Headshot Review time!

G

GangasCon

Active member
Hey everyone,

I just got a new headshot and I need to know if you think it's any good.

Best%20One_cropped.jpg


It cost me $25 for the photo and the retouching. I called in some favors from some friends. Let me know what you think!
 
Seems like the standard "boiler plate", shot. What roles would you apply for with this "look"?
 
It's a nice shot, and you're a good looking guy, but the lean-forward ECU perspective bothers me quite a bit. It distorts the scale ratio of your head to body, making your head/face, and perhaps even more problematically so your nose look disproportionately large to me (which I'm guessing it's actually not, or at least not nearly as much). Most headshots I've seen aren't shot from this exaggerated perspective, and thus don't have this issue. I'd be concerned it would not (in the absence of other countervailing undistorted shots) have the effect you'd want on casting directors. They say a headshot should "look like you on a good day", which IMO generally suggests a primary effort to achieve general realism rather than exaggeration, if admittedly retouched to a (hopefully) moderate degree. The distorted perspective here I think is substantially at odds with that notion...

My $.02
 
Good point! This is the kind of really constructive criticism I need. My nose is actually quite nice. I'll spend some cash and get a pro photographer to do my next one.
 
BTW, and FWIW, my avatar is a (cropped for DVXUser) headshot taken by Douglas Gorenstein, a busy pro-photog here in NYC who specializes in headshots. It's one of dozens he did, none of which have any kind of distorted perspective.
 
You really need a few headshots to choose from. I have my standard one here but I also have tough looking ones, attractive leading man looking ones, surfer dude looking ones ... It depends on the roles your submitting for and what type of acting you do.
 

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In the internet age, ya gotta have a reel. Make a short scene showcasing your talents. Film several scenes, all different style characters. It's a lot of work but the competition is fierce. Or just "Make your own damn movie".
 
Ted Spencer said:
It's a nice shot, and you're a good looking guy, but the lean-forward ECU perspective bothers me quite a bit. It distorts the scale ratio of your head to body, making your head/face, and perhaps even more problematically so your nose look disproportionately large to me (which I'm guessing it's actually not, or at least not nearly as much). Most headshots I've seen aren't shot from this exaggerated perspective, and thus don't have this issue. I'd be concerned it would not (in the absence of other countervailing undistorted shots) have the effect you'd want on casting directors. They say a headshot should "look like you on a good day", which IMO generally suggests a primary effort to achieve general realism rather than exaggeration, if admittedly retouched to a (hopefully) moderate degree. The distorted perspective here I think is substantially at odds with that notion...

My $.02
Click to expand...

+1

Ask the photographer to use an 85mm lens to help ensure against perspective issues.
 
Maybe it's just me, but the shot seems slightly overexposed and the left side (your right) of your face seems to lack dimension and washes out on my monitor. It's not a crappy monitor, in case you're wondering.
 
The shot is slightly over exposed, but the camera is too close with the wrong lens. Also the pose is not very flattering. A good photographer will find natural lookiing poses that brings out your best features. There's sone odd things happening with the shadows too. Check out my site for people shot examples.
 
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