YOUR CALLING CARD

One thing every serious actor must do is get a headshot. Yet, the headshot is simply one thing; A calling card. It has one job, get you in front of the casting director. Once you get the audition and show off your acting chops, the headshot becomes nothing more than a reference picture so the casting director and producers can remember you for the callbacks or in most cases, an addition to their rolodex of actors for future roles. So, if the headshot is just a calling card what’s the big deal? Why make such a fuss, spend so much money, and obsess over having the perfect headshot?

THE ICING ON THE CAKE

Even though the icing is the last ingredient to go onto a cake, it’s the most important. Can you imagine buying a cake with no icing? How would it look? How would it taste?

As an actor, you are obliged to build a strong foundation. To build your instrument and to tune it to perfection. Yet, no matter how much you master your craft, you can’t sell your brand without a great headshot. Just like a cake can’t be sold without the icing, an actor can’t book without a headshot. Yes, a miracle can come along. You can get discovered through a stint in a black box theater or by getting noticed in a viral video of you doing a monologue. And one can argue, a cake can also taste good without the icing. But when push comes to shove, 99.9% of the time, the cake needs the icing and YOU NEED a headshot.

LET’S GET DOWN TO BUSINESS

So now that we know the importance of a headshot. I am going to get to the nitty gritty. But, I’m not going to give you “5 tips for a great headshot”. Or list a number of obscure and general ideas that skirt around the truth. I will emphasize one very important concept that will hopefully guide you to creating the headshot to help you get more auditions and more bookings. And that is….

KNOW YOURSELF!

I ask every actor that walks into my photography studio, “Who are you? What drives you in life? What are your own conflicts? How do you act at home, at work, and out with your friends?”.

I've consulted with various casting directors as well as agents to find out what makes a great headshot. The best piece of advice I got from all of them is that the best headshots are the ones where the actor's persona comes out through the photo. No casting director who's casting the next guest star doctor on the newest hit medical drama is looking for someone who looks great in a pair of scrubs. Each character being cast, whether it's a doctor, lawyer, cop, etc, all have diverse personalities and personas outside of their "career". The essence and persona of the character is what they are casting, not how an actor looks when they are wearing a pair of scrubs.

When an actor who's own inner persona shines through, the casting knows exactly who they are dealing with. And what's most important with this concept of capturing your essence? Casting directors are looking for the person in that picture to be the same person they are seeing on tape or in the audition room. Just like in acting, it's never a good idea to play an idea or an emotion, but to understand the characters inner motives, wants, and needs are. Then the actor can allow those inner workings to drive the scene.

As the saying goes, "Don't put the cart before the horse". It's a common mistake we as artists make. I do it as a photographer. I get so fixated on the lighting and composition, and while that is all important in the scheme of things, I must not let that distract me from the goal of capturing whatever moment is in front of me. And the same is true with your headshots. Instead of thinking of specific career roles, or emotions, or a prototype of a character you love to play; Think of who you are, ie. what drives you in life, what are your temperaments, what are your conflicts, what are the qualities that make you unique from everyone else.

Think of the best actors who have all immersed themselves in great leading roles: Leonardo Dicarprio, Brad Pitt, Bryan Cranston, Meryl Streep, Natalie Portman, Viola Davis, Timothée Chalamet, Ryan Gosling, and the list goes on. Even though these great actors have played a variety of characters through the span of their great acting careers, they all have one thing in common; These great actors bring their unique selves to each role they play. I can imagine when Bryan Cranston got his headshots done early in his career, he didn’t say to himself, “I want to make myself look like a powerful and dangerous drug dealer”. Instead, he probably knew what family meant to him, what boundaries he would push if his life was on the line, and how he would react when it comes to saving his family’s and his own life. He probably approached the shoot with an aura of an “Everyday Man”, yet, behind his eyes you can see the menacing conflict bubbling over.

TONE AND GENRE

While it’s important to understand your true essence, we also don’t want your headshot to be too generic. That’s when it’s important to work with your team and with the photographer to help guide you through the process of getting looks that represent the multiple versions of your personality. For example, you may be very relaxed and chill at home, an extrovert when out with your friends, and very serious and focused when at work. Or maybe the opposite; you are high energy at home, an extrovert out with friends, and the class clown at work. All of these personalities target a specific tone and genre. These different looks can be captured through wardrobe, lighting, and being very specific during your headshot session.

When it comes down to it, having solid headshots that represent who YOU really are is the key. Once you feel comfortable in your own skin and allow the camera to capture the inner life and soul that shines through your own eyes, I can guarantee that your headshot will pop off the screen and get your foot in the door for that next audition whether it be a co star, guest star, leading roles for both feature films and television.

A NOTE FROM A CASTING DIRECTOR

I'll end off with a great quote from casting director who has been in the business for decades, "When I am choosing actors to audition, I'm not looking for someone who matches some idea of the character we are casting, I am looking for someone who I would want to go out and have a drink or grab a coffee with; Someone that I can enjoy being around and want to know more about. Because at the end of the day, everyone on the production must work with that actor that gets cast. And, who knows, they may not be right for this role, but perfect for the next one I bring them in for." For an experienced casting director to see that side of you, knowing yourself is key.

LETS CAPTURE GREAT HEADSHOTS TOGETHER

My job as your photographer is not just to make you look pretty or handsome, but capture your essence. I make sure to spend a good amount of time prior to the session with each and every actor to get to the core of who they are, and what different versions of their personalities we want to capture.

To book a consultation with me so we can shoot your next headshot session in my Los Angeles photography studio, CLICK HERE.