Actor Headshots: The Final Chapter…at last
March 13th, 2008 by txactor
I’ll try to wrap up my little treatise on headshots.
Here are some questions you may want to ask when you make your photographer calls:
This isn’t a definitive list so make sure you use this as a starting place and add your own questions to these.
There are many additional questions and concerns we could go into but…you’d have to write a book, not a couple of blog posts.
Let me try to wrap this up with a few more points.
If you have an agent…talk to them in advance of your photo session. You need to try to give the agent the right tools to sell you to the casting community. Getting their input in advance is just good business. I’m assuming you’re dealing with a reputable agent and not someone who’s trying to soak you for fees for photos, acting classes, etc.
Note to beginning actors: If you’re looking for basic headshots to try to get an agent, do yourself a favor and go for the most inexpensive package your selected photographer offers. The last thing you want to do is spend a month’s salary on a photo session and multiple 8×10 prints, then get an agent and have the agent tell you they want something different.
Beginners – Don’t worry about wardrobe changes, etc. See if the photographer has a minimal ‘beginners’ rate. You’re looking for one good shot that looks like YOU. At this stage of the game, if money is keeping you from getting a basic headshot, consider having a friend take some shots for you. Everybody knows someone with a digital camera. If you or a friend has a digital camera that has a 5 megapixels or greater sensor, you should be able to get an acceptable ‘starter’ headshot with which to query agents.
Okay, I promise, I’m almost through.
If you want some more information and the perspective of a professional photographer I suggest you visit the Kathy Whittaker Photography web site. I recently chose Kathy to shoot my headshots and I couldn’t have been happier with the results. The bottom line is…do your own research and get the information you need to make an informed choice.
At some point you’re going to have some headshots and you’re going to need prints. I encourage you NOT to go overboard here. After I had my last shots printed, my agent actually kept very few of them in her office. She’s doing so many submissions online, that she needed minimal hard copies. A word to the wise…don’t get 1000 headshots printed…it may be a while before they ever get used up.
I poked around on the internet and found a company I decided to give a shot with a minimal order. That company is HEADSHOT DEPOT. I get NOTHING for touting Headshot Depot. Their service and the quality of their product was outstanding and maybe I can save you some of the shopping that I did before deciding on this company. The thing I really like about Headshot Depot is their online ordering system. The shots above are screen shots showing the basic process for ordering online. The great thing is that you can upload a hires photo and see what it looks like framed and with your name applied. You can check out as many of your potential headshot photos as you want this way BEFORE you actually complete an order. The system has always worked flawlessly for me. The people at the other end are friendly and they get the job turned around quickly. That’s just my experience and if you use them I hope you are similarly pleased.
Well that’s it for this little tutorial of mine. If you have other suggestions, questions or disagreements with what I’ve said, feel free to post a comment.
Tommy
greate blog and good photography info ,keep up a good work and all the best!
This article came up when I googled “Headshot Depot” and I just wanted to share the VERY NEGATIVE experience I had with Headshot Depot…not to discredit anything said above because I think the article is excellent, but simply to warn fellow actors about this business so they might avoid being scammed like I was! I urge you not to order headshots from Headshot Depot…I ordered headshots THREE MONTHS AGO and have never received my headshots or a refund! More importantly, my dozens of phone calls and emails to the company have gone completely ignored! After filing a complaint with PayPal as well as the Better Business Bureau, the company responded and promised me a refund…guess what?….Another month has gone by since that promise and still no refund, and no pictures, and no response to my emails!! I have been scammed out of almost $200 and I would hate to see another “starving artist” have to loose out on that much money! Go with “Reproductions” in NYC if you are looking to reproduce your headshots. They might be a bit more pricey but its worth it if you walk away with headshots as opposed to none! 2 less expensive options are ABC Pictures (on line) or Precision Photos in NYC. I’ve used all 3 and all 3 are excellent!! I’ll never use Headshot Depot again…I’ve learned my lesson…after 20 years in this business! Please see links below. Good luck out there!
http://www.abcpictures.com/
http://www.precisionphotos.com/
http://www.reproductions.com/
Chloe,
I’m posting your comments trusting that this is a legitimate experience. I can only restate that I have ordered from HD several times and have had nothing but excellent service and product. I hope your experience and not mine is the exception. Thanks for reading and commenting. Tommy
I have held the following comment for a long time because the owner of Headshot Depot contacted me and said he was working the problem out and basically ‘making it right’.
