JB:

Hi Katie, your career is going awesome. Tell me some of the shows and commercials you have recently worked on.

KVT:

The last year has been a busy one for me.  I have a national commercial which will start running in April.  I can’t tell you what it is for as I had to sign a non-disclosure agreement, but it’s a great spot, so keep an eye out for it!  Also airing soon is my second episode of “Community” on NBC!  I play a nurse.  In the last year, I also appeared on “How I Met Your Mother,” “The Tonight Show,” and “Better With You.”  I’m thrilled to be doing lots of comedy these days.  I feel like my quirky persona fits best in the realm of comedy.  I still do stage from time to time.  I just returned from doing “Guys and Dolls” with Symphony Silicon Valley.  I played “Adelaide” and was thrilled to receive laughter from not only the audience in front of me, but also from the symphony musicians behind me!  The many “Bravas!” didn’t hurt my ego either.  Despite working a bit in TV, film and stage, most of my work is in voice over.  It’s my bread and butter so to speak.  In the last year alone, I’ve done work commercial and animation work for Disney, McDonald’s, Warner Bros., CBS, The CW, Fisher Price and Pier 1 among others.

JB:

That’s awesome. You know I love your voice. You use the word “quirky” and I hear actors use that all the time for one of their headshot looks, can you explain what that means to you?

KVT:

Well for me personally, I refer to myself as “quirky” rather than as a “character actor.”  The term “character actor” has come to mean “unattractive” and while I may not be a leading lady, I’m certainly a cute girl.  Quirky to me can mean many things.  Quirky is funny, spunky, sassy.  It can sometimes mean broad or larger than life.  It can also mean odd or offbeat.  It can also be “hyper” anything … hyper-driven, hyper-active, hyper-sensitive, hyper-smart, etc.  I feel I play any and all of those things well.  I might even say that I’m quirky in real life as well.  Truth be told, I’m funny but bossy.  “Bossy” has a negative connotation, but “quirky” is endearing.

JB:

You are cute, and maybe a little bossy! Ok… so let’s chat a little about headshots, since that’s what I do. You and I have shot a LOT of headshot sessions, what are some of the mistakes that you made early on with your headshot choices that someone else could benefit from?

KVT:

I’d say my biggest mistake was selecting shots where I looked super pretty as opposed to shots that were easy to “type.”  Another mistake was shooting with photographers who didn’t have the right “feel” for me and my type.  I’d get shots where I looked like a model and that’s not what I’m selling.  Part of that is my fault, too.  I shouldn’t have picked photographers who didn’t make me feel comfortable.  I really need to be having fun.  Getting shots is expensive and so there is a lot of pressure to get it right.  I also worried about my hair being perfect.  I looked too “done.”  I’m using lots of quotation marks in this interview!  Wardrobe has always been tough for me.  It still is.  But I think, I’m better at it than I used to be.  I think that layers look great and my fashion sense is somewhat challenged in that regard.  I’m great at telling other people what to wear!

JB:

That’s great advice! Does having a good makeup artist change your shoot outcome?

KVT:

Oh, for sure.  There have been times when money has been tight and I’ve had to do my makeup myself.  Ultimately, it ended up costing me time and money as I had to do myself or pay someone else to do a lot of retouching.  Granted I’ve learned a lot about makeup from those experiences and I’ve improved, but a headshot session is a very expensive form of trial and error.

check out Katie’s website for updates and to hear her amazing voice over reel…

www.katherinevontill.com

Now, to the content of your cover letter. You write “Dear… I am seeking representation” I say… REALLY??? OH, THAT’S why you are sending me your headshot. Duh…I know that. That’s sort of a given. Then you go on to tell me that you are an actor who absolutely LOVES acting and is passionate and that with the right representation blah blah. Thank you.  Actor. Look, there is nothing wrong with that cover letter. It’s just the same cover letter that the every other generic actor sent in to the agency.

My feeling is that you need to say what makes you unique without being a smarty-pants, seeming angry or detrimental to yourself. It’s funny because the things that make us unique are usually the things we try to hide in our headshot. Be creative. It’s your job. You are expected to be a creative person in this industry, that’s why you will be hired. So, choose a creative way to introduce yourself with a couple sentences. No, it’s not easy, but this business is not easy. Use it as an exercise. You may just learn something about what makes you special in the process.

SO… I wrote him some feedback and told him that those screen grabs were way more interesting than his headshots. He thanked me, and said he felt he should be a blank slate in his headshots, to let other people decide what kinds of characters he should play.

I wrote a fairly nice response back but I really want to say: WHY would you want to do that??? Why don’t you want to stand out? You are not a big star. There is no body of work for people to refer to so you need to define yourself and you don’t get very many chances to do that in this business so do it with your headshots! I am not saying that you can’t wear a sweater, but you do need GREAT headshots because otherwise you are just wasting a year of no one paying any attention to you. Don’t be VANILLA. Stand out but stand out in a way that makes it look like you actually know who you are and that you care about your career. If you are not a celebrity with a familiar face, if you are not a stunningly gorgeous human being, if you don’t have a killer agent who is calling casting to pitch and define you then you need an awesome headshot that says something about who you are.

