Want to learn how to take your best headshot? This special photography guide will give you the inside scoop on everything from how to find a headshot photographer, how much headshots cost, what poses you need, the best headshot backgrounds, and much more!

But first, the basics: What’s in a headshot? For starters, your look, your brand, your type, your age range, your possible occupations, your professionalism, your socioeconomic background, your personality traits, your inner emotional life…Yikes! That’s a lot of pressure to put on one photo! Is your headshot really that important?

The simple, honest answer is “Yes!” Your headshot is a crucial part of your package; in fact, it’s the front page. You may not judge a book by its cover, but you will certainly be judged by your headshot. Your audition begins the moment you walk into the room, but your headshot may allow or prevent you from getting into that room in the first place.

Impressive Pictures of Bearded Men

But you’re an actor, you say. You contain multitudes! How can one picture possibly capture all that you have to offer? And therein lies the great challenge of the headshot: capturing the nuances and shades of you as an actor in one convenient image.

Now that we’ve convinced you of its starring role in your career, you may have questions about this mysterious item. Let’s clear up some things. We’re here to help you navigate the world of headshots.

Your headshot is for everything, it is your calling card. It will, and should, be the cornerstone of your marketing materials: your face will literally be the face of your website, casting profiles, postcards, résumé. Your business cards and postcards should always have your headshot printed on them.

Think of your acting career as a web, and your headshot as the unifying center that ties together the various threads. It therefore serves a crucial organizational purpose. Your headshot is what will make you instantly recognizable across channels.

Branding is key for your social media and online professional presence. Many actors like to make their headshot the profile image for their Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

You’ll need both digital and hard copies of your headshot. These days, you'll mostly be submitting online. You’ll need to upload your digital headshot onto your online casting profiles; projects will not even allow you to submit unless your profile has a headshot, and the first thing casting directors see with your submission is your headshot.



Casting directors want to see a headshot that actually looks like you.

They are busy people and they want to be able to look at your headshot and immediately get a sense of how you might fit into the puzzle. They sift through hundreds to thousands of submissions for any given role, so for one thumbnail to grab their attention, well, it must be a really good thumbnail. Or say they’ve met you at a workshop; they’ll recognize you from your online submission based on the hard copy you’ve given them (or the copy printed on your business card).

Casting directors have specific ideas about the roles they have to fill. They don’t have time to ponder your myriad out-of-the-box possible characters; they will take you at face value. Even if you want to play against type, it’s important to recognize how you may initially be seen.

As actors, you know the importance of a first impression. Therefore, your headshot will determine what types of roles you get called in for. Do you play tough guys with a heart of gold, or secretly sexy nerds? Are you the kindly grandmother? The sassy teenage daughter? Especially when starting out, your headshot can determine the course of your early career.



A great headshot is not just a photo of your head. When done right, it gets you noticed and communicates honestly and instantly with casting to blast doors open for you. And one of the biggest factors in a great headshot that gets you noticed by casting vs. one that remains in the “no” pile is color scheme. Not only does a winning headshot color scheme help you get noticed and appear more interesting simply by existing in a more visually stimulating frame, but it also helps you communicate comprehensively with casting directors seeking your type.

The best way to showcase something is to surround it with its opposite color. So before choosing your wardrobe consider the color wheel. The color directly across from another is it’s opposite. Blues are opposite yellow, purples/magentas are opposite greens, reds are opposite cyan. When opposites are seen together, their conflict generates dramatic value. Sunsets are dramatic because blues are suddenly splashed with warm tones, and purples and pinks might be speckled with a green tree line. So if you ever caught yourself mesmerized, unable to look away from a sunset, imagine what smart color contrast can do for your headshot.

Below are a few tips on how to leverage and harness color to create potent marketing materials.

When a client with blue eyes wears blue, people mistakenly say the blue garment is bringing out the blue eyes. But that’s like saying white brings out white. The reality is that the warm skin tones contrasting with the blue eyes bring out the blue in the eyes. Meanwhile, the blue shirt just stays out of the way, whereas a purple shirt would add a color for the viewer’s eye to digest instead of your face.

Similarly, if you have olive skin and/or green eyes, bring some purples/magentas and greens with you to lend contrast and visual interest to the frame.

Just because color contrast creates a stimulating frame doesn’t mean the more contrast the merrier; color omission is a big part of a winning color scheme. Color carries associations for the viewer. Too many conflicting colors render an image busy, sometimes making the viewer unconsciously uneasy or detracting from their ability to take in the actor’s essence and expression.

To make sure you’re able to give your headshot’s color scheme the necessary restraint, pack some neutral tones (blacks, grays, whites/cream) for every look. Make sure you have neutral tones as key wardrobe and undershirts. This way, if you notice your background provides your headshot with the necessary color contrast, you’re able to keep reading here make the adjustment that will allow your expressions to speak.

Depending on your goal with each headshot, the hues will vary. There are exceptions, but generally, keep any theatrical shot relatively dusty and commercial/comedic shots vibrant.

Recognize the difference between hue and tone.

So far, we’ve mainly discussed color hues but there is also color tone or the brightness level of a color. And varying tones in an image is as important as varying hues. For example, consider a fair-skinned actor in a commercial shot. Since commercial shots should have a bright mood and therefore often a bright, high-key background, an actor with fair skin in a bright shirt in such a setting could come off as washed out. The image would be flat because there would be no built-in tonal-contrast: the shirt, skin, and background are all bright! Meanwhile, a darker plaid will break the image up. Despite it being a commercial shot, a darker, dustier shirt may be ideal for certain actors.

Once you’ve booked the job, wardrobe and a professional stylist will be on hand to make sure everything looks right and pops the way it’s supposed to. But when it comes to your headshot, it’s your job to come prepared with the colors, tones, hues and contrasts that work best for you and your coloring. Get it right, and you’ll be heading from casting in no time.