The Importance of the Actor Headshot: How to Get Yours Right

Your headshot is your most important marketing tool, and that cannot be stressed enough. It is the first thing a casting director sees when searching through actor profiles on Actorly, and if you are applying to an agent for representation, it is the first thing they look at when they open your email. A good headshot jumps out from a sea of thumbnails and gives casting directors an accurate sense of who you are. A bad headshot, well. It is a prime opportunity to sell yourself, so here are the essential building blocks of a strong one.

What makes a good actor headshot

• Your shots should be professionally taken. You want to be seen as a pro, and a good, high-quality headshot shows that you are serious about your career. If you are strapped for cash and need to take something at home as a temporary fix, make sure the camera quality is high, there is plenty of natural light on your face, and, please, do not use a selfie.
• The casting director, agent or production company want to see a photo of the real you, so keep your appearance as natural as possible so that they can imagine you in many different roles. If you are wearing heavy make-up you risk being typecast and only brought in for the glamorous roles. Keep those shots for your Instagram.
• The eyes are the window to the soul. They are your most important feature, so make sure they are visible: face the camera straight on and make sure they are clearly seen.
• Wear something simple and avoid jewellery, hats, scarves, glasses or props. These all add character and distract the eye.
• Do not wear clothes that distract from your face, such as polo necks, big collars, busy patterns or logos.
• Keep your hands and arms out of shot. All that should be seen is your face, your shoulders and some of your chest.
• Headshot photographers will usually touch up two or three images for you as part of the basic package, with the option to add more. Two shots are usually enough: one commercial look and one more neutral look. If you can add a third, make it your sci-fi look.

The commercial look

The commercial look is happy and smiley. It should work for TV ads, the young mum or dad, or the girl or boy next door.

The sci-fi look

The sci-fi look is a little more serious and slightly tougher. This shot works for any number of roles that call for a hard-nosed businessperson, a villain, a guard, and basically anything casting for a sci-fi channel.

The theatrical look

The theatrical look is probably the one you will use most often. It covers anything that does not fall under the roles above. It is the most neutral, and it allows the casting director to envision you in any other role.

If you want to go all out

Two or three shots cover most castings, but if you want to go further, a few extra looks earn their place, especially on Actorly, where you can add a gallery and pick the headshot that best fits each application:

• The business look. A suit or a smart shirt, hair neat, expression capable. Corporate videos, commercials and any role described as a lawyer, doctor, executive or detective.
• The comedy look. A shot with personality: a raised eyebrow, a deadpan stare, a flower in your mouth, whatever is true to your sense of humour. Comedy casting directors want to see that you are funny before you say a word, and this is the one place a bit of silliness works.
• The period look. Longer hair, a beard, no obvious modern styling. Useful if you are regularly up for costume drama, and for the Irish historical productions that come around every year.
• The character look. For actors who play the villain, the rough diamond or the outsider: darker clothes, stubble, a harder light. It says you can be cast against the friendly commercial shot.
• The glamorous look. Styled hair, evening wear, a little more make-up than usual. Only worth it if you go up for those roles, and it should never be your main headshot.

Keep every extra look honest. You still have to walk into the room, or send the self-tape, looking like the photo.

Your headshot is an investment

Getting a great headshot is an investment in your business. It is one of the essential devices in your marketing toolkit as an actor, and it could be the only thing standing between you and your next audition. Once you have new pictures, pair them with a current acting CV and showreel so that everything a casting director sees tells the same story.

On Actorly, your headshot is the first thing a casting director sees when they open your profile or your application, so it is worth getting right. Create your free actor profile, add your new headshots and start applying for jobs.