New headshot and actor casting Photographer on Merseyside
Photographs below by Jo Forrest.

JO Forrest as many of our readers have seen, has been supplying us with some very high quality images from events on Merseyside for a few months now, but that is not her full time job. Jo is a very talented photographer who specialises in both Performance Art photography and also Headshots. When most people hear the words Headshots, they think of passport photos, but in fact what she does requires a range techniques and skills that are much specialised. If entertainment is your chosen profession, getting noticed requires a good, natural, well lit Headshot for most castings. It is also necessary when applying to apply to join casting agents, from film to TV, even for stage and promotion work, not forgetting getting your foot in the door to do catwalk and catalogue work!

Underestimating how important a good headshot is, will cost them the role and that is where photographers like Jo come in. They take several photos that can then be used for auditions and other applications. Also, when looking for a headshot photographer consider, the photographer's background and always look at the quality of work. Jo, for example, has photographed professional dance companies on both a small scale and large, these include:- English National Ballet, London; Matthew Bourne, National Dance Company Wales; Robert Guy and Daniela B Larsen; Joss Arnott Dance; Jordan Massarella, Leeds and Wired Aerial Theatre, Liverpool. She has also worked with dance organisations such as:- Dance United, Bradford and Merseyside Dance Initiative, Liverpool. More recently she did some work for the producers of Dirty Dancing. We asked Jo, seriously, how hard can it really be to get good headshots and why are they so important? She replied:- "Good headshots are essential to getting you the job you want. Your image needs to stand out from the rest of the crowd; it is the first thing casting directors will see amongst the hundreds of other images and your first chance to make a great impression. Investing in good high quality images shows a casting director you are investing in your future as well. It is crucial that they are of a high standard; there are so many factors to consider, the lighting, the pose, the focus etc. They need to be a true and accurate representation of you including all the little things that make you, you and should not be over processed like you would see with portrait images. Small none permanent blemishes are removed, stray hairs etc, but nothing else. A casting director will not take anyone seriously if they send in a selfie or an out of focus, badly lit image, that is guaranteed to get your application put straight in the bin without a second glance.."

Jo is based in Liverpool and can be contacted via emailing her at:- info@joforrestphotographer.com or going to:- JoForrestPhotographer.com.