What your photographer needs in order to provide you with a successful headshot session: Part I

Los Angeles Headshot Photographer: Vanie Poyey

Speaking for myself, I find that my most  amazing sessions have a lot to do with a client’s attitude coming into the session.  I realize headshots are a large investment and that there is a lot riding on them.  And often by the time actors come to me, they’ve had one or more bad experiences, their agents haven’t been happy with any of their pictures and they are at a complete loss.  Regardless, assuming you have done your due diligence and have thoroughly researched photographers, once you make a decision, it’s important to trust your decision as well as the process of the photographer you chose to work with.  In other words, let the professionals do their job.

What I’m about to say can easily be misunderstood so I want to be very clear.  I’m not saying your input isn’t important and I’m not saying you shouldn’t voice your concerns or opinions. However, when  someone is overly controlling about every aspect of  the shoot from the largest detail to the smallest of details, it tends to stifle creativity.  Not only is the organic process gone, but I’m worried about making the slightest wrong move and failing to please my client.  I’m worried that what I do isn’t what they want so I’m extra careful to only do the things they ask me to do.  I refrain from offering my usual advise and typically end up confining myself to tight parameters which doesn’t leave room for spontaneous moments that make for great pictures.

Believe it or not a person’s attitude can become a self fulfilling prophecy and can literally make or break a headshot session.   The person who walks in with a negative attitude, constantly stopping the flow and the momentum because they are worried about what is going to go wrong because of what has gone wrong in the past, is very likely to walk away with pictures that don’t represent what I do in my body of work.  This is never intentional on my part but if I’m prevented from doing what I normally do how can my pictures turn out the way they usually turn out?  The person who comes in with a positive attitude, is free and open to new experiences, open to direction and entrusts me with the experience, will very likely walk away with exceptional results.

Part II of this post will outline some examples and show you the most amazing session of the year because of my client’s amazing positive attitude!  Stay tuned and share your experiences here!

Below are headshots wrapping up the last of the batch from 2011!

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“There is no copyright”

Headshots in Los Angeles by Vanie Poyey

He said, speaking over me when I attempted to explain why I don’t give out all the high resolution images with my packages.  In a very antagonistic tone, he said it again after I attempted to explain a second time “No no no there is no copyright, who does that?” .  So I wished him luck and hung up the phone.  The actor will remain unnamed but I was a little perturbed by the hypocrisy of this fellow “artist” during this one way conversation which started as an inquiry of my services.  Musicians live on royalties, actors live on residuals,  and photographers live on licensing their images and most of us “do that”.

As my colleague Joe Henson from NY so eloquently put it…

“This issue is definitely one of the biggest struggles in our profession, the concept of licensing fees for the needs of different clients.  Because photography has been devalued by the explosion of talented amateurs who have no real need to protect the rights to their work and because original digital files are reproducible with no degradation of quality, we professionals have to dig in our heels and protect what little value we have left to the rights of our work.  I find it easiest to explain licensing fees to my clients by establishing a link between my rights as a photographer and the rights they retain in their given field.”

To establish that link with the acting profession, I would like to point out that as an actor your union protects the rights to your image in many ways one of which is by making sure you are properly paid for the different uses of your image.  If a show plays an episode you’re in x amount of times, you get x amount of residuals.  In addition, if a show plays an episode you’re in on network TV vs. basic cable, you get x amount of $.   Similarly if you book a national commercial, you get compensated differently than if you were to book a regional one or a straight buyout.

These laws are in place to prevent your image from being exploited without proper compensation.

The same goes for all artists, architects, painters, poets, novelists, filmmakers, and yes photographers.

The Copyright Act of 1976 protects the creators of content, visual or intellectual.

So to get to the point, when you pay x amount of dollars for a headshot session the images of which are intended to be used for your personal promotional needs, you get x included in your package.  For me to exercise some control over how my photographs are used and to prevent them from being used in a manner not intended or paid for, I don’t give out high resolution images.  Instead, each high resolution image is purchased separately and paid for separately with a small copyright mark placed unobtrusively in the corner somewhere.  I ask that you respect my copyright.

If Warner Brothers decides to use your headshot to promote their next show, then Warner Brothers will need to license the rights to that image from me.  The value of that headshot changes when used to bring in big bucks by way of exploiting it as advertising for a show.  Starting to see the similarities in what we do as artists?

I hope so because there is copyright.

-Vanie

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The following images are of my fellow clients, actors I’m grateful for because they support and respect my work as an artist.

Check out Tish’s blog as she documents about her session with us here!

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The Backstage Spotlight Issue on Headshots

Headshots for Actors: by Vanie Poyey

Recently Backstage West asked a few photographers to give their input in an article titled Los Angeles Photographers on What Makes an Effective Headshot.   This was my little bit followed by a couple of headshots.

“Your headshot should not simply be a pretty picture—a trap most novice actors fall into. Instead, your headshots need to market you specifically for the type you’re auditioning for. Your type, or what I call “marketing look,” is based on your age range. For example, if your age range is 18 to 23, your marketing looks may include “all-American guy next door,” or possibly “edgy hipster” or “edgy urban,” etc.

The two photos I chose—while full of personality, something I aim to draw from actors by directing them—also display very specific marketing looks. Sarah is clearly “the girl next door,” and Eduardo is clearly “the businessman.” When the casting community isn’t familiar with your work, a headshot that closely resembles the type in the breakdown gives them reason to believe you can act the part and to call you in.”

The following pictures are some examples of different looks!

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