Actor Headshots: The Final Chapter…at last

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