Tag Archives: headshots

Feeling Like Things Are Picking Up (or I’ve Missed This Productivity)

Posted on January 24, 2024 | Comments Off on Feeling Like Things Are Picking Up (or I’ve Missed This Productivity)

When I worked at getting as ready as possible with things for my acting career, I knew that a lot of it was out of my hands. I took control of whatever I could, but there’s only so much I can do. I got a new agent, which was huge and the biggest thing I was worried about. And after that, I could start the ball rolling on a few other things that I was putting off.

I got new headshots done, which I had been putting off for a while. I would love to have my weight lower before taking photos, but I need something for now. And I was lucky that I got to work with someone I have known for a while and he was able to give me a good deal so the new photos weren’t quite as much as they could have been. It’s always fun getting to work with a new photographer because every photographer has their methods for helping you get the best shots possible. I think the photos I got in this shoot came out so good and I’ve already gotten the selects back from my new agent so I can get them posted on the different casting sites as soon as I get the retouched images back. Having new and fresh photos should be helpful, plus I feel like these have a bit more personality than the ones I’ve had up for a while. I can’t guarantee that I will get a ton of auditions because of the new photos, but I feel really good about how these represent me and the characters that I might be cast as.

But even before my new photos got onto the casting sites, I had my first audition through my new agent! It’s been a while since I’ve had an audition. Between the strike and then having my last agent close their agency, there weren’t many opportunities for me. I was still doing submissions on my own, but those are much more limited than what an agent sees. I was thrilled to get the email about the audition and was ready to get back into the swing of things.

This audition was a bit different from many that I’ve had. Before the pandemic, most of my auditions were in-person. Since the pandemic, all my auditions have been self-tapes. But this audition was on Zoom, so it was a mix of what I’m used to. I was able to audition from home so I could be comfortable, but I had casting watching me as I performed. I do prefer having casting watching me so I can make adjustments as needed, so I was excited to do a Zoom audition. But I did discover while getting everything set up that I don’t have the best set-up for a Zoom audition. I have a tripod for my phone to do self-tapes, but I didn’t have a stand for my laptop since I knew it would be better to use that for Zoom. But I was able to make things work with a big stack of books and using my desktop ring lamp.

I am looking at finding a stand for my laptop to add to my home audition equipment just so I have something ready if I need it. It also might be a good thing to have for self-tape auditions if I have a reader over Zoom instead of in person. But I wasn’t going to buy a bunch of stuff right away, so I made it work with what I had.

I felt so good after this audition. I have no idea if I will book the part or not, but it felt so good to perform. I know some people, including myself, question from time to time if this is still the career we want to pursue. I know my life would probably be a lot easier if I didn’t want to be an actor. But every audition and chance to perform proves to me that this is what makes me happy and this career is what I want to do if I’m lucky enough to have that opportunity. I also loved feeling like I was actually doing something for my career and not just waiting for things to happen. I obviously will have to wait for the next audition to come, but I know that I have been doing the work that got me ready for this audition and will have me ready when the next one comes my way.

I really hope that with all these things I’ve been doing recently, things will get busier for me. I know I might get stressed out with having to balance everything, but it will also be worth it because I know how much happier I was in general after my audition. I crave performing and I know that getting to do it feeds my soul. And I just want to have more chances to have that feeling because I know how awesome it is!

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailSome Friend and Acting Time (or Still Helping With Self-Tapes) Default ThumbnailAn Isolation Audition (or Working On My Self-Tape Game) Default ThumbnailAlmost Getting To Act (or Being On The Other Side Of A Self-Tape Audition) Default ThumbnailAnother Self-Tape Audition (or So Grateful For Anything Related To Acting Right Now) Default ThumbnailMaking My Acting Bold (or Feeling Great From An Audition) Default ThumbnailAudition Prep (or Taking My Career Seriously)

Comments Off on Feeling Like Things Are Picking Up (or I’ve Missed This Productivity)

Posted in Acting, Fun Stuff

Tagged , ,

New Things To Think About With My Acting Career (or I Need To Plan Things More)

Posted on October 19, 2022 | Comments Off on New Things To Think About With My Acting Career (or I Need To Plan Things More)

I’ve written several times about how I want to get back into acting more. Things really came to a standstill for me the past few years, but I also used that time to get things a bit more settled in my life. I’m in a better place financially, which is important since so many things with acting cost money. And I think having a little bit of a break did help me really think about what I want to do and how I want to accomplish it.

