It’s no secret that one of the most important tools actors can and should have are headshots. They should accompany your acting resume anywhere you go and whenever you are meeting an industry professional. Fortunately, there are enough opportunities to get actor headshots in London if you’re currently looking for one, just make sure that you are paying for quality.
Actor Headshots in London
The industry that we are in are very much looks-obsessed, and unfortunately there is no way around it. In turn this means that the very first thing agents and casting directors are interested in is the way you look. Acting headshots in as the single best way to showcase your looks and your type, of which we talk about in How to Know What Type of Actor Are You. A trained eye can also spot whether the person in the headshot is an amateur actor or someone who’s been in the business for quite a while, which sometimes might turn out to be a deciding factor. More on this in our free Acting in London handbook.
Getting the Best Out of Actor Headshots in London
It’s crucial that you get great headshots as soon as possible in the beginning of your acting career. If you’re in the biggest city in the UK, then you are in luck — there is a significant amount of professional photographers ready to deliver the most perfect actor headshots in London you have seen. And while it does come with a cost, this is the one investment in your career that you cannot neglect.
Acting headshots are not portraits, they’re not school photos and they’re definitely not snapshots with expensive camera. When looking for headshots photographers, try to find individuals — not companies — that are working specifically with actors. These are the only headshot photographers that know what they are doing; you’ll be surprised how many trained photographers believe that they can deliver great headshots but fall significantly short.
Since we’re not doing any promotions on Acting in London, we are very hesitant towards naming names of photographers you should go to. Try to do some of your own research and here is what you should pay attention to: price, previous work, clientele, experience and how many photography fields does the professional work in (the less, the better).
Acting headshots in London is something that could be found and one pretty quickly using online search. The difficult part is connecting with the photographer. We recommend first talking with the person you’re about to work with — discuss your needs, listen to their suggestions, talk about your type and marketability. You have to make sure that your photographer is one the same page with you and understands your goals. An acting headshot is a lot about capturing your personality and charisma just from that one still photograph, and this requires some true skills from the photographer and yourself.
Sometimes it can help when you learn that the photographer has been an actor himself/herself. This will usually mean they know what casting directors and agents are looking for and try to recreate that for you. Alternatively, your photographer could be involved in the acting business in any other way: connections or constant stream of work — it’s always great to know more people from within the industry.
Do not forget to discuss the end result of your photo shoot. Make sure you know what type of acting headshots you want — color (US standard) or black&white (UK standard), and what does the photographer offer. Usually, they will offer 3-5 edited looks and some prints. Those prints are good for you to just take a look, but it won’t be enough — if you’re doing mailings, like we discussed in Acting Auditions in London, then you’ll need to make a lot of copies.
During photoshoot, keep talking with the photographer, discussing your looks and trying to connect — this project is about both of you. There is nothing worse than just sitting or standing in front of the camera and getting snapped by a photographer who doesn’t take the time to get to know their subject. This is why I stressed the importance of picking a photographer of actor headshots in London that you can talk to in advance and have a nice chat. You both must relate.
There’s a lot more advice on how to get the best acting headshot or find the best photographer of actor headshots in London coming up. It’s a broad subject and a very important part in the beginning of your career, and you have to take time to learn all of this. The knowledge spend time to acquire now will save you time and money later on.
