This is a short post that will be followed up later – so stay tuned! Headshots can sometimes get too much attention, but it becomes obvious after helping numerous young actors that there is still a huge lack of understanding of what is acceptable and what is good. Here is a list of what’s not ok.

 

 

-Glamour Shots (the company and the look)
-Wal-Mart portraits
-Mall photo studios
-Tuxedos for men (even for opera!)
-Gowns for women (maybe ok for some classical shots but not usually unless you are a pro)
-Excessive make-up
-Overly teased hair
-Excessive Cleavage
-No full body shots
-You do not buy the 8x10s from the photographer (see below)

Here are a few musts:
-It must look like you
-It must look like your age
-When you walk in the room, we must recognize it as the same person.
-We must be able to look at your picture after you leave the room and remember your personality and your performance.
-Your head should be the prominent feature, fully in the frame, but should not take up the entire frame
-Your name somewhere on the picture. Ideally there should be a white border and your name at the bottom in a standard font.
-The photographer must give you full rights to make reproductions in any manner you wish. This is the professional thing to do. If you’re photographer has never heard of this or doesn’t want to do it, they are not a professional photographer when it comes to working with performers. This is an immediate sign to find someone else. This means the photo session will cost you more than at a studio in a mall. The mall shops make money buy selling you 8X10s for $10+. Pros make money by charging you $150+ while allowing you to run off copies at Wal-Mart for $1 a piece.

Here are a few links of photographers to help you understand what is expected. As I said above, your photographer MUST give you a signed photo release letter that gives you full permission to print as you want. I’m also posting links below to reproduction shops.

http://www.ericmull.com/

http://www.wix.com/jennapinchbeck/jennapphotography

http://reproductions.com/

Home