If you’re a reader of this blog, you may recall the post below this where I complained about Google inexplicably deleting 28 of my reviews. Well, Google were recently kind enough to reinstate them, completely out of the blue, I might add!

I didn’t think anything of it at first, and put it down to a simple server error on their part. That is, until I received a phonecall from a nice chap at Google Maps…

I was shooting a headshot session a couple of weeks ago, and my phone rang with a peculiar number. I answered, and the chap introduced himself, and asked if he could confirm a few of my details. He asked a few details about my business, and got me to confirm my listing details. I didn’t think anything of it, but remembered about my reviews, and mentioned that they’d disappeared temporarily, and asked if they knew anything about it. The man immediately replied that this was the reason for the call. Google maps had received a complaint that muy reviews were “fake” and that my listing contained other “incorrect information”. Both of which are untrue.

Anyway, long story short, it was all tidied up, and there’s no problem. But really, someone actually complained about me? As a few people on Twitter have said, it’s very likely a competitor. But what a disgusting tactic. I use the money from London Headshots to pay my mortgage and feed my daughter. By attempting to damage my business, they’re effectively trying to hurt my family and take away my home. I’m sure that’s not how they see it, but it’s what it is.

So a message to whoever complained: Instead of trying to ruin by business, why don’t you try shooting beter headshots than me? Nobody is going to hire you’re just because I’m not on the front page. Dickhead.

For the record – My reviews are 100% real. I have the most reviews out of any headshot photographer in London. POW!

The post Google replaced my reviews appeared first on LONDON HEADSHOTS.

There is a lot of hoopla going around at the moment about the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Bill. Most of the stories are full of hyperbole, but the fact remains that there is a nasty little clause in the reform which fundamentally undermines people’s intellectual property rights.

Anyone in the creative industry knows how difficult it can be to earn a living, and even more difficult is getting large companies to pay the proper rate for our work. If you think it’s bad now, how bad will it get when they can use an image you own, claiming they “couldn’t find you”, thus making your work ‘orphan’?

UK law currently protects us from this happening. It assumes that any image has an owner, and therefore any unauthorised use of that image constitutes infringement. Under the new law, if a company conducts an undefined “diligent search”, but comes up with nothing, they can use that image for whatever purpose they wish.

If you want to think about how scary that could be – imagine a photo of your child appearing in a child abuse ad. If the company can prove they looked for the owner of the shot but couldn’t find you, they are off the hook. Or, perhaps more comically, you’re walking down the street and you find your Facebook profile picture has been used on a 50 foot billboard for erectile dysfunction.

This doesn’t just affect people in the creative industry, it affects everyone who’s ever uploaded something to the internet. The law currently protects us from companies who want to exploit the rich media content currently online. With this bill becoming law, we will lose that protection.

Link to petition: http://epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/49422

The post Stop Legalised Theft of Copyrighted Works appeared first on LONDON HEADSHOTS.

Well, up until this morning, I had 28 genuine reviews on Google. More than any other headshot photographer in London.

Now I only have 3, because Google have deemed it necessary to delete 25 of them in one go. Their response was that while they may sometimes inadvertently delete honest reviews, they believe that the price business owners such as myself pay in potential lost earnings, and wasted time spent encouraging clients to go out of their way to leave reviews, is all part of the “greater good”.

So, a big thanks to Google. My business, which I use to pay my bills and raise my daughter, is now going to be even more of an uphill struggle. Just for no reason.

But as long as it serves the greater good, I guess everyone should be happy.

Hail Google!

The post A massive thank you to Google for removing all of my reviews. appeared first on LONDON HEADSHOTS.

The title of this update was uttered three years ago by my favourite Mixed Martial Arts fighter, a Mr. Nick Diaz, to KJ Noons, just moments after KJ had defended his welterweight title. Those four words have become somewhat of an internet meme in recent years among fans in the Mixed Martial Arts community. The same words perfectly sum up headshots. That’s right, I just compared two men battering each other in a cage to a relaxing session at London Headshots. Stay with me!