I worked in casting, we never knew 100% what we were looking for, but we were always in the ballpark and I flipped through and ignored hundreds of headshots from actors who didn’t look like they were professional enough to bring in. We didn’t want to waste our time so we looked for actors that fit with in the pocket of the “type” we were after. Yes, we have huge imaginations, but we didn’t really need to use them because there are thousands of actors to look through. Why do I need to imagine that you could play a warm sweet character from your scowling submission photo when I have a thousand warm sweet looking photos. Unless you are already known, you HAVE to have specific shots that say different things. Why wouldn’t you want to???

Ok. Thanks for letting me vent about that

I realized that a lot of actors don’t understand the difference between a headshot and a snapshot. I responded this:

No, this will not work to get started or be taken seriously. Snapshots are not headshots. Besides the shot being home-made, there is nothing going on in your eyes. You are not competitive and won’t be taken seriously if you don’t have a real headshot. Your headshot should look like you are a pro, even if you are not.
If you are at all interested in working in this industry, then it’s worth investing in great headshots. I recommend that you do a one look with a good headshot photographer and see if you actually want to be an actor. If you were a realtor, this would not be a good photo for being a realtor because you don’t look confident enough or professional enough. If you were using this for on-line dating it would not work because you don’t look energetic or warm. You couldn’t use this if you were a lawyer because you don’t look sly or aggressive or successful. If you were using this as a plumber it would not work because you don’t look trustworthy, If you were a teacher, you couldn’t use this because you don’t show any energy… etc… Your headshots need to exude personality and energy and draw people in. You need to say SOMETHING besides I am sitting in my house. it’s a profession and you can’t look like a beginner because there are thousands of actors who can do your job. What do you do for work? Would you use this for your job?
If I said to you “we have never met, I want you to send me a photo of your face that tells me who YOU are and what you are capable of”… do you send this photo?
Hope that helps,
Joanna
www.joannabrooks.com
Headshots LA

Here is one of those e-mails…

i went to an agent casting workshop tonight and after my scene, he turned to the class and said “this is a great headshot.”  i just got the new one’s printed today.  thought you would be pleased to hear that.  and katie was there, so she can verify this really happened!

-Stephen Chang

Professional dating photos are just photos of you without all your friends in them. The photos you have may have been taken late at night, with a flash and they just don’t show you in the best light. I think your on-line dating photos should sparkle and show your personality. There is nothing wrong with getting great photos that represent you well and where you are wearing comfortable, casual clothes that tell someone exactly what kinda person you are.

Make-up for your photos is important too, and it’s not a bad idea to hire a great make-up artist that can help bring out your features without making you look over-done or too glamorous.

Here are some recent dating photos. These are not actors, but they look engaged and their personalities are showing 100% You want to put your best foot forward and stand out in a crowd.

Watch movies and commercials the same way.
This is such a simple idea, but you will start to see a pattern with “type” and how they express that in a simple way through clothing.
When you try on clothes for your shoot, snap a photo (or have a friend help you) with your phone or camera and see what you think. You know what looks good on you. Colors can be trickier, but the basic headshot color rules will give you a good place to start.
The basic headshot color rules are:
No Pastels
Why? Because they can blow out slightly and look white. White takes too much focus in a photo and tends not to work for anyone.
No White?
Why? See above

What if I wear a white shirt under something?
Yes, that’s usually fine, although if it can be blue or grey or another color instead, I think it’s better.
No strong patterns
Why?
Ok, so this is a tricky one. It’s really no strong or distracting patterns. You just don’t want something else to pull focus. You are selling YOU, not a great top that you just bought. You are selling a whole package though, so you want your shot to be individual and stand out. I usually say, if you are not sure then bring it to the shoot and I will help you. Sometimes it can go under a cardigan or jacket and it looks great.

No Beige, tan…
In other words. No blah.

There is a lot more to this, there is a lot of psychology in what we were and how it defines us. Women will spend hours at the mall picking out something that they love, but then show up for their headshots with a few t-shirts. I will take another post to talk about suits and ties.

I recommend that your hair be down (if you have long hair) for a theatrical shot. Clothing can be a little less specific for this shot, but it still needs to give an idea of class (are you struggling? Are you blue collar? Wealthy and out of control? etc).  Look at where you fit in in the world of television and film. Would you be one of the doctors? One of the lawyers? Or, one of the victims?  The more specific you are, the more successful your photo shoot will be.

I love it when actors come in and tell me exactly where they fit in that world. If you are not sure, then I love to brain storm with you and tell you my thoughts before we shoot.

Hope that helps.

Happy shooting…

Jo

When you look at a photographer’s gallery, there should be variety in the shoot, but if the angles are too severe and the photo is too artsy, you lose. Even in modeling shots, the focus is you not the “style” of the photo. I look at photographers who are in this for making money and have no clue about lighting or composition. Headshots are a very simple idea, but when you don’t look like your headshot then it doesn’t serve it’s purpose.

Stay tuned and happy shooting…

Joanna