The GotAuditions Academy · Acting Headshots
Acting Headshots
Your headshot is not an 8x10 on a casting director's desk. It is one thumbnail in a grid of ninety-six. Fifteen chapters on what actually gets clicked — the wardrobe, the eyes, the specs, the money, and whether you can shoot it yourself. Free.
SUBMISSION
96 thumbs
Dwell: 1 photo
96 thumbs
Dwell: 1 photo
LOOK 1
LOOK 2
SESSION
FEE
$450 – $1,200
FEE
$450 – $1,200
Crop: square
EYES: LIT
What you'll learn
What a casting director actually sees — and why a headshot is a thumbnail, not a portrait
What to wear, what reads on camera, and which "rules" are just folklore
The real cost, the real specs, and how often you actually need new ones
Whether you can shoot it yourself — and the honest verdict on AI headshots
Pairs with this tool
Coach Me
A photographer can light you. They cannot direct you. The difference between a headshot that gets clicked and one that gets scrolled past is what is happening behind your eyes — and that is acting.
Open Coach MeThe Chapters
All 15 Chapters
I
Your photo is a thumbnail in a grid. Here is what survives that.
Real Examples
→
II
Five side-by-side pairs. One variable each. Learn to see it in ten minutes.
Good vs Bad
→
III
Clothes in a headshot aren’t fashion. They’re casting information.
What To Wear
→
IV
One photographer’s article became an industry standard. Then he hedged it.
Commercial vs Theatrical
→
V
A headshot pose isn’t a pose. It’s a thought, and the camera can tell.
Poses & Eyes
→
VI
One rule decides everything: you have to be able to reproduce this face on a Tuesday.
Hair & Makeup
→
VII
A window, a friend and a bedsheet. And the honest line where DIY stops working.
Shoot It Yourself
→
VIII
The sensor is fine. The lens is wrong. All three real problems are free to fix.
The iPhone Headshot
→
IX
There is no best background colour. There is separation, and it is the only thing that matters.
Background & Light
→
X
No platform requires 300 DPI. No platform requires 4:5. Backstage’s casting-facing thumbnail is a square.
Size & Format
→
XI
The advertised price is never the bill. Here is the real one.
What It Costs
→
XII
Read the portfolio like a casting director. Then ask the four questions.
Choosing a Photographer
→
XIII
Nobody has banned them. That is not the same as them being fine.
AI Headshots
→
XIV
Remove the spot. Keep the line. The retouch that erases your age erases your bracket.
Retouching
→
XV
Almost every headshot guide was written for one body and one face. This one isn’t.
For Every Body
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