I've seen a lot of people's headshots lately and I'm troubled by a lot of them.  I find the photos of many are very good, however overdone.  Headshots are very important to agents, casting directors, and other production professionals so they know how the talent looks, really looks.  Too often I see overdone makeup on women, overly dramatic shadows, and it seems as though the photographer may be taking too much creative license with the images they are taking.  Casting directors need to see who you are as best as possible.  Now That isn't to say makeup is not to be used or shadow for that matter, but they are more interested in expression, and most of all they need to see YOUR FACE.  This seems like a bit of a rant, but if you are getting headshots, just make sure you know what it is you are looking for.  Below are four examples...the ones on the left are headshots, the ones on the right are creative portraits

This past weekend we had two sessions in one day.  Early in the day we got together with Hollie, a friend of Sharon's who wanted outdoor portraits done.  We spent most of the early afternoon shooting her in  local park near my house.  It was unbearably hot and she was a champ!  Got some great shots of her too!

Later on the afternoon we met up with Jan, who also wanted portraits done.  We took her to the grounds of King's Gap Mansion and did the session in their beautiful garden.  Jan was apprehensive, confiding in me that she no longer liked being in pictures, because her age is showing.  I implored her not to worry about such things, and just relax.  She's a beautiful subject and looks years younger than her actual age, which I will of course, never share.  After seeing the photos we took, she recommended us on her facebook page stating, "The man made me feel good about taking pictures", stating I'd say that was a job well done. I really love doing this and the fact that we were able to change someone's view of themselves just makes this whole endeavor that much more worthwhile!  Here are a few shots of Jan!

This past weekend, following the 4th of July, My family and I took a trip to visit my father in White Plains, NY.  For those of you that don't know, White Plains is a mere 30 minutes from NYC.  It was Sunday and after we arrived and visited, ate and conversed, it was getting on to the evening hours and both my parents had to go to bed as they work Monday morning.  With little going on I decided to hop in the car and travel down to Brooklyn Heights to see the view from the Brooklyn Heights promenade, a favorite place to view the city for many and used in movies often, such as Annie Hall among others.  I got in the car and a mere 45 minutes later I had arrived.  I grabbed my camera and tripod and walked onto the promenade.  I was unprepared for the view!  To my left in the distance stood the Statue of Liberty lit up in all her glory, to my far right, the Brooklyn Bridge, Empire state building standing tall behind it.  In between these two iconic set pieces was the rest of the NYC skyline, almost close enough to reach out and touch on the opposite side of the East River.  I snapped a few photos, but fearing that I may need a permit to photograph here, I did not want to overstay my welcome.  So I took my photos, packed up and headed home.  It was a short lived adventure, but one that I will plan to recreate very soon, with all the appropriate paperwork, and 3-5 hours of time to shoot every detail I can.  Here are a few shots from the evening, hope you enjoy!

-Marc Austin

So I know I haven't officially started blogging yet, I promise to get to that tomorrow, but for some reason I did notice that my blog page was acting very strange earlier today.  So consider this test number 2 to make sure it is working and posting!  Seems to be!  Have some

Welcome To the first blog post!  I will try to update everyday.  For now I'm just saying hello.  Hello!