Joanne Brooks Photography

Retouching…

How much is too much?

The only things I think should be retouched are pimples, temporary redness, fly-a-ways and stuff that happens to crop up the morning of your shoot. Softening lines and under eyes is fine too because those things can be distracting and when we see you in real life they don’t draw focus, but in a photo, they can seem to stand out.

It would seem obvious, but you would be surprised how many people want me to straighten teeth, change eye color, cover bald spots (men) and take away all fine lines and wrinkles. I have had to give people’s photos virtual face-lifts, botox and filler. I used to try to talk actors out of this sort of thing, but they never listen and so I just do it now, if requested, while cursing.

Seems crazy to me to get a current photo taken where you look fantastic at your age and then make it look like we took it 5 or 10 years ago. DON’T over-retouch your photos. It may get you in the room for a role you want, but you won’t get the part and you usually won’t be called back to that casting office. Harsh, but true. You do yourself a disservice if you don’t represent yourself truthfully.

On a more fun note…check out my biography page to see some of my photos that have been featured on the Ellen DeGeneres show.

Some great places for retouching and reproductions are

www.argentum.com

www.reproductions.com

This came in from Molly:

I AM SO HAPPY! Thank you so much for such a wonderful session, I can’t wait to show my agents.  You are Joel were so amazing on Tuesday. I couldn’t have asked for a more relaxed and and supportive environment!  I can’t tell you how much I appreciate your work and energy and talent! Thank you so much! I don’t think it’s possible for me to use more exclamation marks in one paragraph!
Best,
Molly

I just watched the adorable Guy Burnet in “Sony With A Chance” playing Rock Star Trey. He was so much fun to shoot. He has great charisma and was very playful during his headshot shoot. Those “guylashes” didn’t get in the way at all

Quick “look” Change Tip:

You know you want your headshots to have variety, but, due to budget, you are only shooting one outfit.

A quick hair change works great for this.

Women: throw your hair half up, put in a hairband, part it the other way.

Men: run a little product through your hair part way through the look. Button or unbutton your shirt a little for a “slacker” feel or a more conservative feel.

Most photographers won’t mind layering a jacket or sweater halfway through the look either. At least, THIS headshot gal doesn’t mind!

That’s today’s tip!

I am still entertained by Jim Carrey’s tweets and now following my friend Joel McHale on Twitter too!

Tip of The Day

Color and headshots. Remember that rich, saturated jewel tones work the best for photos. Look at yourself in the mirror and hold colors up to your face to see what brings out your eyes. Necklines are important too.

I promise to start Tweeting on Twitter too. For now, I will just follow Jim Carrey and Ellen DeGeneres.

I’ll try to add a new tip every day and answer all the headshot questions that you have, keep them coming!