3 Key Elements To a Successful Actors Headshot
Have you ever looked at your headshot and thought ‘it’s not quite right?’ but you’ve never been able to put your finger on what’s missing?
I’m going to go over the 3 key elements to a successful actors headshot so you can analyse your headshot and ensure it’s working at it’s best for you and your career.
Let’s be honest, there are lots of actors out there all pushing for the attention of the casting directors and agents. How do you ensure you are giving yourself the best shot at catching their eye?
Well, start by examining your headshot and working out it it has the 3 key elements to a successful actors headshot;
1. Connection
2. Emotion
3. Personality
The next question is how to you ensure your headshot has these qualities?
1. What is Connection
This one is quite simple, when you look at any headshot do you feel as though the person in the headshot is looking directly at you, are they connecting with you?
How many times do we look at actor’s headshots and see someone staring straight back at us or looking away from the camera? I can tell you, it is an awful lot.
In these headshots where there’s no connection between the actor and the viewer – how on earth is that headshot meant to connect with a casting director or agent?
2. Emotion
Why is emotion important in a headshot? Well, I’ve just highlighted the importance of connection and how staring eye’s have a negative affect on its success.
If the eye’s of the actor are blank and lifeless they are missing out on the huge potential for communication with the viewer.
As one of 3 key elements to a successful actors headshot, emotion has a crucial part to play in helping you stand out from the crowd, in making your headshot effective, engaging and ultimately successful.
It’s up to you and your headshot photographer to ensure your eyes in your headshot are full of emotion and depth. Not flat and lifeless.
3. Personality
You may wonder how to inject your personality into your headshot and about the what effect it will have?
Remember the no.1 complaint from casting directors; it’s when an actor walks into the audition room and doesn’t look like the headshot they submitted.
Casting directors want to see the real you, not some manufactured over-retouched fantasy image of yourself.
How do you introduce your personality into your headshot? Once again I go back to your choice of headshot photographer.
You must make sure you choose the right headshot photographer for you. Not your friend or someone in your acting class etc.
This relationship is crucial to the success of your headshot, we know first impressions count, we know those first impr
essions are formed in split seconds.
Remember you are an actor and you bring your personality to every role you take on. Think of how many actors have played Hamlet and how those actors have brought their own personality and interpretation to those words written 500 years ago.
Finally
It’s imperative you take control of your headshot session and make sure you get the most out of it. So many actors leave everything up to me saying ‘you’re the headshot photographer, what do you think I should do?’.
Every headshot sends a message, you should know the message you want to send, know your castability and make sure you give 100% to achieve that.
