Do you look like yourself?

Seems like a silly question, right?  But I'm completely serious.  Now, I don't mean do you look like yourself in person. Of course you do.  I mean, if you work in an industry that requires you to have a headshot, does that photograph look like you?  When you walk into an audition room, do you look like the person they are expecting to see from your photo?  If the answer is no, it may be time for a new headshot. And if you are young and growing like a weed, it becomes even more important!

I find that kids change faster than we realize. My son is a professional child actor in Chicago.  He's 15 now, but performed in his first show when he was 10.  He has had several rounds of heashots with me (a perk of having a photographer mom).  Often times, we've done new ones simply because he wants to and enjoys being in front of the camera.  (Yay! How did I get so lucky?!). It wasn't until we did his most recent ones and compared them to the ones from the year prior that I realized just how much of a dramatic change he'd had in his face.  Truth be told, we'd been way past time to take new headshots.  His bone structure had changed and his face had matured quite a bit.  That sweet 13 year old face was definitely not the same one that his agency had on file or that auditioners were expecting when he walked into a room.  See for yourself!