A mother contacted me for her and her two teenage daughters to get professional acting, theatrical headshots. They were preparing for casting calls in West Chester, PA, another in Wilmington, DE, and several big ones in Philadelphia.
I told her one set of headshots would work for all acting, theatrical, and modeling casting calls. My headshots are tailored to get them a casting call interview or appointment. At the casting call and afterwards, the rest is up to them.
I told them for casting calls there can be as many as thousands of submittals. If their headshots are not Top 1% Headshots, the chances of getting an interview call or appointment are slim.
My Top 1% Acting-Theatrical Headshots will set them ahead of the pack, and put them in the “must call first” pile. This works for especially for West Chester PA, Wilmington DE, or Philadelphia PA as all casting calls are basically the same.
Why Top 1% Headshots? Because my Top 1% Headshot use years of experience, and the most recent findings of psychology, to create positive first impressions that they are the answer the casting director needs.
After looking at my Top 1% Headshot samples, they asked for a few instructions on how to prepare and what to wear. Then they booked an appointment. In this case I shot all three on the same day.
What I advise for women is:
a) Natural makeup – the less visible the better. Go light on eye liner, if at all. The casting director wants to see the “real” you. They have lots of experience with makeup and prefer a blank pallet to work with. Use oils and creams, rather than powder. [Heavy makeup is usually for theater and TV, but for a casting call, they want to see you as you are. If you do get a casting call, they may ask you to go wash your face so they can see the base.]
b) No fancy hair styles, but something you can maintain yourself (you may have to wear the same style on a casting call because that is what is in your headshot).
c) I recommended they each bring 3-5 clothing looks.
a. Clothes, simple, no patterns, with covered shoulders. Best are basic colors that go well with the skin and hair color. Be sure to include white and light blue if possible. Textures can work well. You are not selling clothes but yourself as approachable, competent and trustworthy to be the answer the casting director needs.
b. If you need new clothes, you can do what fashion designers do: go to the store and then return them in original packaging after the shoot.
c. Look at my website samples for some ideas.
d) Jewelry: keep it simple. Stud earrings are fine. No heavy necklaces. [They tend to add weight and distract the eyes from the face.]
e) Lipstick: wear glossy not flat. In a picture, the flat lipstick takes away the fulness of your lips and makes your face one-dimensional. Lighter colors are better than darker to keep that natural look.
f) Physical: 3-5 days in advance of the shoot date, get more than usual sleep, and extra hydration. Both of these will make your skin look more healthy and lustrous. Likewise avoid alcohol as it tends to dry out the skin.
g) Bring their full hair and makeup kit for touch-ups as needed.
h) I will coach them to great expressions, and they will have a great time in our session.
They all came together and we had a great time. The mom acted as the primary hair artist. They loved the final images and were ready to get the 8x10 prints, and to post their images on their websites and social media.
Delivery: For acting-theatrical headshots I usually deliver online their images after final photofinishing, each in several formats.
a. The original, 2x3 as shot, in hi-resolution JPEG.
b. 8x10 ready for printing in hi-resolution TGIF format
c. 2x3 in web resolution JPEG for social media and business cards
d. Square in web resolution JPEG for social media
Also when asked, I will send a poster sized file for marketing the show.
I also gave them some printer recommendations. I recommend they get their name printed on the bottom corner of the headshot in small letters so as to not distract from the image. And on the back their acting-theatrical resume’ and contact information.
They were all excited, we had a great time, and they loved their images.
Is there a difference between acting and theatrical headshots?
Usually no, but sometimes their agent wants specific kinds of images for their portfolio and we work together to create them.