Headshot of the Week
Two years ago I traveled to Dubai for the Gulf Photo Plus Photography Festival, specifically to study with Peter Hurley, a well renowned headshot expert. I recognised that in order to get exceptional headshots I needed to learn some new skills in directing and guiding my clients during their shoot to get the best outcomes. To be honest I had never quite registered the fact that all people, and especially actors, felt much more confident in front of the camera when I directed not only their body position but also their expression. I realised that although I had "people skills" I didn't have directing skills - and nor did I really understand what I wanted from a headshot until I saw it.
The workshop was a 2-day intensive that covered a huge amount of ground, and as soon as I got back to Australia I started 'unpacking' a lot of the ideas to try to make sense of them in my own photography practice. It has taken a full 2 years to come to terms with my own methods for communicating with subjects and guiding the collaboration to create genuine and meaningful headshots. By no means am I "there" yet either. Every shoot I do tests the range of skills I need to constantly extend as I meet and negotiate with a totally unique personality. There is still a lot that I am working on and I love the challenge of each shoot.
Headshot Crew
In the meantime I have subscribed to the Headshot Crew, an active community of headshot photographers worldwide (run by Peter Hurley) who discuss, critique, inform, debate and celebrate the complex nuances in headshot photography. Who would have know that such a niche in photography would have such rich and complex things to discuss - from posing to equipment choices, and from directing to software and professional practice, the crew keeps each member on their feet in this ever-changing industry.
A recent initiative by one of the mentors in the group was to select a 'Headshot of the Week' each week, chosen from current headshots submitted for that week's activity across the community. This week my headshot of Pia, seen above, was selected. It is such a great honour to have one of my shots recognised in this community, and I wanted to celebrate with this little post about my journey. It's a brief blog post as I have to prepare now for an epic day tomorrow with 6 of Pia's colleagues who are all coming in for their headshots. Exciting times!
Thanks to Pia for being so wonderful to work with, and for working with me to create this headshot which, I think, captures a cool confidence that is warm and engaging.