I still want to get back into taking an acting class and have been looking into some options near me. I haven’t found one that fits in with my schedule or that I like yet, but I’m making an effort to find something because I know it would be good for me. I also miss the camaraderie you have being in a regular class. But because I have limited time after work and classes can be expensive, I don’t want to join one just to be in a class. I want to make sure I’m in a class that fits my needs as well as a class where I fit in with the others in the group. There have been a few people who have talked about starting up our own casual scene study class, and if one of those happens it might be a good match for me since they tend to be less expensive and very supportive. But since I don’t know if or when those might happen, I’m still looking into more traditional classes as well. And hopefully, I’ll find something that works for me soon.

I also know that I might need to start looking for a new agent. This is a longer thing I need to think about, but I’m not sure if my current situation is the best one for me or if I’m the best client for them. I know that with the pandemic, things have been weird. So I want to start conversations with my agent again before making any decisions because it’s not easy to find a new agent. And just like how I feel about classes, I don’t want to make any rash decisions. This is something that might take a lot of time to figure out, and I’m not in any rush.

But whether or not I want to look for a new agent, one thing I know I need to do is get new headshots. And I’ve been saying this for a while and I haven’t done it yet. I’ve talked to a few friends who are photographers to figure out who I’d like to take photos with, but now I’m realizing I might need to plan this out better too. There’s no guarantee the new medication will help me lose weight, but if I’m lucky it will make a difference for me. And if I lose weight, I will need to keep getting new headshots because my look will be changing. Headshots are not cheap (or cheap headshots are not usually good), so this is another thing that really has to be thought about. If I do new headshots now and then need new ones in a month or two, that can be expensive. Maybe I need to keep the ones I have for now until my appearance is different enough and then finally do the new ones. And maybe I can make a plan with a photographer friend to have sessions with fewer looks if I will be doing them more frequently. For example, if they normally offer a 4-look session, maybe I could split it into 2 sessions and pay a little bit more than half each time. I haven’t asked anyone yet because I want to have a better plan in mind before asking.

All of these things are things I feel I need in order to get my acting career off again. I know that I could still get auditions and book work with the headshots I have now and through my current agent. But I also know that having outdated headshots aren’t helping me much. Plus, I have used those headshots for a while now so a refresh would be nice and something different for casting directors to see when I’m submitted for roles.

I’m not going to let not doing these things stop me from continuing to pursue acting, but I also know that I’m probably not going to have a lot of success without them either. So I need to make a plan, even if it’s a 1 or 2 year plan, and get back into things with a purpose. I have been putting this off enough, and I can at least take the first few steps toward making these changes and then get into them more when the timing is right.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailI Should Start Focusing On Acting Again (or It’s Been A Crazy Few Years) Default ThumbnailBack To Basics (or How A Win At My Day Job Can Help My Acting Career) Default ThumbnailFiguring Out The Next Step (or I Need To Keep Acting) Default ThumbnailJob vs. Career (or Being Undercover At My Day Job) Default ThumbnailAudition Prep (or Taking My Career Seriously) Default ThumbnailBeing Proactive (or Bringing Acting To Me)

Comments Off on New Things To Think About With My Acting Career (or I Need To Plan Things More)

Posted in Acting

Tagged , , ,

An Afternoon With The Headshot Truck (or Doing Some Work Photos)

Posted on March 23, 2021 | Comments Off on An Afternoon With The Headshot Truck (or Doing Some Work Photos)

It’s been a while since I’ve had some new headshots taken. I know I need to do some new ones soon, but I’ve been putting it off for a bit. Before the pandemic, I was hoping I would have a different enough look to need them (like if I changed up my hair or lost weight). I know you don’t have to wait until you look different for new photos, but that was the excuse I was telling myself. And then during the pandemic, I’ve been telling myself that I wanted to wait until it was safer. I know several photographers have been doing headshots and have found ways to stay safe, but I was still using that as an excuse.

