Your Headshots Should Reflect Your Actor's Type

Your Headshots Should Reflect Your Actor’s Type

4 Min Read

Actor's type.

Are you getting ready to take your headshots? No pressure, but don't blow it! Just kidding.  Before you take your headshot, you need to do a little bit of homework.

What are you going to wear?  How will you wear your hair? The answer to these and other questions will come as soon as you find your actor's type.

Headshot investment
Click here to read, "What Happens if You Can't Afford Headshots?"

Know who you are and what you are selling

You want to know who you are and who you can play and capture that in the picture. 

Headshots are used to show casting directors what you currently look like, so your makeup and hair need to be styled in a way that is naturally fitting and easy to recreate for future auditions. 

Keep in mind that this headshot will help you target the roles that you want to book so dress the part.  

Your Actor's Type is your Personal Brand

Later in the business, you will start hearing more about finding your personal brand.  Your personal brand is something special about you, something unique.

Make sure that your headshot communicates to the casting director what roles you are trying to target.  

Don't confuse this with targeting emotions

For example, if a casting director is looking for a single mom, more than likely they will look for someone that has a headshot that resembles someone that could play a single mom vs. the glamourous showgirl type. (unless the single mom is a glamorous showgirl) 

Your personal brand is a trickier thing to find but once you find it make sure to communicate this through your headshot the next time around. Be consistent on who you portray and what you project.

You look a certain way and your headshots have to reflect that 

The headshot is not just a pretty picture of you. This is a fantastic thing! You are telling the casting director how to cast you.  If the casting director only has your headshot, they need to be able to 'know' you just from the picture.

Remember, you don't need to have extreme expressions or obvious costumes.  

How to find your Actor's type

You can go to a training class that will tell you what your type is. Generally, you will get feedback from the instructor and the other students and you'll get a better idea of what your type is.  

Be prepared

Even if you know what your type is, you still want to go to the headshot session prepared with your character, don't just sit in the session in a neutral pose.

Everything should be expressed through your eyes.  Practice at home by going through a range of emotions.

Casting directors receive so many submissions per role so your job is to take a headshot that will make you stand out.  Headshots need to look like you.  Casting directors have to be able to trust that the same person in the picture is the same person that will be auditioning that day.  Misrepresenting yourself to casting directors is frowned upon.

When a casting director is looking at your headshot they need to be able to know what your age range is, if you are a middle class, blue-collar, upscale, etc.  Casting directors need to be able to visually see at a glance if you are a leading lady or a character. They need to be able to see if you would fit better as the mom, C.E.O., or business executive, etc. They also want to see your personality; are you powerful?  Are you sweet?

In commercials, you have to typecast exactly due to the short length of the spot.  For example, if you are playing a cable installer, you have to look the part, you can't send a headshot of you looking like the President of the United States.  

Be Unique

Being you is the best part of being an actor. This is rather contradictory, right?  Just because we step into other people's shoes and bring them to life doesn't mean that we have to lose ourselves.  If anything, we must draw from ourselves to be able to make another character three-dimensional.  What makes US is our originality, our creativity, and our uniqueness.

I have found that the things I am more self-conscious of are the things casting directors hire me for.  Do you have a unique laugh or look?  Use that instead of hiding it!

Thanks for reading and break a leg!

Thanks for reading!

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