Nick is brash, ineloquent, largely disinterested, but incredibly spiritual and deep-thinking, and he puts everything into perspective with that simple statement. His theory on fighting is that it’s a fight. It’s going to happen. You’re going to get punched in the face; you might even die. His main point though is that it’s going to happen. So what can you do about it? His view is that you can go in with fear or you can go in without it. Either way, you’re going in. Aside from possessing some of the best boxing in the sport, and a ground-fighting ability that matches his standup, Nick’s chief asset in combat is his completely kamikaze approach to fighting. Where a lot of fighters will fight “intelligently”, exploiting areas where they are stronger and their opponent is weaker, often stalling and avoiding dangerous situations to drag the fight to a judges decision and a points win. Nick does not subscribe to this method of fighting. Nick is fearless. No matter who the opponent is, he keeps the fight standing, often in the pocket, despite a long reach, and he will stay there whether he’s taking the harder shots or not. It’s this complete fearlessness and disregard for his own safety that makes him a horrible matchup for so many fighters. They simply cannot handle the pace of a man who will not be slowed down by punches to the face. What he lacks in the cage is fear.

Fear is a peculiar emotion. It’s our most visceral and palpable sensation, yet it’s one we feel mostly when it’s not required. Fear is what protects us from sabre tooth tigers and rival tribes with spears; it readies our bodies for combat, evasion or escape. We didn’t evolve to feel it while waiting for a headshot session. Geoff Thompson, a doorman from Sheffield, turned writer and author of ‘Watch My Back‘, says that ‘fear is the friend of exceptional people’. He believes that with the right mindset, you can channel that fear, and if recognised for what it really is, even make it your ally. Fear is nothing more than adrenaline, it’s the prime hormone that readies your body for success. That feeling coursing through your body that many interpret as fear is actually your body doing you a favour. It’s shutting down unimportant processes, increasing your awareness, heightening your senses. It’s giving you the best possible chances to save your own life in a dangerous situation. It’s just a pity we evolved before the arrival of headshots. If cavement needed to have headshots done, then adrenaline would have evolved to loosen our features, calm us down, relax our faces, and provide options and self-direction in front of the camera.

When you come into a headshot session, and you’re someone who isn’t particularly comfortable in front of a camera, or, even worse, you’re someone who positively freezes whenever there’s a camera in your face, the reason why you get ‘bad’ headshots isn’t because you can’t take a good picture, or because you don’t know what you’re doing, it’s because you let your fear control you. You gave in to it and submitted early. You cared too much, and when your adrenaline gave you the chance to fight or flee, you fled.

If you give in to fear, your headshots are the only thing that will suffer.

Some people, when faced with their fears, completely shut down. They lose the motivation to save themselves or at least make a bad situation better.

The biggest enemy in a headshot session is apathy. Apathy will glue you to the spot. It’ll freeze your facial features stiffer than a Siberian mummy. If you don’t have the motivation inside yourself to recognise that fear is your friend, then you will give in to that apathy and make no effort. How much success are you expecting with no effort? When was the last important discovery or advancement made with no effort?

Whether you have fear or not, the session is still happening. Conquer your worries and it’s headshots like this that await.

A headshot session isn’t an ordeal, it’s an opportunity and a challenge. It’s a safe environment to test your range and practice facial expressions while having your photograph taken by an expert who can tell you what does and doesn’t work. If you treat a headshot session properly, that is, if you go into a headshot session with the right frame of mind, you’re going to come out knowing more about your face than you ever thought possible. You’re going to know exactly how to look into a camera and nail a shot. Ultimately, with better control of your face, you’re going to become a better actor.

Any decent headshot photographer worth their fee is going to sit you down for an extended period before the session and take as long as it takes to teach you how to take a picture. They’re are going to go through every single element of headshot photography so that you can step in front of their camera having mastered headshots before you’ve ever taken a shot. So there’s nothing to worry about!

Note: example images used in this blog post are from client Carlie Milner. She was most definitely not scared during any part of the session, but I picked her for illustrative purposes, because it wouldn't be right to pick someone who WAS scared. First three shots in this series were the first three shots I took during the session to test light, but in this instance they're used to illustrate someone not making an effort (which you obviously wouldn't be if all the photographer was doing was testing the lights!)

