Expanding Your Portfolio & Brand

July 24, 2012- Expanding Your Portfolio & Brand

Hey! 

So, I was caught up in this funk about only being natural and going for one type of role: Girl-Next-Door. I chose this because of the market I wanted to go in. Which was television but not just it as a whole, I wanted a wholesome “ABC Family” type of look and role. Which is fine…however I found that I was limiting myself.

            Therefore, I set out to explore and identify all of my possible looks and boundaries. Even though I have a young looking face, my voice and body reads very mature for film/television. And that’s even after I drop the 40 pounds. However, I do not read as mature as I thought I did. So my range is actually between the ages of 19 to 30. WHICH ROCKS!

             So, I wanted to get photos done that would build my portfolio, and also showcase my range ability. This all started by me watching the channels that I wished to be on. Like the edgier, gritty shows on USA and FX or the bubbly, friendly shows of ABC Family and FOX. From there, I contacted Rufus Sims of The Sims Collection and set up on photo shoot.

            I let him know there were 3 main looks I was going for and I wanted them to be full bodyshots and ¾ shots rather than headshots. Booked the date and time and the rest was butta! Oh…trust me I had to budget for this. $$$

          
Day of the Photoshoot

The day of the photo shoot was a blast.  I woke up at 7am to get my hair done. I wanted a versatile look that would be able to adjust the character I was portraying. I went to Jessica ‘J’ Coles of J Coles and Co. When I first heard of her, I was like “J. Coles, the rapper?” lol. Anyways, she hooked me up and I sat out to start the day.

            We shot at Waterside in Norfolk, VA in a beautiful spot called the Pagoda. One thing about the Pagoda is that it can give multiple feels and looks in one central location.

Here were the original 3 looks:

•  Edgy, Club-Goer
• Girl-Next-Door
• Corporate Business

Girl-Next-Door 1

Edgy 1

Girl-Next-Door 2

 Uh…yeah it was hot as shit out there! Even after we pushed it to the latter part of the evening. So we nixed the business shots and went full fledge for the other. It was great. Rufus provided insight and input throughout the entire process. The level of professionalism withstood and I highly recommend him and his photography services. His contact information is at the end of the blog.

            

So what do I do now? Well…now I am set up to make up comp cards to compliment the headshots that I took a couple of months ago. Together both we will work as superb self-marketing tools for myself and also give my agents more leverage to promote/market me.

Later!

-Brit.

Coming Up Next

Your Personal Life & Acting

Visit My Website to see my latest vlogs, audition updates, and more:

www.Brittney-S-Harris.com

Follow Me on Twitter: Broadway_B

Subscribe to me on Youtube: The Broadway_B Channel

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Photography by:

Rufus Sims

The Sims Collection

www.simscollection.com

Hair by:

Jessica ‘J’ Coles

J. Coles & Co.

1603 Atlantic Ave.

Chesapeake, VA 23324

New Shots, New Opportunities

July 12, 2012- New Shots, New Opportunities


So I totally need to stop writing like every two to three months and make this more frequent than sparodic. Nevertheless, greetings!

Two things: 1) "Sometimes Life gives us the breaks that we don't allow ourselves to have"- Brittney S. Harris. Yes that's an original and I am living proof of it. I don't want to be one of those people looking back at life with that question "What If". I don't and I am firm believer that God didn't want me to be either.

2) Ain't nothing like some new headshots to get your 'acting spunk' back. LOL.

Headshots are the S**T

Back in May, I went back to my good friend and fellow Actor Melissa Blue with the desire for some new shots. New headshots to showcase my newly developed self-image. So far, I am physically where I want it to be, but I am trying to develop the personality with the body. That's another blog!

But nevertheless, Melissa capture some beautiful shots. Perhaps too beautiful, when I first them I was shocked! I thought I looked too stunning and not natural enough, you know? The thing is I know her and I know her work, so I know she doesn't do too much retouching at all...so basically I was looking at me! It was scary. Compared to my last headshots, I looked remarkably younger, more marketable, and fresher. But that's what you have to keep in mind. WHAT MARKET ARE YOU TRYING TO GO INTO AND WHAT'S THE LOOK?

