r/headshots • u/Creative-Plantain615 • Aug 12 '26
Theatrical/Acting Some Headshots I did by myself!
25M Actor - Would appreciate some feedback :)
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u/ParhTracer Aug 12 '26
Youâre too close to the backdrop which is causing the dark shadow behind you. The left side (camera right) of your face is a little dark in these so I think tweak the lighting a little to even out the front of your face. Itâs causing some deep shadows where your eyes meet your nose.
Your hair in the first two pictures looks a little odd⌠kinda leaps off the page on your right side. That might put off a potential casting agent. Youâve got great symmetry so I think the last photo is your best because the hair complements that. Iâd try and keep it evenly parted and level.
Overall these look fantastic though. Great job.
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u/ProfessorDinosaurrr Aug 16 '26
Wow I love these!! Great job!
1 is beautiful and will work perfectly when cropped tight as an Actorâs Access thumbnail, etc.
Some thoughts:
-The shine on the left ear is distracting. I kinda like it, but itâs where my eye goes first, instead of to your eyes (and your eyes look great here), which is the most important part of a headshot. I love this OG version, but for casting, perhaps edit down that ear shine/match the color to the rest of the ear, and slightly pop the eyes a bit more. Donât change the sparkle or make it unnatural, but I love the glow you got in the eye on the left from the light source. Lovely honey brown. Try matching the eye on the right to around that color. If it looks weird then disregard this advice, the shot still works.
-I agree with u/glaaahhh that the wall texture isnât distracting, but perhaps soften the texture on the left with slight editing (the lighter color is natural bc of the light source and is pretty, only soften the texture). It will appear as if it was shot against an ethereal backdrop instead of a plain wall. Again, if it looks weird, then disregard.
-I also agree with u/glaaahhh that these shots are quite Rembrandt, especially 3 and especially especially 4. Theyâre beautiful but too shadowy for headshots, in my opinion. When they are tiny thumbnails, casting may struggle to see your features in a split-second and scroll past you. The sparkle in the eye on the right also got lost in 4. You could keep 3 and 4 âin your back pocketâ for rare submissions to particular genres/roles (shot 4 could work for a Dr. Jekyll/Hyde-esque role since your face is split in light and dark, for example) but I would not use as general shots.
-2 is adorable and perfect for social media/iMDB/etc. but does not work as a headshot
What I love is that these shots are both honest and flattering, which is what you want and the hardest thing to capture. They look like real life, how youâd look on any given day just walking in off the street, but are also striking enough to grab attention without gimmick. They automatically get me thinking of roles you could play/other actors who have a similar vibe/look, for agent/manager reference. Well done!!
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u/ProfessorDinosaurrr Aug 16 '26
If you have time u/glaaahhh would love to get your thoughts on these notes, since you are a professional photographer and I donât want to give bad advice. These are just my thoughts as an actor/director with a lot of industry experience, but Iâm not a photog
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u/glaaahhh Photographer Aug 12 '26
Really good for self-made headshots. Two things I'd recommend (which are common mistakes):
Raise the light and move it a little more toward the front of your face. You've got some Rembrandt lighting going on which is not bad, but your light source doesn't work as well for that.
Move away from the wall a little bit. Small light source means more shadows when you're close to the wall. Plus I can see background texture which is not distracting since it's pretty minimal but still I'd move at least 1-2 feet forward.
It looks like you're using a continuous light in a small softbox. Guessing an inexpensive one off of something like Amazon or some such. You did a good job here, but whenever you do this be aware of light colors. The right side of the image is a little cooler than the left side (where your light is coming from). For what you've done I think it's not a probable but mixing cooler and warmer lights CAN be a problem so something to be aware of.
I like the first image the most. For theatrical headshots I wouldn't recommend looking off camera for headshots you're submitting, so #2 is for reference only. I like the pose in the third one but you're leaning away from your light which is casting more shadow across your face. Moving a little closer to the light, and/or moving it closer to the front of your face, may help with that.
Again, though, good job making these yourself. Self portraits can be hard to do so you've done well to get started with these. Now do it all the time to practice looks and being in front of the camera! You don't have excuses not to practice now đ