The post “Don’t be scared, homie…” appeared first on LONDON HEADSHOTS.

OK, so hot on the heels of the critically claimed (by me) blog post: “Warning: downloading images to your iPad”, comes this, the highly anticipated sequel.

Do not. I repeat DO NOT upload images to Spotlight from your mobile device, because they will look terrible. Mobile devices such as the Galaxy Note, iPad, and all the other variants, compress the images they download, because they need to fit on a smaller screen. If you are downloading from a 3G connection, they’ll compress the files even more. When you then upload those files to Spotlight, they are viewed by casting directors using desktop computers, Do you really want them to see grainy, low-quality images that look shit?

Honestly, I feel quite strongly about this, because while that work represents you, it also represents me. Every single person who sees a crap, grainy image that looks like it was shot with an iPhone is a person who won’t want to shoot with London Headshots.

So please, download your images to a computer and upload them to Spotlight from a computer.

Thanks

The post Warning: Uploading images to Spotlight with your iPad appeared first on LONDON HEADSHOTS.

The world is-a-changin’, and it’s no longer enough to have your printed black and white headshot in your folder to send to casting directors anymore. Nowadays, the potential avenues to market yourself as an actor are limitless.

I got in contact with the guys at ToBeSeen, a community for production and talent alike and asked them for the bare essentials any actor should be in possession of if they want to net the parts they want. For a lot of you, this might seem like common sense, but you wouldn’t believe how many people I shoot who don’t even have Twitter! Read on:

Headshots

OK, this is an obvious one. I have to be careful here, because I don’t want to make this an article about why you should choose London Headshots. There are plenty of seriously great shooters out there, so you’re spoilt for choice. You need a quality headshot in order to be taken seriously. It’s got to be an image of YOU. A casting director needs to know who he’s looking at, and needs the best possible idea of who is going to walk through their door on the day of the audition. Google headshot photographer sin your area, there’s millions of them. Word of advice: Don’t EVER book a headshot session with a budget in mind. Your headshots are an investment, so if you like someone who’s shooting £500 headshots, save up and book ‘em.

Showreel

The showreel is a tricky thing. You need one; it can be the difference between getting an audition or not. However, like a bad headshot, a bad showreel is going to do more harm than good. Have your showreel professionally made, but watch out for what you’re buying. A showreel is something that doesn’t have to cost the earth, and try to avoid companies that sell themselves based on flashy editing techniques.

A simple, concise showreel featuring a breadth of your work will suffice. Update it regularly, and try to ensure it shows your versitility. Aim for 3-4 minutes, no longer. Attention spans are short, so grab ‘em & dazzle ‘em.

Online Profile

You can get a profile on ToBeSeen.co.uk (that’s a definite plug, they’re worth it!) for free. A profile functions essentially as a personal webpage to house all your details, headshots, showreels and acting credits. This is what you can send to people and companies in the industry, you can print it on business cards, email signatures, social networking profiles etc. There’s plenty more profile sites, but I like ToBeSeen (hence this article). Everyone thinks the buck stops at Spotlight, but it really doesn’t.While Spotlight is essential for success, it’s not the only website. You need to be as visible as possible, and that means extending your reach to other sites. If a website attracts even one casting director, that’s a potential job. There’s plenty of sites such as StarNow, and all of them give juice. Don’t limit yourself to thinking Spotlight is your only option. CastingCallPro is another.

Social Networking 

This is one people overlook the most, and it’s probably the one with the most potential to net you parts. Open social networking sites like Twitter/Facebook pages etc are absolutely essentially in my opinion, no matter WHAT sector of the creative industry you’re in. It’s no secret that the smash drama Misfits owes a lot of it’s cult success to it’s amazing viral marketing campaigns exacted across the Twitter and Facebook universes. People who know about the power of social networking, Twitter, in particular, are generating huge amounts of interest in their projects. It’s almost like a traffic generation tool that you can use to direct people to your sites. Updating your feed with behind the scenes shots, costumes, etc, can give others a unique insight into the craft, which will ultimately get you noticed.