And in the end, I was going for a girl-next-door/friendly and sultry, professional, mature young woman.

What do you think?

Well since I've gotten these shots, I've happened to land several major auditions for shows that are under my age range (networks like FOX, ABC Family) and also I got a new agent for the DC & Maryland market. Yeah...I totally loving my new shots.

Thank you so much to Melissa Blue of

Melissa Blue Photography 

Please check out her website and great prices for Actors in the Hampton Roads area.

UP NEXT... Developing/Building my Acting Brand

Visit My Website to see my latest vlogs, audition updates, and more:
www.Brittney-S-Harris.com

Follow Me on Twitter: Broadway_B

Subscribe to me on Youtube: The Broadway_B Channel

Artfully Yours,

Brit

Marketing for Our Production

Greetings!

So I don't think I need to point out how "extremely" excited I am to be a part of Extremities. Not only has this process challenged me as an actor physically, it has broaden my approach to theatrical techniques. Techniques such as memory recall and all that...good stuff. I want to delve more into my process and the mentality development of my character but honestly....it'll just be super wordy and for my own enjoyment.

But for your ENTERTAINMENT...the cast of Extremities appeared on "The Hampton Roads Show" today and was a blast. To start it was a bitching cold morning...let me tell you. We had to be at the studio before 7:15am and I knew that majority of the cast was coming from the other side of the water (Peninsula) But we made there on time and must say it was quite the learning experience. Sitting in the studio with all the anchors, the lights, and the teleprompters and...it's very fascinating and I came to a realization today. Uh huh and that is...this woman will NOT ever....ever....ever, ever work on live tv show. EVER! My goodness it's too overwhelming. Cool but like...whoa nelly. Anyways... here's our segment from 'The Hampton Roads Show'. Click the link below the pic!  Thank you again for all your hospitality.

http://www.wavy.com/dpp/hr_show/audience-iron-streets-production-of-extremites

An EXTREMELY Great Start...

Hey!

Can you believe it's been about 3 months since I've written a blog? Well, that goes to show that my life has been pretty boring BUT thank God all that's change. First, Happy 2012! I must admit that this year has been off to an extremely great start.

From my feats with weight loss, financially getting back on track, and now STARRING in Extremities with Iron Street Productions...things haven't been more better. So...Extremities written by William Mastrosimone! Guys, this is one powerful ass show (excuse the language) but let me tell you. Not only does it challenge me as actor on an emotional level but on a physical level as well.

The auditions were back in January. Mind you, I had heard about the production last year when I auditioned for Iron Street Productions' show Race by David Mamet. Now, anybody who knows me knew how long I was talking about auditioning for Race. I mean it was BIG stuff to me. So, I went out and auditioned and I didn't get cast. And that's fine. But what I did receive was the side note that I am very powerful actor and the show Extremities would be a great fit for me to audition for. So there you go.

Yeah...I love details...so anyways, I ended up going to the second night of auditions and you know how we do as actors: we SIZE up that competition. LOL. Like "oh she hit that peak really well or she didn't deliver that strong enough....whatever. I felt pretty confident during and after the audition. I had ordered the play 3 weeks prior and was fairly familiar with the first two scenes so during the cold read I wouldn't have to be buried in the script.

So after the auditions were over, the wonderful and brilliant Jeff Corriveau, who is the director, said he'd have the show cast in a matter of hours. Like that next day! WHAT! So you know a sister was worried half to death all day at work. And what do you know? I had nothing to worry about! The call had me practically in tears and I thank Jeff for taking a chance with me. Not only did he cast AGAINST "type", our entire cast is immensely talented and I am so blessed for this opportunity to work with all of them. No lie.

So the next entry will be about delving into the psyche of my character and how to substitute and separate the reality of my character versus the reality of my life.

- Brittney