Actor Headshots- What a Starting Actor Needs to Know (part 1)

I found a fun and informative blog post by Casting Director, Amy Jo Berman, that I  found especially informative.  The title of her post is “Actor  Headshots: 3 Things Most Actors Get Bass-Ackwards” You can read the full article by clicking on the name of the article.

Amy is a very experienced Casting Director that has seen and heard it all.  This article, as well as those other articles on her blog, reflect this extensive experience. Therefore, she provides timely, pertinent information for experienced actors but also provides and leg-up to actors that are just starting out.

Amy points out that there are three common trends in actor headshots:

Trend 1- most actors have bad headshots

Trend 2- most headshots do not accurately represent the actor

Trend 3- most actor headshots are tossed aside by the Casting Director because they do not catch his/her attention.

What seems to be the problem then? Why don’t all actors present a great headshot to a Casting Director?  Amy believes it is because actors either focus on the wrong thing or they do  not know what to focus on so there is either: no focus or they focus on the wrong thing.

The objective of a headshot is to get you an audition!  If you are not getting auditions- get a new headshot!

3 Important Aspects to a Great Actor Headshot

Great Actor Headshot Criteria NUMERO UNO

Your actor headshot has to look like YOU!  In other words, it has to look like the person that walks into the door for an audition ( if you are fortunate enough to be called into an audition).

Casting Directors DO NOT LIKE IT when you look different from your headshot when you walk into the audition.  For example, if you had your hair straightened for your actor headshot- you need to have it straightened every time you go to an audition.  

PART 2 will be posted next week…..