Ryan in Pirates of the Caribbean III

Okay, so here's the scoop on me...I graduated from college with an Associate in Arts, with a concentration in Photographic Technology.  In college, I studied advanced photography, including the Zone System - developed by the legendary photographer, Ansel Adams.  This type of photography, which is a science in itself, became a passion of mine, ultimately leading me to begin taking headshots when I started pursuing a four-year acting degree.

During my time studying acting at the University of Central Florida in Orlando, for which I received a Bachelor of Fine Arts, I had other photographers take my own headshots, which I was never entirely satisfied with.  I paid several "photographers" to take my pictures - from posed portraits to unflattering candids.  As much a disappointment as these were, it was a terrific learning process about "what not to do".

When I was taking college courses about the profession of acting, I had the great fortune of listening to casting directors, agents and theater artistic directors speak about what makes a good headshot.  I began to see similarities in what they all said, things started to add up.  And for the icing on the cake, I realized that most of my fellow students and acting colleagues did not have impressive headshots.  Naturally, I decided to put my background of photography to use and I began taking headshots.

To this day, I continue meeting and speaking with industry people both as a photographer and actor. I guess you can say that I know how to do the networking rounds in New York. I am in the Screen Actors Guild, take scene study classes with the city's best teachers, attend meet 'n greets, and perform in New York stage and film productions.

Being an actor myself not only affords me better insight into what industry people are looking for in a headshot, it keeps my conscience in check from charging an arm and a leg for headshots. There are some great photographers out there. The catch is that they have to pay for their big expensive studios and overhead, which flows onto you. In other words, they have to make a living as a photographer. I don't. The only overhead I have is the cost of my camera (I use a Nikon D70 professional series) and my website maintenance. I think $300 is very reasonable for professional quality headshots, especially considering the amount of personalized time I will give you.

Please be in touch to schedule an appointment. We can meet and have coffee, talk shop, and especially talk about how you and me both are going to collaborate in getting you your best headshots ever. Cheers!

When you get a sec, check out my website as an actor:
www.ryanmichaeljones.com