Headshots are among the most misunderstood elements in the business. What should they look like? How many should you have? How much should you spend? Every young singer I talked to had his own theories and rules about headshots, but so many of the things I heard turned out to be falsehoods. For example, several singers told me all headshots were now to be at least 3/4 shots so that singers could not hide their weight. Several others told me that absolutely no “role” or “costume” photos are accepted as part of your package. Both assumptions are incorrect, as were myriad other strange misconceptions that I came across. This is not to demean these singers, but to illustrate how little is known and even less is understood about this vital part of a singer’s package.
For better or for worse, opera is in a period of growth and change. As houses and record companies scramble for new and younger audiences, corporate marketing and the financial bottom line cause all aspects of the industry to become more image-conscious. In this climate, the headshot will become even more important than it is now.
I spoke to several of classical music’s top managers and photographers to see if we could dispel some of the misconceptions and find out what is expected in an operatic headshot. I have attempted to find the boundaries within which a singer can present him or herself, and determine which looks or conventions will attract the “powers that be” to the product that is you.
Why do you need a headshot? Isn’t your singing enough?
So many singers still don’t understand why they need a headshot. A few even have a strong negative reaction, finding it demeaning to be judged, even slightly, on their looks instead of their singing. Be this as it may, the headshot is here to stay and it will only become more important in the future.
“A headshot is your first introduction to a singer,” said Lisa Kohler, one of the most sought-after photographers in classical music. “It has to say something. Really it is less about looks than about projecting something to the auditioner so they will remember you when you are gone. It is your first impression in an audition or whatever, but your photo should also work when you are not there.”
“A headshot is so important,” said Ken Bensen, a manager from Columbia Artists Management. “When a young artist comes to me, I think the basic tools that I would love for them to start with are: a good résumé/bio, a demo CD and at least one good headshot, if not more.”
“Of course the audition comes down to the singing,” Kohler said, “but it’s my job to level the playing field. So your photo does nothing but help you—at minimum projects you as a serious professional performer—so you enter into the singing portion with the best possible preconceived notions in the minds of the auditioners.”
What should you look for in a photographer?
Most classical artists use photographers whose specialty is classical music. Often they are more expensive, and while you don’t have to use a classical music specialist, it provides you with some advantages. They are used to working with singers, instrumentalists and other very demanding classical artists so you should feel especially safe and at home. Because they understand what you do as a singer it is easier for them to help you find the right mixture of elements for a great headshot. But most important of all, a professional classical music photographer will always be tuned into what is going on in the industry and what people are looking for.
“A photographer who really understands what the singer does, what roles they have prepared for, and what the business expects will be able to make the most effective and useful photo for you,” explained Kohler.
But no matter what photographer you decide upon, the most important thing is that you feel safe and understood. So talk to them, ask questions and look around the studio to make sure it is an environment in which you can relax and open up enough to get the best results.
What should a singer do to prepare and what can you expect in a session?
Each photographer has different expectations of his sitter. Nick Granito requires that subjects bring at least seven changes of clothes. This is narrowed down to four changes for the session. All of the photographers recommend staying away from bright whites and very busy or ornate prints, as they too often come out muddled and smudged in the final print.
You should expect to do whatever is necessary to get the best photos possible from multiple outfit changes—even if it means changing your appearance during the session. For example, many male singers are advised to come in to a session with a moustache and beard and then shave it off halfway through the shoot. Half of the photos are bearded and half are clean-shaven. This offers the photographer and singer the widest possible variations of looks from which to choose.
Every photographer’s session is different. Kohler’s sessions can last up to six hours. Christian Steiner, one of the top photographers in classical music, will often spend over an hour just talking to his subject, waiting for the moment he finds his inspiration for shooting them. With some photographers you might discuss very definite ideas as to what image you wish to project. Others, like Mr. Steiner, go into a shoot without any preconceived notions and wait until lightning strikes. As long as they are professional, however, and care only about getting the best photo for you, you will be safe and in good hands.
How much should you spend and what do you get for the money?
Photographers all vary in price for a session. Nick Granito’s base session price is $285 dollars. For that you get five rolls, or 180 shots. Within two days you get the print or contact sheets from which to pick your favorite shots. For Granito’s base session price you can choose a maximum of eight and a minimum of two. You get ten prints of each of your choices. This includes one digitally retouched print that Granito included in the $285. If you can find photos from the session that you really like, it’s a good deal. If you want additional prints or session photos or other extras, you start to pay more—so be careful and pay attention. (For example, additional prints are $15 dollars, additional retouching is $30 dollars, etc.)
Hair and makeup is usually taken care of outside of the studio just before the shoot, and can cost anywhere from $50 to over a $100. In-studio hair and makeup people can be hired to work on you in between shots, but it is quite expensive and unnecessary for a simple headshot session. Most photographers have hair and makeup people they work with, so you needn’t worry about finding them yourself.
Sessions with Steiner or Kohler can cost a thousand dollars or more. When hiring a top photographer you are not just paying for the photos—you are paying for the name and for the photographer’s knowledge of the industry and ability to present you in the most honest yet most marketable way possible. Especially for the singer who is just starting out, this kind of guidance can be worth the extra money.