Engaging with your fans and audience will pay dividends. If you don’t believe me, compare the follower count of Hollywood stars who manage their own Twitter compared with those who don’t.

Finally, social networking pages post jobs all the time, Especially CastingCallPro on Twitter.

Auditions

Auditions are happening constantly, and there’s always a job that fits the roles you play. The CastingCallPro Twitter account constantly updates with roles and job opportunities, and again, www.tobeseen.co.uk updates job posts regularly right on the front page. Check regularly.

The Audition

It might come as a surprise, but a lot of jobs can come just as a result of gaining a reputation for being reliable and dependable. Double check the time and date of the audition, and always arrive to the audition with 10 or so minutes to spare.

Once you’ve had the audition, don’t pester them for feedback, no matter how tempting. Check phone and emails regularly and just wait for them to contact you. They will. It’s a competitive industry, so continue to audition for other work, perseverance is key here.

Visit ToBeSeen

The post Advice for actors – essentials. appeared first on LONDON HEADSHOTS.

Hi guys.

A few people have commented that they either can’t download files from my server, or they’re getting “file too small” errors when trying to upload to sites like Spotlight. Every time this happens, it’s turning out that they’ve downloaded the files to their iPad or iPhone, or similar tablet/phone device and are trying to upload from there.

Word of warning:

The zip file you get at the end contains an archive of your headshots in both web and print sizes. They are supposed to be stored and accessed from a computer. If you access these files from an iPhone or iPad, or other tablet or smartphone, the device will resize the images and compress them. They also won’t display the colour profile properly, so the print and web files will look different.

Always view and upload your final headshots from a desktop computer or a laptop. Anything else will not display them properly.

The post Warning: downloading finished images to your iPad appeared first on LONDON HEADSHOTS.

Zits, eye bags, pimples and late nights. I’m sure many an actor has fretted the morning of a headshot session, wishing they could peel their face off and start over. That huge whitehead, veneered with a trowl-like application of off-colour coverup has served only to crack and take on the appearance of a topographical image of a mountain on the surface of Mars. How many restful nights would be gained if these poor souls were to learn that it’s nothing to worry about.

A headshot session is something that must occur  as time and availability permits. This means we have to take what we can get on the day, and I suppose, in that instance, we need to hope for the best. Much like a picnic in July, when you know there’s every chance it’s going to piss down.

A headshot is supposed to be an accurate reflection of you at your best, but a snapshot of you at the exact time the headshot was taken. For that reason, a photographer will work to remove any elements of a photograph that might not have been present the day before, or wouldn’t necessarily be still there a week after the headshot was taken. This is done during a process called ‘retouching’.

Retouching is getting a bit of a bad press at the moment, and for good reason. Cosmetic companies are getting their wrists slapped for making aged celebrities look positively foetal, and less-than-able photographers are taking techniques too far and creating monstrous images of people with over-smooth skin to the point where it has no texture at all. This has led to a demonising of what is an incredibly intricate and necessary step in the digital photographic process.

The Problem with A Photograph

Trouble is, with these high-end digital images, is that they pick up too much information. You’ve got a 20 million pixel image that can pick up the shadows being cast by the depth of your pores. Think about that for a second. When was the last time you really noticed anyone’s pores when you were having a conversation with them, or when someone was sitting across the room? You didn’t, because there’s too much other information going on at the time for you to notice something as insignificant as a person’s skin texture.

However, take a photograph of a persons face, from 6 inches away, and there’s nothing you fail to notice. When you freeze a person’s face in time, and you do it with a high-end camera, you record absolutely every single atom in that shot. With nothing else but the image to look at, things you don’t notice during daily life will suddenly jump out at you like little explosions on the screen. Facial pores, nostril hair, dark eyes, blood-shot veins in the sclera of the eyes, pockmarks, dimples, and everything else you don’t see while talking to someone at a distance.

Is that fair? Is that an accurate representation of someone’s face? I say no.

