If we may be so cheeky, at Dock Street Studios, we do headshots and we do it well. From helping the young talents sign to top agencies, to landing blockbusters that everyone and their mothers saw, we’ve had it all. It’s a known truth in the industry that your headshot is a reflection of you as an actor or actress, and every celebrity you can think of who has stepped foot on the big silver screen has one. On Spotlight, or The Mandy Network, or Backstage, or whatever else the kids are using these days, it’s the first thing casting directors see and if you’ve got a smashing headshot it will be an awful lot easier to land roles that you’d otherwise need to go the extra mile (or ten - if you know you know) for. To avoid us repeating ourselves, please allow us to shamelessly promote our other article also found on the Dock Street Blog, which goes into even more depth about the importance of a headshot.
Glad to see you haven’t fallen asleep reading this yet, because we actually wanted to discuss what makes our children’s and young adults actor headshots so successful in the acting industry. If we’re lucky enough, Mark might even give you some photography pointers.
1. Leave the Logos at Home
First of all, we’re so glad to see children taking an interest in brands and fashion, but please keep in mind that our poor Mark has to edit these and a lovely-albeit- huge graphic logo will take a considerable amount of time to edit. At Aire St Studios we understand that a good shot is a good shot, so we offer a very wide selection of edited photos, whereas most other studios wouldn’t. This being said, editing does take a long time, and large logos don’t always look the best professionally. The casting director also likely doesn’t want to see an image which has been photoshopped within an inch of its life.
2. Options, options, options!
We have access to shoot directors in-house. If you’re paying for our services, please do use them! Simply just tell Mark you’d want help with styling when booking, and then bring your looks along, or email us photos and we will pick options. One thing we do differently to other studios is that we can promise you will look stylish on your shoot, even without the ‘dripped out’ logos. Playing around with different textures usually works great. However, avoid thin stripes and big bold and bright patterns as the camera doesn’t exactly love them. Plus, it takes attention away from the star - you!
3. Collaboration
It’s important that the client is comfortable with being their best selves, and aren’t putting on an act. Pun intended, by the way. We know it’s hard and child actors tend to get especially nervous. If at a headshot session (hopefully one of ours) and a member of the team asks you to give them an expression in particular, try to think about a memory attached to that expression, or a character, or a script. If you try to visualise that, the rest will usually flow quite easily. Try to especially use your eyes to emote, and your body language shows most in your shoulders and head positioning. Remember, most headshots will be taken armpit upwards, so don’t be afraid to move your neck and shoulders! If it’s not a good look, we will readjust you.
If you still aren’t sure about booking with us, here’s a recent testimonial from the parents of one of our exceedingly brilliant and gifted actors: ‘Mark was very professional yet very friendly and welcoming. He helped my son relax and settle for the two hour shoot. Communication with him after the shoot was very efficient and we had our final photos within a week. Also he is very reasonably priced for the amount he dedicates to his clients. Highly recommend!’. That wonderful child actor has now gone on to book his first role in an impressive feature film, and we wish him the very best of luck!
Also news just in from Rafaelle and his parents …. Rafaelle had his first filming on the 23rd May as a Supporting Acting role for WARP films , and at school he has been cast as one of the main characters, Kate, in their ‘gender reversed’ adaptation of Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew.
Also Rafaelle has just landed a lead role (Ivan) in a production which features a 12 year old boys coming of age set against a war torn backdrop. More details on that exciting production here >>>
“Heirloom” is a bitter-sweet, coming-of-age drama and deals with the aftermath of war and the broken families that are left behind in its wake. We follow Ivan, a 12-year-old boy who has lost his father in the war and is determined to bring some sort of joy to his mother’s life. The war left several families completely broken and nothing to show. Ivan hopes to find a medal for his mother that would give her a moment of happiness in the false reality that his father’s death wasn’t in vain, but Ivan’s mother knows that his want to make her happy will eventually turn into an obsession to avenge his father’s death and he will end up being another lost war boy. His quest to find the medal starts with success, as he finds the medal, but after his metal detector picks up something unusual, Ivan finds himself facing certain death as he accidentally steps on a landmine. Ivan tries several ways to save himself from this situation and go back to his mother but is met with failure at every turn. Ivan must confront his inner demons and face death head-on, as he fears his death would push his mother off the edge and he will become just another piece in their family heirloom, trauma.
Finally, just as promised, some wise words from in-house photographer and studio owner Mark Wheelwright.
“Try to do your research on what looks best on camera. The Spotlight website has brilliant examples and top tips on what casting directors want. Then, leave the rest to us!”.
Why not book your own headshot session right now and get a free consultation and planning call ahead of the shoot with Mark organised now.