Last week’s blog post was on the more general topic of What you should look for in actors headshots.

I wanted to do a follow up blog post on the topic to expound a little more on what an actors headshot session looks like with me, using some examples from a real headshot session I did a few months back with the lovely Elsie.

As I mentioned previously, about a million years ago I worked as an actor and experienced a few headshot sessions (where I was the one being photographed) that leaned more in the direction of glamour photos. (I do want to note that these photos, in hindsight, now have a lot of value to me as I’m at a place a decade later where I look different and have more lines in my face and can appreciate that that younger version of me is documented for future generations to see. It was not the intended purpose of those headshots, but I’m so glad to have them now for that reason.)

Don’t get me wrong, a strong actors headshot is supposed to make you look good (particularly, if you’re the type of actor who tends to get cast in lead parts or as the love interest). However, there are also many, many pretty faces in the acting industry and there needs to be other qualities at play in your headshot to get the attention of agents and casting directors. It’s my argument that it’s much more important that in your headshot you look captivating, intriguing, and dare I say, a little bit different from the rest of the crowd.

As an example, let’s take my client, Elsie. When we did Elsie’s consultation over Zoom, the first thing I noticed about her is that she’s beautiful in a very classical way and she has an old soul type presence about her. I knew immediately I wanted to do at least one look for her that would play up a more ‘period piece’ type look (see the examples below).

These headshots show that Elsie was born to act in period piece films. Hair/makeup by Artistry by Ksenia. Photo © Laura Shortt Photography.

We achieved this in a few ways. First, in both headshots, Elsie’s wardrobe suggests looks from another time without being costume-y. Second, during hair and makeup Elsie’s hair was styled in a way that could look classic or modern depending on the other stylistic elements involved such as wardrobe (and importantly, the hair style in her headshots is similar to a hair style that Elsie could achieve on her own before an audition). In the headshot on the left, Elsie looks more womanly/Keira Knightley-esque, and in the photo on the right, I would argue she looks a little more child-like and innocent (also reflecting that Elsie is at a point age wise where she could play a character that is younger or more grown up). Also note, that in each headshot Elsie is emotionally connected to the camera and there’s also a subtle difference in her expression in both headshots (in the photo to the left, Elsie has a tattoo that is showing, but she was also provided with a version of the photo that is tattoo-free so that when using that headshot in an audition she could choose the option that worked best for her).

Elsie with hair/makeup by Artistry by Ksenia. Photo © Laura Shortt Photography.

In an ideal world, every movie that got made would be a period piece film 🙃😉. But that is, of course, not the case so I made sure we also did some more modern looking actor headshots for Elsie as well. Interestingly, Elsie said that she has been cast as the tough girl more than once. This is just one reason why the consultation before a photo shoot is SO critical to the success of a shoot- without that information I never would have gone for a ‘tough girl’ look during her headshot session, but because I had that information, I produced the horizontal headshots for her that you see here. The top photo of Elsie, in particular, shows a lot of defiance in her eyes. And I think the photo on the bottom could work well for an audition for either the part of a character who is tougher, or interestingly, could also work for auditioning in more of a romantic/lead role.

I believe Elsie could very easily be cast in ‘the girl next door’ type roles, so I also thought it would be a good idea to do some headshots of her that would reflect that particular character archetype as well. The headshot of Elsie on the far left (in the group of 3 headshots below) has a genuine warmth to her expression that plays nicely within that archetype (the tattoo may or may not work in an audition for a ‘girl next door’ audition, so again, I made sure to include 2 versions of the headshot, one of which was tattoo-free). Both the middle headshot and the last headshot, interestingly, I think could work for both ‘girl next door’ or ‘tough girl’ auditions in that her expressions are neither hard nor soft in those two examples (and by that I don’t mean expressionless- she is very much connected through her eyes to the camera in both headshots and we get a sense of her gravitas through them; it’s more that she gives the impression that her thoughts are unknowable).

Final thoughts…

When it comes to actors headshots, I believe it’s very important to be clear about what type of character archetypes you’re looking to portray through your headshots. It’s also very important to be connected emotionally through the eyes (Elsie’s headshots are a wonderful example here of what I’m talking about- in every one of her headshots we can see she’s present and radiating emotion that is both nuanced and intriguing). In the end, if these elements are present they’re going to help create a memorable first impression when agents and casting directors reach for your headshot. And as I say, what is memorable gets cast.

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An in-depth look at an actor headshot session

Final thoughts…