Get. Called. In.

Advice from top NYC headshot photographer, Emily Lambert, on how to achieve amazing, well, headshots! Read on, oh awesome one.

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Really tho... What should I wear in my headshot??

To help maximize your session time, we highly recommend planning out your wardrobe BEFORE you arrive!

Bring two to three specific options for each role type you wish to convey. 

*COMMERCIAL IS NOT A ROLE TYPE*  *”JUST ME” IS NOT A ROLE TYPE*

Here’s what doesn’t work:

All black options, all grey options, cowl necks, turtle necks, tube tops, baggy clothing, items with tiny lines or tiny stripes, neons, clothing with stains.

How do I plan for a specific role type but still be versatile? What DOES WORK?

Answer: You see this being achieved on TV all the time! If a role you might play, or a vibe you might give off is friendly, contemporary, grounded, down to earth, maybe funny or relatable, try bringing in a plaid button up shirt!

If the role is upscale, clinical, smart, expensive, educated, direct, you may want to bring in a saturated structured blazer/shirt or dress.

If you know you would be seen for friendly, quirky, weird, down to earth, contemporary, low-key, best friend, maybe this is the SAME wardrobe option as the first mentioned look! (A plaid button up).

Consider what you would wear to your own auditions, does the garment say anything? Does it say what you want specifically a stranger to see in you or think about you?

The rule is, if it works on camera for TV, it works in a headshot.

Never bring in items that you hate on your own body, what is the point?

Pants and skirts are not needed. Just wear something comfy on the bottom when you come in. Preferably with pockets so that you can anchor your hands while shooting.

Read the other article, ‘What to Wear in a Headshot’!

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...When my clients had their last headshots taken more than a year ago and say, “Omggg, whhyyy does it look like I have wrinkles? Is that actually on my face?”

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(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AmSaFlpbjSQ)

“It’s exhausting to be told what beauty should look like. I am tired of society defining beauty for us.”

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Headshot TIPS

People are most attracted to those that are not desperate for others constant approval.

#DOYOU

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Understanding Image Sizing

Now, I’m not great with technology, but understanding sizing of images is so important to keeping the quality of the images your photographer provides you.

Digital images are made up of pixels. Think of each pixel as the data that makes your image exist, and look like you.

Digital images can come in various formats, like a .jpeg, .tiff, .cr2, .dng, .psd., and more.

Right now, we’ll focus on .jpeg. This is the most common format that your photographer will send you when they return your images.

When an image is taken on a digital camera, it is typically formatted in RAW, which just means that it has a crap ton of information embedded onto the image. The information is so extensive that it’s more than you will need as a client. I’m going to compare images to pizza’s in order to help describe this. Imagine the image that your photographer’s camera captures is a huge pizza. I mean, this pizza is MASSIVE. It has more ingredients on it than you wanted when you ordered it. It has the regular stuff, pepperoni, sausage, onions, peppers, cheese, but also, it has mushrooms, olives, anchovies, pineapples, cherries, sprinkles, gumdrops, maple syrup and more. You don’t need nor want all the extra ingredients to eat your pizza and have it still be delicious. So, this is where your photographer will reformat your images to make them easier, and tastier for you to digest (use).

Before distributing your images, your photographer will reformat the files from RAW into .jpegs. Basically, striping them of useless, (to you), information. Removing the anchovies, cherries, gumdrops and maple syrup.

The final format you receive will typically be a .jpeg. Your .jpegs may come in various sizes. 300kb, 1mb, 3.2mb, 9mb, etc. Imagine this is the actual size of the pizza you ordered. Did you want a personal pan pizza? a 10 inch pizza? an extra large 14 inch pizza? You may want to use a 300kb image on platforms like Instagram, and the larger images, 3.2mb, or 9mb for printing.

In each image size, or pizza size, you will be able to fit a certain number of ingredients (data), before the pizza (image) becomes so heavy (large) that it can’t support the number of ingredients (data) you are putting on the pizza (image). Meaning, that personal pan pizza can only support the pepperoni, sausage, onions, peppers, cheese, mushrooms, olives, anchovies, pineapples, etc., until it becomes so heavy that it falls apart when you pick it up to eat it.

