The importance of your Headshot

Today finds us browsing a sea of blogs, and connecting through social media more each day. Standing out and making a good impression is important in success, and more than ever we have to promote our own personal brand.  For myself my brand is my photography business, Worrest Photography, but more than that, my brand is my name: Peter Worrest the photographer, or Peter Worrest the singer, the designer, the actor... you get the idea.  Presenting your brand in an honest way is important, letting your personality shine through, and a headshot is a great place to start.

Whether you are an actor or performer, a salesperson or service worker, a headshot that presents you will help make an impression with your prospective employer (or director).  Keep your headshot current with your look to be sure that it represents the current you. If you go through a major hairstyle change or especially a color change it's probably time to call your friendly neighborhood photographer. Be sure to wear something simple, and field appropriate, to keep the focus on your face.  Multiple outfits are always a good idea for more variety, but stick to solid colors.

Ok, lets fast forward to after your session... now what? The procedures are pretty standard for the actor, get yourself some 8x10s printed and staple, paste or clip your resumé to the back. Hand it out at casting calls, bring it to auditions, mail it out to companies. This is all work you can do yourself, but look into working with your photographer.  In the first place you cannot reproduce your headshot without their permission in most cases, but consider that they will have an interested in producing a high quality print of their work, showing you (and them) in the best light.  consider integrated design from your photographer if they do that kind of thing, and get two-sided headshot/resumés printed.  Consider smaller printed items as well for in-between resume overhauls.  Keep your face fresh in companies you've worked with before with a postcard with your recent work.  small postcards present great options for showing off a couple different images as well.

shameless self-promotion follows

Feel free to choose any photographer you'd like, but here's the low down on what you can expect to pay when you hire me. as a note, buying images from me entitles you to reproduction, but my quality and price for prints is quite good.

1 hour headshot session with 1 selection and 25 resumé/headshot sheets: $145 ($95 without prints)
1 hour headshot session with 4 selections and 50 resumé/headshot sheets, plus 50 postcards: $375 ($190 without prints)

special event option: for multiple subjects, such as a theater company, share the booking time and save. (up to $500 deposit applies, call or email for details)

one example cost breakdown(and some alternate services): (allow 2 hours) company of 10 performers, 4 poses per performer, single high quality headshot for lobby display, 500 postcards promoting a show: $1000
same 10 performers, same four poses, 25 headshots each: $1000
either way, save $140 per person, and optionally snag a few group shots along with your headshot selections.

PotW #6, assabet river national wildlife refuge

For this picture of the series I headed over to the Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge, a recent acquisition from the US Army to the US Fish and Wildlife Service. I was a little pressed for time, or I would have spent a lot more time down in the trails. Looking ahead I will definitely revisit this site and spend some time down by the old abandoned ammunition bunkers. The purpose there will be both the bunkers as a subject, and as a place to hang out quietly, waiting for some wildlife to shoot. In the meantime here is a sort of still life, au natural.

PotW #5, my new car

With this post, I am back to only 3 days late!  I am probably the only one who cares, but that's enough.  I went and got my car a quick wash (for the last time for quite a while probably) to get it looking all shiny for this week. If you happen to see a Fit on the road that is that shiny, it probably isn't me.

Another fun thing about this week? I did the processing and finishing on Photoshop Touch for the iPad 2. check out the results in the full post below.

PotW #4, night time.

Shooting at night is a real challenge. On top of that, my favorite subject at night, the moon, is much, much brighter than everything else. It's kind of like wanting to take a photo of the sun. Both require specialized equipment to do it all in one shot, so you have to end up doing what I do to cheat.

I'm here, I'm here.

Sorry for the delay. It's been a little while since I blogged, but a lot has happened.  Worrest Photography officially went into the black for book keeping with my first happy client.  Thanks to New England Breeze Solar, based out of Hudson, MA, and congratulations on your completed install (though, of course, there is all of that overhead to deal with from the utility company).

Worrest Photography also has new transportation today. Yesterday and today has been a marathon of searching, then dealing with salesmen, then lots of paperwork, and the end goal is just in sight. Now that I'm not sort of stuck with almost no way to get around it will be much easier to transact more business.

Attention Classes of 2012 and 2013

Are you graduating from College soon? or graduating from high-school next year? Boy do I have a deal for you! If you book a session with me before July 15th (7/15/12) for a session to take place before December 31st (12/31/12) and you can get half off on the processing of second or third poses. These savings work out to get you a one hour session and a full package of prints for three poses for under $200, tax included.

If three poses sounds too extravagant for you,  A basic package with prints for one pose is as low as $110, and if you are looking to get your own prints, the download only package is $94 for a single pose. Please note, I have very reasonable rates for prints from my professional printing studio, but there is a shipping charge.  Even with the shipping, one 8x10 costs less than $12. (compare at $46)

All of these prices include tax, but a travel charge applies for sites outside of Hudson, MA, at the federal $0.555/mi rate. Coordinate sessions with your friends and split the miles!

E-mail peter@worrestphotography.com to schedule your session now, or call at 978.212.9532.

PotW #3 delayed due to my birthday

Well I should have done this on Saturday by my blog schedule, but I was taking some personal time, and so the final work on the photos I took had to wait until after I got some contract work done. This week's theme for a picture is Winter Scenes, in honor of the snowfall during the weekend. I went off on a mini vacation, and brought my camera onto the mountain for some downhill skiing. I was having a leisurely day so there aren't winter sports action shots, but I did capture a few scenes I really liked.