Ken's 10 Tips

You,Part 1.  Your headshot is about YOU, not the background, not the wardrobe, not the uber-cool lighting. I do not want someone to look at your headshot and say amazing photograph. I want them to look at your headshot and say amazing PERSON.

You,Part 2. You are enough. Meditate on that. Or, meditate on this great quote from Dr. Seuss:  Today you are you, this is truer than true, there is no one alive, who is Youer than you.

Face Value. There is a reason they call it a HEADSHOT. Unless you are an athlete showing off a physique, or a dancer or model, we want to make the shot about your face. Your face has fifty-two amazing muscles that allow you to express emotion and help let the light shine through. Our goal is to use all 52 of them.

How you feel is how you look.  It it really easy to make someone look glam and airbrushed. That strokes the ego, amigo. But it might not get you work, particularly if the shot is an untrue representation. If you want a blank, over retouched glamour shot, ...no can do. If you want to look alive and real, and know that this is where your real beauty comes from, then I am your man.

Be ready to rock.  While I will do A LOT to bring stuffout of you, you have to be ready to let yourself out.  So bring your A-game. Show up ready to work, the same way you would at an audition or an acting job. Which brings me to

This is NOT a photo shoot.  Yes, you heard me. This is not a photo shoot. It is an acting gig. Models pose. Posing is fake. Actors react. Reacting is real.  So be real. React. Be in the moment.

Give it up. Do not direct your shoot.  If you do you are outside of yourself and not present. But, that doesn’t mean you have to be passive. 

Communicate. If you need to regroup, tell me. If you feel blocked, tell me. If you love me, tell me. You get the point. This is your shoot. Communicate your needs.

Get it Wrong Sometimes. Here is the Tao of Headshots: Themore you obsess on getting it right, the more you will get it wrong.

Laugh. Laughter feels good. It makes you breathe. It relaxes you. And it is really fun. So laugh.