But last week, I had to get some photos done for my social media day job. We all needed official work photos done. Some people had some that were taken before, but everyone was getting new photos taken even if they had them done in the past. These photos are going to be used on the company website, in our work emails, and when we are doing something where we are representing the company. But because many of us who work there are also actors, they wanted the photos to be great for work and also possible to use as headshots.

The photos were taken with The Headshot Truck. I’ve known about The Headshot Truck for several years now and I hadn’t shot with them before. But I loved their work and was really excited to get a chance to shoot with them. Because of safety issues, the photos would all be taken outside but I knew that they were going to be great no matter what.

Since these photos are primarily for work-related purposes, there were a few things we all had to do. The main thing was that we all had to wear blue since that is the company color. That was fine with me since I think I photograph well in blue. So I wore one option and brought a few others in case I needed to change. We all only had 15 minutes for our shoots, so there wasn’t really time to do multiple looks. But I wanted to have options just in case I needed to change before we started shooting. Fortunately, the outfit that I wore to the shoot was perfect and I didn’t have to change.

One other difference between other headshot shoots was that I had to do my own hair and makeup. I almost always have someone to do my hair and makeup, but since this shoot was a mini-shoot and mainly for work, I wasn’t going to hire someone this time. So I did my own hair and makeup and hoped it would look ok.

The shoot itself was really fun and easy. There were 2 outdoor locations were did the photos in. And halfway through the shoot, the photographer let me look at the photos so I could see if there was anything I wanted to change. I’m glad I did look, because there was something odd with how my hair was going over my shoulder. It wasn’t anything bad or something anyone besides myself would notice, but I’m glad I could fix it because I know it would have bothered me looking at the photos. I will also likely do retouching (since you always need to do that) so I could have fixed it in retouching too. But I am glad I could change how my hair looked so I could feel better about my photos.

I haven’t gotten the images back just yet, but I’m happy with what I’ve seen so far. I’ve only seen a few shots from their computer screen after the shoot was done, but they look great!

I know my photo of their screen isn’t the best and it’s not easy to see the photos, but I was happy when looking at them. And I’m sure I’ll have a few different ones that are my top choices and I’ll ask friends to help me pick the best one. And maybe I’ll find one that I love for my work shot and another that I love for a headshot!

I love that I had this chance to take some new photos. Even though the main reason for them is for work, this is another thing I was able to do to get ready for being back to auditioning again. I’ve been doing self-tapes over the past year, but I know in-person auditions will be back in the future and I want to have myself in the best spot possible for those when they happen.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailTime For New Headshots (or Adding Some Personality Into My Photos) Default ThumbnailA Mini Photo Shoot (or Enjoying A Voter Freebie) Default ThumbnailExpress Headshot Day (or Another Fun Podcast Event) Default ThumbnailNew Headshots (or Trying To Be A Quirky Office Girl/College Student/Young Mom) Default ThumbnailBeing Underestimated (or Does My Opinion Not Matter?) Default ThumbnailGetting Pretty (or A Fresh Look For My New Pictures)

Comments Off on An Afternoon With The Headshot Truck (or Doing Some Work Photos)

Posted in Acting, Fun Stuff, Work

Tagged , , ,

A Mini Photo Shoot (or Enjoying A Voter Freebie)

Posted on November 8, 2018 | Comments Off on A Mini Photo Shoot (or Enjoying A Voter Freebie)

I know that on Election Day there were quite a few freebie or discount offers for anyone who voted. Busses and trains in LA were free, ride share companies were offering free or discounted rides to polling places, and there were a couple of fast food or chain restaurants that offered things like free coffee or dessert if you were wearing your voter sticker. I usually don’t do any of the voter freebie offers since they aren’t things I need or want, but this year I did take advantage of one.

One of my headshot photographers, Adam Emperor Southard, posted on social media last month that he was offering free mini shoots for anyone who voted. These would be 10 minute shoots and done quickly and efficiently. This doesn’t mean they wouldn’t look as good as normal headshots do, but it would be done in studio with a single background and with a single look. It’s been a while since I’ve done headshots (right now I don’t have the money for new ones but I look like my current ones enough so it’s ok), so I immediately signed up for a mini shoot!

