<p>I have two questions. Are professional headshots really needed for college auditions? I had thought not but my D is saying that all the kids she's known who have done the audition thing have had them done. She also just finished the Tisch summer pre-college program and in their Business of Theatre seminar were told to get them done.</p>
<p>Second question, assuming we decide to do headshots is: can anyone recommend a photographer in the L.A. area who can do good headshots without asking a ridiculous fee?</p>
<p>professional headshots are definitely not necessary. In fact, in almost all audition breakdowns, it is clearly stated that the headshot definitely does not need to be professional, but does need to be headshot adjacent.</p>
<p>Professional head shots are not required for college auditions though a photograph that is like a head shot, even if amateur, will be needed. In my observation and opinion, most who are very serious about this field, do have professional head shots at college auditions. </p>
<p>I never viewed it as an expense just for college auditions. My child had head shots for many years. She did get new ones to apply to college and gets new ones every two years. I see the ones that she used for college auditions as not being JUST for college auditions at all. She used those head shots for the first two years of college for auditions for college productions, summer stock and the like. Your D will eventually need to have head shots and so the ones for college auditions serve more than one purpose. As well, for our high school year book, we don’t have standard senior portraits taken at our school but each person takes care of getting photos done any way they wish. While my non-BFA kid got senior portraits at a regular professional photography studio, my BFA in MT kid got professional theater head shots (in NYC) that she ALSO used as her senior portraits for the yearbook and to give to family and so we were gonna get portraits anyway but used headshot ones for this purpose as well. Also, a head shot will have a white border with the student’s name printed in the border whereas regular photos don’t usually have that. </p>
<p>Ingette, I would not have the photographer’s name in the corner for a theatrical head shot. If you are just using regular portraits for college auditions, then so be it and it is not so terrible to do. But it would not be the norm at all on a theatrical head shot. The individual photos do NOT come from the actual photographer. The photographer finalizes and touches up a proof and the digital photo is then taken to a place that reproduces multiple copies of head shots adding the white border and name. So, each copy is not being gotten from the photographer and paid for by piece, nor has that person’s logo on it. Just talking of professional actor head shots now. </p>
<p>Again, for college auditions, it is OK to not have professional head shots. However, many serious contenders do have these as they are building a career as an actor and head shots are a part of that.</p>
<p>sooziet, thanks so much! so basically i own the rights to the proof? do i have the file saved on the computer and give that to the duplicator? i’m just a tad confused as to the logistics…</p>
<p>I can tell you how it works with those who are photographers who shoot actor head shots. They send you all the proofs (either on a contact sheet or digitally online). Once you select which shots you want for the head shot, they touch up the photo and put it on a digital CD. So, you have purchased that retouched shot, but not all the other ones necessarily. That’s what is included in the photo shoot (or sometimes two shots depending on the deal/package). That digital shot on the CD then can be taken to a photo reproduction place that makes multiple copies and adds the white border and the actor’s name. </p>
<p>You are not really using the “proof” but rather the chosen shot (or more than one) to be made into a final photo with retouching and all that and then are given a digital copy on a CD or maybe online but it is not the proof but the fixed up proof (hope I am explaining that right). For example, my D (who recently graduated college) just had another head shot sitting and was given a webpage with like 200 proofs on it. She chose two that they will now make up into finished retouched photos that will be given to her on a disc or maybe a link to it and she can take that to the photo reproduction place that will make them into multiple copies of head shots with the border and her name. For the reprints, we use Reproductions in NYC which deals with head shots all the time and can be used from anywhere in the country. Check out their site. </p>
<p>Reproductions also maintains an online portfolio of headshot photographers in NY and LA. If you go on the Reproductions website you can look at the portfolio online, and link to websites. Even if you choose not to have professional headshots taken at this time, looking at the headshot portfolios can help give a better idea of what theatrical headshots look like. There is some variation in terms of style, but they generally follow a similar basic format.</p>
<p>Our son had a local photographer (Nashville) who shoots many of the CW performers in town. She gave him the CD and he printed them out as needed and took the CD to school with him in Scotland. It was cheap and did the trick (about $75), and he prints out with his name printed across the bottom as needed. (BW and Color) Don’t invest a fortune, they change and mature over the next four years :)</p>
<p>The photo reproduction company that our headshot photographer works with was able to make copies for us without the border or name and do prints in both 8 x 10 and 5 x7 sizes that we used for senior pictures to give to family and friends. I would think this would be an option at any printing company if you just ask. Was great to be able to use the headshots for a dual purpose and cost-wise actually made a lot of sense since, as noted above, you pay the headshot photographer once and then are given the disc. If you went to a regular photographer for senior pictures you would pay a small sitting fee but then quite a bit for each picture you ordered (like $20+ for an 8 x 10).</p>