A Headshot is an actor's number one marketing tool
It's important to get a set of at least cheap headers done the minute you decide to continue acting and start applying to casting websites. Snapshots are mostly looked down at, and will make you look unprofessional, so don't worry about your friend taking your "headshot" with an iPhone.
Your acting headshot will be the first thing a casting director will look at when he goes through submissions. If the headshot captures the attention of the CD, you've already passed the first stage; the next stage is to impress the CD with your acting CV / resume and demo reel. Actors with "weak" resumes may still have a significant chance to get an audition if they have an outstanding headshot.
Agents and top casting directors pay close attention to how professional and acting headshots look, and can tell them how well an actor understands the industry (read: is an actor and an amateur?) That said, the issue of acting headshots can be confusing for budding actors just entering the industry: what exactly are headshots for actors, and how do they differ from portraits or snapshots?
What is the standard size of the acting headshot in the United States?
Should my headshot be black and white or both?
Is the headshot of the landscape better or worse than the vertical one?
I will have these and other questions answered for both the UK and the US industries in this article on acting headshots. There's no doubt that a good set of headshots can make you a career, because casting directors and talent agencies love actors who have headshots that stand out, or how they say, "that pop." RELATED: Acting With No Experience (256-page acting beginner's guide) If you choose to go to one of the best headshot photographers in London, or Los Angeles, or New York, it's likely that they'll give you a career. If the top and most expensive photographers are not yet in your budget, and you choose to get a set of cheap acting headshots (we all start there), then you'll need to know more about them.
Acting Headshots 101 8 Things Every Actor Must Know Home Actor Marketing Acting Headshots 101: What Every Actor Must Know Acting Headshots 101: What Every Actor Must Know 104Save Acting HeadshotsActing Headshots are one of the key marketing tools for aspiring thespices. It's important to get a set of at least cheap headers done the minute you decide to continue acting and start applying to casting websites. Snapshots are mostly looked down at, and will make you look unprofessional, so don't worry about your friend taking your "headshot" with an iPhone.
Your acting headshot will be the first thing a casting director will look at when he goes through submissions. If the headshot captures the attention of the CD, you've already passed the first stage; the next stage is to impress the CD with your acting CV / resume and demo reel. Actors with "weak" resumes may still have a significant chance to get an audition if they have an outstanding headshot.
Agents and top casting directors pay close attention to how professional and acting headshots look, and can tell them how well an actor understands the industry (read: is an actor and an amateur?) That said, the issue of acting headshots can be confusing for budding actors just entering the industry: what exactly are headshots for actors, and how do they differ from portraits or snapshots?
What is the standard size of the acting headshot in the United Kingdom and the United States?
Should my headshot be black and white or both?
Is the headshot of the landscape better or worse than the vertical one?
I will have these and other questions answered for both the UK and the US industries in this article on acting headshots. There's no doubt that a good set of headshots can make you a career, because casting directors and talent agencies love actors who have headshots that stand out, or how they say, "that pop." RELATED: Acting With No Experience (256-page acting beginner's guide) If you choose to go to one of the best headshot photographers in London, or Los Angeles, or New York, it's likely that they'll give you a career. If the top and most expensive photographers are not yet in your budget, and you choose to get a set of cheap acting headshots (we all start there), then you'll need to know more about them.
Acting Headshots 101 8 Things Each actor must know headshots for the actor 1. What's an Acting Headshot and Why You Need It's very likely that you already know that acting headshots, or simply "headshots," are a photograph of a person / actor from the chest up, with a focus on their head. In the acting business, a headshot is usually known to be a quality photograph taken by a professional photographer that is not the same as your usual snapshot.
There are many reasons to invest in a set of good quality headshots made by a professional headshot photographer. Headshots are the branding and marketing of actors around the industry; the key to being noticed for the audition, and the best way for an agent or CD to remember the actor for future work.
As stated above, headshot is the first thing talent agents and casting directors will look at. Only if you fit the part that is based on your looks will they look at your resume and show the reel.
Since there's very little you can do about the way you look, the goal here is to have the most professional looking headshot possible. You'd be surprised how easily experienced industry people find cheap photographs and how quickly they're out of business. Your goal here is to avoid having your submission thrown into the trash bin right away.
2. What are the standards for headshots When it comes to actors' photographs, they're all very strict (especially when using color headshots). You and I may not understand every single photography-based technique that makes headshots look great, but casting directors who see hundreds of them every day love photographs that talk to them and tell the "actor's story" from the headshot alone.
This industry has its own standards, and we must follow them. In this case, the US and UK markets were different in a few respects when it comes to headshots, but they are slowly blending together (i.e. the UK industry is catching up with the modern US standards).
The key step is to study exactly what the standard acting headshots are on your country's market, and to follow those standards in a letter. This isn't the time to be creative, strange, and different. All that's going to do for you is to have your headshot thrown into the trash bin because it would be clear to the CD or agent that you're not up to date on industry standards.
3. Headshot Size and Layout Normally, the actor's headshot is an 8′′ by 10′′ (8×10) photograph. This is the standard size for the UK and US industries. Never use a headshot that is smaller or larger in size.
The photographer will usually take the photograph in both the horizontal and vertical position of the landscape and the portrait. Both are perfectly acceptable, and neither is superior to the other. However, there is one downside to landscape headers: it's more difficult to use in your online profiles that scale every photo you upload.
It's good to have both in your arsenal, but I would also recommend asking the photographer to give priority to portraits / vertical headshots first (so you've got more of these shots over the landscape).
Let's take a look at two examples, the landscape and the portrait of the headers. The two below are good headshots that fit industry strandards
4. Color of Headshots Just a few years ago, the UK actors' market was still dominated by black & white headshots. However, every year British casting directors and talent agents are more open to headers, which is why we see more of them on casting and personal websites.
In fact, I'd say color headshots are now more preferred (unless you're dealing with a very old-school casting director / agent). In the US, black & white acting headshots are totally unacceptable and are considered obsolete.
5. Keeping Headshots Up to Date Every actor has to make sure that their headshots are up to date, which means that the actor himself must look exactly like the person in the picture. Casting directors or talent agents don't want to invite a long-haired person to see a shaved head in the audition. This is likely to ruin your relationship with the CD, and you will never be invited to their office again.
Whenever you change your style, look, type or haircut, get a face tattoo — your headshot needs to be updated to reflect your current look. It's a standard practice, and making a mistake not to follow such rules might put you in the "blacklist" casting of the director or agent. Not that there is such a thing, but they remember poor experiences with unprofessional actors.
What if you want to make your hair grow or cut it short? If that's the case, then you're going to have to keep getting your acting headshots done about every six months as your hair keeps getting longer. You may be invited to audition specifically because of the type of haircut you have, and if it's different when you're in the room, it's unprofessional.
6. How to Send Headshots to CDs and Agents If you are not applying for acting jobs or talent agencies online (by submitting via their websites or via casting call websites), then you are likely to send your actor's marketing package via snail mail (regular mail). In these cases, which are still the most common in the United Kingdom (where online submissions take over in the United States), there are a few standards to be followed.
The common practice that actors use is to stack their 8×10 vertical / portrait headshots to their own
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