I have since heard from the poster who said he finally did get his headshots but did not receive an additional number of copies promised in order to make up for his trouble.
In light of yet another comment from an actor who has had recent problems, I’m going to publish this comment as well.
I had great service and results from Headshot Depot when I used them but I’m afraid I’d be reluctant to do so based on the recent comments by readers of this blog.
Tommy
Tom,
You have given good advice, but I have to say that I’ve had a similar experience to Chloe. I am now sitting in my apartment hoping that the order will arrive. I won’t go into too much detail, but I’ll add to Chloe’s story. I got only one reply from HeadShotDepot saying my package was shipped after 3 emails asking for this confirmation. It wasn’t until I threatened to call Paypal and American Express (two weeks later) that I received an email and a phone call. However, after numerous requests for a tracking number for a UPS ground package (that cost $20 in shipping by the way). My guess is that it was never shipped and they feel the need to cover their butts. I was told it was attempted, but no answer. Yet I can’t get a tracking number? They are providing a service at a cheaper rate (about 25-50 cents a print less). But I don’t feel you should compromise customer service. I would have rather been told it wasn’t shipped and it’s being fixed by rushing it to me. I’ll let you know how it all turns out. But I must say I will not recommend them to anyone. It’s simply not worth the aggravation.
-Justin
I had the same exact experience as Chloe with Headshot Depot. And from what I have researched, we are not alone. It is unfortunate, too, as I used them the year before and had great results. This time, however, I paid for my headshots, never received them, called and emailed (no response whatsoever), and finally lodged a complaint with the BBB. They finally got back to me (two months later) and said they would refund my money and I would see a money order within a week. That week went by a month ago. I would stay away from this company at all costs. It’s a crapshoot.
My photographer, whom I’ve used multiple times before and totally trust, suggested Headshot Depot, so I blindly jumped on their website and gave them a bunch of cash. Now I wish I had researched and read these remarks before Headshot Depot scammed me. 6 weeks and several emails later, no response and no headshots. They didn’t have any problem accepting my money, however. Hopefully I can contact PayPal and get my money back. I don’t forsee getting a damn thing from the crooks at Headshot Depot.
FYI, I tried Argentum Photo Lab in Hollywood at the recommendation of my acting coach, and I had fantastic headshots on my doorstep in 6 days. http://www.argentum.com
Reading all of these bad reviews scared me to death after I sent in my payment. It can take a while to get your order, but I did end up getting my prints from Headshot Depot after about a week and a half, and they look fantastic!
[...] March 13, 2008, as part of my little treatise on headshots, I related a very positive experience I’d had, ordering headshot reproductions online from [...]
Do NOT order from headshot depot. They used to be reputable but changed hands and started scamming people. Just check the BBB website and you can view all the negative feedback.
I had two experiences with HSDepot that lead me to believe what Kendel suggested: that the business changed hands in the last few years. My first experience with them was great. There was prompt response, followup emails, and the headshots arrived on time.
So of course I went back for more a year later when it was time to restock. The whole process was way more shady this time: same lack of response people above are mentioning and then when I did receive them they had shorted me 25 headshots! So of course I emailed and got no response, and then I got on the phone and left message after message. They promised me the additional 25, but they never came, so I called again and again and again. I kept being told I needed to speak to other people who weren’t there, and who I suspect don’t even exist. Then finally someone promised me a refund, since I had never gotten the headshots. When that never arrived after weeks, maybe a month, I threatened to report them to BBB. Well, little good that does. They do have an F rating, and when I started fishing around I found a facebook group, too, of members who had been ripped off in some fashion or another.
Repoductions is way better. Their service is friendly and personal and they try to accommodate you as much as they can.
Now when I search for Headshot Depot I cannot even find their site. Good. I hope they just faded into oblivion.