INFORMATION

The Photo Session • Film or digital?
Jumping into Digital Photography- a quick guide for beginners

The Photo Session

Headshots are your most valuable marketing piece. That’s why it is so important to invest in good ones. With this in mind here are some suggestions for before, during and after your photo session.

Before

Clarify with your manager, agent or acting coach what roles you will be going out for. Whether it’s businesswoman or CSI tough guy, be clear in advance about the looks you are seeking. Bring clothing that will be consistent with these looks; bringing colors that work well with your eye, skin and hair color. You may consider hiring a professional hair and makeup artist. Even "natural" makeup requires some special techniques—what the camera sees is different than what the naked eye sees. Go to the links page for a list of hair and makeup artists.

Remember to get plenty of rest the night before, and allow enough time for the drive out so you don’t get stressed out in the crazy LA traffic!

During

Keep in mind the images and characters you are seeking. How would that person sit, feel and look? What would they be thinking? The photo shoot is an acting job, get into character, relax and have fun. I allow about three hours for the session so you won’t ever feel rushed. We have a nice selection of music here, or you can bring your own.

It’s important to put a lot of life and energy into the shoot, you’ll be glad you did!

After

After your session you will receive a CD with all of your images. Save these images onto your computer for safekeeping. Go to the lab and have online or hard copy proofs made. Review them with your agent and select the images that you both feel will work best. In reviewing the images keep in mind that your prints can be lighter, darker, with more or less contrast than what you see on the CD. Have high quality prints and multiples made. You may choose to have the originals retouched before the multiples are reproduced. Any of these quality photo labs can do the proofing, retouching and multiple photographic or lithographic printing.

You now have in your hand that ever-valuable marketing piece, send it everywhere!

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Film or digital?

This seems to be the question of the decade….more

Jumping into Digital Photography- a quick guide for beginners

As a professional photographer I frequently get calls from clients with a host of questions, especially about digital photography. Questions such as, “What digital camera should I buy? How can I print the pictures? How do I resize photos for the web? How can I take a nice picture of my kid or my recent vacation to Hawaii? What do I do with all these images? “ are a few of that I field on a regular basis. While digital technology purports to make photography simpler, it has also added a new layer of complexity and yes, sometimes, great frustration.

The introduction of the digital camera has made the world of photography accessible to a wider audience. It’s an interesting time because of this newly approachable and affordable way to explore photography, but there are new challenges too. I hope to provide a few tips to make your photography experience an easier and more pleasant one.

First, what camera should I buy?

Well, this of course depends on where and how you want to shoot photos, as well as how you want to use them. While everyone likes to brag about how many megapixels they have, megapixels don’t mean much if you are just posting pics to your MySpace page. There is a wide variety of digital cameras on the market, ranging in price from under a hundred to several thousand dollars. There are some great point-and-shoots on the market that are small, versatile and high quality. Michael Perrin at Valley Photo Service has the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ4 on the top of his list. This camera boasts a high-quality Leica lens, 8.1 megapixels, and 10x optical zoom, all for under $300.

I’m a Canon fan and recommend their PowerShot series, which ranges in price from under $200 to a little under $500. The S5 IS is certainly a great camera for the price. If you think you want to jump into the market with a little more enthusiasm, the Digital Rebel series is the way to go. This is a system that can grow with you, your enthusiasm and of course your pocketbook! It is an affordable SLR (single-lens reflex) with changeable lenses, and you won’t be frustrated with an irritating lag from the time you press the button to the time the picture finally shoots.

How can I shoot a great photo?

Experiment and play with light, color, contrast, and composition. While there are some general rules for all of these, it’s good to play and explore as well. There are some great books to help you learn the rules, and classes are always good for a hands-on approach. Valley Photo offers classes locally, and other stores outside the area do as well. Two books to get you started are John Hedgecoe’s The Photographer’s Handbook (as well as any of his more recent books), and Steve Bavister et al’s The New Photography Manual.

Even on basic point-and-shoot cameras there is a variety of settings—try them! Use the close-up setting to get wonderful flower pics (see image), or the landscape setting for more expansive shots (see image). Eventually you may want to explore using manual settings and taking full control of your camera, but some of the presets are a good jumping–off point.

How do I save my photos?

Be diligent in sorting your photos. Eliminate the ones you don’t want, clearly organize the ones you do, and always, always back them up on external hard drives, CDs, DVDs or a combination of all of them! There’s software that can help you in organizing and archiving your images.

How do I print my photos?

Printers, like cameras, have become very reasonably priced. Printing at home can be great fun, but also extremely frustrating, as color can vary greatly from real life, to the camera, to the computer to paper. It takes time and patience to calibrate your monitor and printer to match what you see in life. If you love these kinds of challenges, jump in; if not there are some great labs right in our neighborhood. Both Valley Photo and Camera Craft can do the basic machine prints, and Valley Photo and Isgo Lepejian can do the larger prints; Isgo also offers high-end professional printing, mounting, framing and photo book services. 

While this is just the quick-start version of Photo 101, I hope it’s enough to give you some helpful tips on your photographic journey!

Local resources:

Samy’s Camera
Los Angeles
431 S. Fairfax Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90036
Tel: 323-938-2420
www.samys.com

Camera Craft
4800 Lankershim Blvd
818/766-5186
http://www.cameracraftnh.com

Isgo Lepejian
11223 Magnolia Blvd
818/ 848-9001
www.isgophoto.com

Valley Photo Service
12466 Magnolia Blvd.
818/762-0355
www.valleyphotoservice.com

Copyright Active Media Group and Melinda Kelley Photography © 2001-2008