Working from my central London studio I am a photographer specialising in publicity photos, from actor’s spotlight photos or actors headshots as known in the entertainment industry to Dancers Portfolios & Headshots, Singers, Bands & Musicians Cover Albums, Classically Trained Musicians Publicity Photos, Opera Singers Headshots, Presenters and Models Headshots.

Spotlight casting photos are a specialised field & actors will find a great choice of actors publicity photographers in London. Actors spotlight photos must be natural & draw in agents or casting directors at a glance. Having studied drama in London I have a clear understanding of good publicity headshots & how to achieve them. As an established publicity photographer in London I hope you enjoy viewing my portfolio, listing shoots from Marry Poppins at the Prince Edward theatre in London to TV actors alike.

For new models a publicity portfolio is important, established models will have a range of style from different photographers shoots over time, but getting noticed requires a good natural headshot for castings & sending to agents, most castings being in London. Z cards are often used to promote models and dancers in the musical or entertainment industry, z cards are A5 cards with several photos to include a good headshot. Actor’s spotlight headshots where traditionally printed in black & white but now a trend is emerging to include colour 10 x 8’s.

Artists that have an agent can still find there own auditions and castings, information of castings and auditions can be found from various sources, simply joining the actors centre in London Covent Gardens can help network & be around like minded people. Many dancers, singers, actors, musicians and models will find auditions in the stage, the website for the entertainment industry, there are also many online websites which actors, singers, dancers & models can find work, such as shooting people or the acting website, or the stage online listing not only castings & auditions but flexible jobs. Castingcall pro, is another though mainly for actors & actresses. May I also suggest PCR a great place to find commercials, television and theatre work even student films?

If entertainment is your chosen profession it is advisable to join one of the associated unions such as Equity or The International Federation of Actors.

Drama classes & training are all part of the actors journey and a good place to start is
The Conference of Drama Schools, listing twenty two leading drama schools, these are mostly full time for young students but there are many drama classes & schools for mature students wishing to tread the boards, such as the City Lit in London Covent Garden.

There is no great secret to good casting photos. Your actor’s portrait must look like you at your best. However this isn’t as simple as it sounds. To help you on your way to great publicity headshots I have highlighted a few simple tips.

Whichever photographer you choose for your casting or publicity headshot some elements will remain the same.

First of all, drinking a lot of alcohol and staying up late the night before your photo shoot doesn’t help. You’ll end up looking drawn with bags under your eyes. While Photoshop can help edit photos, being tired and hung over will also affect your focus during the shoot, so I suggest you avoid alcohol and drink lots of water a day or too before the photo shoot. Don’t forget to moisturise your skin and only wear very light make up to achieve a natural look.

Good lighting is imperative to a casting headshot, with no hard shadows, your eyes must be well lit and in focus. I am a fan of natural light & contrary to popular belief very bright days are not best for actors’ portraits. Diffused natural light i.e. sun through clouds often produces fantastic punchy results for a spotlight headshot, but whatever quality of light the photographer uses it must be controlled.

The colour of your hair, skin or clothing should not blend into the background. You will see many bad examples of publicity headshots in spotlight like this.
For example, a black top against a black background looks like a floating head, what happened to the body one would think, the same applies for white against white etc. plain colours are best. Any experienced publicity photographer in spotlight should advise you on this.

Stripes or flowery patterns draw the attention away from your face and eyes and are best left at home on curtains and sofas, Cream or dark blue colours are easier to photograph than black or white which can be more technically challenging for a clear spotlight headshot, depending on the light or the experience of the photographer. Always bring a selection of clothes on the day, once again a good headshot photographer should advise you.

Superficial styling, such as men shaving halfway through the shoot or women wearing hair differently can create different looks, but going beyond this is when it gets interesting. A headshot photographer must focus on your eyes; a variety of looks from strong to vulnerable can all be achieved depending on your thoughts & how you feel in the moment. You can take this further by either projecting a thought or being open and letting the camera in. The important thing is you feel and think something as the moment is captured on film.

Choosing your photos from the contact sheet is equally important. Most actors will choose photographs that make them look younger, prettier or more handsome but it’s the interesting headshot that will get you into a casting. So don’t ask your friends or your mother to help you chose your headshots, only ask advice from others in the business, especially casting directors and agents.

When choosing your Spotlight photographs, it’s worth knowing the online directory will allow any number of photos in addition to your principal photograph. Make sure you chose a photographer who helps you maximise your chances of getting varied roles, and pick photos that reflect really different personalities and looks.

When it comes to your 10x8” headshot, I suggest gloss for the depth and no borders for impact. Colour photographs are becoming more widely used for actors’ headshots although black and white is still the norm. Presenters and dancers headshots are now usually in colour with the style allowing a little more flamboyance than actors casting shots.

If you are intending to send your headshots by email, make sure you only send a low resolution version, the last thing you wan to do is annoy casting directors and agents by crashing their inbox when sending your headshots. Don’t ever underestimate how important getting a great casting headshot is, so do your homework before choosing a photographer. Go beyond personal recommendations, look at the photographers website and see if their work is consistent. You can also go into the Spotlight office in London and look at photographers’ portfolios. There are a lot of spotlight photographers in London, I really recommend calling and making sure you can establish rapport with the photographer so you can get the best headshots on the day.
And finally, enjoy the shoot!

Please note I do cover all of the U.K. when required but for local work the postcodes for the boroughs above are NW8, NW1, W2, W9, NW6, NW3, NW2, NW5, N7, N1, WC1, WC2, W1, W2, W9, W10, W11, W8, W14 EC1, EC2, EC3, EC4, SW1, SW3, SW6, SW7. I often get a call out of the blue and am asked to get to a location quickly; any of these postcodes are no more than 25 minutes away.

NW8

SW1

SW3

SW5

SW6

SW7

WC1

WC2

EC1

W1

W2

W8

WC2 takes in the areas of: HOLBORN - THE STRAND - ALDWYCH - COVENT GARDEN
surrounding postcodes: WC1 W1 SW1 SE1 EC1 EC4
Stations in WC2: Charing Cross, Covent Garden, Embankment, Holborn, Leicester Square, Temple, Tottenham Court Road