My sessions vs TYPICAL STUDIO PACKAGES

• A LOWER ADVERTISED SESSION FEE DOES NOT ALWAYS MEAN A LOWER COST

• Strict contracts can restrict your image usage

Some studios advertise a cheaper starting price, then charge separately for things actors often assume are included: the full high-resolution gallery, forced hair/makeup, unwatermarked downloads, high-res image access, and time for hair and makeup. Then when it comes to using the images, you may legally be tied to some strict restrictions under their contracts.

1. You’re receiving all the photos from your shoot in high resolution, without watermarks, to use however you please, and they’ll be edited for lighting and color. Period. Even the bad ones, because that’s up to you and your management to decide. Other studios may charge hundreds extra for this, put watermarks on them, only give them if they’re retouched, give them to you in very low resolution, impose very strict licensing restrictions on them, won’t give you this at all, or give you only a small selection. They make this information hard to find or casually mention it as if it’s secondary. Having all of the photos is necessary for an actor: What if you change your mind months later? What if you find that a shot isn’t working as well as you’d hope, and maybe there is a better option? You have access to them.

2. For all sessions (30-minute sessions are the only exception), if you’re booking hair and makeup, you’ll have access to the studio for up to an hour to apply makeup at no extra cost to you. Surprisingly hard to find (if at all) for those who prefer timed sessions.

3. Typically, next-business-day delivery of your gallery. Business days are Monday-Wednesday, but if you have a Wednesday shoot, you can still expedite your gallery the same day at a very reasonable cost. Other studios typically quote a 3-14 business-day wait time.

4. I don’t impose strict licensing restrictions. It’s a simple, no nonsense, common sense, actor friendly policy. You’ll be surprised how studios claim to be chill, modern and actor friendly but then don’t even let you use your own images legally by their contract with you. You need to look at their fine print. I let you use the photos however you’d like without watermarks: other studios may require watermarks with their credit ON THE IMAGE, or they won’t allow the photo to be used for promotional use without their permission/payment. Think about that: if you get booked for a Netflix role and get a Deadline article, the magazine won’t pay their ransom. They will ask for a selfie or another image and you won’t be able to use your own photo you paid for. With other studios; you need to read through a jungle of fine print and legal nonsense.

5. A referral list for hair and makeup- this is extremely underrated, but it’s one of the biggest perks of working with me. Since I don’t set the makeup artist’s rates, I can work with pretty much anyone I want to. My referral list is full of extremely talented artists who do outstanding work, have VAST experience shooting headshots, will find a replacement for you if anything happens, do natural makeup, and can work on ALL skin types with ease. AND you get to pick the person you vibe with, you’re not stuck with the person who happens to be at the studio. Many headshot makeup artists get lowballed, allowing the photographer to advertise lower rates. You’re either working with someone with little experience, or they’re doing power sessions throughout the day and fitting in as many people as they can to make it worth it. I could easily do that, but I refuse to.

6. An awesome, in-depth preparation guide. This thing is awesome; it puts the “avoid patterns, avoid logos, and come with options” basic advice to shame and gives you some really good stuff you can honestly take with you for the rest of your life. It sounds dramatic, but it genuinely teaches you how to go into a shoot with a plan, how to execute it, how to make it feel authentic, and how to source/find wardrobe that is the most flattering to your type. I love this thing, and my clients have raved about it. Hopefully, it shows how much I want my clients to really succeed.

7. Fair, reasonable retouching prices: a simple $30 an image. I do it myself the old-fashioned way, with an editing pen and Photoshop. I’m not using AI. To make retouching look real and human, you need extreme attention to detail that requires a lot of focus, and AI often fails at this. It takes a long time, but it’s a process worth taking on. I also actually allow clients to touch up photos themselves- unheard of, but removing a pimple in 2026 is NOT rocket science. I highly recommend retouching for photos used for public-facing purposes, but I understand actors can’t always afford it. I also understand that retouching is a choice that some people simply don't want, and in a world of AI, that’s somewhat common. My sessions don’t include retouching, because a lot of it went to waste, and the cost was just added to the session fees and spread to everyone.

8. You’ll actually see the photos as they come in on a big, beautiful OLED screen- also called tethering. And you’ll have a mirror right near you, too, so you can see what your hair/makeup is doing. I’ve had clients bring mirrors because that’s so rare, and tethering to a screen is even more rare, apparently (this is just anecdotal from client feedback, but people get extremely relieved to see it’s there). I've got your back with those things. My studio is a lived-in, practical space with everything we need to make things work and have fun doing it!