It’s been an open debate since the beginning: do headshots give you any sort of advantage in the casting room? We know a thing or two about the industry, and our answer starts off with a big fat YES. When it comes down to what’s most important, it’s about making an investment in yourself. This is your career we’re talking about! Our friends at Backstage compiled a list of tips for better headshots. CLICK HERE to check it out.  Here are some of our favorite points from the article:

Go pro. It’s worth it. Go to a professional who is trained, understands lighting, and takes headshots for a living – not some friend who happens to have a decent camera who “sorta knows a little about photography.” Save those pictures for Instagram, and leave the headshots to the pros. Good headshots range from $400-$1200, and to get them professionally duplicated (not at CVS) will cost you another $100. Anything less is just a glorified passport photo. If the headshots look cheap, they probably are. And you look like you don’t care about your career. INVEST IN YOURSELF.

Find a photographer that gets you. You have to vibe with the photographer, and that person has to make you feel very comfortable, as you will hopefully be using these headshots for a couple of years and sending it to everyone in town. Research photographers online, go to Reproductions and look through their portfolio books, ask for a consultation, get a feel for how they photograph your type, your ethnicity, your gender, etc.

And most importantly, don’t cut corners.