Are you looking to book a commercial, applying to be on a TV show, or staring in community theatre? You may want a professional headshot.

What does it really matter? Well, a couple of things. The most obvious is that during auditions the directors see so many applicants that they need a decent image to remember who you are and if they liked you. Another reason is that the level of professionalism in your headshot may reflect how serious you are about acting? Is this something that you just thought you might try out or is this something that means a lot to you and you really want? A professional headshot says this is important to me and I value this experience. Whereas a selfie at home in front of a white wall might say, I’ll just see what happens.

So what should you do for your actor headshots? I would say take this opportunity to be a blank slate. You want to show that you can fill many different roles. That means don’t overdo the makeup. There may be cases where women want a few portraits without makeup at all. Then go for different feelings. We can create a light and airy headshot that creates positive feelings. Then also create a headshot on a dark background and more shadow that shows drama and intensity. Creating multiple headshots and choosing which one to show for different roles may be best. As well as showing all of them for diversity.

Most of all friends don’t let friends show up in the playbill looking like a mug shot. If your image is going to be published publicly make it something you are proud of.