I was going through my clothes to pick out what I wanted to wear for my shoot. Even though I knew it was just a single look, I was hoping that maybe I could do 2 very similar looks if I made it quick. So I had a black tank top on and brought a sweater and scarf with me. I was hoping that maybe I could do photos in each, but I also knew that I might have to just pick one and that would be ok with me.

For regular headshot shoots, I have someone do my hair and makeup. I timed my hair being done so it was done the day before the shoot. I knew that would make it still look nice and not as frizzy as it can be when I do my hair. And for my makeup, I really just tried my best to do my makeup. I’m getting better about doing it and realizing that I have to almost look overdone when I look in a mirror to actually look good. I think that’s because I don’t wear makeup that often, but it’s still a tough thing to remember that I don’t look like I’m wearing too much to everyone else.

I went to the shoot right after I was done with work on Election Day. Traffic wasn’t as crazy as it could be so I got there much earlier than my appointment time. I figured it would be fine if I had to wait but maybe Adam would be ready to take my photo if there wasn’t someone right before me. He was just finishing a shoot when I arrived so it ended up being perfect timing! And I asked if I could do both looks since it was such a minor change and he said that I could!

I did the look with the sweater first and tried to not think too much about how I look. It was tough because I know that normally the makeup artist is checking to make sure my hair looks good and nothing else is off. I asked to see a preview of a photo and fixed my hair a bit (even though it can be fixed in retouching too) and tried to relax. While I was doing my photos someone else showed up for their shoot, and I let them go after I was done with the photos in my sweater and would do the photos in my scarf after they were done.

When I did my second half of the shoot, I tried to do a variety of faces and looks. But since it was so quick I know that I probably didn’t do as much as I would have loved to. And to finish off the shoot, I decided to do some fun pictures with my voter sticker (which I love that I get since I do a mail in ballot) and those ended up looking very fun when Adam showed me a quick preview of how they looked.

Adam just sent me the photos from the shoot and I will spend some time going over them and seeing which ones I like. With this free shoot he is also including a free retouch, but I can pay for more to be retouched if I want them to. So far, from what I have looked at, they look amazing! My hair isn’t quite what I thought it would look like because there was a weird piece out of place but my makeup is much better than I thought it would be! And of course, since Adam is an amazing photographer the photos are all incredible!

I love that Adam did this shoot as an incentive to get people to vote. I would have voted with or without this shoot, but it was fun to have something awesome as a bonus for voting in this midterm election. And it is a bonus that really is something I needed and will be very helpful with my acting career. This was really just an amazing gift that Adam offered us all and I am so grateful I was able to be a part of it.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailTime For New Headshots (or Adding Some Personality Into My Photos) Default ThumbnailNew Headshots (or Trying To Be A Quirky Office Girl/College Student/Young Mom) Default ThumbnailSelf-Tape Saturday (or Turning A Video Shoot Into A Photo Shoot) Default ThumbnailExpress Headshot Day (or Another Fun Podcast Event) Default ThumbnailAn Amazing Photo Shoot (or Dress Like A Woman) Default ThumbnailNew Photo (or It Reminds Me of The Old Me)

Comments Off on A Mini Photo Shoot (or Enjoying A Voter Freebie)

Posted in Acting, Fun Stuff

Tagged , , , , ,

Express Headshot Day (or Another Fun Podcast Event)

Posted on October 25, 2016 | Comments Off on Express Headshot Day (or Another Fun Podcast Event)

The podcast I work for has been trying to do lots of fun stuff for our listeners. We’ve done some pretty great parties in the past, but now we are looking to do monthly events to benefit actors and anyone else in the entertainment industry. I’ll try to remember to share these events on here in case any of you want to join in (sorry I didn’t do that before!).

Last month, we did a vocal class with Darci Monet (who is a friend of mine). It was a class for all levels and was an introduction to how she teaches. I was an observer for that class, but I had a great time and we were inspired to do more events like that. While the vocal class could have been for all levels, we know that some people might have been intimidated if they have never taken a class before. So we wanted the next event to be something that doesn’t seem to have levels of expertise so everyone felt like wherever they were in their career that it would be a great opportunity for them.

