So You Think You Can Choose A Headshot?

Let me just begin by saying that staring at fifty pictures of yourself is not a fun task. When analyzing which way the tilt of your head looks better, everything kind of just blends into a giant mushy Matt face.

At home in Missoula this past week I did my first headshot photo shoot since I was coming into Studio Company. I have never considered myself the most photogenic person out there but when it comes to headshots I feel like my head might as well spontaneously combust. As the photographer says “relax your face” my lips tend to knot up more and my body tenses up like a Chinese finger trap which I can’t escape from. I am not the best at taking direction when it comes to controlling my facial muscles.

With every breath I attempted to relax but when you want to bring out a genuine smile, the last thing you can get is genuine reaction. “Just act natural,” but let me zoom in on every detail of your face. Easy as pie.

My family was trotting in and out of the room I was hoping that I would at least get one good shot out of the hundred or so we were taking. As Valerie Cherish would say “Well, I got it!” Or at least kind of. As I sit here looking at my face multiplying faster than the number of crappy Fox TV Shows ("So You Think You Can Dance," anyone?) I guess I am fairly happy with some of them. It is a little trippy though analyzing the way your eyes are focused, the way your hair is falling (not out thank god), and which one your eyebrows look better in. Every detail matters and they are all better than my lazy face on the ABT Website right now….don’t know what spell I was under that day.

So the real choice comes with this, do I want happy face, sassy face, lazy face or tense face? What do I want my headshot to say about me? It seems like a lot of effort to be thinking about all of this for just a picture but I am just happy I’m not a musical theater boy. All my theater friends have their different poses (young and hip, old and mature, whore-ish, boy next door….you get the picture) but I just need to find one. Good old Matt.