At London Headshots, the purpose of retouching is not to make people look better, or younger, not even by one day. I use photoshop to remove all the elements of a shot that either won’t be there when a casting comes round, such as spots, or things you wouldn’t notice when you were talking to them, such as tiny stray nostril hairs.

Do not worry about any of the little temporary imperfections that crop up during the week running up to the headshot session. These are not things to concern yourselves with, because they won’t be visible in the final shots, just like they won’t be visible when you go for your next casting!

Now you can relax!

The post Headshots – retouching appeared first on LONDON HEADSHOTS.

OK,

So I know on my FAQ it says that I don’t do discounts for students, I reckon I should reiterate, as it’s not that straightforward, as I’ve had a slight change of heart in the last couple of weeks. I’ll explain.

There’s a recurring theme among the younger clients I shoot, and that is of their “first time” with headshots. Time and again, the same story is cropping up. That story is of the cheaper photographer they chose, or of the photographer the drama school recommended, who took photographs they aren’t particularly happy with. This is pretty much 90% of everyone I shoot who had shots done with the photographer at the drama school. The complaints are always the same. They felt rushed, or they only shot for 45 minutes, they weren’t happy with the results etc..

I don’t know why a headshot photographer would want to rush a headshot session or impose restrictions on the session, as it ultimately limits the chances of getting a great headshot. If they’re passionate about what they do, they should be willing to spend as much time as it takes in order to get the kind of work that they want to represent them and their style. They should also want every client walking out the door with the best possible chance of advancing their career. Otherwise what’s the point in even shooting headshots? Every single client is different, so I’ve never understood in giving everyone the same tiny window of opportunity to get things right!

So here’s the deal: If you are in drama school, and you can get your school to put me forward as the headshot photographer of choice, I will give each and every person from that school a £50 discount on their session when the time comes to get their first shots done. But better than that, I will give YOU, the person who put me forward, free headshots. Free headshots FOR LIFE. As in, you will never have to pay for another session at London Headshots again.

Seriously, that’s pretty much the best deal in the history of headshots. Unless someone has already done this deal, in which case, it shares joint-first place as the best offer in the history of headshots. But I digress…

The Deal:

So, if you go to drama school, and you can put me in contact with the people who choose who to recommend as the headshot photographer of choice, and they choose to extend my services, I will never charge you, the individual, for another headshot session ever again.

Thus, I have this deal:

Headshot session.

• Unlimited session time
• Unlimited clothing changes
• Six retouched images
• Can’t think of anything else to offer

The session will be exactly the same as anyone else gets, whether it’s you, or whether it’s a student. There’s no caveats, no restrictions. It’s a full headshot session. I only shoot ONE PERSON per day, so you aren’t going to be on a conveyor belt, nor are you going to be rushed. It’s the best opportunity you can get to get the best possible headshots right out the door to really kick start your career.

I take the time to actually teach you how to take a shot. Actually, I will positively BORE YOU with how much I drum into you how to look into a camera. You’ll leave a session with me knowing your face better than you ever thought possible, and you’ll take camera skills with you that will remain with you your entire career.

So yeah, that’s all really. Get in contact with your drama school, get me on the books, and bag yourself the best headshots you’ve ever had

The post Discounts For Drama Students appeared first on LONDON HEADSHOTS.

Here’s a tricky one.

So, with a headshot, I guess your primary concern is whether the shot is going to generate interest in the eyes of casting directors. We want a headshot that is going to get you, at the very least, a foot in the door. You have two options you can take:

The Classic Headshot

The ‘classic headshot’ is defined here as a headshot that is specifically designed for the role you’re intending to cast for. The idea is that the casting director already sees you in character in the headshot, and so requires less imagination from them to put you in the role. The theory is that this will help you with that specific role, and if you apply for the same type of roles, you can really put these to good use.

An example of a classic headshot. Very intense and to the point, but not much use outside of that particular role.

