Portrait Photography Los Angeles
Portrait photography (also known as portraiture) is the capture by means of photography of the likeness of a person or a small group of people, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The objective is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. Like other types of portraiture, the focus of the photograph is the person's face, although the entire body and the background may be included. A portrait is generally not a snapshot, but a composed image of a person in a still position. A portrait often shows a person looking directly at the camera. Unlike many other styles of photography, the subjects of portrait photography are non-professional models. Many family portraits and photographs that commemorate special occasions, such as graduations or weddings, are professionally produced and hang in private homes. Most portraits are not intended for public exhibition. (Wikipedia)
When portrait photographs are composed and captured in a studio, the professional photographer has control over the lighting of the composition of the subject and can adjust direction and intensity. The basic lighting types are termed main light, fill lights, kicker lights, and background lights. The main light is the primary light source for the portrait. It is positioned about 45 degrees to the left or right of the subject, but it can also be used from above or below. A fill light is usually used opposite of the main light, but farther away or with less intensity. It is used to soften hard shadows created by the main light. Kicker lights (also called hair lights or side lights) provide lighting to the hair of the subject. This helps add depth to the photo and can be used to separate the subject from the background. Background lights are those which do not fall on the subject but the background. They can provide interesting effects to a boring backdrop or be used to make a background appear pure white. Most lighting found in modern photography are usually a flash of some sort. The lighting for portraiture is typically diffused by bouncing it from the inside of an umbrella, or by using a soft box. The soft box is essentially a strobe encased in an opaque box and one side is made of translucent fabric material. This provides a softer lighting for portrait work and is considered visually more appealing. Hair and background lights are usually not diffused. It is more important to control light spillage to other areas of the subject. Snoots and barn doors help focus the lights exactly where the photographer wants them. Background lights are sometimes used with color gels placed in front of the light to create colorful backgrounds. There are many different techniques for portrait photography. Often it is desirable to capture the subject's eyes and face in sharp focus while allowing other less important elements to be rendered in a soft focus. At other times, portraits of individual features might be the focus of a composition such as the hands, eyes or part of a torso.(Wikipedia)
Your headshot is an essential tool, great headshots sell the actor. The images should be true to life, casting directors do not like it when you show up for an audition and do not look anything like your photo. The images should not be touched up too much. You need an 8x10 black and white photo taken from the shoulders up that honestly captures your unique look. All actors should include a resume with their headshot, it is a good idea to attach it on the backside of your headshot; listing your statistics of eye color, hair color, weight, height, etc. along with their acting experience.
Many agencies have what they call a "headbook" which includes all the headshots of all of the actors in their agency. As casting directors come through town, many times they will request a copy of the headbook before they ever hold an audition. They browse through the headbook choosing the actors simply by their headshot alone. Then those who have been selected are called in for the audition. Other times, particularly for extra or featured roles, actors are selected for a role straight from the headbook. Casting directors want what they see and in this business, your look is everything. So be sure to sell yourself true and honest. You never know what look they are after. You may just have it.
CLOTHING: Avoid wearing stripes or prints. solid colors such as blue, red, or green show up evenly on the black and white matte and are easire on the eye.
MAKE-UP: Heavy make-up is not necessary, however if you do choose to wear make-up, a light concealer of foundation may make your complexion look nicer. If you have freckles, don’t cover them up that may be the exact look the casting director is looking for and they know they can easily be covered up with make-up on the set.
HAIR: If you normally wear your hair straight, don’t curl it up, and vice versa if you have naturally curly hair-don’t straighten it flat.
SMILE: A natural smile, not cheesy or angry - it just has to be you. A nice glimpse of your teeth also shows the casting director what you’ve got in there. If you’ve got braces, crooked teeth, a big gap in the middle, smile anyway. Don’t hide anything.
POSES: Don’t be a fashion model. Avoid flipping the hair, leaning your chin on your arm, or any other kind of prop. The directors want to see a straight head shot, they don’t want to see you being cute or knock dead gorgeous, they want to see you.
LIGHTING: Never use soft focus or special lighting techniques. The basic key, fill and back lights of the studio should be all you need.
ACKGROUND: Be sure you are using a simple, non-distracting backdrop. White or black are not recommended. Most common are off-white, gray, light blue or any color that comes through with a gentle gray tone. If you are taking the photographs outside, again be sure there is nothing distracting to the eye in the background. A headshot’s background will probably be mostly out of focus anyway.
SECOND OPINION: it is always a good idea to get a second, third or even fourth opinion from those in the business before selecting your personal headshot. You may think that you look beautiful in that one shot, but others may say it looks nothing like you. The best judge would be your talent agency. Remember, the actor’s headshot sells the actor. You need a good and true photograph of yourself.