In the year 2000...

So, I was just on someone's real estate site, and saw that their latest blog entry was 10 months old. I started thinking snide thoughts, and realized that I'm the pot, calling the kettle black. Bad blogger, me.

What's on my mind, then...

I just bought a used light from an older photographer. He was kind of bitter about how bad the photo business has become - and it has, for a lot of photographers. With cell phones that shoot 12 mega-pixel pictures, and the newest computers-with-lenses from Canon & Nikon, the perceived 'need' for a professional shooter is getting smaller and smaller all the time. Consumer photo printing is dying - when was the last time you had vacation pictures made at a lab? But am I worried about the headshot business?

A little, to be honest, but not that much. Maybe I have my head in the sand, but I believe that there will always be a need for photographers that know how to shoot quality headshots (see previous blog entries for what makes a good headshot).

Of course the delivery method for headshots will most certainly change. How much longer will anyone be submitting an 8x10 glossy print? Some day soon, digital headshots will be distributed via email or other methods. Maybe we'll all have a big casting version of Facebook with our own pages that Casting Agents can easily search. Have you seen that used car commercial where the buyers keep narrowing their criteria to get to the one they want? Picture the same kind of process for performers... " I want males, 6'2", dark hair, 180-212 lbs, age 38-41, within 18.5 miles of 32801" - and page of headshots populates, then just pick and choose who gets invited for an audition. Maybe the process will look different, but it will definitely evolve.

But you'll still need great headshots, shot by professional photographers. Maybe even more so! A marginal headshot might look okay on its own, but now put it side-by-side against a well-shot photo, and it looks bad by comparison.

Rambling done for now. Scot out!

Summer's nearly gone

I know this because class schedules are a factor again when scheduling headshot appointments. It went by pretty fast.


Good things are happening right now...

• I had a book printed for promotional use: see it here!
• One of my favorite agents told me I'm her preferred Photographer!
• A well-respected member of Central Florida's theater community has also started recommending my services!
• My baby turned 15 months old!
• There may be a new home on the horizon soon!
• ...and a few other things that I want to keep quiet for now! :) (apologies to Larry David for the smiley face)

Of course, there are headshots being shot, too! Here are a couple:

I actually had more to share, but for some reason, a lot of people lately have worn turquoise in their selected photos, and I didn't want to be too mono-chromatic... Anyway, I just wanted to check in.....

I recently received this email from an actress:

I am an actress looking for new headshots. My agency told me you were the best. Does the basic package come with 1 retouched image, and then all the rest untouched, full size? Please let me know the details so I can decide if we should make an appointment. That would be awesome, thanks!

My Reply:

"The basic package comes with one retouched image, and a CD of all un-retouched full-sized images is available as an add-on for $100."

Her Reply: 

I would really like to get headshots done, however I do not think the pricing is reasonable and cannot afford it. It is $165 for 1 retouched image? I'm just trying to figure it out?  

Do you know any other headshot photographers who have a more reasonable and realistic price? That would be awesome! thanks.

She asked about buying just the CD of un-retouched images for $100.


My Reply:  

"I can't sell just the CD of full-sized images for $100. Even as an add-on to the package price, that's a tremendous bargain.

I certainly understand working with a budget. If you don't currently have the means to properly invest in your career, maybe its better to wait. 

I have a few points for you to better understand my pricing.

The price for my Package doesn't pay for one photo - you get a photo session. We'll shoot 100-200 images for you to choose from, and hopefully, plenty of great images to make your choice difficult. Ultimately, yes, you choose one headshot, but that's usually what you submit - one photo. The price reflects my years of experience and the quality of my work. As corny as it sounds, you get my 'vision'. I'm charging for the photography, not the photograph.

You can find cheaper photographers, and you can also find much more expensive ones, too. I keep my eye on the Orlando market, and for the quality of my work, believe me, I'm priced very reasonably.

Whether I shoot your headshot or someone else does it, don't make the mistake of shopping with price as your only guide. If you want a cheap headshot instead of a good one, you'll get a cheap photographer, maybe not a good one. Maybe you'll get lucky. Remember that you get what you pay for."

-        So about 3 days later, she emailed back to set an appointment. When we met in  person, I asked her why she changed her mind about investing in a shoot with me. She told me she had a friend shoot some pictures…. You can figure the rest out.

She Wrote:

So, so far I have narrowed it down to like 6. I will keep narrowing down though and I will let you know either by tonight or tomorrow morning which picture I want edited. Thanks so much, and the pictures look so wonderful. It was definitely worth the money :)

Thanks so much!

Quick Hits...!

I just added a twitter account - follow me!  twitter.com/OrlandoHeadshot


I'm in Los Angeles this week, 'cause i'm a travelin' man! Holy Cow! there are more than a few headshot photographers out here! Just a quick craigslist search showed 40+ ads in the last 2 days! 


I'm glad the time changed a couple of weeks ago, because now I can shoot later in the day and accomodate people that have dreaded day jobs, too! If you need a 5pm appointment, that's now easy!


March was once again a busy month with SETC, NETC, and some UCF deadlines that I appreciate. I've made a lot of new friends so far!


That's all for now - stay tuned!

Quickie Headshots

I just saw an ad for a headshot special that offered a 30-minute session! That must be a great photographer, to be able to get a good shot of their clients in 30 minutes or less.  Let me explain further....


Don't get me wrong, I think it's easy to get a good photo in 30 minutes. And the pictures I saw were nice portraits. Shutter speeds, F-Stops, ISO settings, and all that technical stuff are easy to nail in 30 minutes. Most people that come for a headshot are even ready with a practiced smile. Heck, when I shot photos on Cruise Ships, I routinely had just 5 seconds (or less!) to get a good shot of people. 


However.... I think a good headshot is more than a pretty picture. And it's gotta be a photo that my clients are happy and confident with. I can only speak for myself, but it takes me a little while to get to know someone, to understand what they're looking for, and (sometimes more importantly) what they're not looking for. Many times, the shots that get chosen are taken near the end of our session. Sometimes, despite having taken good pictures, I can just see that I haven't captured the real 'them' and I shoot more. Sometimes we get it in 60 minutes, sometimes it takes 2 hours, sometimes more.


While I'm proud of my mad skills as a photographer (wink wink), the goal is to get images that my clients want. Of course I am happy to offer my opinions, but at the end of the day, you pay the tab, and even though my headshots are reasonably priced, it's still a significant investment. So it's important to me that you get a headshot that's a good image of YOU, that tells a Casting Pro who you are, and who you can be - not just a pretty picture that's technically proficient.

Let the pictures speak!

So I've been lax lately with the updates. Been super busy with all the usual stuff, but I've eeked out a few outstanding shoots lately. I'll just let the pictures speak this time....

This Week.

his week, I had 2 separate clients reschedule their appointments, and then fail to show up for the new appointment! I've been very tempted to send out invoices for time that was not only wasted, but became unavailable to others that might have wanted to shoot. This happened periodically early in my headshot shooting days, but for the last few years, I can't remember more than 1 or 2 instances - total.

I'm not trying to get down on how rude people are these days. Generally, people are pretty considerate, but as they say (and I paraphrase), it's the few bad apples that leave a bad taste in my mouth.

Anyway, venting complete. I've had plenty of good shoots recently. UCF is auditioning for this season's shows, and I've worked with a few aspiring Actors. I also learned that 2 performers that I've shot this year were recently cast in the national tour of "A Chorus Line"! Congratulations to Rachel Schur & David Grindrod!

Over the last couple of years, I seen a few people that I been lucky enough to work with when they appear on TV and in movies. It's a neat feeling to experience!