The Contemporary Headshot

The ‘contemporary headshot’ is a bit more ‘you’. It’s you at your best, showing your character and personality in the shot. It is designed to display you as a confident, approachable person who will be easy to work with. The idea behind the contemporary headshot is that you’re appealing to casting directors on a personal level. This kind of “blank template” headshot is perhaps more multi-faceted or versatile, giving the actor a chance to put the same shot up for multiple parts.

Maybe not as intense as the classic “moody” headshot, but way more versatile.

Which is Best?

This is a difficult question to answer, and I guess quite subjective. With a classic headshot, you’re talking about a headshot that is tailored specifically for that particular role. Oftentimes, from a purely aesthetic point of view, a classic headshot can look a lot more intense or pleasing to the eye. If you go up for a lot of parts where you play a baddie, then the headshot of you looking sinister and dangerous could seem the best option. The casting director instantly sees how you look in the role, and as a result, so the theory goes, they will be able to better place you in the story just by looking at you. The downside is that this means you can’t use that headshot for any other types of role. If you have five other character headshots, that might seem OK, but it means the casting directors only ever see you as the part, never the actor. Also, a role is a very fluid, almost infinitely malleable concept. Your baddie might be very, very different from the script’s baddie. The character headshot, therefore, can be a risky proposition. There are, however, times when your headshot, such as the one above of Tomi May, absolutely nails everything you’d want from a classic headshot.

So what about the contemporary headshot?

OK, so the contemporary headshot is perhaps more versatile. The casting director is going to see YOU, not you in a role. The first person they’re going to meet is the actor applying for the role, and not the actor already in a part. It could be argued that this is a more confident and personal headshot, I think that’s probably the position I subscribe to. A contemporary headshot can be a lot more intimate and engaging. A contemporary headshot is perhaps more, professional, dare I say? Perhaps that’s the wrong word. A contemporary headshot, no matter what your opinion, is one that separates the actor from the role. I think this is perhaps why it’s more professional. A character headshot is selling you, not your ability to look vaguely like what the job might require. In the second shot of Tomi May, we see him looking calm, confident and relaxed. He’s a good looking guy, and at the same time, it’s not hard to picture him screwing his face up and being a bit villainous. This is the benefit of a contemporary headshot. It leaves space for the imagination.

You still haven’t told us which is best?

Hmm, fair point. I dunno which is best. I know what I prefer, and I know what I would have for myself, and that’s a contemporary headshot. I think an actor trades on their ability, obviously, but I also think there’s a hint of personality cult in there. Nobody wants to work with someone they can’t get along with, and a contemporary headshot can really tell the casting director a lot about the person that wants the job.

I look at it this way: If I’m shooting an ad for a campaign, and I’m looking for an assistant that I have to pick based on a photograph (not realistic, but this is an analogy), I’d be more inclined to see a shot of the person just looking confident and easy to work with, as opposed to a shot of them rigging up a light stand or fiddling with an image on a laptop on location. That’s how I see a headshot. Does the casting director want to see  your vague interpretation of what you think a that role looks like, or do they want to see a headshot of someone who is confident, slightly intense, focused, and at the same time, approachable?

Add to that, a contemporary headshot has more general application. It can act as a facebook profile, a LinkedIn profile, a shot for your website, or any other medium through which you promote yourself. In a contemporary headshot, you can still display the gamut of emotions that require the part, but instead of using a big leather jacket to show you as a baddie, or whatever, you instead concentrate on facial expression, which tells the casting director A LOT MORE about your ability and suitability for the role.

Conclusion

WIth a lot of headshot photographers, you only get a choice of two or maybe three finished images. In instances such as this, you might be better off just going all contemporary, as you don’t really have enough of a choice to work your entire range of parts in only three headshots. At London Headshots, you get six finished images, so I suppose if I were to suggest a split, I’d probably go with three contemporary headshots, and perhaps three classic headshots just  for those roles where you know it’ll help.

But I’d always, without fail, aim to put the contemporary headshots up for a casting first. It’s not a prerequisite to shoot with me if you read this blog, so keep this information in mind for whoever you shoot with.

The post Classic headshots or contemporary headshots? appeared first on LONDON HEADSHOTS.