headshot photographer
Can I pick up a CD immediately after my headshot session?
Headshots Los Angeles: Vanie Poyey
Recently I was asked by one of my clients if he’ll be picking up a CD of images after we finished our session. I thought technically he could, but the images wouldn’t be up to par if I handed them over straight from the camera in their RAW form. So the short answer was no. For the long answer, here’s what goes into your pictures after we’re finished shooting.
First, I go through all your images and edit the bad ones, like with the eyes closed, or where you have a double chin that shouldn’t be there.
Next I do what’s called a batch processing. This is where I take all your edited images and color balance the average skin tone as well as the contrast levels. This global process somewhat prepares the images to look color balanced on monitors. I say somewhat because we don’t really have control over how your images look through other people’s monitors. Some monitors may be brighter than others, causing you to look washed out and other monitors may have an orange or magenta color cast causing your skin tone to look yellow or red. For this reason we don’t fuss too much over your low resolution images batched for “web use”.
We then take these globally color balanced images and create 4×6 proofs. Proofs are used to compare small 4×6 prints before making a final decision on an 8×10. Proofs are printed on machine prints at photo labs.
We also take all your images and re-size them for the five major directories like LA Casting so you can upload with ease. This is just a little extra something I like to include in my packages.
Lastly, we print your personalized CD label and burn your disc. This entire process can take anywhere from 1 to 3 hours depending on the number of images taken. So unless you’re willing to hang out, we mail your CD the day after your session!

Urban / Quirky Best Friend
Returning client Lawrence Kao is always a pleasure to work with, and does a great job showing off his hip edgy look. How could you not want to be friends with sweetheart Sara Jo Allocco?

Urban Bad Boy / Commercial Business
David Mate, owner of Hot Bartenders LA does a wonderful job revealing his dark side, and brown-eyed girl Michelline Coonrod, roommies with Vic D. proves beauty and brains come in one package!

Casual Office / Fun College Student
Glasses are such a great accessory for headshots! Lisa Temple really warms up the workroom with this smile and Emily O’Meara seems to be the perfect college roommate!

Commercial Business / Fun Mom
Couple Cory Blevins and Stephanie Burden worked wonderfully in front of the camera. Cory nailed the business look, while Stephanie perfectly displayed a fun loving mom. What a great team!

CW Bad Girl / Edgy Sexy
Both of these girls know how to work an edgy look. Hannah Lopez shows off her tough side, while Chess Brown shows some sass.

Young Professional
With dark eyes and a great smile, Brandon Weaver pulls off every look with ease. Business in pink? No Problem!

Fun Mom / Quirky Office / Casual Business
A kid would be lucky to grow up with Pamela Cohen, Mark David Christenson proves that the office can be fun, and Jason Baladi pulls off the unamused co-worker!

Nerdy Guy Next Door / Fun Uncle
Matthew Morgan has a great look! Do you see the Steve Buscemi resemblance?

Comedic Office / Blue Collar Dad
Whether he is in the office or at home with the kids, Michael Halpin always remains fun and light-hearted.

Fun Best Friend
Even when she is caught off guard Jennica Chavez still manages to look like a sweetheart!
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Why not the beach?
Paul Gillebaard came to me with an interesting idea for his author photos, shooting at the beach. He wanted his supportive companion to be present in his shots and he didn’t want anything too traditional. His dog was always by his side as he endeavored to write his fictional novel. Paul’s book, “Moon Hoax” is due to be released for pre-order sales early November. Stay tuned for a link to his website where you can purchase the book. And now a sneak peak at the jacket cover of the book as well as some of my favorites from our session!





An actor writes, directs and edits. The “AHA” moment!
Headshot Photograhper: Vanie Poyey
Guest blogger: Mark Sande
I recently worked with Mark Sande, a very talented actor (trust me I know from all the range I got) who has written a script that not only he directed, but edited as well. I asked him to guest blog and share the lessons he learned from the experience. What was interesting to me, communicated verbally, was that he discovered that if an editor falls in love with your take, he will edit around your take!
“The Friday I shot with Vanie was in the middle of a busy time for me. I had a singing date coming up the following week, and I was organizing a shoot of a script that I had just written. I remember thinking that if I’d known how busy things were going to be, I’d have scheduled Vanie a few weeks later.
That was four weeks ago. With the club date and the video shoot behind me, I realize I’m no less busy now than I was then. Being busy, it turns out, is no reason not to keep filling the calendar.
Vanie was really interested in the process of creating a short from start to finish and asked me to share some of the takeaway from an actor’s point of view.
Writing, directing and editing a script turns out to be a great exercise for an actor because it teaches you so much about the roles of those who will regularly judge and shape your work. The jobs are distinct and often at odds with each other, so you have to be ready to go a little schizo. (File under: the price we pay for our art.)
The lessons I learned as a writer go to brevity, i.e., paring away at the script. Be brutal on yourself to edit those words down. Take shorter pauses. The information communicated in a video clip is digested quickly. Boredom, not irony, is the product of longer takes.
As a director, I learned that you must lean on your actors to be absolutely specific. Generality of thought is absolutely fatal on the screen. If there’s a joke or a specific moment written in the script that the actor is just not delivering on, the director needs to find a way to get the actor there. If he doesn’t, the writer will come looking for him after the shoot.
My takeaway from the editor role was simply that in post production, the actor is competing for the attention of the editor. At the end of the day, he will fall in love with a beautiful, specific moment and build his cuts around it. If you are the actor who has been completely engaged with high stakes thoughts, if you’ve been consistent in your action from take to take, and if you’ve kept the acting out of your acting, the editor will want more of you in the finished product. He wants to love you. Get more screen time by making his job easy and giving him what he wants.”

Casual Business / Office Professional
Mark Sande as the charming professional!

Quirky

Quirky
Mark asked me to shoot something funny with the red strawberry against his blue striped shirt. I think it worked rather well!
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