Headshots for Australian Actress, Yasmin Polley

Yasmin Polley

I met Yasmin a few years ago, when she first moved up to the Gold Coast from Sydney. Back then she was a young aspiring teen actress who had acted in a bunch of short films, Tv commercials and as a presenter in a kid’s tv series. Moving to the Gold Coast is an opportunity for any actor to hone their skills and training. Queensland boasts 3 major film studio quarters: Village Roadshow Studios (Gold Coast), Screen Queensland Studios (Brisbane) and the recently opened Screen Queensland Studios in Cairns.

It is often recommended for actors to regularly update their headshots every 6 months or at least every year, to keep their look fresh and representative of where they are at currently in their professional development. The last time I photographed Yas, she was a very young teen, but now as she is approaching a more young adult range as an actress, it was definitely time to update her headshots to reflect that growth. It was amazing to catch up with Yasmin again and see for myself the growth in her confidence as a performer. Yas is a naturally bubbly beauty with a 1000 watt smile that can be switched on in a heart beat, but the real challenge in headshots is often capturing something a bit more of a sensitive character without going to caricature. Yasmin played with different emotions translating that into different expressions to hopefully show her range to casting directors.

Below are a few of the looks we did in the hour, as there were also some more specific character looks that we incorporated through wardrobe styling, but I just wanted to highlight the more emotional portraits we captured on the day. I generally provide headshots in both black and white and colour, so as to avoid being monotonous, I’ve just included one version.

For this headshot session, we had an hour and because Yas is a pro, we quickly shot 5 looks, in which I set up 3 different lighting: strobe only; continuous mixed with strobe and continuous only. Personally, I prefer shooting with continuous light (whether that’s natural outdoor light or artificial) with talent like actors, because most importantly the constant light allows for their pupils to contract (thereby seeing more of the iris colour). For me, the eyes are the most important feature, upon which everything else hinges upon them. The talent has to get the expression communicated through the eyes and my job is to ensure the right light available to enhance them, so they really become a focal point of the performance. Overall, whether I’m using strobe or continuous, generally for actor headshots you want really clean lighting, so as not to distract from the portrait, that’s not to say soft or hard shadows aren’t allowed, but for these, casting directors want well lit faces to take in their facial features, avoiding any obscurity.

Yas’s eyes are the most captivating feature of her, they can be like deep pools that drown you or cold and mean, just depending on the role she’s portraying.

Wishing Yas all the best for her upcoming auditions and I have no doubt she has a promising career ahead of her and I cannot wait to see her blossoming on the screen and stage. Hopefully Yas, you remember me when you are big and famous! ;-)