|
Ever wonder what makes a bad headshot bad and a good headshot good?
In this guide, we'll explore this in depth and I'll show you examples of bad headshots and good headshots, plus WHY they're good and bad. We'll wrap up with some final tips to keep in mind as you plan for your next headshot session! Note: This guide is for actors. For business/professional headshots, click here. 
Bad HeadshotsSo what makes for a bad headshot? Well, there are a number of things, and in no particular order, they are:
Remember that from your headshot alone, a casting director can tell the following:
That's why it's so important that you don't use bad headshots!
|
1 of 8: Why it's a bad headshot:
He looks uncomfortable and has a weird posture – his head is tilted at an odd angle. The background is distracting with the harsh lines on the left behind his head. Even though it has not been retouched, that's not a problem here – the biggest problem is that his expression makes him look confused and inexperienced as an actor (even if he's not). |
2 of 8: Why it's a good headshot:
This is a great commercial headshot – he's got an extremely natural, real smile, and the bright colorful background is blurred out enough that it's not distracting. It supports the friendly, approachable character he's going for. |
3 of 8: Why it's a bad headshot:
This pose is too much for an actor headshot. In general, you should stand mostly straight on towards the camera and keep your hands off your hips – at most you can put one or both hands in your pockets, but hands on hips is generally distracting. Had this shot been taken in closer, it might have worked since we wouldn't see her hand. You can also see (if you look closely) that the lower part of the background is not flat white (it's light gray) – that should have been corrected in the retouching process. |
4 of 8: Why it's a good headshot:
She's got a great smile, her clothing, lighting, and background all scream "commercial headshot," and her smile looks genuine. Compared to the previous photo, you can see that the background is a perfect, flat white. Finally, although there are some flyaway hairs, they're not a problem in this shot. Too much retouching of the hair might make it look less natural and more artificial, which could be distracting. |
5 of 8: Why it's a bad headshot:
Besides the background not being perfect white (which looks like a mistake in this case), the lighting on the girl's face is a bit dark – the image was slightly underexposed. On top of that, her expression is extremely neutral – it says nothing. She just looks blank/bored, which is a big no-no for headshots! Learn how to find your Type and capture it in headshots. |
6 of 8: Why it's a good headshot:
Everything about this shot says "character actor" – he looks like a very friendly, older gentleman who could play grandfather or professor roles. He looks very friendly and the outfit he's wearing matches his expression and overall character perfectly. The lighting is good and the background is not distracting. Some might say the scarf is distracting, but since the colors are subtle and it supports his character Types, I don't think it's a problem. |
7 of 8: Why it's a bad headshot:
This shot isn't too bad, but it has two main issues. The first is that his expression makes it look like he's "trying too hard" to look intense. It doesn't look relaxed, which is therefore considered to be distracting. Second, the shine on his forehead could have been retouched. |
8 of 8: Why it's a good headshot:
This is a great example of a strong "legit" actor headshot. Her expression looks natural and relaxed, the clothing is non-distracting, her hair is in place, and she looks very confident in herself. |
What Makes a Bad Headshot?
There are a number of things that can cause a headshot to be considered "bad:"
Want to dive deeper on what makes for bad vs. good headshots? Check out the video below:
- Fake smiles: A good photographer should never just ask you to smile. They should say something that gets you to laugh, because laughing is a much better way to capture a real smile on camera. Fake smiles always look bad to casting directors because they can tell that it's fake. A fake smile is a surefire way to make a casting director think you're bad at acting.
- Trying too hard: For serious shots, you should aim for confidence and calm. You never want to look like you're trying too hard to seem confident or intense – overly squinting your eyes, tightening your mouth, pursing your lips, or clenching your jaw – these are all things to avoid. Keep your face relaxed and give the camera a bit of an interested or slightly curious look, almost like you're wondering about something. Learn how to look confident in photos here.
