The Artist's Headshot

New Photo for Art Marketing

by Douglas Nelson

My husband is a photographer, and every now and then he sets up lights and back drops in the living room to shoot photos of me and the kids and the dog. He likes to practice with lighting, lenses, and effects. This photo, which is now my new artists headshot, is my favorite of about one million that he took over the weekend! It's true, you have to take millions of shots to get one good one. I am the worst, most picky client too! Since I wanted this to be my artist headshot, we decided to put something on an easel in the background, but to let it blur out of focus and just be fields of color. The piece that is back there is actually Fine Feathered Fowl, my recent peacock collage. The hat, was a result of my not being happy with my hair! I do love the hat though, a gift from my sister Aimée, Doug made sure with his lighting that I did not have shadow from the brim.

Doug chose a lens that not only blurred the art, but it also blurs the side of my face that is further away. I like the effect this focus has, its a creative touch he added by choosing this lens. I am pleased with the way that you can tell there is an easel and art in the back, but it's not distracting. 

I do not always have to provide an artist headshot for galleries, but it's a good idea to have one ready. The Katharine Butler Gallery features me on their website as a Gallery Artist and my headshot is at the top of my artist page. I am hoping they will update to this new one. I've also been featured in some magazines, and many times the editor will ask about an artist's headshot in addition to images of artwork. It's a good idea to have a headshot ready so that when the opportunity presents itself, you can just click and send!