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Headshot Photographer Vanie Poyey: Head Shot Photography in Los Angeles and Hollywood
Headshot photographer Vanie Poyey:
Welcome to my website. If you've been looking for a great headshot photography experience in Los Angeles that's pain free and gets you results, you have come to the right place. I specialize in bringing out your personality no matter what field of work you're in.
Acting headshots:
For La Headshots, I like to travel to different locations, changing background and lighting, to give you a unique feel for every marketing look. During your consultation, we will discuss your age range and the type of auditions you are trying to target, whether you are looking for commercial headshots or theatrical headshots, or both. Based on that, the day of your shoot, we'll pick out appropriate wardrobe and go to appropriate locations in LA for each "setup". I shoot digitally, giving you the opportunity to review every shot we take at every location. If there is something you don't like, or feel you need to change, we do so right then and there! There is no limit on how much I shoot. I shoot until we are both confident that we have what we need for that look and we are comfortable moving on to the next location. All images will later be edited down to the best for each location.
A makeup artist will be provided for you who will also come along with us to each location. The makeup provided will be light and natural without trying to "glam" you up but at the same time with enough coverage for camera. There is never any attitude here so please feel free to throw in your specific requests such as your favorite lip color etc. We want to make sure that in the end, the face on the headshot will represent who you are and what you will look like when you walk in the door. Yes we do provide makeup for men as well. I find that if you are at all vein (which being an actor...well you know where I'm going with this), then you may want to consider makeup for color headshots only because color is not as forgiving as black and white. Color headshots tend to show every tonal variation and imperfection on your skin, not to mention dark circles under the eyes. For both men and women we ask that you come with your hair done the way you'd wear it ninety percent of the time as makeup artists don't style hair for actors. They do however, own hair kits to bring to the various locations to "watch" for hair or to help you with your hair needs.
As for wardrobe, please bring your favorite clothes with lots of options for both tops and bottoms even though headshots are cropped pretty tightly. The reason for this is to be on the safe side in case we catch a corner of your pants etc. Wardrobe should be pattern free for headshots so that your face remains the focus rather than your outfit. Clothes should complement you, not take away from your face. For color headshots, since all submissions are pretty much being done online, you need to bring bright and saturated colors like blues, reds, greens, etc. Dark and muted colors like grays and browns don't perform as well online. If you want casting directors to click on your image, make sure you pop with bright colors.
We do headshots for all kinds of businesses including executives from start up companies like YouMail to well established companies like XM. Weather you’re a doctor, a lawyer, or realtor, you may find yourself needing professional headshots for your company website or for self-promotion.
If you’ve never had the experience of shooting professional headshots, don’t worry you’re in good hands. I direct you quite a bit and get you talking about yourself so that your focus becomes having fun rather than thinking about how you look. Your headshots will have a lot of warmth and personality without looking posed or contrived.
Corporate headshots are usually done on location in the building of your company with studio lighting. A normal corporate session would include shooting ten or more people at the same location, on the same day to help keep the cost down for your company. If natural light is preferred, it is offered as an option if the company location is appropriate for natural light.
I bring a crew of makeup artist and assistant to help with the shoot. The assistant helps with transporting and setting up lights and the makeup artist helps you look as good as you can without looking like you have any makeup on.
Packages for corporate shots vary depending on your needs. Online Proof sheets for viewing are turned around in one business day via our web gallery. Any CDs are custom made to order depending on weather or not you need master files for press or publication, or if you need files for website uploading.
Advise for the actor:
Headshots are you on your best day. Because there is so much competition and casting directors literally get thousands of headshots for each role they put out on the breakdowns, your headshot should stand out from the rest.