So this past weekend, we did an express headshot day. The idea of an express headshot day is to do really amazing photos for less money and taking less time than a normal headshot session. It’s great if you have one look you want to do that isn’t something you already have. Or if you are a writer and need a professional photo to use. I even joked with my friends that they could do it to have an awesome photo for an online dating profile!

We were hosted again by Acting Up Network (we will totally be partnering with them again and again in the future) and our photographer was Adam, who did my last round of headshots. I didn’t need any extra looks right now, so I didn’t sign up to do a session (and that was for the best since I got sick). But since Adam was the photographer, I knew that everyone who signed up would be getting incredible shots and nobody would be disappointed.

Not only did we feel so lucky that we got Adam as our photographer for the day, the day we had our express day was his birthday! He said that he was happy spending his birthday doing what he loves to do (he really does love taking photos), but we wanted to make sure that we didn’t forget about his birthday! So toward the beginning of the day, one of our hosts (who was getting his photos done during the express day) got some cupcakes so we could celebrate!

happy-birthday-adam

I’ve seen express headshot days in the past and they don’t always work. But Adam really had things set up to make this work the best it could. I watched almost each of the sessions, and every person left with a huge smile on their face and very impressed with some of the shots that they were able to see at the end of the shoot.

express-shoot

Doing headshots can be a fun time, but not everyone loves doing them. But it made me so happy to watch people walk in a bit nervous or unsure if they will get a good photo and walk out looking like they hit the jackpot because they got a photo that they never knew they could get.

I wasn’t able to stay for the entire event (I was there for almost 6 hours and then I needed to get home to rest), but the time I was there was really fun and inspiring to watch. I know that we are going to make these express headshot days something we do at least once a year. It was a hit and I know that good headshots are a necessity that not everyone can afford (most shoots are $300-500 and we did our express day for $100).

I feel great that we can do something that benefits others in the industry and it is something that others have done for me so I just want to keep paying it forward. If any of you want to know all the events the podcast will do (in case I forget to share it on here), I recommend signing up for the podcast email list. You’ll get an email for each episode we release, but we put podcast and community announcements in them too.

I’m not sure what our next event will be, but I have a feeling it’s going to be something else incredible!

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailPodcast Hangout (or A Quick Coffee Meeting) Default ThumbnailA Podcast Hangout (or Observing A Vocal Class) Default ThumbnailTime For New Headshots (or Adding Some Personality Into My Photos) Default ThumbnailCelebrating 300 Episodes (or We Had Another Amazing Party) Default Thumbnail200 Episodes (or We Managed To Throw An Amazing Event!) Default ThumbnailCelebrating 200 Episodes Of The Podcast (or Come and Celebrate With Me!)

Comments Off on Express Headshot Day (or Another Fun Podcast Event)

Posted in Acting, Fun Stuff

Tagged , , , ,

Time For New Headshots (or Adding Some Personality Into My Photos)

Posted on November 12, 2015 | 1 comment

I changed my hair a little over a month ago. As soon as I did it, I planned on getting new headshots taken. Since I don’t have the same hair color anymore, I wanted new photos that reflected my new look more accurately. I had every intention of doing the shoot within a week or so of the hair color change, but due to crazy schedules, that didn’t happen.

For this shoot, I shot with my friend Adam Emperor Southard. I’ve previously done a fun shoot with him, but this was my first time shooting headshots with him. And I used Kate Hollinshead for my hair and makeup (Kate did my hair/makeup for my last 2 headshot shoots and I love what she does!).

The hair and makeup took about an hour (that’s pretty normal) and we were ready to shoot as soon as that was done. I’m still in the post-college/young mom/office worker category a lot for auditions, so that’s the look that we were going for. We did a mix of studio photos and outdoor photos, but all of my favorites came from outside.

Headshot Options

All of those photos are unretouched, but they look almost good enough to post on the online casting services already! I think that Kate did a great job getting the perfect natural look for me (which of course takes more makeup than I’m used to) and Adam was able to get some great shots with fun expressions. I’m always self-conscious at shoots because I feel like I don’t have enough looks. And when I try to replicate looks I’ve had in the past, they come out looking weird.

