Hello, everyone. I recently got some new headshots taken and am having a lot of trouble choosing one or two! Any help at all would be appreciated. I've uploaded them here. They're not retouched, so take that into consideration.

Oh, and in case this helps, I'm eighteen and the type I generally play is smart, innocent/ garrulous girls.

Thanks in advance for any help!

I think I recognize you from the musicaltheatreaudition website...

Anyways, I would not use 5,7 or 13...Just because for some reason, those didn't grab me.

My favorites though are:

Commercially: 1, 9 or 6 (It seems a little blurry, could be the computer or size of picture, but if it is, don't use it).

Theatrically: 1, 12

You are so pretty, but some of these headshots (especially the white ones) just don't show this!!

Hey, Unknown*Actress- yeah, I'm a member of MTA.com! I didn't know other people from there came here, as well. How cool!

Anyway, thanks for the feedback. I'm not a huge fan of the white ones, either. I know a few of them are blurry- I enlarged them on my computer, as they were only thumbnails before!

Thanks a lot for your help!

I'm not crazy about these, to be honest. I don't think they are strong enough. But if I had to choose, I'd pick from among the jeans jacket ones. Even with those, I'm kind of torn. I like the sweetness that comes through on your face, but the eyes just don't seem to "pop" enough.

Hey TheatreLvr08! #9 is the one that really grabbed me. I thought that one had the most personality, and in my opinion had that "fire in your eyes" quality that makes people want to meet you in order to find out what makes you tick... if that makes sense.

#9 seems to show the most personality! Let us know what you eventually choose!

#9 but, crop the shoulders out.

I hope you didn't spend a lot of money on these as these shots are no match to your competition out there. They're blurry and look like high school yearbook type photos. I'm sorry but no one will take you seriously as a performer. You should invest in some headshots by a professional photographer in your price range. Ask other actors with professional headshots to refer someone to you. Also, really figure out your type and try to convey that in your photo. You're more likely to play character type roles.

LANYCjmd:

No, I didn't spend that much money on them, as I do not plan to have these pictures for long- I'm in a transition with my hair (I just started to grow my bangs out and it's shorter than usual). Plus, I'm looking for a new agent, so I didn't want to spend thousands of dollars on new pictures when they might request me to get new ones.

They're blurry because I enlarged the thumbnails- the thumbnails are quite clear, but I didn't think you guys wanted to be tilting your heads back and forth to look at the micro-mini versions.

I'm not trying to be confrontational, but what type do I convey in my pictures? I know I'm more likely to play character types (in my OP, I wrote that I usually play the smart, talkative girl... not usually the lead, though I have had a few).

I do appreciate everyone's comments and feedback. Thank you.

Ok well that's good. But I wouldn't worry too much about the transition of your hair. As long as the length and color isn't going to change drastically that much, bangs is just a slight change in style. Don't get caught up with those little things.

I'm just afraid you won't get enough interest from an agent if you don't have at least one good shot that shows you can pop on camera. So many actors submit their head shots to agents so you have to put your best forward. Not go in with the defeatist attitude that they would sign you on and just change your photos anyway. No one will call you in for a meeting if they don't think you're professional or that your photo pops of course along with resume experience. You're young so that helps but again, competition is tough out there. You've got to shine always! Trust me I've been through this many times with other friends and when I worked as a casting director's assistant for a year and learned the most amazing things from hands on training. If I had to pick one, it would be 9, but that is like saying that's the least worst one. And if you put that shot online at actors access or a casting network, it's a horizontal shot and it will be cropped weird by the program that posts photos online. That's why most agents frown upon horizontal shots as it doesn't crop well online.So if you go with that one, make sure to use a good person who can crop with out degrading the quality of the photo too much.

Regarding the type you convey in the shots, to me (and this is just my personal opinion) they don't convey character funny and or confident girl that can be talkative or take over the room. They convey shy and that you're very uncomfortable in getting your shot taken.

Good luck with everything and I hope this helps. Just remember confidence can sell a long way!

Thank you, it dos help

I agree about the complications of 9 being a horizontal shot. I will have to talk to the photographer about the idea of cropping...

Oh, I just thought of a question I had, and this is seriously just an inquiry, I'm not trying to be a jerk or anything- is the headshot supposed to show YOU, or the characters you usually play? Because though I DO normally play the confiden, talkative girl, I personally am very shy.

I've always heard that a headshot is supposed to show who you really are, on your best day.

However, you should know your type as well.

I think, as long as you look and behave like yourself, the type will fit in, don't try to dress or act differently for your headshots.

Hope that helps!

quote:

Originally posted by LANYCjmd:
I hope you didn't spend a lot of money on these as these shots are no match to your competition out there. They're blurry and look like high school yearbook type photos. I'm sorry but no one will take you seriously as a performer. You should invest in some headshots by a professional photographer in your price range. Ask other actors with professional headshots to refer someone to you. Also, really figure out your type and try to convey that in your photo. You're more likely to play character type roles.

Ditto- wholeheartedly...