the most 'neutral' of headshots still says something to the viewer.
Make a shopping list of your 'types', and use it as a framework. Sit looking at your gallery with this list in front of you and pick off shots based on each casting type and the type of character you are going for.
Is it a serious acting shot or comedy? light or dark? Commercial, film or tv? Break it into categories and this will allow you to compartmentalise your headshots easier.
3. GO FOR A RANGE OF LOOKS.
Don't get distracted by just picking all the shots with your favourite angle, or favourite smile etc, as they wont give any sense of you in a portfolio.
You want to give yourself, your agent and at the end of the day a casting director the right look for the right part, so a big smile might not suit every type of role you are going up for.
The most important thing in this whole process is to try and put vanity to one side and look at your headshots as a marketing tool and a calling card, get other peoples opinions and don't be too critical of yourself!
