HEADSHOTS OR SHOT IN THE HEAD PICTURES
Better Get Them Right and Professionally done.
Cheap pictures look...well cheap...See above

Do you read The National Inquirer? People? The Star?

Even if you don't read them, you can't help but notice
them - as you are checking out at the supermarket. Face
it, the tabloids are a part of our everyday experience.

Did you realize that there's a big lesson to be learned
from them? If you are pursuing a career as an actor, I
urge you to give the tabloids a closer look and discover
something very important about getting your headshots...

Here's the way it works: The tabloids offer good money to
photographers who can come up with a photo of a star
looking like something the cat dragged in. Why? Because
they know that their readers are curious. Everyone wants
to know what the stars REALLY look like. (They can't all
be beautiful, can they?)

Of course, the stars are aware that the paparazzi are out
there. The paparazzi's goal is to get a money shot: An
unflattering photograph of Jennifer or Ben. The stars'
goal is to look like the stars they are, in every picture.

So that's the game. The photogs snap and the stars pose.

Watch any red carpet ceremony and you'll see the game
being played out. Hundreds of people with cameras - scores
of stars doing their best to look like, well, stars.

IT'S YOUR JOB

So what's the lesson? It's just this - no matter who the
photographer is, it's the actor's job to make sure that the
photos turn out well - for the actor.

This is especially true when you are paying the photographer
to take your pictures. The idea that a certain photographer
is going to produce a great headshot FOR YOU ... without your
involvement ... is just not reality.

No matter who the photographer is, (and remember there are
hundreds... of varying skills, at every red carpet event)
it's your responsibility to look good in any photograph of
you.

Is this a matter of "looks?" No, it's a matter of knowing the
skills needed when you are in front of the camera. Stars get
to be stars because they know this ... and they work at these
skills.

Most actors discover the hard way that spending hundreds of
dollars to get headshots doesn't guarantee success. For some
it takes years of frustration and disappointment (& sometimes
thousands of dollars) ... before they finally get a headshot
that gets them called in.

Why? Because most actors learn these skills through a process
called "figuring it out on my own." This is a costly approach
... guaranteed to cause career problems for actors ... until
they get a headshot that works - a headshot that gets them
called in.

Let's get down to the facts ... nothing can happen until you

GET IN THE DOOR.

Getting in the door is all about your headshot. Not getting
called in? It's probably not you - it's more probably your
headshot.

I urge all actors to watch the red carpet - and see what the
actors who've succeeded are doing.

And don't forget to check out the tabloids while you're in
line with your groceries - and see what happens when stars
are not "in the game" and doing their part.

Emmitt Says...Talent is just one part of the actors arsenal. You have to learn to be a top sales person. The product is you and if you don't sell yourself nobody will care or get the opportunity to see your talent. If you don't take the time to fully dedicate to the things that make you a valuable looking product. Your career will not go anywhere. Headshots are the trailers of your personal movie. They are your invitations to casting directors to check you out because you have "it" whatever "it" is.

So take the time to get good headshots. Get feedback from friends and professionals about the pictures you choose to use. Remember what you write in your resume paints a picture about what the image they see. It enhances what they feel you can do and what you have done. Put down the things on your resume that make you unique. Things that make you stand out. Can you play the harmonica with your nose? Can you roll your eyes in opposite directions? Can you belch on cue? Put it down on your resume. It may get you a role. Don't be a cookie cutter. Don't be afraid. Take the risk. Show your uniqueness to the potential employers. You are the product so don't sell yourself short. You want the chance then take a risk and put in the effort. It will all pay off for you.

Thanks to Bob Fraser for his Lesson about Headshots...