How to take the perfect natural head and full body shot

Clients often  request up to date  images of our talent so they can be considered for a potential job or casting. These images need to be up to date, natural and taken within the past week so the client has an accurate representation of the child in the present moment. These images are a key element in your child’s success. First impressions are everything so it is vital you send our casting manager appropriate images to send to potential clients.

What type of shot do they require?

Our casting manager will request ONE head shot and ONE full body shot for the client. But what is a full body and head shot?

• Full Body Shot: a photograph that shows a person from head to toe. 

• Head Shot: a photograph of a person's head and shoulders.
  

We don’t need you to be a professional photographer but we do need you to meet these following requirements when taking pictures on your smartphone;

Checklist

• Keep the background of the image as plain as you can; e.g white wall/neutral colours, avoid busy backgrounds
• Ensure no other faces or people are in the shot
• Natural and even lighting is key. Ensure there are no shadows on the child’s face or body. The client wants to see your child the best they can!
• No filters are to be added to the final shot
• Photo must be taken front on only
• Ensure the camera is level - no tilted angles
• No eating or drinking in shot. The little ones often have accidents and dirty clothing cannot be helped but we cannot stress enough the importance of a clean face in the shot
• Hair down but off the child's face
• No hair accessories
• No dummies in the child's mouth
• Only send 3 photos max, time is of the essence! Pick your top 2 and send them. The quicker you send them to the casting manager the quicker they can be put forward to the client
• Ensure the topic of your email is the child's full name. Labeling your photos correctly quickens the process

We understand the challenges of getting children to stay still but it is vital that you keep your child as still as possible for the shot so the image is not blurred or the child is not positioned at an awkward angle. The main focus of the shot is the child’s face and body so it is crucial that the client has a clear and front on view.

Below are examples to give you an idea of a preferable and not so preferable image to send to the casting manager. 

Non preferable head shot for baby                               Preferable image
- food on the child's face                                                 - looking directly at camera
                                                                                                  -  front on camera angle

Non preferable full body shot for baby                               Preferable image
- child is sitting, cannot see the whole body                           - looking directly at camera
                                                                                                        -  front on camera angle
                                                                                                               - can see from head to toe

Non preferable head shot for young child                               Preferable image
- food on the child's face                                                 - looking directly at camera
- cannot see child's face                                     -  hair down but can still see entire face

Non preferable full body shot for young girl                                Preferable image
- food on the child's face                                                     - looking directly at camera
- sitting down, cannot see child's entire body                                  -  front on camera angle
                                                                                  - can see entire body, hands by her side                                          
                                                                                             

Preferable head shot for older child                               Preferable image

- smile
-hair down but can see entire face                                 - looking directly at camera
                                                                                                  -  front on camera angle
                                                                                            - clear view of child's full body

Feel free to refer back to these images when sending our casting manager images for a client.

Just remember to ask yourself is the image natural and is it the best representation of your child? 

A big thank you to our models Sienna, Holly and Lisa for helping us create this blog post!

Different Types of Castings

In an effort to make the casting department and types of castings more transparent, here are some examples and definitions of different types of castings that your child could be asked to attend by a client. 

General Casting: 
A general casting is often the most common. This is a casting where the client selects the children they would like to meet specifically by name. The scheduled times are booked prior and talent usually have about 5 minutes with the client. During this time, the client will take a quick snapshot of the child, follow by polite greetings (age depending). 

Open Casting:  
1. Many of you may have seen our Facebook open casting calls. These call outs to our audience search for children in our online networks who are outside of our age brackets. For instance, from time to time, we receive requests for newborns or unique requests such as grandmothers who can juggle. When we can't fill the brief ourselves, we put it out to our Bettina community to try and assist our client as best as possible, while giving others an exciting opportunity. You can learn more about Facebook open casting calls here. 

2. There is also another type of open casting calls which are sometimes open to the public. There is usually an 'open window' of time in which talent can attend and meet with the client, however there is often long waiting time because the clients likely have not selected children by name so they can get very busy. On these occasions, we do try to weigh up the realistic benefit of you attending, although we ultimately leave the final decision up to you. 

Audition: 
An audition is more of a complex casting that requires preparation before you attend. This means that the castings generally last longer, because talent will either have to learn a few lines or chat to camera so the director or client can gauge how the talent interacts and appears on camera, and possibly with other members of the cast. Although sometimes, we don't receive anything - and this is most likely because the client will want your child to improvise when they arrive. In the case of us receiving audition prep, we will ensure you have all of the relevant scripts prior to your audition so you have ample time to practice!

Self-test audition: 
A self-test audition is when talent film their audition from home and send it to us. This form of auditioning is growing with popularity as it saves time and resources. You can get some tips from this post here.