Even though my shoot was only a 2 look session, I convinced Adam to let me do a couple of photos with my new Mighty Petunia top (if you shop there, don’t forget to use the promo code “Bombshell”!). I love that tank top so much and I figured it would be fun to get some photos that I might use on the blog or other places where I don’t necessarily want to use my headshots. Since I was doing non-headshots, I told Kate that we could go bold with the hair and makeup. I was ok with whatever she wanted to do, so she went with curly hair and a bold red lip.

Fun Options

I love how those shots came out and I’m so grateful that Adam and Kate indulged me in adding a bonus look.

I’ve already sent my favorites to my agents and included some of the crazier photos with them in case they wanted to use one for fun. They picked their 6 favorites and 2 of them came from the crazy look (including the tongue out one for a kick ass rocker look)! I’m so glad that I took a chance with these photos because I never take chances like this and it seems like it’s paying off!

I’ll be getting my retouched photos today or tomorrow and then I’ll be getting them up on the casting sites, ordering new printed headshots, and doing new business cards (that link gets you 10% off that site!). It’s not cheap to do all of this, but thankfully I will get getting some money for Hanukkah at Thanksgiving so I will be putting a bit of that toward my acting expenses. It takes money to pursue this career, but it’s totally worth it to me.

I love when I work with a photographer and I get exactly what I need plus more! I’ve had some not-so-great experiences with photographers in the past where even after multiple reshoots I don’t have what I need and the money I spent on it was totally wasted. I’ve learned which photographers I work well with and I love having a couple of people who I trust to do headshots for me. I’m sure that within a year or so I’ll need to do photos again. But right now, I’m just so excited to get these photos up and available for casting directors to see the attention they get me.

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailA Mini Photo Shoot (or Enjoying A Voter Freebie) Default ThumbnailExpress Headshot Day (or Another Fun Podcast Event) Default ThumbnailGetting Pretty (or A Fresh Look For My New Pictures) Default ThumbnailAn Amazing Photo Shoot (or Dress Like A Woman) Default ThumbnailMaking A Movie (or Pulling An All-Nighter) Default ThumbnailNew Headshots (or Trying To Be A Quirky Office Girl/College Student/Young Mom)

1 Comment

Posted in Acting, Fun Stuff

Tagged , , , ,

Taking More Chances (or Maybe I’ll Get Picked This Time)

Posted on May 30, 2014 | Comments Off on Taking More Chances (or Maybe I’ll Get Picked This Time)

I continue to take more and more chances with my acting career these days. I had previously sent in an audition for the NBC Diversity Showcase. I didn’t make it past the first round for that showcase, but it’s ok. I got some practice with self-taping an audition and while reviewing my takes for the one I wanted to send it, I definitely learned a lot about how I’m appearing on camera. I’ve been practicing more and more at home and I’m hoping to use sides that I can find online and do at least one self-taping audition at home a week. I won’t be able to send those self-taped auditioned in unless casting requests them, but practice is practice.

I’m also looking into learning some accents. My agents recently contacted me asking if I could do a Boston accent. I can’t, but I told them that I could try to learn one quickly if they wanted me to. Right now, I don’t have any accents that I feel like I could whip out at any moment. I’ve never been asked to do an accent in an audition before my agents texted me about the Boston accent, so it’s never seemed too important to me. But now that I know that I might have lost out on an audition because of it, I’m going to see if there are some online videos (or even podcasts) for me to start picking up some accents.

I also just submitted myself for another diversity showcase. This time it was for ABC (and there’s still time to submit for it as the due date isn’t until June 6th).

IMG_3126

This time, all I had to do was submit my headshot and resume. That’s a lot easier than self-taping and makes this seem more like a regular audition (even though self-taping for auditions is becoming more common, it isn’t done too often for union jobs). Hopefully my headshot and resume will impress the people at ABC and I will be invited to audition!

Finally, I’m starting to get a bit more pushy about projects. I have a lot of friends who are producing webseries or films and I’m telling people when I think their project is interesting and would like to be a part of it. I can’t wait for a friend to ask me. There’s not always a part for me, but it never hurts to ask (as long as it’s done in a polite way).

Hopefully something will come of all these efforts soon!

