Although it should go without saying there are some very elementary points about the preparation for a shoot with us.
The more prepared you are, the better your pictures will be - that goes for being well rested, having a positive attitude as well as bringing good clothes, manicured nails and the right haircut....
Make up
We prefer that you come with no make up on at all. Everyday make up is different from the way we do make up for our pictures. That goes especially for teenage girls that tend to use a lot of Eyeliner. So rather than having to fix your already done make up we like to start fresh. (So no eyeliner please !)
If you have certain make up that you really like or is the perfect color for you, please bring it.
Hair
Hair is one of the biggest issues for a lot of people. If you are not happy with your haircut there is not much we can do.
As a general rule you should not get a haircut the day before your shoot since it might look too freshly cut.
If your hair is colored make sure you do not have roots showing (unless this is your look). There is nothing we can do to hide roots - as a matter of fact - pictures will show the roots even more !
We also like for everybody to come with their hair as done as possible - although we will change hairstyles during the course of the shoot we need to know how you like to wear your hair - this is especially important for acting headshot that should reflect your personal style.
Nails
As a general rule - no nail polish is better than old chipped nail polish or elaborate designer nails.
Little girls often have left over chipped nail polish on - please take it off before you come.
The same goes for adults - if you have red or black nail polish on, all the pictures will show that !
The best are nice manicured nails with either clear polish or french manicure.
Wardrobe
Good clothes are the key to beautiful pictures !
IMPORTANT NOTE FOR BOYS CLOTHING: (modeling and acting)
While a lot of boys like to wear oversized shirts, hoodies ect, this will not work for photos !
An oversized polo shirt does not photograph well, it just looks like it is the wrong size - so please refrain from bringing clothes that are too big and baggy - as a general rule clothes should be more tight fitting for pictures.
Old worn and stained clothes will appear as such in the pictures, please bring beautiful clothes - go buy some new things and return them after the photo shoot.
Check out the website under your category to see what people are wearing, talk to your agent what looks they want you to do.
Don't bring all the same kind of stuff, bring variety and have everything steamed out as much as possible (we do have a steamer if necessary, but if you come by car there is no reason you come with crumbled up clothes).
Our regular test shoot covers 5 looks , usually 3 headshots, 1 3/4 shots indoor or outdoor and one full length shot.
Obviously depending on what you need this can be changed, but our experience shows that for modeling and commercial print this works the best.
- So bring a few nice tops for your headshots/beauty (including pants) - always bring jeans for headshots !
- For the outdoor - nice casual J.Crew type look, summer dress, shorts, hiking, workout - whatever it is you see yourself in or you need - also keep the weather in mind.... if it is cold and snowy outside bring a warm fallish outfit for outside, not a summer dress or shorts.
- For Indoor - suit, bathing suit, casual office look, lingerie, funky studio outfit, nice dress, Gap ....... anything goes in the studio, the more creative the better, all depending on your needs.
- You should bring shoes for an indoor and an outdoor look.
If you are doing 5 looks of acting headshots no shoes are needed, but you should bring some pants (Jeans, Kakis...) as we like to shoot a lot of 3/4 headshots and the pants need to match.
Please try to be creative in your choice of tops - bringing 5 of the same T-Shirt in different colors will make for a really boring headshot session. So please talk to your agent and look on our website to see what people are wearing.
There are some general rules that we like to work by and they are based on courtesy and professionalism between us and our potential clients.
So please keep the following pointers in mind when working with us.
- Unless you are sick, please do not call us last minute to cancel your appointment.
By now we have heard it all - "I forgot" - "I did not write it down" - "My other child is not feeling well".......
We take our appointments with you very serious and we are sure you would not like to be called the morning of your shoot to be canceled.
So please be considerate and write down you appointment with us and give us at least 3 days notice if you cannot make it so we can schedule somebody else in your time-slot.
Remember that most of the times we do not reconfirm your appointment after it has been scheduled - we assume professional courtesy.
- Please refrain from bringing your whole family to the shoot.
Having siblings and extra people around will only disturb our workflow and limits our mobility to go on location with you.
- Please try to be on time
We schedule people in 1-2 hour time-slots - coming an hour late is not really acceptable or fair to the person that is scheduled after you.
- Do not bring any food, unless absolutely necessary
Since you or your child will not spend more than a maximum of 1-2 hours at our location, everybody should be well fed before the shoot.....and please don't give your small children sugar before the shoot.
If you still have questions please feel free to call us or send us an Email - we are more than happy and willing to help.
Yolanda Perez and team