Everyone should have a specific idea of how to market themselves through headshots. Headshots are your calling card. Casting directors put your picture in the “yes” pile or the “no” pile in about a second. They see your picture first, and if the picture doesn’t sell you as the role you are being submitted for, then your chances of getting called in are a lot less. Therefore, you need to make sure your pictures are very specific and hone in on the casting calls you are trying to target. Unless you are an established name in the industry, or unless you are being submitted by A list agencies, it’s very hard for people to take the time and imagine that a picture of a strong businesswoman can be a soft mom. I don’t mean go to extremes and wear a cop uniform but every picture should have at least 3 categories it can be defined by. For example; young dad, teacher, and guy next door can all be communicated with one shot! Another option would be to shoot in a suit to communicate perhaps a lawyer, a doctor or a cop. The wider your ranges of photos, the more the chances are of getting called in. Also to make a picture more interesting, I don’t see anything wrong with breaking the rules every now and then if it serves some sort of marketing purpose. What I mean by that is if wearing a certain type of jewelry or a hat makes you who you are, as long as it doesn’t take away from the center of focus, which are your eyes and your face, there is nothing wrong with having it in a picture. You have to remember that this is a business. Your headshots are in a sense your business card and the worst thing you could do is under estimate the power of that card! I have heard casting say that your picture should simply look like you, I agree but in addition, because casting is so busy and overwhelmed, the closer your picture is to the role being cast, the more your chances are of getting called in. What they mean when they make comments like “your picture should simply look like you” is that you shouldn’t alter your pictures to a point where it misrepresents you
The worst thing you can do for yourself is mislead casting directors into thinking that for example you are in a much younger age range than you actually are. Unlike anything else in this business, one thing is certain, which is that if you ask ten casting directors if that is a pet peeve, inevitably all ten of them will say yes. Often times, I see women retouching crow’s feet when they smile or just simply retouching wrinkles that are hardly visible to begin with in a washed out picture. I always advise against retouching if it dramatically changes your face. Actor’s tend to get very nit picky with their own pictures, not realizing that their picture is in front of the person casting you for a millisecond before it gets tossed or turned over to look at your resume. That millisecond is only enough time for your picture to catch someone’s eye but not nearly long enough for someone to make observations like “you have a strand of hair out of place”!
The difference between commercial shots and theatrical shots is the essence that comes across. True commercial shots should always exhibit some sort of warmth but a smile doesn’t necessarily define commercials and not smiling doesn’t necessarily define a theatrical shot. All headshots should exude warmth so that they draw people in rather than turn them off subliminally. If you were to take shots marketing you as the young professional, there is no law that says that that shot can not be used to be submitted both for roles on “ CSI” and for an “ ING” commercial. As long as a headshot is specific to a market then it can cross over both theatrically and commercially. Most actors have a lot of emotional range and there is no reason why that range cannot be displayed in every marketing look. People have many sides to their personalities and if they brought out all sides and created 3 to 4 specific pictures displaying these sides then they are doing everything they can to present their agents with as many tools as possible to get them out. I see too many headshots of people trying to look serious for theatrical purposes and therefore giving a dead stare, which inevitably translates into anger on paper. In order to avoid that, personality is the key.
Try working with someone (me, me, me) who understands how to direct actors and who can give you some sort of scenario to act out that will bring out real emotions rather than an emotionless angry face. For example if you are taking pictures of a professional and you want to convey someone in a powerful position, rather than just wearing the suit and looking serious, think of who you represent in that suit and what that person’s life consists of at the moment. Does he or she work in a law firm? Is there a case he/she is working on right now? What are the details of that case and how does he/she feel about it? The key here is always to make these scenarios of a positive nature, because it is too easy for film to read sadness or seriousness as angry. The biggest mistake that actors make is that they want a pretty picture. Everyone should look the best they can without going overboard because headshots are you on your best day but a pretty picture isn’t enough. You can only show who you are by bringing out your personality. That is the key. It’s easier said then done and not every photographer is inclined to be a director to help you achieve this. So you must do your homework, figure out what categories you fit into, and be prepared to “be” those people when taking your headshots. I don’t mean come up with some contrived plan to pose for your headshots but just bring things out of your own nature in the moment for the character and the market you are targeting. Ideally you should have an idea of where your target market will be during the photo shoot because you have met with and discussed this with your photographer. Again your goal shouldn’t be to look good (unless you are a model targeting only that market, but even then you should never be lacking in personality) but your goal should be to bring out your personality with specific headshots targeting your market. This is something you should discuss ahead of time during you consultation with the photographer.
On the issue of what type of pictures work best; there is no single right or wrong answer. You have to remember that every actor is an individual with a different personality, and although one photographer may be suitable for your friend, perhaps he or she is not suitable for you. The most important issue is to shoot with someone who you feel comfortable with, because if you don’t then how could you take pictures that look like you? You have to do your homework. Don’t pick a photographer blindly or just because you saw your “friend’s” headshots and they were good. Always meet with them. Now with the internet making it easy to view portfolios, since most photographers have websites, look at their work first, decide whos work seems to suit your needs, narrow your options, therefore decreasing drive time and then meet with them. I also feel that you should not make your decision based on price. The bottom line is that you can’t put a price on art. After meeting with photographers and narrowing down your choices to those you see eye to eye with, figure out how much of your budget you are willing to fork out for the right person!