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailUpgrading My Self-Tape Set Up (or 2 Auditions In 30 Minutes) Default ThumbnailHalfway Through Class (or Not Thinking About The Next Step) Default ThumbnailGoing From So Much Excitement To Normal In A Few Hours (or Life As An Actor) Default ThumbnailSkype Audition (or Maybe I Should Have Worn Regular Pants) Default ThumbnailAudition Prep (or Taking My Career Seriously) Default ThumbnailWorking On Some Second Chances (or Trying To Stay Open Minded)

Comments Off on Taking More Chances (or Maybe I’ll Get Picked This Time)

Posted in Acting, Fun Stuff

Tagged , ,

New Headshots (or Trying To Be A Quirky Office Girl/College Student/Young Mom)

Posted on March 3, 2014 | 1 comment

This past Thursday was my shoot date for new headshots. I had booked this date a while ago because the photographer I go to, Joanna DeGeneres, is extremely popular and didn’t have time until the end of February (I asked her about shoot dates in the beginning of January). I was more than happy to wait because she is truly an amazing photographer.

Then, it was supposed to be the storm of the century on Thursday. Joanna told me we would need to cancel (she shoots outdoors and only uses natural light). I told Joanna that I would keep that date open, because there’s always a chance that the weather people are wrong.

And guess what? It was a beautiful sunny day on Thursday! So I got to do my shoot!

I had also paid to have someone there to do my hair and makeup. I’m not that talented with either myself, but even if you are, it’s always suggested to have someone else come in to help. Also, this allowed me to have a couple of different looks.

After I got to Joanna’s, she went through the outfits that I brought with me. Based on the clothes I brought and how I look, we had decided that the looks that would be best for me would be a mix of young mom, a quirky office girl, and an older college student. I agreed that those are what I’m most likely to be cast as as well.

Hair and makeup took about an hour and then we were ready to shoot! I had 3 different looks that day and one makeup/hair change. I don’t have all the proofs yet (I’ll get those at some point this week), but here are 2 screenshots of what we got.

IMG_2638 IMG_2637

The first picture is more of an office look and the second picture is more of a mom look.

I’m super happy with how these look and I can’t wait to see the rest. I know that these both have a similar expression and I need more range, but I know that we shot so many different looks that day (these were just 2 pictures that jumped out at both of us while we were looked at everything).

As soon as I have all my proofs and can look at everything, I’ll try to get it down to about 15-20 pictures. Then I’ll have my agents look at them and hopefully we can get it down to maybe 3 or 4 (every one that I want to put up on the online casting sites cost money so I don’t want to pick too many). And of those few, I’ll probably pick just one to print out. I don’t have to give casting directors headshots too often any more so I don’t need a ton to be printed.

Hopefully these new pictures will get me some more auditions!

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailA Mini Photo Shoot (or Enjoying A Voter Freebie) Default ThumbnailGetting Pretty (or A Fresh Look For My New Pictures) Default ThumbnailUpdating Me (or It Never Hurts To Ask) Default ThumbnailBeing Underestimated (or Does My Opinion Not Matter?) Default ThumbnailMaking A Movie (or Pulling An All-Nighter) Default ThumbnailTime For New Headshots (or Adding Some Personality Into My Photos)

1 Comment

Posted in Acting, Beauty, Fun Stuff

Tagged , , ,

Getting Pretty (or A Fresh Look For My New Pictures)

Posted on February 25, 2014 | Comments Off on Getting Pretty (or A Fresh Look For My New Pictures)

I’m going to be getting new headshots on Thursday, so I’m trying to get everything ready for the shoot. I’m picking out my clothes, trying to figure out how to pay for it since my unemployment money seems to be delayed, and getting myself looking pretty.

I try to time my haircuts and color around major events like holidays or my headshots. So this past weekend, I headed over to my friend Erin’s house so she could do my hair.

I knew that I wanted to change things up a little bit this time. I’m getting a little sick of my bangs, and I’ve had them for a while now, so it was time to grow them out. I also wanted to brighten up the color a bit.

I had been on the lookout for color inspiration on Pinterest and found this pin. I showed it to Erin, and she decided to do a slight modification on that color for me.

The night before getting my hair done, I washed my hair. But I was feeling far too lazy to dry it so I just put it in braids and went to sleep. So my before picture is pretty crazy since my hair was all over the place.

