Spring is here: Start your spring cleaning with updated headshots. Headshots are an essential part of any showbiz career. This is how talent agents, casting directors, producers and directors determine if you are a serious about your career. Check out my headshot to the left! The first step is to find a professional photographer. Do your research on local photographers in your city. Browse their previous work and see if it suits your personality. Wear bright colors to the photo shoot and bring a change of clothes to offer variety. Read the rest of this entry »

When going out on an audition, it’s very important to have at least 2 copies of your headshot on hand.  Even if you were not instructed to bring it, you should always have headshots with you. Another important headshot tip is to keep the photo up to date.  I recently did a casting where I selected many people based on the headshots they submitted.  When the actors came in for the audition I didn’t even recognize them from their headshots!  Many of them looked much older than they appeared in their headshots.  Your headshot should be an honest representation of what you look like every day. Read the rest of this entry »

InstantCast headshot photographer JM Spafford wants to help YOU further your career. In your portfolio session you’ll get professional headshots, career advice, and a review of all your different looks. YOUR career is important to us. We want to make sure you’re putting your best face forward… let us help when you reserve your headshot session with JM Spafford in the NYC area or Florida!

Let Josh capture your star quality…isn’t it time you shared you shine with the world? ***Click here to reserve your session now***

By: Isabelle Dungan, InstantCast Editor

Hey Everyone, it’s JM Spafford, the official NYC InstantCast Headshot Photographer, with some exciting news I’d love to share with you all: I’m now expanding my shooting services to include all of Florida! As you may know, NYC sets the standard in headshot, glamour and portfolio styles so we thought it would be fair to come down and make that style available to you. So if you’re in Florida, NY, NJ, or CT click here to reserve a shoot with me now.

I really hope to be able to share my passion in helping actors create striking photographs that book them work all along the East Coast. Hope to hear from you, and shoot, soon! Regards, JM Spafford. Click here to reserve your session with me today!

Everyone does it. Everyone. It’s a very rare headshot indeed that needs no retouching, and, even if you think you look perfect, there are certain things that the right retouch artist can do in post-production that will give your picture that little bit of extra oomph that might just book you the job of your dreams.

The point of retouching is to bring out the best version of you – not to make you look like a supermodel.

A retouch artist should be able to get rid of blemishes, tone-down any under-eye circles, brighten the whites of your eyes and your teeth, but still leave the photograph looking natural and un-touched.

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So now you have 500 photos and you have to pick that one, single photo that’s going to be your calling-card in the industry. Usually, your photographer will choose some of his or her favorites for you to narrow it down.

It is rare that you’ll get the whole session to review – but if you want that, don’t hesitate to ask. Your photographer should be able to pick a variety of shots that he or she thinks shows you at your best.

With several choices in-hand (a few of your best from each set-up), you should get a second (or third, or fourth) opinion on which shot you should get printed. Feel free to ask friends, your agent, your family, etc.; on many levels, their favorite shot may be based on gut reaction rather than carefully weighing the options, but this is valid!

Many casting directors may not spend more than a few seconds looking at your photo. You want it to jump off the page and grab their attention.

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Okay – so it’s the day of your shoot. If you have picked a good photographer and have prepared to the best of your abilities, you know you’re in good hands. Relax, have fun, and don’t worry if each frame isn’t perfect.

The photographer will shoot hundreds of photos – and remember, it’s in his best interest to make these photos GORGEOUS! A lot of photographers work by referrals, so the photographer will be doing his or her best.

He or she wants to give you a great experience and some great shots. And a good photographer should turn out photographs that you’re able to use for a few years.

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One of the best ways to be sure you get all the shots you need on your shoot is to be super-prepared. This encompasses making sure you’ve taken care of your skin and hair the night before, choosing the right wardrobe, and having each look you’ll want to be shot in ready-to-go before the shoot even starts.

But even though you should prepare ahead of time, you should also be ready to improvise and go with the flow.

Many of the best headshots come from an easy-going collaborative relationship between the photographer and the subject. Click here to get headshots with me in NYC today!

If you’re prepared with an idea of what you want, the photographer will be able to focus on making you look your best (that way, he or she doesn’t have to play the role of stylist as well).

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Choose the right photographer: Okay, so you need new headshots. Those black-and-white film shots that were taken when you were 14 and 100 pounds heavier (or lighter) really don’t look like you – and though they may get you an audition, if you show up looking ten years older with a different hair color, the casting agent will feel duped, and you won’t have a snowball’s chance in hell of getting cast. The most important part of your headshot is that it looks like YOU!

A headshot should look like the best version of you… the you that will show up to the audition, the you that a casting agent or director will want to spend time with – whether it’s a single-day commercial shoot, or a three-year run on Broadway. So – point number one in this list is all about picking the right photographer to bring out that very best “you.”

Now, there are headshot photographers in every corner of New York and you can find a photographer in any price range… from the too-cheap to the oh-my-god-I-can’t-believe-anyone-would-pay-that-much-for-pictures. So how do you choose? The first thing to look at is a photographer’s samples. Read the rest of this entry »

Having the right headshot is one of the most important things you need in this industry. Don’t just pick any photographer out of the yellow pages without doing a little research and asking a few questions.

For those of you living in LA or the NYC area, InstantCast makes it simple. We’ve formed great partnerships with professional headshot photographers in both cities–click here to learn more.

If you don’t live in LA or NYC, look to friends or fellow actors who have gotten their headshots done and find out where they went. Get referrals. Ask your acting teacher who they recommend.

Once you narrow your search down to a few choices then now it’s time to find out a little information from the source. Here are a few questions you should ask BEFORE booking your photo shoot.

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This is Ari, an aspiring rock singer in a band. He asked me to make him look like a rock star for some promotional pictures and I’d like to think I did (with the help of my lovely makeup artist)!

I love helping people develop portfolios that will help further their careers. So, whether you’re an aspiring rocker, rapper, reality TV star…I want to help you look and feel your best!

Call me today to schedule a photoshoot in New York! Click here to get going.

By: JM Spafford, InstantCast Headshot Photographer