Actor Headshots | FAQ
What do I need to think about before the shoot?
Although every headshot session starts with a detailed conversation over a cuppa about what you are hoping to achieve, the more information you can share with me beforehand, the more I can shape the shoot to your expectations. If you have any headshots already, please send them to me with any thoughts on what you like and don't like about them, and please feel free to talk to me anytime about any concerns you might have prior to the shoot, so that you arrive feeling as relaxed and comfortable as possible.
For children, please make sure they arrived well-rested and fed - I'm a dab hand at making toast but it is a bit of distraction! And for adults, arriving at the shoot after a night out is not a great idea; get plenty of sleep and make sure you drink lots of water in the days running up to the shoot - it makes a huge difference to how you look and feel on the day, and there's only so much Photoshop can do to help you if you don't!
What should I wear?
Above all else, wear clothes that are comfortable and make you feel great. But it's always best to keep things simple - we want the focus to be on your face, not on what you're wearing. Darker clothes are less distracting, so a simple black T-Shirt / blouse is always a good option, but also bring a good variety of alternatives in solid colours that you think work well with your hair and skin tones, and we can choose together what's likely to work best for you when you arrive.
Avoid large logos and branded clothing, as well as busy patterns and large stripes, and definitely no sequins / glitter / studs etc. Different necklines can have an impact on the shape of your face in-camera, so bring a variety of styles - not just the same style of top in different colours. Polo-necks are almost always a bad idea, as they crowd the face.
What about hair & make-up?
Your headshot should look as natural as possible - a guaranteed way to irritate Casting Directors is to turn up to an audition looking nothing like the headshot they called you in on! I normally suggest that my clients do their hair and make up as they would normally do it themselves, but if you feel particularly strongly that you would like to work with a hair and makeup artist, I have some excellent local contacts who specialise in headshots and natural-looking make-up.
If your hair is long enough, I always suggest shooting with it both up and down to give you a variety of looks, so please bring any hair products that you would normally use to style your hair in different ways.
How do I pay?
A 50% deposit is required to confirm your booking date (or you can pay in full if that’s easier for you), and any advance payment is fully refundable up to three days before the shoot if you decide to cancel for any reason. But I also understand that from time to time things crop up that are beyond our control, so session fees are transferable to another session date if you need to rearrange for another time at shorter notice.
You can pay in whichever way is easiest for you - cash, cheque, card and on-line transfers are all fine. If you require an invoice and receipt for your records, please try and let me know in advance so that I can have them ready for you at the session.
Will you re-touch the headshots that I choose?
Much like my advice on hair and make-up, I always recommend that your final headshots should be as natural-looking as possible. So whilst I will use Photoshop to do some re-touching, I'll use it sparingly.
Within all the package prices, I'll correct anything that's temporary, such as skin blemishes and redness, or just a bit untidy, such as flyaway hairs, but if there are any cosmetic issues that you particularly want to address, such as teeth whitening, under-eye circles and lines etc. I'm generally happy to do that for a minimal extra fee, as long we're still in the ballpark of cosmetic tweaks rather than cosmetic surgery! If you’d like to find out a bit more about my thoughts on retouching, might find this blog post useful.
How many images do I receive and where do I access them?
I don't believe in just sending you all of the images that we create during the shoot; in a typical headshot session, I'll often take at least 200-300 shots, and I think sending them all at once can just feel a little overwhelming. But I'm also aware that the images that I think work best may not always be my clients' favourites, so at the end of the shoot we'll normally sit down together to do a first edit of the images to ensure I haven't missed anything that you might like in the final selection.
After that, I'll upload my recommended shortlist of images to a password-protected gallery on my website, which allows you to download your favourites direct to your desktop or mobile device, as well as ordering prints, if you need them, that get delivered direct to any address you specify.
