CHARACTER HEADSHOTS INFO PACK

WHAT TO WEAR

Colour: Which colours suit you? Warm tones? Cool tones? Think about what you’re wearing when you receive compliments. For some skin tones, it’s better to avoid certain shades. I have brown hair, hazel eyes and fair skin, and find that warm tones work best for me: black, kahki, olive, green, burgundy, red, mustard. Take this quiz if you aren’t sure: https://play.howstuffworks.com/quiz/which-colors-look-best-you

 

Shape: Fitted clothing generally worked best. I would opt for something structured rather than something loose. Bringing a range of different necklines is also useful – v neck, scoop neck, high neck to name a few. Some examples for women: a skivvy or turtle neck, a blouse, a fitted t-shirt, denim jacket, blazer, singlet top, cropped t-shirt, button up. Some examples for men: fitted t-shirt, button up shirt, blazer, denim jacket, collarless button up.   

 

Style: Style is such a personal thing. My advice is to wear what you love. If you don’t wear much colour and stick to neutral clothing in your everyday life, keep it neutral. If you wear busy patterns and prints, bring them along. Not every shot will be big and bold though, so if you fit into the busy print category, make sure you bring at least one plain option with you.

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CHARACTERS

When booking in for a character shoot, I encourage you to think about roles that you have been cast in in the past, and dream roles that you’d like to be cast in in the future.

This can be an overwhelming thing to consider (speaking from personal experience…), so I’ve listed a few character traits to help figure out what we should aim capture on the day. Which of the following do you feel most applies to you?

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Commercial

Corporate

Period

Vulnerable

Feminine

Rebellious

Sporty

Dominant

Sexy

Mum

Quirky

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I recommend selecting which characters you’d most like to capture and planning outfits for each character. It doesn’t have to be head to toe – most shots will be from about the waist up. We can talk through this in a bit more detail on the phone, but in the meantime if you have any questions or would like anything clarified, just let me know!

 

HAIR AND MAKEUP

Makeup: For makeup, I live by the rule that less is more. Enhancing the eyes, cheeks and lips is a great starting point, and if you’re not used to wearing makeup, that’s probably enough. If you have any pimples or blemishes on the day, in most cases they can be removed or improved with a little editing, so don’t worry too much in that regard.

I encourage my clients to wear the kind of makeup that they would wear to an audition – that way their photos look like they will look when they walk into the room with a casting director. We can tweak things as we’re going too, but adding lipstick or a darker eye shadow/liner to create a more dramatic look.

 

If you’d like to have your makeup done by a professional, these are my preferred makeup artists:

 

Alex: https://instagram.com/ahm.fx?igshid=c5o05saihng4

Inez: https://www.makeupbyinez.com/  

Kat: http://katbardsley.com/index_headshots.html

 

Hair: Neat and tidy is the way to go. For women, we might do some images with hair up and some with hair down – I can guide you on the day, but it’s best to bring a few hair ties or bobby pins with you. For men, facial hair is a big consideration, and we can discuss whether you’d like to shoot either with facial hair or clean shaven, or do both on the day.

 

ACCESSORIES

I am all about accessories when it comes to character shots, especially if it helps tell a story. Accessories such as earrings, glasses (if you wear them), necklaces and bracelets/bangles can work well. In some cases, hats can be suitable too, but not always. 

The casting director wants to see your face, your hair and your eyes on your main image, so we’ll get at least one shot that is clean and free from accessories. Here is an example of how accessories can really communicate character: