Shot & Echo

Shot & Echo

Motion. Pictures. Music.

  • The making of a headshot

    • 2 Nov 2009
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    • actor casting headshot photography
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    Beba watched silently from a dark corner as I was being shot. "She knows all the poses," says photographer Irini Michopoulou of her trusted canine. "In fact, they used her for a TV publicity shoot. She's a model too!" There is something comforting about having a photographer's pet witness your headshot session. No grunt of judgement nor a bark of support but purely objective observation, exactly what's needed for an Actor's headshot. You need to be you, a blank face on which a casting director can project a character, but with enough expressiveness in the eyes to catch attention.

    It is of course up to the photographer to bring out your best look, whether neutral, dramatic, cheeky or jovial. One only needs to look at a photographer's portfolio to know if matches your concept of mood and style. Now Irini has been a pro fashion and music publicity shooter for several years, and her attention to detail is immediately evident in her actor portraits. They convey a unique personal atmosphere with each individual, not an easy task considering actors are not models: stage presence does not always equal photogenicity.

    And so it was that I found myself with several changes of black and white shirts at her central Athens home studio last week. Irini's allround experience meant she had stylistic facets covered. "They don't give you an assistant any more, so I do everything myself," Irini told me. The conditions for photographers in Greece are far from ideal, and so she frequently takes on projects abroad.

    From a technical point of view, Irini's set up is basic but effective. One umbrella strobe and one flash diffuser aimed at the subject and a rolled-down backdrop respectively is all she needs in her 4x5. "The reflective black granite floor also creates an effect, as do the walls, so I know exactly what the room can give me." A Canon 1D Mark II fitted with a 100mm f2.8 prime lens rounds off the headshot equipment specs.

    A pro set-up alone won't create great pics. Actor's need to be directed, so a photographer's coaching ability is just as crucial to getting great headshots. Irini knows what she wants and guides you through the motions smoothly, with the added advantage of digital being hat you get to see some shots immediately on the camera's screen, instantly setting your mind at ease that the shoot is going in the right direction.

    My contact sheet will arrive within the next few days from which I will have to choose five favourites. Irini will then slightly retouch and adapt these to black and white where desired. A week or two later my smug mug should be hanging on a casting director's wall, or at the very least filed in one of their books, and round two of my quest for an IMDb listing begins.

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  • For Joaquin Phoenix, it's a (w)rap...

    • 11 Oct 2009
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    • Joaquin Phoenix Music actor movie
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    To anybody who saw Tropic Thunder and wondered if Robert Downey Jr.'s super-involved actor character was far-fetched, I can convey that indeed there are film stars who take their roles that seriously.

    So when the great Joaquin Phoenix announced his retirement from acting last year to concentrate on music, it did send a bit of a shockwave through the entertainment world. I remember thinking at the time that having garnered high praise and adulation for his work, perhaps he didn't want to fall into the same viscious, downward-spiralling cycle as some of his contemporaries, most notably those that tragically ended the careers of Heath Ledger and Joaquin's own brother. Both Heath and River succumbed to drug-related overdoses.

    But this latest news http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedishrag/2009/01/joaquin-phoenix.html makes me think the Joaq Man is high on something. A rapper? I could have understood a foray into Country & Western after his spotless portrayal of Johnny Cash in Walk The Line, but this Phoenizzle? wtph? Maybe the big giveaway is bro-in-law Casey Affleck with a video camera. Perhaps this is Joaquin's next cinematic project, done all rough and documentary stylee, and he's really going deep into the soul of an actor-turned rapper, and the destructive path it leads him to. I only hope that's the case, because the man really would be headin' for Oscar bling this time...

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    The creative resonance of making movies, music, images and digital designs.

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