Headshots

<p>Horizontal is just as much of a "norm" now - check out the CMU Class of 2007 for some examples of horizontal shots:</p>

<p><a href="http://www.cmushowcase.com/theactors/index.htm%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.cmushowcase.com/theactors/index.htm&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

<p>I chose color because I felt the shot I liked looked much better in color. The black and white version of the same frame looked dead. </p>

<p>My jazz teacher from CAP21's P-C program last summer said that color is quickly becoming standard for the theatre world, and she recommended it for people with unusual or beautiful hair/eye color.</p>

<p>-mikksmom's D</p>

<p>Coach C-</p>

<p>Vey different headshots at CMU...quite a few outdoor shots. I really liked them. Very modern!</p>

<p>CoachC, thanks for sharing that link. I always enjoy looking at the CMU kids' bios and headshots. CMU does an excellent job (and I know that it's intentional) in assembling such a diverse class. They should be congratulated for that, as well as for the excellent training that they provide.</p>

<p>For years my daughter had black and white. She got new headshots this past December and color appears to be the new industry standard and so she got color headshots this time. One is vertical, smiling, outdoors. One is horizontal, not smiling, indoors.</p>

<p>Check <a href="http://www.reproductions.com%5B/url%5D"&gt;www.reproductions.com&lt;/a> for a list of quality photographers. You can access their websites and see their work. The website was recommended to me by a professor at CMU, and it's well known in the industry.</p>

<p>Reproductions is actually a great place to get the copies made and where we have had the copies done for years.</p>

<p>My son has used Reproductions in LA for copies.
:D</p>

<p>My D just had her new headshots done as well and went with color. One horizontal, not smiling and one vertical, smiling.</p>

<p>Color is much cheaper now, so it is affordable. It also pops more than B&W. I seriously doubt any director will care a whole lot if it's not in B&W, but there may be a few curmudgeons out there who will. If so, don't work with them. That kind of devotion to the old ways doesn't bode well.</p>

<p>My own resume is a professional one and it's aimed at both the theater and on-camera markets (I still do a bit of on-camera work for fun, and very occasionally do a semi-pro show locally). So, my resume is a cross-over, but I really like it because it has my straightforward head shot on the front and six, small shots on the back doing characters. I print on the back as needed, allowing me to constantly update and allowing people to keep the resume on file without having the headshot and credits become detached.</p>

<p>My name and the logo and number of my agent are printed on a white strip at the bottom of the front of my resume. All other information is printed on the back.</p>

<p>My experience with directors is that note-taking is usually done on the audition sheet that one fills out at the audition, or that has been sent ahead by an agent. A stage manager generally attaches that sheet to the resume, often with a snapshot taken on-site. </p>

<p>I can't fit all my credits onto the back of the resume, and I don't try. I title them "representative credits" and make it clear that a full resume is available upon request. No one has ever requested one.</p>

<p>I can't say what's best for college auditions. I have no idea. But I thought I'd add this information in case anyone finds it useful.</p>

<p>My only request is that the headshot look like you. You'd be amazed how many don't--strange angles, entirely different hair color or cut, too much makeup, whatever. When you're trying to put together a class, it's a distraction. The headshot should look like you.</p>

<p>That is one of the comments that my daughter hears alot - that her headshot looks just like her and so many don't. At her audition at OU, someone in the faculty she'd never met came up to her and called her by name. He asked her if she wondered how he knew her name, and he told her it was because she looked just like her headshot, which they really liked to see. My daughter had her headshots redone in color this fall. The photographer told us that way you can always print them in black and white if needed.</p>