Does Your Child Need Professional Headshots?

The question “Does my child need professional headshots?” is one that many parents ask when their child begins an acting career.

When we first considered pursuing acting for my daughter 11 years ago, I didn’t even know what a headshot was, much less whether she needed professional headshots! I bought a book about acting for children, and it said a couple of snapshots was all I needed to get started.

So I took my daughter outside and took some pictures of her with my instamatic camera. I’m not much of a photographer, and that was not much of a camera. And the results were NOT impressive.

Then  I sent a couple of the snapshots to two agencies that were about 3  hours away (in Atlanta, the nearest big city). I did not hear anything back from them, and I really was not sure what to do next.

So, what is the answer to that question “Does your child need professional headshots?”

The  answer really is no, but with a couple of caveats. While it is true that you can use your own snapshots to send to potential agents and managers and to put on casting sites, it is important that the photos:

• are good quality (i.e., in focus, with good lighting),
• are in color,
• look just like your child,
• are very natural (no makeup and no glamour shots),
• show your child’s personality, and
• include at least one close-up of your child’s face,

In addition to having at least one close-up, it is good to have one shot that shows  more of your child’s body shape, particularly for print, and one that is more of a personality shot to send to prospective agents or managers.

Headshots are called headshots for good reason. It is mainly a picture  of just the face or just the shoulders and face. With the shift to online casting in today’s world,  casting directors often have to select from a screen full of tiny pictures, so having a good close-up is especially important!

With digital photography, it is much easier to get some good snapshots of your child since you can view them instantly.  But if you don’t have a decent camera or if your photography skills are poor, get someone who is better at it to take some for you.

It is certainly not a bad thing to have professional headshots for your child, so if you want to have some made and are not worried about the money, go ahead. You can also use photos from a previous photography session if they were taken within the last few weeks and meet the criteria above.

Keep in mind that when you find an agent or manager for your child, they usually require that you have new headshots made by a photographer from their list of preferred photographers.  They will also want to select the headshots you will use for your child.

I’ll be discussing more on the topic of headshots and when your child needs new ones in future posts. Don’t forget to post any comments and questions you may have!

Please subscribe to my Acting Newsletter for tips on getting good headshots for your child and many other acting  topics.