Last week N got new headshots taken at Neil Boyd Photography here in Raleigh. I went along as bowtie straightener and smile consultant.

We saw the proofs and they look great. There were hardly any bad ones, because N flashed the same radiant smile in every shot. I was impressed by his consistency of gaze. My skills in that area are not as advanced.

Two years ago I had wonderful photos taken by Nick Amonson (you can view a few on my singing website here). We spent two hours with all kinds of poses and backgrounds. I made many a truly terrible face. Every attempt at “serious” or “intense” was a failure. My full-on natural smile always induces major eye squinting. But Nick took so many shots that there were plenty of usable ones, and a few that were amazing.

It’s important to have good headshots. A well shot, polished photo that captures personality makes a singer look like a true professional. I’ve gotten lots of compliments on my headshot since I started using Nick’s shots. Last December Santa Fe Pro Musica even blew up my face to become the background of a beautiful poster.

Here’s the back story on that fabulous photo with the green background. I’d gotten my hair and makeup (false eyelashes even!) done and they looked great. For my formal outfit I wore a nice velvet top but since these were just head shots, I paired it with jeans. The problem was that the top is short-waisted and I’m long-waisted, and the top didn’t meet up with my waistband. It looked awkward. Here I was, taking glamorous diva photos, but I felt like a midriff-baring loser. It took me a little while to loosen up and get into the shoot. Obviously I’d finally relaxed by the time this photo was snapped, but now that you know the story you can picture me as I was: diva from the waist up, dork from the waste down. Thank heavens for cropping.