In her standup comedy special, "Elder Millennial", Iliza Shlesinger made a funny but logical observation about how men are able to deal with dating rejection versus women; it's about the at-bats.
You see, the more at-bats, the more chances to get a hit. And the more hits, the better one's chance of getting on base, or hitting one out of the park; baseball and dating wise.
Now, some of you may think this is analogous to staying the course, keep going to as many casting calls and tryouts for as many roles as possible. And of course, you'd be wrong.
No, this isn't about trying out for as many parts as you can. As you can probably tell from the above pics, it's more about what you bring to wear to your headshot session.
"This is becoming a habit with you, Victor. Start out left, and then zag to the right all of a sudden. W. T. Natural F?"
Yeah, it is a bit of a habit isn't it?: D
Very often, I find folks that come to me for actor headshots, come totally unprepared, as in, they come to a session wearing only what they have on their backs.
Personally, I find this is a surefire way to sabotage an actor career.
Actually, let me rephrase that; unless you're a veteran/ working actor, that knows the ropes, and is laser-focused on a particular role, you should always come to your headshot sessions with multiple changes of clothes.
Look, I get it, it can be a hassle to bring a bunch of clothes to a shoot. You have to figure out what you're going to wear, you gotta figure out if it looks good on you, you gotta make sure the clothes are clean and pressed, and you gotta pack them in a fashion that's gonna be easy for you to transport, but not look wrinkled or crumpled when you unpack.
Yes, it is a hassle; getting headshots is probably at the very top of the list of things that actor does not want to do. All that said, if you're serious about starting a career in this industry, then you gotta play the game right.
Multiple changes opens up more options when working with Talent agents and Casting Directors. When you don't give them those options, they're pretty much stuck with what you have. In the case of a Talent Agent, they may just simply say to you, "We need to broaden your scope, so let's get some more headshots". Casting Directors, on the other hand, may not to go through all that; if all you have is just one set of images of you in the same piece of clothing, with no variation whatsoever, then they'll accept it. And maybe they'll see something that you might look good for. But you won't get as many chances to audition as you would have if you took multiple images with multiple clothing changes.
For this demonstration, I'll be using Adina's actor headshot session. Adina took things to the next level; not just satisfied with one or two looks, she came with multiple tops to try out for her session. Let's take a look at what we got....
In this shot, I took some liberty and added a bright orange/ yellow background. This works well in contrast to the blue straps on her top. She has a much younger look I think as a result of that setup. She could pull off a a college student, a love interest, she could maybe even pull off high-school senior in a pinch.
In this actor headshot, Adina has a much more mature look. This one also offers up some latitude in what she could play. She could pull off a lawyer, business professional, maybe these's some romance, or, some tension between her and someone that she likes, but can't say because of a professional relationship (work with me here, guys; just spit-ballin').
A quick removal of her blazer, reveals a low cut black strapped top. Maybe its date night at a swanky restaurant, Maybe she's a lounge singer or jazz club owner. She has that grown and sexy look going on here. And she definitely owns the space she's in for sure.
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