The Basics of the Headshot

by | Dec 17, 2013 | Arts And Entertainment

If you are new to the entertainment business or you are considering becoming a part of it, you will definitely need to get a headshot. Headshots in LA are like business cards to actors and other entertainment professionals and are a must have if you have any hope of acting. Essentially, headshots in LA are 8 x 10 photographs of your head, face and possibly shoulders. These shots will be used by casting directors and others to see if you have the look they need for upcoming work. In order to get the best jobs in the city, you will definitely need to have the best headshots.

Why You Need a Headshot
You may be questioning why you need a good headshot in the first place. If they are only looking at your photograph, any one should do, right? Wrong. Essentially, when a casting director is casting for any part, they will get hundreds of headshots for these parts. They will have all the headshots in a pile, perhaps, and flip through them quickly. The key is to have your headshot noticed by the casting director. In order to do this, it needs to be eye catching and dynamic. You simply won’t get this from any old photograph.

Your Headshot Must Look Like You
There is no doubt a lot of technology that can be used to enhance and even change a person’s looks. However, this won’t fly with a headshot. Though minor editing will be used during the process, you should certainly not expect any serious head shot photographer to use a program like Photoshop or other editing programs to make you look better than you do naturally. Save these shots for the magazines.

Your Headshot Must Look Professional
Finally, you will need to make sure that your headshot looks extremely professional as well. There is really no room for you to sacrifice the quality of your headshot for price. Casting directors will look at hundreds of headshots each day, at times, and they will very quickly be able to tell the professional headshots from the amateur ones. You definitely will not want that label placed on you as odds are, you won’t get called in for more work. Yes, a headshot is that important when you are in LA.

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