Headshots: Selecting Photos

As an actor, you know great headshots open doors. That's why you chose the best photographer and worked hard to make your photo shoot successful. But important work still lies ahead. This article will help you choose the best photos by telling you what to look for.

Step 1

Focus: Your entire face should be in sharp focus, but especially the eyes. Any softness or blurriness in the eyes makes the photo less likely to grab a casting director's attention.

Step 2

Lighting: There should be no distracting shadows on your face, nor should the lighting be so bright or so dim that it obscures your features.

Step 3

Full frontal: Casting directors want to see every part of your face in the headshot, which means you should be facing straight ahead. Profiles and three-quarter shots make you look like you have something to hide. So do shots that are cropped too closely so that your chin or the top of your head is out of frame.

Step 4

Strong eye contact: A casting director looking at a headshot should feel like the actor is looking right back at them. Eye contact is magic; glancing even slightly away breaks the spell.

Step 5

Expression: Your headshot should convey the type of personality you wish to project, so avoid lifeless and dull expressions as well as those that are too extreme or goofy. Many actors choose a "theatrical" (serious) and "commercial" (smiling) headshot.

Step 6

Reality: Your headshot must show what you look like, not what you wish you looked like. If a casting director calls you in based on your headshot and you walk in looking dramatically different, you won't get the part and may not be called in again. Meanwhile, you may have not gotten the call for a part you would have been perfect for because your headshot did not accurately represent you.

Step 7

Expert opinions: Your headshot photographer will probably make suggestions. If your lucky enough to know any agents or casting directors, ask them. You can also ask acting coaches and other actors whose opinions you trust.

Bonus Tips

• If you can't pick just one, have an 8x10 print made of each of your top two or three choices. The differences between them will probably stand out more when you see them that way.
• If you don't see any shots you are happy with, your photographer may be willing to do a re-shoot. A great headshot is an advertisement for him, after all.
• Take friends' and family's suggestions with a grain of salt. They're likely to base their opinions on what looks "pretty" or "nice" as opposed to criteria that matters the most for an actor's headshot.

NEXT: Printing your headshots.
(Photo: scol22, sxc.hu)