The Secret to Perfect Headshots
Ben and David are extremely, extremely successful actors who also give free acting advice. If you listen to them you will most likely become famous. If you don’t, things probably won’t pan out for you.
As all of us in the business know, the trends for headshot looks are always changing. One year it’s black and white, the next it’s color. One agent says you should be smiling, another says serious. We even heard recently from an anonymous casting guy on the Internet that, “You need to pose in European-style bikini briefs and send me digital copies as soon as possible.” That trend was so short-lived we never even heard back from him! So we felt that with all this confusion over different “looks,” there needed to be a consensus, once and for all. So folks, here is our answer: Get all of ’em! That’s right, you heard us correctly.
There aren’t just commercial parts, or film and TV parts. There are so many different parts, and you need to be ready for every scenario. You should have at least 20 different shots all touched up and printed out, ready to submit at a moment’s notice. We know this sounds a bit overwhelming, so here are some of the most basic looks to include the next time you get your headshots taken:
Color
Black and White
Just Your Head
Your Full Body with Head
Your Full Body with Head and Hat
You on a Cobblestone Street
You Squatting on a Train Track
You Pretending to Lean on Something
You Leaning on a Brick Wall That Says “No Turning Back”
You Dressed as a Cop
You Dressed as a Firefighter
You as a Newsie
As a Pizza Guy
As a Beautiful, Beautiful Angel
You on a Different Cobblestone Street
You with a Surprised Look on Your Face
You with a Wimpy-Looking Face
You with a Sexually-Ready Face
You with a Face That Says “I’m the Boss Around Here”
Just You With an Excessive Amount of Touch-Ups So You Look Much More Attractive and Younger Than Yourself (In industry lingo this is just typically referred to as a “headshot.”)
This is just the tip of the iceberg, people. The possibilities are endless.