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Posted by: Roger (64.24.27.109) on November 20, 2003 at 12:33:46

Location: NYC

In Reply to: A crop is not a style. posted by Dan Howell on November 20, 2003 at 11:31:27:

Dan, obviously there are people around who share your view or we would never see 3/4 or other "non-headshot headshots". And I don't mean to question whether they are actually more effective. That's a judgment call, and there are valid reasons why people may hold other opinions.

There may well be perfectly good reasons for showing more than head and shoulders. In fact, in the modeling world we usually make a point of it. But my point was not about what you and others think (perhaps correctly) is more effective, but rather what I actually see in the marketplace.

I get dozens of headshots in the mail every day, from a wide variety of sources in and out of New York. Some of them (a small percentage) are 3/4 shots. But the vast majority (and a higher percentage than was true two years ago) are still traditional head-and-shoulders headshots.

In a sense you are right that "styles" shift very slowly, but I have to disagree to a small extent. You note (correctly) that it used to be necessary to have several different "styles" of shots for different subsets of the market, and that the market has evolved so that is much less true today. I still see it, and actors still often have multiple shots for different purposes, but it isn't either as common or as required by the market as it was a few years ago.

My other point was not about the shot itself, but the way it is presented. Horizontal aspect shots have come and largely gone (which I am glad for - a policy of putting all that empty space on the sides never made a lot of sense to me, even though I suppose there may be "artistic" reasons for doing it in some cases) . . . funky borders have largely disappeared also. As you say, the market tends to change from its "norm" only slowly, and deviations from it have a tendency to be pulled back before long.

BTW, we went through the Reproductions book yesterday looking for our own people and found several, including some shots that we know are a few years old . . . .

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: Dan, obviously there are people around who share your view or we would never see 3/4 or other "non-headshot headshots".  And I don't mean to question whether they are actually more effective.  That's a judgment call, and there are valid reasons why people may hold other opinions.

: There may well be perfectly good reasons for showing more than head and shoulders.  In fact, in the modeling world we usually make a point of it.  But my point was not about what you and others think (perhaps correctly) is more effective, but rather what I actually see in the marketplace.

: I get dozens of headshots in the mail every day, from a wide variety of sources in and out of New York.  Some of them (a small percentage) are 3/4 shots.  But the vast majority (and a higher percentage than was true two years ago) are still traditional head-and-shoulders headshots.

: In a sense you are right that "styles" shift very slowly, but I have to disagree to a small extent.  You note (correctly) that it used to be necessary to have several different "styles" of shots for different subsets of the market, and that the market has evolved so that is much less true today.  I still see it, and actors still often have multiple shots for different purposes, but it isn't either as common or as required by the market as it was a few years ago.

: My other point was not about the shot itself, but the way it is presented.  Horizontal aspect shots have come and largely gone (which I am glad for - a policy of putting all that empty space on the sides never made a lot of sense to me, even though I suppose there may be "artistic" reasons for doing it in some cases) . . . funky borders have largely disappeared also.  As you say, the market tends to change from its "norm" only slowly, and deviations from it have a tendency to be pulled back before long.

: BTW, we went through the Reproductions book yesterday looking for our own people and found several, including some shots that we know are a few years old . . . .


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