- Distracting background or clothing: Having logos or wild, intense colors or patterns for your headshot background or clothing is not only distracting, but goes against what a headshot is all about. A headshot is about your face and the character Type(s) you're playing. Anything that takes away from that is working against you and should be removed from the shot. Learn what to wear in headshots here.
- Doesn't look like you: Avoid using headshots that are from 20 years ago or have been retouched so much that you don't look the same as you do in real life. Bad headshots like these will get casting directors annoyed enough to throw them out (or in a worse-case scenario, you'll be invited to the audition and when you show up looking different than in your headshot, they'll yell at you).
- Looking away from the camera: You MUST look directly at the camera for it to be considered a headshot. Casting directors don't take actors who use candids for headshots seriously.
- Extremely neutral or generic: The best actor headshots are ones that capture specific Type(s) for the actors in them, meaning if you're going for detective roles, you should try to capture that kind of "detective" look in your shot. A generic, vague "I can play anything" headshot is less likely to get you auditions. Dress like the characters you're going for and shoot on backgrounds that support those characters. Learn how to find and capture your Types in headshots here.
- Not taken professionally: You should hire a professional headshot photographer to shoot your headshots. Headshots are an extremely specific branch of photography, and asking a friend with a decent camera to take your headshot is probably not going to get you results that impress casting directors. Since they look at headshots all day, they can tell right away whether you're willing to invest in your career... or not. Learn how to easily find a good headshot photographer in your region.
Want to dive deeper on what makes for bad vs. good headshots? Check out the video below:
Enjoyed this article?
Book more work by thinking "Outside the Industry."
Knowing the difference between bad headshots and good headshots is just one part of growing your acting career.
As someone who has worked with people in thousands of industries (through my headshot business), I've been able to take growth strategies that work for businesses and apply them directly to actors – to help them grow their careers faster than most would think possible (examples: one of my clients landed his first-ever Broadway role in just 4 weeks of working with me, and a brand-new actress signed with a high-level agent in just six weeks of working with me).
I'd like to invite you to my free insider newsletter where I share my best material, including:
Download my free Actor's Toolkit to get started and you'll hear from me a few times a week with unique "outside the industry" strategies. I promise they'll help you build a career you're truly proud of.
As someone who has worked with people in thousands of industries (through my headshot business), I've been able to take growth strategies that work for businesses and apply them directly to actors – to help them grow their careers faster than most would think possible (examples: one of my clients landed his first-ever Broadway role in just 4 weeks of working with me, and a brand-new actress signed with a high-level agent in just six weeks of working with me).
I'd like to invite you to my free insider newsletter where I share my best material, including:
- How to network easily and authentically with casting directors – even if you hate self-promotion.
- How to find your Type and Brand in just 18 minutes (it doesn't require awkwardly asking lots of random people for feedback)
- How to find a hardworking and reliable agent – even if you don't have a strong resume or reel
- And much more...
Download my free Actor's Toolkit to get started and you'll hear from me a few times a week with unique "outside the industry" strategies. I promise they'll help you build a career you're truly proud of.
|
Martin Bentsen (author of this guide) is an actor marketing coach who uses “outside the industry” thinking to help actors book more work. He’s helped over 6,000 actors with their careers and actor headshots since 2009 and his photography studio City Headshots is ranked #1 on Yelp. He’s spoken at NYU, The New England Theater Conference, The Actor’s Green Room, and other venues. Want to book more acting work by thinking different? Start with his free Actor’s Toolkit to create new opportunities right away, or visit his website at www.martinbentsen.com. |
Some Additional Q&A
What Should a Good Headshot Look Like?
Good headshots for actors include the following qualities:
- Indoor vs. Outdoor: Actor headshots can be shot indoors or outdoors – it usually won't make much of a difference to casting directors. Indoor headshots are usually done with studio lighting and have either blurry backgrounds or flat backdrops (gray, white, or black are most common, but some include colored backdrops). Outdoor headshots should have the background blurred so you stand out in the frame.