IMG_2606

You can totally tell that my roots were out of control and that the color on the ends was getting very faded.

After a full head of color and then highlights, I looked like this.

IMG_2608

It’s a much brighter red than I had in the past, but it still looks natural on me. In fact, we based this color on the color I had as a baby. We used a picture from my first birthday as a reference.

I’m super happy with my new color (I just think my brows need to be dyed back to be a little darker, but I can do that with a brow pencil). It’s nice and bright and looks super fresh.

Plus, it always looks amazing when Erin blows out my hair. I can never make it look that good. Even after sleeping on it, the blowout still looked pretty perfect.

IMG_2617

I’m ready for my new pictures now. Even though I haven’t lost as much weight as I could like from my last pictures, I think you really can tell in my face that I’m a little thinner now than I was before.

102rWebOnly

I’ll definitely show off my new pictures as soon as I get them emailed to me. The shoot is on Thursday so I’m not expecting to have anything until next week.

But I’m feeling very confident going into these photos and I know that they will look amazing!

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailGetting A New Look (or Two Attempts To Dye My Hair) Default ThumbnailA Mini Photo Shoot (or Enjoying A Voter Freebie) Default ThumbnailFeeling Refreshed (or Looking Good While Babysitting) Default ThumbnailForgetting To Document Some Things (or Focusing On Being In The Now) Default ThumbnailA Friend Filled Afternoon/Evening At Disneyland (or Missing Some Ride Pictures) Default ThumbnailA Fresh Budget (or Starting Over With YNAB)

Comments Off on Getting Pretty (or A Fresh Look For My New Pictures)

Posted in Acting, Beauty, Fun Stuff

Tagged , , ,

New Photo (or It Reminds Me of The Old Me)

Posted on October 29, 2012 | Comments Off on New Photo (or It Reminds Me of The Old Me)

I had my photo shoot with Joanna Brooks on Friday. I haven’t gotten all of my photos in an online proof sheet yet, but I should have that by Wednesday.

We did a lot of the shoot in her studio that she created in her garage (she has a very understanding boyfriend who gave up parking his car in there so she could make a studio), but we did go out to a freeway underpass to shoot one of the looks.

While driving back from the location to her house, Joanna let me look at some of the photos in her camera so I could see how I looked. I was scrolling through the photos when one made me stop and gasp. There was one photo that looked so much like a photo that I look when I was 100 pounds lighter. I was so surprised to see it that it almost felt like I was kicked in the stomach.

I don’t know if anyone else will see the similarity (I think it has a lot to do with my chin and shoulder positioning), but here are the two photos side by side.

 

I think that the new photo (in the green) is way better than the old photo. I look younger and fresher, which is funny since the one in the blue was taken in 2007.

Even looking at them now, I can’t help see the similarities in the photos. It’s weird. It’s almost as if there is a sign that I’m not as far from the old me as I think that I am. Even though I have a lot of weight to lose, that’s all that keeping me from getting back to the old me (although I probably won’t go back to the shorter hair for a while).

This reminder is really helping to motivate me. I haven’t been doing so great with cutting out my favorite drink, Diet Coke. I know that when I’m not drinking soda I seem to eat a bit healthier. I’m making it my goal to seriously limit my soda drinking.

But I will allow my self to possibly have a rum and Diet Coke at the after party for the “#140Characters” screening tomorrow! Tickets are still available if you’d like to come!

You Might Also Like

Default ThumbnailSoda Free (or Maybe I Can Keep This Last Bit of This Vice) Default ThumbnailCutting Out My Favorite Drink (or Goodbye Diet Coke, Diet 7-Up, Fancy Water) Default ThumbnailUpdating Me (or It Never Hurts To Ask) Default ThumbnailTesting Some Water (or Continuing My No Soda Streak) Default ThumbnailMs. In The Biz Anniversary Party (or Having Fun In A Photo Booth) Default ThumbnailA Mini Photo Shoot (or Enjoying A Voter Freebie)

Comments Off on New Photo (or It Reminds Me of The Old Me)

Posted in Acting, Celebrations, Fun Stuff, Tough Stuff

Tagged , , ,