Are Headshots your “Golden Ticket”?

Photos by Professional Headshot Photographer in LA:  Vanie Poyey

Guest Blog by Kathy L. Young

© Erin Sullivan

Talent Manager and Career Coach Kathy L. Young has a passion for educating and leading the next generation of actors to industry success. She opened the doors of “Actor’s Classroom” to help actors who are beginning or refreshing their careers. Her unique, personalized management style benefits her actors which receive an individualized plan for their success. Kathy’s students have appeared on all major prime time and cable networks and have booked over 50 SAG national and regional commercials.

“In  the classic movie Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, Charlie and his Grandpa Jo sing,
”Cause I’ve got a golden ticket
I’ve got a golden chance to make my way
And with a golden ticket, it’s a golden day”

As a talent manager and career coach, I find that many actors are searching for the “golden ticket” to career success.  As I have spent time with actors, I have come to understand and relate to their thought process–”If I get new headshots, then I will find a new agent. If I get better headshots, then I will go out on better auditions.” And if I have great headshots, then I will book a great job.”

Because my desire is for each of my actors to be successful, I teach them that focusing on headshots alone is the “golden ticket mentality”. Tragically, I have seen this mentality only lead to disappointment and frustration. I instead educate them on all three components of a successful career: Marketing, Training and Representation.  Because headshots only fall within the marketing component, an actor should ask themselves these questions to include all components:
1) Is my resume up-to-date and formatted in a professional way to best market myself?

2) Am I currently enrolled in consistent and beneficial acting training?

3) Am I building up my career team who is advising me on my type/look/essences?

4) Am I auditioning on a regular basis ?
Overall, actors should always utilize these questions before proceeding with any career decisions. By answering these questions, actors will have a more well-rounded view of their career and path to success and ultimately avoid the trap of the “golden ticket mentality.”

For more sound advise, Kathy can be reached via email at coach4crossroads@yahoo.com

If you’ve fallen into the trap of the “Golden Ticket Mentality”, share your thoughts here and share this post!

 

Tags: acting headshot, Acting Headshots, actor head shots, actor headshot, actor headshots, actors headshot, actors headshots, actress headshot, actress headshots, commercial headshot, commercial headshots, digital headshots, great headshots, head shots, head shots in los angeles, Head shots LA, head shots los angeles, Headshot photography in Los Angeles, headshot photography los angeles, headshots, headshots for actors, headshots in los angeles, headshots la, headshots los angeles, headshots portraits, Hollywood Headshots, LA Headshot Photographers, LA headshot photography, LA Headshots, Los Angeles Head shot Photographer, Los Angeles Headshot Photographer

We just hit 700 on our Fan Page!

Los Angeles Headshot Photographers

I’m back from the WPPI conference in Vegas (wedding and portrait photographers international) and I’m so pleased to find out we just hit our 700 fan mark on our Facebook Page!  So we are giving back in a big way! The first 7 people that email me and notify me that they have shared this contest on the walls of 7 friends on Facebook, have subscribed to my blog via email and book by April 7th, will get a session with 7 outfits for $700!! Thank you Fans!!

Be sure to share this post!

If you enjoyed this post, share it!

Tags: acting headshot, Acting Headshots, actor head shots, actor headshot, actor headshots, actors headshot, actors headshots, actress headshots, commercial headshot, commercial headshots, digital headshots, great headshots, Head shot photographer, Head shot Photographers, Head shot photographers in LA, Head shot photographers in Los Angeles, Head shot Photography, head shots, Head shots in LA, head shots in los angleles, Head shots LA, Head shots Los Anglels, Headhot Photography in Los Angeles, headshot, headshot photographer in los angeles, headshot photographers in la, headshot photographers los angeles, Headshot Photography in LA, headshot photography los angeles, headshots, headshots for actors, headshots in los angeles, headshots la, headshots los angeles, headshots portraits, hollywoood headshots, LA Head shots, LA Headshot Photographer, LA Headshot Photographers, LA headshot photography, LA Headshots, Los Angeles Head shot Photographer, Los Angeles Headshot Photographer, Los Angeles Headshot Photography

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

Headshots by Vanie Poyey

This is a two part blog and Part I of this blog post can be found HERE.  This blog is about examples and would make more sense if you read Part I first.

To summarize Part I, a person’s attitude can pretty much make or break a headshot session.  A controlling attitude can stifle the creative process of a photographer while a trusting one can bring about the freedom to get more creative with exceptional results.

It truly does take two to tango and every once in a while, you dance with a partner that can do so exceptionally well.  Allyssa Schmitt (below) is a shining example of someone who had done her research and trusted the process of the photographer she chose.  Our dance was fluid and it allowed me to break out of the steps I’m accustomed to and venture into an exploratory and fun tango!  She had a great attitude, was sure her pictures were going to turn out well and truly embraced the process of getting her pictures taken with me.  Yes she had the same concerns as everyone else like for instance dark circles under her eyes but she was able to let go and have fun because dark circles are not something to fret over when there’s Photoshop!  Having her trust me gave me the freedom to play and from that freedom came some great spontaneous moments.  With Allyssa’s shoot if it wasn’t for the freedom she gave me, I wouldn’t have noticed the old car on our way back that then made me think of having her somehow use it for our shot, and I wouldn’t have noticed the wall we used for her edgier look for which we had to sneak onto private property!  It was a fun adventure!

I find that for the most part those who aren’t happy with the results for their session weren’t happy to begin with.  Having a negative attitude about how you’ve never taken a great picture and bringing that in on the day of your session isn’t going to help your results!  Showing up sick to a session and complaining about not looking good when you should have rescheduled in the first place, isn’t going to help either.  Complaining about how you hate the process, constantly stopping the momentum of a shoot because you are self critical, have baggy eyes, bad skin, or because you can’t make up your mind about clothing or feel the need to fix your hair after every shot will not only slow down the process but will completely deplete me of my creativity.  With such sessions I’m pretty much on auto mode waiting for you to be done fussing over yourself so I can shoot some pictures put down the camera and wait again.  That is not the way great moments are created and captured!  That is not a Tango!  When makeup becomes such a process that it takes two hours of changes for you to still not be happy with your face, then of course you’re not going to be happy with your pictures.  Fact:  In twelve years, I’ve cancelled two sessions for this very reason.  Regretfully I didn’t cancel a third which I should have.  If you’ve done your research, have studied your photographer’s portfolio which also showcases their makeup artist’s work, then when you hire him or her, you simply need to trust and let the professionals do their job.

The process of creating successful headshots comes from collaboration and input, not control.

Enjoy Allyssa’s photos and if you enjoyed this post, share it and subscribe!

Tags: acting headshot, Acting Headshots, actor headshot, actor headshots, actors headshot, actors headshots, actress headshot, actress headshots, commercial headshot, commercial headshots, digital headshots, great headshots, head shots, head shots in los angeles, Head shots LA, headshot, Headshot photography in Los Angeles, headshot photography los angeles, headshots, headshots for actors, headshots in los angeles, headshots la, headshots portraits, Hollywood Headshots, LA Headshot Photographers, LA headshot photography, LA Headshots, Los Angeles Head shot Photographer, Los Angeles Headshot Photographer