Taking Headshots in Modeling

Video Transcript

"Well now we're going to talk about the ever famous head shot. What does it take to produce a great head shot? The client wants to see what you look like, and what you don't show him, he or she automatically thinks is bad. So for a head shot the object of the game is to have full front to the camera. We're going to try to get a couple ranges. Joe is moving Nikki's head because through the camera he sees her best angles. Is her best angle straight on? He's telling her now to give a three quarter look. Three quarter is acceptable as long as you see all of the features. He's also going to work with her chin. Her chin goes down a little bit and her eyes become brighter. Chin moves up a little bit and her eyes become a little bit more slender looking in the camera. It's very important to keep your hands pretty much out of the head shot because we don't want anything to distract the client from looking at your beautiful or handsome face. And again it's really important when you're working with a photographer to listen to his direction because he sees what the camera sees. You feel what you're feeling, but what you're feeling doesn't always translate into the best shot. You know we all have habits. Part of becoming a really good model is to do away with your habits and learn habits that look good on camera even if they feel unnatural to you. And the tilt of the head, and now what Joe is doing is he's actually having Nikki look off camera is a really really classic way to shoot a head shot. And notice, if you're an actor and a model, you need two. You need a head shot for a composite and then you need a shot which becomes your acting head shot."