Evaluating Headshots with Google Spreadsheet Survey

At some point every actor has to pick their primary headshot. The selection process can be hellacious. Most photo sessions nowadays result in 200 potential headshots. Once you go through that list and eliminate all the pictures with your eyes closed or a bug on your face you've got about 150 left. Go through that again, and select all the shots you're willing to show other people and you've got about 30 left.

It's usually at this point that actors send out a blanket email to friends, teachers, and family asking them to pick their favorite. The problem is that a photo could be their favorite for any number of reasons: you look the silliest, you look the cutest, you look the most like a specific character type. So it is usually best to solicit opinion with some guiding questions. The problem is, with 30 shots most people get tired after giving you specific feedback on the first 7 and just give up.

Enter: Google Spreadsheet Survey

My friend Nikki just sent out a request for feedback on 7 of her favorite shots from her session with my friend Dianna. Instead of writing general feedback on the shots I liked, I made a form that allows for the easy input of information about each shot. Now Nikki has access to some pretty good metrics on the quality of each shot.