- Smiling vs. Serious: Ideally you should do some of both. If you're worried that your teeth are a bit crooked or slightly yellow, it's still a good idea take some big smile shots because retouching can fix that. If you wear braces, you should still take a smiling shot because casting directors need to know (related: Acting With Braces & How to Book More Work) Smiling shots are called "commercial headshots" and are great for submissions to comedic and friendly roles, or for TV commercials. On the other hand, serious shots, which cover a range of expressions from confident to sneaky, are called "legit shots" and should be used when applying to more serious roles, such as dramatic TV shows and films.
- Specific vs. Generalized: Most actors think they should do a generalized headshot that can be submitted to a wide variety of auditions. This is a huge mistake. It's WAY more effective to shoot a few different specific Type headshots and then submit the most relevant headshot to each audition. Example: if you're submitting for a role to play a psychologist, you'd want to use a completely different headshot than if you're submitting to play a blue-collar construction worker.
- Framing: The framing of your headshot should be at least waist up, but more ideally it should be taken closer, from chest up. Further out than that would be considered a body shot which, although useful for certain things like websites and social media pages, is unlikely to be noticed by a casting director looking through hundreds of shots on their screen. Remember, they're looking at many photos at once at a very small size, and when your photo is shot closer, they can see your face better since it's so small. When they see you more clearly, they'll be more likely to click on your shot and look through the rest of your submission.
-
Horizontal vs. Vertical: In general, vertical headshots are easier to use and most casting directors prefer them. From about 2005-2012, horizontal headshots were very popular, but they've largely been fading since most online casting websites prefer vertical shots to be uploaded. Unless your outfit is not conducive to a vertical shot (meaning you can see cleavage or something else that's distracting below your neck), you should take your headshots vertically.
- Note: for the sake of this blog post, we mostly used horizontal headshots just because they worked better for the layout of the page.
- Natural vs. Studio Lighting: Some actors prefer natural light and some prefer studio light, but most casting directors don't care as long as they can see your face clearly. If the photographer uses specialized lighting to alter the shape of your face (making you thinner, for example), that's a BIG problem. Casting directors hate when actors look different in real life than they do in their headshot, so be sure to avoid that.
-
Background: The background should not be distracting. If you're shooting with real life (as opposed to a flat backdrop) in the background, make sure it's extremely blurred out so you can't tell what's behind you. The sharper the background, the less professional and more distracting your headshot will look. You should also "pop" off the background, meaning if the background is really dark, you should be wearing a lighter color (or the photographer should light you in a specific way) so that you don't blend in with the background.
- If interested, you can download my bonus resource: The Ultimate Guide to Headshot Backdrops for Actors.
- Props: Avoid props and keep your hands out of the shot, unless it's being taken from the waist up. For true actor headshots shot (chest up), your hands should never be in the shot. The only "props" you can have would be glasses if you normally wear them. Keep jewelry and anything else that's not YOU out of the shot.
- Cropping and Dimensions: Actor headshots are usually printed on 8" by 10" paper, so they should be shot with a high-resolution camera so they appear sharp when printed big. It's common to crop off the tip of the hair in actor headshots, so don't worry if your photographer does this. We'll discuss printing in more detail later.
- Color vs. Black & White: Black and white was done in the past when it was more expensive to shoot and print photos in color, but nowadays since everything is digital, color is the way to go. Casting directors hate getting black and white headshots because it's impossible to know the color of your hair or eyes.
- Should Capture Your Type: An effective headshot will tell a casting director right away how to place you. Are you good at playing detective roles? Young mothers? Business CEO roles? If your headshot is unclear or you don't know what your Types are, casting directors will be significantly less likely to call you in for the audition. Learn how to find your Type in just 10 minutes.
Further Reading:
If you enjoyed this article (Bad Headshots vs. Good Headshots), you might be interested in some of these:
Comments are closed.