It is kind of amazing how many ingredients you can fit onto a large pizza though! If your images are delivered to you in 9mb, and 3mb, don’t necessarily assume that the 3mb (or 10 inch pizza) is too small to print, or has less ingredients than that extra large pizza you ordered. It likely has a lot of information embedded onto the image, and could probably still be printed poster size or larger! I recently had a client ask me why the retouched images I sent her for printing were 9mb, and the unretouched images I sent her were only 3mb. This is where you’ll need to know pixels per inch, or ppi. When the retouching on her image was done, it was as if I took that massive RAW pizza we started with, and ADDED more ingredients to it. I added artichokes, broccoli, and arugula, things that didn’t exist in the beginning. I then needed to send that pizza to her in the mail. So, I shrink wrapped it! Then, I needed to send her the RAW pizza that I did not add ingredients to (the unretouched images) in the mail, so I also shrink wrapped that. The pizza with more ingredients will shrink wrap smaller than the pizza with less ingredients. So, both pizzas are large, and delicious, but one just has more on it that didn’t exist in the beginning.  Both images have 300 pixels per inch, the maximum number of pixels that can be fit onto an image. Both images are going to print large and clearly. It’s just that one image has more data than the other because more ingredients were added to it.

Well, that’s about it. In general, you want to use the smallest sized images for instagram and twitter, the medium sized images for emailing and web usage, and the largest sized images for printing.

If you have any questions about image sizing feel free to ask us in the ‘ask’ box above!

I’m going to go order a pizza now.

[getcalledin]

Let’s Talk Technical

I am often approached by clients with questions, requests, comments, and concerns regarding the elements of photography that make up their headshots.

For example, once I had a client try to explain that they liked outdoor headshots because of the “background having those bright light, bulby looking things...” How ideal would it have been if they could have said, “I like outdoor headshots because of the beautiful bokeh.” So let’s dive in, let’s go over some common elements found in photography and their corresponding terms. I’ll make these really easy to understand. That way, you can have an educated conversation with your photographer about what you are seeing in your headshots!

Catch Lights

Do you ever notice those white glowing things in the subjects’ eyes and wonder what they are? Those are CATCH LIGHTS. They are a reflection of the light provided, bounced into the iris of the subjects’ eyes. Digital Photography School’s website describes them as “...simply the highlight of a light source reflected off the surface of the eye. This highlight adds depth and dimension to the eye, and gives the eyes life in a portrait or snapshot.” Without catch lights, the iris and pupil would appear unnaturally lifeless, and can detract from the image. So, in a nutshell, stop asking your photographer’s to “remove those bright white things in my eyes.” Here’s a link to read more: http://digital-photography-school.com/an-introduction-to-catchlights/

Bokeh

When describing what’s happening behind a subjects’ head and the blurriness of the background, we call this a BOKEH. Bokeh is defined as “the visual quality of the out-of-focus areas of a photographic image, especially as rendered by a particular lens.” The bokeh on an image could be either soft and buttery, or radial and busy. The bokeh of an image is set by the photographer based on a few things, including the lens that they have chosen to use. Each lens is different and each photographers’ preference is different. It could actually come across as rude if the client is to ask the photographer to ‘blur out the background more’ on their returned images. Potentially the bokeh they achieved was because they wanted it the particular way they shot it, or, their equipment won’t allow them to get the background any more blurry. The bokeh is also controlled by how far the background is from their subject, the natural light being cast that day (sunny or cloudy), and the aperture of their lens.

Exposure

Sometimes you might want to talk to your photographer about the brightness of your photos. Maybe you might like them brighter or darker. Alternatively, you may want to tell them about how your last headshots feel ‘washed out’, and you’d like your skin texture to have more depth. You are describing the EXPOSURE of your images. Exposure is the amount of light that is let into your image. If it is very dark in the space you are shooting, you may find that, without additional light, your images are under exposed. If you are outside or in a brightly lit studio, you may find that your images can be over exposed. Some photographers style is to over expose your skin, so less detail is seen. Some photographers choose to under expose you, so that the images are moodier or more skin texture is seen.

These are three of the most common terms I feel you will encounter and need to use when speaking with your photographers. If you have any other elements of an image you wish to know the terms for, ask us in the ‘Ask’ box above, or send us an email at [email protected]!

Happy shooting!

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5 Tips for the Best Headshot

A headshot is the first thing a casting director sees before you even walk into the audition room. It's important to make that first impression count. We caught up with Third Year faculty members, Alberto Bonilla and Elizabeth Inghram, to ask...

Check out that link above! ^ Words I live and work by!

“Communicate with them about your marketing strategy and they’ll know exactly what you want. This is much better than going for the most trendy or inexpensive photographer who won’t shoot photos tailored for you.”

“When you’re in the session: if you start feeling stuck or nervous, you can try putting yourself in a scene, as that character. That way when you get the photos – there is always something going on in your eyes. You don’t just want a pretty picture. You want something actionable. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t “be yourself’ at your session! Of course you want to be yourself in the photos, just not “putting on” a character. Think of it as bringing yourself to a role and a way to get out of your head if you happen to be feeling stuck.”

“The most important thing is when you take your headshot – don’t put so much emphasis on taking the perfect shot. Just show up and be you... Some will be great photos that won’t work for a headshot. If you make them precious you will never be able to obtain what you want. Think of it like a rehearsal. When you have that attitude you relax and you will get more usable shots.”

