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Wednesday, September 11, 2013

The Effective Headshot: Tips Every Actor Needs!

The old adage about a picture being worth a thousand words is especially true when it comes to actors' headshots. This one photograph is supposed to convey your personality, your age range, your ability to work well with others, and dozens of other elements that will influence a casting director's decision to bring you in for an audition. How do you and your photographer capture all that information in a single image? To answer this question let's take a look at a few of our own Barbizon Midwest graduates' headshots.

The most important thing is that your headshot look like you. When actors submit for a project, casting directors are looking at a sea of little pictures on a website and putting a check next to the ones that look like what they want. So the lighting must be clear, and the photo must read at a small size, look exactly like you when you walk in the door, and look like your type. 


Brendon Eggertsen
Oana Gregory

Oana Gregory's headshot shows that the eyes truly are the mirror of one's sole. Notice how warm, opening, and interesting she looks. Her eyes show strength and vulnerability at a glance. 


Brendon Eggertsen's photo reflects his intensity, strength, and sensitivity. He is raw and direct. He can play powerful characters with depth. 

If you saw either Oana or Christian in person, you would see that they look just like their headshots.


Taveon Pow
Megan Boyle

It's all in the eyes! Here in their headshots, actors Megan Boyle and Taveon Powe are both open, approachable, warm, and engaging. They emit a spirit, a personality, and a feeling. That's exactly what you want in a headshot - you want the casting director to feel all that. Natural light and not flash can sometimes make it easier to feel more natural and yourself; spontaneous and being, not posing. Their eyes are alive! Casting directors and agents like this because not only do the actors look like their headshots but the CDs and agents get a sense of communication and honesty.

Michael Viruet

What makes the headshot of Michael Viruet successful is his warm eye contact and smile. This is also a good example of a three-quarter shot that works, because in showing some of his body, we are able to see that he is in good shape. We may not get that with a tighter headshot.


Emily Maguire
Emily Maguire's headshot is successful because she has layers to the emotions she's conveying. Her features really stand out and her beauty shines. But what one really sees is the intensity and depth in her eyes, the confidence she has, her presence, and the attention she can command from an audience. We know she can be soft and emotional or a strong leading lady. This photo is captivating and really holds the viewer's attention. 


Jeremiah Rosario
Jeremiah Rosario's headshot really captures his charm. In this shot in particular, he has a great connection to the camera and an inviting expression that draws the onlooker into the shot. In order to create the kind of expressions that stand out when casting directors flip through headshots you need to engage the three things we use on our face to communicate: mouth, eyes, and eyebrows. Jeremiah did a great job of meshing the three together to show off a touch of his personality.

Sarah Madden
Sarah Madden's smile is so infectious and genuine, as is her personality. You are drawn to her smile, both in the expression in her eyes and in her compelling smile. 



The business you are in involves getting up in front of an audience and giving them an experience, touching their heart in a way that makes them fall in "love" with you. The same applies to your pictures. You are trying to get the casting director's attention. All the photographers will tell you, "You need a picture that jumps out and says something about you." Well, yes, but what you want every time, whether it's your picture or your audition, is for them to fall in love with you.

We all have something about us that is lovable. Is it your sense of humor, your warmth, your sense of honor, your loyalty? Really sit down and think about your best qualities. And by that I mean your qualities, not the ones you want to emulate. What is it about you that makes you lovable? Take some time to think about this and then practice in a mirror or with your iPhone or a video camera. Come prepared knowing who you are. Then take the picture.

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Monday, September 9, 2013

Monday Model of the Week Megan Boyle!

Megan Boyle
Merrillville, IN model, actress, and musician Megan Boyle graduated from Barbizon Midwest at the age of 14. Megan is currently in rehearsal for "Etude the Musical," a Broadway in Chicago production by Sigman Brothers premiering October 16, 2013.

Represented by our agency, Royal Model Management, Megan strutted the runway in two fashion shows for Sears and booked a print ad for Acne One Step. You may have also seen her as a featured model on the Style Network's television series "Chicagolicious."

As the winner of the Girl's Life Magazine "Dance. Sing. Dream" National Competition, Megan won a trip to L.A. and walked the "pink" carpet for the world premiere of "Standing Ovation." As part of her prize, because Megan is a part of the Barbizon Modeling family, she will be appearing in "Standing Ovation the Movie 2," which filmed over summer.  


Megan Boyle at the premiere of "Standing Ovation"

Megan stars as 'Sarah' in the short film "The Chase" and as a featured extra in "Dhoom 3," releasing this December. 


Megan Boyle as Sarah in "The Chase"

For all of her hard work, it's easy to see why this triple threat is our chosen 'Model of the Week!'




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Thursday, September 5, 2013

Carolina Davis Creating "Strip My Mind!"

Barbizon Midwest Schaumburg graduate and IMTA alum, Carolina Davis is a classically trained R&B/Pop/Soul Singer from Roselle, IL. Not only is this young artist a singer, Carolina is also a songwriter, composer, producer, actress, and model.

Currently, Carolina is touring the Chicagoland area performing all her original material. Next week she will be releasing her EP "Strip My Mind!" Carolina came to us with the idea of making a video about the album. We put our other Barbizon Midwest graduate and IMTA alum, Meredith Wood Bahuriak - who has her Bachelor's Degree in Television Writing & Producing from Columbia College Chicago - to work on this intimate interview. 

We hope you enjoy! And be sure to watch for Carolina's gratitude for Barbizon Midwest!



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