Julie Inmon says, “Everyone always says I’m like a fun aunt.” Well guess what, that’s a great type to target with her headshots.

Julie really wanted to target a “fun, kinda kooky friend” type with her headshots. We selected a shirt that was something a faux-bohemian would wear. This is the type of person who claims to be artsy but drives a Highlander and bought this particular shirt at the mall. Her accessories were picked to give a similar feel to the whole photo. This isn’t someone you take too seriously. But it’s someone who’s really fun to hang out with.

The attitude we were trying to target was the aunt who would happily babysit your kids, and then take them out to ice cream the second you leave the house. There’s some mischief in Julie’s eyes in this photo which really sells this point well. Also the combination of blues and browns in her hair, eyes, shirt and background look really good on her.

This is Jennifer Boarini.  Jennifer is an awesome, fun and and pretty girl.

Her previous attempts to market herself as such didn’t work out so well.  Her old photos were stiff, over the top and didn’t make her look very good.  So when Jennifer came in her goals were headshots that were much more casual, subtle and made her look as attractive as she does in person.

The subtlety of this photo is what makes it work.  For Jennifer to come off as attractive she doesn’t have to be wearing a bikini.  To show her as a college student she doesn’t have to be holding books or wearing a UCLA sweater.  Instead she’s wearing a shirt that could be a college shirt, or a sports team or just something she picked up at Old Navy.

The biggest reason Jennifer comes off as young, pretty and fun in this headshot is that she’s relaxed and having fun in this photo.  This is an important skill for having a photo taken as well as being an actor.  When Jennifer is relaxed (unlike in many of her older photos) she shows her true personality.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the chairman of the board… Robert Standley.

Robert often gets told he can play a CEO or a politician and that’s what we tried to target with this photo.  While he often goes out for stoic leading man parts Robert also can bring a lot to the part of a high level executive or an elected official.

This photo works because Robert avoids the trap of showing a CEO or politician type in a boring light.  Looking into his eyes you’re not sure if this guy is going to fight for the little man or crush all his opponents on his way to the top, and that’s the way he likes it.  This character is the Vice President on 24 who could be working for either side. One thing’s for certain, this man means business.

Robert could easily have put on his suit and a blank stare and produced a photo that an actual CEO might have.  But instead he uses his acting ability and pulls up some very visible but subtle work that shows him in his best light.  That’s what makes this photo “pop” and stand out as a headshot.

This photo of Jill van Velzer is meant to market her as the fun girl you want to have hang out, watch the game and drink beer with. She could also be the girlfriend who knows more about sports than her husband. She’s a guy’s gal.

This photo is interesting because it’s a pretty big departure from the way Jill has marketed herself in the past. She typically goes out for parts of much more unapproachable women. While she plays those parts well she’s naturally very fun and can hang with the guys. She wanted a photo that would market her in that light.

Everything about this photo suggests that Jill is fun and easy going. She’s got a relaxed pose. a fun loose wardrobe, her hair isn’t too perfect and she has a look on her face that tells the world she’s having a blast.

Hal Perry often gets called in for the part he lovingly calls “All American Dad.”  This is the guy who mans the BBQ in the back yard, tosses a football around with his kid and then goes in and watches sports on his big screen TV.  He’s a non-threatening guy who probably works in middle management at an office.  And every other Saturday night, he and his buddies have a poker game.

This is how Hal auditions commercially, and not surprisingly he auditions a whole lot.  Theatrically Hal often auditions as a much more serious character, most recently he shot an episode of Nip/Tuck where he played a husband with some kinky tastes.

Hal knew not to go for one headshot that captured every single part he went out for.  He came in for headshots that would capture his fun, friendly commercial side.  In this photo he’s a very fun and comfortable dad.   An attempt to capture both sides of Hal’s personality and marketability would come across as muddled and wouldn’t sell either type very well.  But with this one photo Hal nails one of his primary types and allows his other headshots to speak for his other types.

Keith Johnson came directly to his headshot session from an audition. The audition was for the part of “Formerly Athletic Guy” and Keith realized that he had no headshots that suggested this part of his personality.

Keith is a former athlete of sorts as he’s a former US Marine. This particular audition was for the part of a soccer player turned coach. So Keith literally came dressed for his session as he would for an audition. He chose a shirt that featured a soccer player but wasn’t a soccer jersey or something a soccer coach would wear to a game. This is something a soccer coach might wear to a practice. But Keith also smartly chose something that still can come off as sport neutral for a headshot.

This photo can say “sports coach,” “weekend warrior” or simply “sports fan.” But you know one thing for certain, this guy takes his sports seriously.