Taking Headshots Part 3

Taking Headshots Part 3

Happy Oscars day! Congrats to all the nominees! I’ll be at a fabulous Oscars party to celebrate my fellow artists.

Here’s a picture of the fabulous photographer Marisa Leigh and I after we wrapped our amazing headshot shoot. It was an incredible and fun experience. Everything flowed so beautifully and I can’t wait to see the pictures online on Monday, February 27th! And I love that I took new headshots the day before the Oscars. Talk about a powerful, mother fucking postulate!

The shoot was such a success because I spent over a month preparing for it. Pre-production is everything! Everything ran smoothly because of all the prep work I did beforehand and I had so much fun during the shoot. It also helped to have a photographer who was open to collaboration and play and who makes you feel at ease (which was part of my pre-production process of researching photographers) And it helped to have someone on set with me from my artistic community to be such a vital support system (Reed Iacarella) And a special shout out to my partner Chris Beber for the support you flowed and for making this a reality.

To catch you up on my headshot process and journey, here are parts 1 & 2 below:

Part 1: http://wp.me/p8uI5M-18

Part 2: http://wp.me/p8uI5M-12

And here are the final steps of my headshot preparation…Part 3:

I got a good night’s sleep.

I ate a good breakfast.

I arrived early. This is something many people take for granted. ARRIVE EARLY GOD DAMMIT! I always arrive early so that I can get settled and get present.

In the week leading up to my headshot session, I created a music play list for each character (Thank you Reed for reminding me to do that!) I created music playlists that put me in the zip code and vibe for each character. Some musical choices were literal. Other musical choices were not, but still put me in the zip code and vibe of each character. Here are my playlists below:

Fashionista/Interior Designer (I wanted fabulous, cunty music)

RuPaul feat. Ab Soto “Cha Cha Bitch” (Ralph Rosario edit)

Erika Jayne “How Many Fucks?”

RuPaul “Cover Girl”

RuPaul “Sissy That Walk”

RuPaul “Supermodel (You Better Work)”

RuPaul feat. Dave Aude “Step It Up”

RuPaul “Glamazon” (Gomi Tribalistic Remix)

**Okay, okay, I’m obsessed with RuPaul and his empire!

Public School Teacher (I wanted music that was positive, inspirational and a little unconventional)

Andy Grammer “Keep Your Head Up”

Sara Bareilles “Brave”

Us3 “Cantaloop (Flip Fantasia)”

Len “Steal My Sunshine”

Office Worker (I wanted music that gave me this feeling of What The Fuck?)

Madness “House of Fun”

The Proclaimers “I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)”

Stealers Wheel “Stuck In The Middle With You”

Capital Cities “Safe And Sound”

 

Hacker/Hacktivist (I wanted music that was industrial, dangerous, hard, subversive)

The Prodigy “The Day Is My Enemy”

Rob Zombie “Reload”

The Prodigy “Smack My Bitch Up”

White Zombie “More Human Than Human”

 

Nurse (I wanted music that had a certain sexuality to it. A secret. A mischievousness to it)

Miguel “Adorn”

Alex Clare “Too Close”

 

Last, but not least, the minute I got to set, I let it all go. I trusted that all the work I did was in me and now it was time to play. I was focused and made sure to follow my headshot template, but I was also open and present to impulses and ideas that Marisa and Reed gave to me on set. I sent Marisa my headshot template on February 2nd and Reed my headshot template the night before. Marisa was on the same page! Reed was able to build upon it and feed me other lines of subtext for my characters. I was prepared and able to let it go. I was able to get what I want and more. I was like, “Yes, and…” “Yes, and…” “That’s great, I love that idea…” “Great, let’s also try that…” I wasn’t locked and rigid in things going my way. I wasn’t unmalleable. I got what I wanted and more! Marisa would show me various takes with each character to make sure we were getting the product I wanted. I was incredibly happy with the work that was being created!

After the headshot session was over, I celebrated! Celebration is vital because it cements the win. It locks in the achievement.

I’m truly happy with the work I put into getting my headshots and the support I received. I can’t wait to look over the headshots online on Monday!

Happy Oscars day!