photography
OK, so we all know what a headshot is, right? It’s a picture of you that you submit to casting folks either at an audition, or to get one. Every actor has one and in most cases it’s the initial contact you have with the people who decide who gets cast and who doesn’t. It’s defines how they perceive you outside of actually seeing you in person, and generally determines whether they want to see you in person. A headshot doesn’t get you jobs, but it is often the thing that gets you an audition...or prevents you from getting one.
When someone looks at your headshot, they’re going to ‘think/feel/know’ something about you...about who you are both as a person and an actor. In addition to making you look your best physically (cuz let’s face it, how you look matters) it should communicate something about you beyond the physical. There’s more to you than how you look, and a good headshot will make that clear. You decide what you want your headshot to say about you, and it’s your photographer’s job to help you do that.
A headshot is more than a pretty picture of you...MUCH more. It has a job to do. It has to say what you want it to say, to convey the message you want to convey, and dare the viewer to stop looking!
What is a headshot, and what makes it good?