All of the photographers I talked with, including Granito, retain all rights to their photos, and you must agree to this before the session begins. You do not own the photos from the session, and legally you can only use them for your own personal PR and promotion. You are sort of “renting” them from the photographer for that specific purpose. In addition, this agreement usually contains a clause that ensures the photographer name credit on the photos whenever they are used. You cannot use them to market or promote any external product or project regardless of your involvement. For a photo to be used in that capacity, a new agreement must be made with the photographer and often a fee must be paid. The size of the fee depends on the use.
You should have at least two good headshots and more if you can afford it. In addition, if you play a wide variety of roles, especially if they involve very different looks, you should represent your different “faces” with separate headshots. For example, a mezzo who sings both dramatic and pants roles should have at least two headshots, one pretty and dramatic and the other a more plain, boyish look. The same goes for basses that play both dramatic and buffo parts.
You should have new shots taken at least every five to seven years, but as frequently as you can afford. Of course new shots are warranted whenever there is a dramatic change in appearance.
All of this can get expensive, but, as Kohler reasonably says, “You can never afford to represent yourself badly!”
What can digital retouching do, and how much is too much retouching?
Anything and everything is now possible and reasonably affordable. You can just remove a few wrinkles around the eyes, or you can go for broke and lose thirty years and forty pounds. Sounds great? Be wary! You have an obligation to look basically like your headshot. Auditioners frown upon singers walking in looking twenty years older or fifty pounds heavier than their photo.
There is also another huge downside to too much retouching. Steiner explains, “Certainly with retouching all the wrinkles can go, I guess, but the danger is to go too far. Far too many people think they are making the picture better by removing all of the creases, all of the character from their face. I think wrinkles in the face that portray emotion have to remain; you cannot take them out. If somebody is smiling, they have lines under the eyes, and if you take them out you would get a kind of ‘Glamour Girl’ or Cosmopolitan look, where the eyes are ice-cold. The lips are smiling, but there’s nothing left on the face. So you need those natural signs of character and emotion.”
What do auditioners look for in a headshot?
Across the board the professionals I spoke with all agreed that a headshot should be of the singer him or herself and not of a self-conscious image or a look. The headshot is supposed to introduce to the auditioner the true artist himself, not some fictitious character or role. So while all agreed on the key elements for a good headshot, they also made clear that there are sometimes different considerations for CD covers or PR and marketing photos in which an “image” and look becomes much more important. How much these considerations will trickle down into headshots in the future is uncertain, but the difference between them is important to understand.
Steiner explains, “Especially with young artists who are not established, I want to look at their headshot and see someone I would like to know. I want them to look intelligent. I want them to look capable, so that if you look at this photo, you know that the person depicted is good at what they do. Whether this is a singer or an instrumentalist doesn’t matter. They have to look the part of an artist. So basically it is this: I want them to look accessible and likable. I want them to look competent and confident in their abilities, though not arrogant. This is extremely important: never look arrogant. Those are the most important things to me in a headshot. But there is a different kind of photo that might be used for fliers or poster or CD covers that is less about the person and more about projecting an image that may or may not actually have anything to do with the person. In this case, it’s not a normal person anymore; you are going for a design or a look. But a headshot should be more simple.”
Bensen’s expectations for headshots are fairly simple as well. “I like to get a sense that the person is making eye contact with me. Obviously they aren’t really making eye contact from a photo, but the feeling that the eyes are connecting with something is what brings it to life and catches my attention. I like to see some kind of personality, either warmth or charm or whatever. You can’t convey everything about the artist in a single photo, but you need something that makes it alive. I might even like something that is a bit less attractive but very much alive.”
Steiner agrees, “Any mood that comes out in a picture is okay, anything is better than a nothing, vacant feel. Even arrogance is better than an empty photo. Except for hostility! That the only thing I would never go for. A nothing look is better than hostility.”
Granito echoes this sentiment, “I will go wherever the subject wants in terms of mood. I like to keep it simple, especially for headshots. But whatever they are feeling is fine. Warmth is good, smiling. Especially in opera, where the preconception is that everything is so serious. But wherever they are I’ll try to work with it. Except for hostility. That never works, so I just don’t shoot it.”
Michael Rosen, a manager at Robert Lombardo Associates said, “What you should at least be able to tell from a headshot is the basic personality of the person. It should give the essence how they look—as naturally as possible, so the person viewing you will remember you as you were. That is what people really want.” As to 3/4 shots, or those in costume, “I don’t think there are any hard and fast rules. I haven’t heard of any, and certainly we don’t have rules here. The only rules of any kind are all common sense. You have to look like your headshot. It can’t be so old or so altered that it doesn’t look like you any more. We use whatever photo is the best. That is our only guideline here.”
“You should be able to send a headshot to an opera house or to set up an audition, and instead of seeing some prima donna in love with her ego, they should see a nice, warm, open person,” said George Burles, a publicist/manager at Herbert Breslin.
Steiner has a technique for getting that kind of natural openness from his subjects. “What I like to do is observe the person while they are either listening to me or talking to me. With enough observation of this I am able to see something that is essential to them, and only then will I go into the shoot. Although there are occasional exceptions, the first roll of film is usually used up in just getting to know the subject. Even though I rarely get the shots the client needs in the first roll, the film is not wasted since this preliminary shooting gets them comfortable and open, enabling me to get the successful shots later in the session.”
A good headshot should portray, as best it can, the individual artist, the person—not an image at all. All of the replies I received could be boiled down to Steiner’s three simple elements to a good headshot: likability, accessibility, and competence. Although slightly oversimplified, it seems that is all you really need to know. Maybe it wasn’t so complicated after all.
