| ACTOR'S TOOL-KIT #10 HEADSHOTS 202 - TABLOID TIPS by Bob Fraser |
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| Do you read The National Inquirer? People? The Star? Even if you don't read them, you can't help but notice them - as you are checking out at the supermarket. Face it, the tabloids are a part of our everyday experience. Did you realize that there's a big lesson to be learned from them? If you are pursuing a career as an actor, I urge you to give the tabloids a closer look and discover something very important about getting your headshots... Here's the way it works: The tabloids offer good money to photographers who can come up with a photo of a star looking like something the cat dragged in. Why? Because they know that their readers are curious. Everyone wants to know what the stars REALLY look like. (They can't all be beautiful, can they?) Of course, the stars are aware that the paparazzi are out there. The paparazzi's goal is to get a money shot: An unflattering photograph of Jennifer or Ben. The stars' goal is to look like the stars they are, in every picture. So that's the game. The photogs snap and the stars pose. Watch any red carpet ceremony and you'll see the game being played out. Hundreds of people with cameras - scores of stars doing their best to look like, well, stars. IT'S YOUR JOB So what's the lesson? It's just this - no matter who the photographer is, it's the actor's job to make sure that the photos turn out well - for the actor. This is especially true when you are paying the photographer to take your pictures. The idea that a certain photographer is going to produce a great headshot FOR YOU ... without your involvement ... is just not reality. No matter who the photographer is, (and remember there are hundreds... of varying skills, at every red carpet event) it's your responsibility to look good in any photograph of you. Is this a matter of "looks?" No, it's a matter of knowing the skills needed when you are in front of the camera. Stars get to be stars because they know this ... and they work at these skills. Most actors discover the hard way that spending hundreds of dollars to get headshots doesn't guarantee success. For some it takes years of frustration and disappointment (& sometimes thousands of dollars) ... before they finally get a headshot that gets them called in. Why? Because most actors learn these skills through a process called "figuring it out on my own." This is a costly approach ... guaranteed to cause career problems for actors ... until they get a headshot that works - a headshot that gets them called in. Let's get down to the facts ... nothing can happen until you GET IN THE DOOR. Getting in the door is all about your headshot. Not getting called in? It's probably not you - it's more probably your headshot. I urge all actors to watch the red carpet - and see what the actors who've succeeded are doing. And don't forget to check out the tabloids while you're in line with your groceries - and see what happens when stars are not "in the game" and doing their part. |
| "Reprinted from ACTOR'S TOOL KIT, the email course just for
subscribers of Show Biz How-To -- The Free Actor's Monthly. Get your own free subscription by going to: showbizhowto.com Copyright © 2006 Bob Fraser Productions All Rights Reserved" |