Check out my beautiful client Elizabeth Inghram of Terry Knickerbocker studio! 

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(via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNbnef_eXBM)

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How to Avoid a Failed Headshot Session

As I wait for Season 6 of The Walking Dead to return tonight with a new episode, I thought about a client I had just the other day, who had many concerns during her headshot session. 

This is a completely normal circumstance to come across, and typically doesn’t bother me too much. 

People will typically have concerns during their session for several reasons… 

A.  They’ve previously had a traumatic, or just plain lame headshot experience.

B. They have unrealistic expectations. Or, they think that photographers are magicians.

C. They don’t love the way they look. I mean, in life. They don’t love the way they look in  life.

D. They have been receiving few auditions or have been out of work and have now put too much pressure on this particular headshot session to change those circumstances.

E. They’re hangry.

Whatever the cause may be, there is usually a trend with how these concerns manifest themselves during a session.

That manifestation always takes the form of a question.

That statement above is extra important to remember, and that is why I’m writing about this subject today. The client I had just the other day had many concerns, and they were all voiced as a question, not a statement. What do you mean by ‘concerns’, Emily?

I.e.: “Do you think my hair needs to be fuller on the top?” “Do you think the green background is too much green with my shirt?” “Is that edge lighting too much light on my face?” “Do you think this lipcolor is too pink for this look?” “Do my eyebrows look too filled in?”

I’m suspecting that concerns are voiced as a question because when a concern is just a seedling, people are looking for a second opinion. However, when the only other person in that room is your photographer or stylist, you are seeking the second opinion of the people who made the choice that is concerning you to begin with.

It’s important to remember these things: Your photographer and/or stylist do not want to do a bad job! They have made every choice consciously, and believe these choices to be in your best interest based on their professional experience. 

Only YOU know YOU! Your photographer and stylist just met you. So when it comes to subjective questions, such as, “Do you think my hair needs to be fuller on top?” “Do you think the green background is too much green with my shirt?” etc., ONLY you can know what you want the ‘correct’ answer to these questions to be.

Be confident in your choices and communicate. If you are thinking you would like more volume on the top of your hair, instead ask, “May I have more height on the top of my hair?” If your hair will look absolutely ridiculous as a result of this choice, then your photographer or stylist will tell you. But ALL we can do is make suggestions. YOU are solely responsible for choosing how you ultimately will look in your images.

The detriment to asking a subjective question to the people who made the particular choice that is concerning you to begin with, is that your answer will always be the same, “I think it looks fine, but would you like something else?” The subtext to this answer is, ‘I made that choice on purpose... If you do not want it or do not like it, then you need to let me know.’

Photographers are not magicians nor are they mind readers, and they are certainly not there to sabotage you. What good would that do for our businesses?

Take control of your choices. Be Responsible. Don’t be hesitant. Say what you want as a request, not as a question.

Obviously, be polite, be kind, and communicate.

These actions will generate the best possible results.

Now go out there and have a fabulous, fun, and successful headshot session! Go you.

[getcalledin]

What does ‘moiré mean?

“Moiré pattern occurs when a scene or an object that is being photographed contains repetitive details (such as lines, dots, etc) that exceed the sensor resolution. As a result, the camera produces a strange-looking wavy pattern as seen above. See how noticeable the moiré pattern is on the jacket? That’s moiré for you, at its worst. Moiré is almost never seen in nature, but is very common in everyday objects and items around us – you might see it in all kinds of fabric, straight hair, architecture, etc. You might have even seen it on your television. In photography, moiré happens mostly because of the way light reaches the sensor and how the sensor interprets the light through the bayer interpolation filter. While there are methods to effectively reduce moiré, there is no easy way to completely remove it in post-processing software.”

- Courtesy of Photography Life

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Headshot TIPS

Guys: Don’t preemptively shave your chests before your headshot session... Having chest hair doesn’t make you a monster or less attractive.

In fact, it just makes you more manly.

#DONTASSUME

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The darling Mackenzie Dudzik brought in great clothing items for her headshots today... so I had to take a picture of three of the many adorable items she brought with her! Just another example that self expression and creativity through your clothing choices is entirely possible, even in the winter.

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Stop worrying, you’re not taking actor’s headshots to be a model. You’re taking them to be an actor, so act through them! It should feel like the easiest thing in the world. After all, it’s just you, being YOU!

A good photographer will do all the rest of the work for you.

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A great headshot isn’t about just looking pretty, women should look strong. Because they are.

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Headshot TIPS

Bring in extra wardrobe items, even if you think they may not work! It’s always better to over prepare than to be underprepared.

#BEPREPARED

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Headshot TIPS

Never fear expression! It is the actors’ tool to connect to the audience. Embrace your self expression!

#EXPRESSYOURSELF