YOUR CHILD ACTING HEADSHOT PHOTOGRAPHY SESSION INCLUDES:

Session time (40 minutes per look)
2 edited headshots per look (with 30 to choose from)
Same day turnaround time

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Here are some more examples of acting headshots for teens and children in Orlando, FL

Acting headshots are a very specific style of headshot that require a specialized set of skills from your photographer. The goal of headshots is to get your foot in the door with an audition. How can we accomplish this for kids?

Here are the 4 things we consider to get you Actor Headshots for Children and Teens in Orlando that work:

First, a bit of history about how I became a Child Acting Headshot Photographer -
When my kids were about 10 years old, they decided to start acting on the stage and one of them also in commercials and films. I had been a business headshot photographer for 10 years already, so moving into acting headshots for kids was a natural next step. I found out (the hard way, I’m afraid) that headshots for young actors, especially commercial and film actors, was a new world with completely different requirements and standards than a standard business headshot. And headshots for kids have different needs than for adults as well in Orlando.

I learned that Acting headshots for kids in Florida have a unique standard in order to stand out in the industry

Orlando youth actor headshots have to shine and really pop, but in a way that is

• Friendly

• Youthful

• Natural

• Simple

Let’s go through these concepts just a bit so you can see how, at Palm Lake Headshots, I can help you achieve these goals!

1. Your child’s actor headshot must be friendly.

   • Kids in Orlando, Miami, Tampa, and Central Florida in general are often booked for roles in commercials and small films. Normally, these roles are “happy” roles where a kid needs to just be a kid.

   • Additionally, we often have theater productions for youth in Orlando with fun and friendly, so your child’s headshot should reflect such expressions.

   • Being in Central Florida, kids and teenagers here often need a headshot made for the parks.

   • Our top priority for outfit is to choose clothing that has a light-hearted personality for film and the parks. If you have booked more than one look, then we tend to get a rich, more theatrical outfit for contrast.

   • We will light your images to be soft, approachable, sparkling, and NOT too dramatic. Drama may work for adult actors with some looks, but with kids, we will keep the lighting normally front-on, and we tailor the setup to encourage friendly vibes.

   • When we are posing and offering expressions, we love to play, laugh, relax, and capture natural smiles from your child.

2. Your headshots must feel youthful

• In Orlando (and across the US), casting directors prefer children and teenagers to look as young as possible for their roles. This way, actors have more experience and abilities. For instance, a casting director would prefer to pick a 9 year-old that looks 7, rather than a 7 year-old because a 9 year-old will provide the acting skills that are needed for the difficult job of film acting.

• We will provide beautiful, youthful portraits for your child or teen through lighting, expression, backdrop choice, and outfit guidance.

• Outfits play a huge role in how your young actor is perceived. Make sure to get in touch with your agency or coach for specific guidance.

• We also recommend little to no makeup for girls, no jewelry, and simple hair styling to keep your child looking youthful.

• The expressions that we go for also contribute to youthful headshots. I create a fun, musical, exciting environment so natural smiles can happen during our session. It’s also great practice for your child to provide true smiles and play a character during our shoot!

3. Your child’s headshots must look natural

• One thing many photographers don’t realize is that in Orlando, children’s acting headshots must look very natural. We don’t want extreme lighting, or something that looks over-done.

• We need to keep Photoshop to a minimum, which is why it’s so important to prepare your child or teen in advance with glowing, even skin, a moisturized face, and tamed, but natural hair.

• In order to provide natural images for you, I pick lighting that I feel will best represent your child’s skin tone and eye color, all while keeping it bright and youthful. Even though we often do use professional studio lighting equipment during our head shot sessions, lighting should feel natural.

• Often, I use all natural light, or partially natural light for the most natural look. This is sometimes dependent on great, sunny weather, but when the outdoors cooperates with us, I have a special place in my home studio that provides us with the most glowing, natural light. Sometimes, we will add a “kick light” to bring the eye to your child’s hair color, but this studio light simply looks like sunlight!

Here are some examples of fully-natural light, and half-natural light for acting headshots with this beautiful teen actor. Her eyes shine with true color, her skin glows, her freckles are showcased, and above all, she looks wonderfully natural. These images have very little editing, true colors, and a glow that really pops in the Orlando market, where natural images shine! The Florida market prefers to see headshots that are not too complicated, overly-photoshopped, or too forced.

4. We should usually keep our headshots simple

• Overly complicated headshots can be a turn-off to directors. They have only a split second to consider your headshot for an audition. Complicated lighting, textures, or distractions in the background will hurt your chances of getting a call.

• Acting headshots can be tricky this way - a plain background is normally a good choice and always safe, but sometimes we like to add a hint of “environment” to your headshot for context. I tend to do provide both for my actors so they have choices - sometimes within one look, and always when we do more than one look. In any case, if the background is too loud, the director may spend too much time figuring out the background instead of focusing instantly on what matter - the actor!

• For theater, I pattern my headshots after the New York market, as many of the young actors that come through my studio will be attending theater workshops in New York and have the Big Apple in their sights for productions. NYC likes very simple, medium to darker backgrounds - even for teens. For youth, I keep my backgrounds simple, but lighter in color. I’m telling you, it’s a lot to think about! But with the help of acting coaches and agencies in Orlando who have told me what works (and what not to do for actors), I know we can get you what you need to succeed!

• Lighting can also be over-complicated with some headshot photographers. These aren’t editorial or magazine portraits - they have a specific purpose — get your face seen instantly. Don’t get me wrong - I LOVE doing a good editorial shoot with rich lighting setups, sets, and drama… but that is not what this particular occasion calls for.

Here are a few examples of simple, effective backdrops for teenage headshots. Some are environmental, but still simple, and some are solid colors.

What do you get with a 1-look Acting Headshot Session?

You are going to always have many more options with more looks, of course, but if all you need is a simple headshot to put on a program, submit for an audition, or get signed with a talent agency, sometimes 1 look will get it done!

Here is what is included if you only book 1 look for your child or teenage actor:

1. 30-40 minutes of shooting

   • We will get your backdrop and lighting set up and shoot for about 30-40 minutes.

   • Since our session time is somewhat limited with 1 look, make sure that you come ready to shoot, or have a quick change into your outfit. (It’s important that your outfit is not wrinkly, so if you need to change when you get here, no worries!).

2. We capture several expressions and poses with each look.

   • Even in a 1-look actor headshot session, we will photograph your child with smiling, laughing, goofy, serious, and whimsical expressions. We want you to have loads of choices with each outfit.

3. 1 final image, perfected

   • Your favorite headshot is edited (a naturally perfect edit) and will be sent back to you in a few formats: Full, Crop, and Web-sized crop.

   • The crop that you will receive is standard and preferred for acting, designed to stand out to casting directors.

   • If, after seeing your full set of images, you would like more than one headshot, I make it very affordable! In fact, there is also an affordable way to buy ALL of your photos! You can contact me for more details about how to get all of the images from your session.

Here is an example of how many different expressions you can expect from a 1-look session.

I want to make sure you have lots of choices so the headshot you end up with will be a winning image. Getting auditions regularly is our goal!

Still have questions? Get in touch! I can’t wait to work with your Child Actor.