#ifikieActors
There may not be a 100% definition of what professional pictures are, but I do know 100% what professional pictures are not supposed to be when applying for an audition.
They should not be:
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photo-shopped
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Pictures of you at a party/gym/bar unless you are applying for a magazine shoot or something of the sort
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do not take a screenshot of a project you were in or a Screen shot of your Instagram account or a screenshot of anything for that matter.
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a picture of you at the park, picnic or whatever event
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Pictures of you driving or behind the wheel? (you want us to know you own a car, no one really cares about that)
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Pictures of you in a group (this one really gets to me because how the hell am i supposed to know which one you are in a group photo. Hii nayo ni commonsense surely) its even worse if your friends are hotter than you....awkward!
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Pictures of you in a bar or holding liquor.
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SELFIES (trying really hard not to curse about this one but i will either way..Dafuq).
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Pictures in your sexy lingerie (unless this was specifically asked for, no one really wants to see how hot of a body you have (or do not have)) or what color your bra is.
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Picture of you wearing a hat or shades because you think you'll look cooler. Just do not cover your face with anything even if you have a scar. Do not hide it. That scar could be your unique selling point. Do not even hold your chin? What kind of shady pose is that anyway.
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Picture taken by a phone!!! This is debatable because i am very well aware that there are phones whose pixels and resolution are really good...but i do not believe they'll ever beat pictures taken by a professional photographer.
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do not show me how good of a poser you are by bending over (ladies, its not your bum that will act), touching the wall, squatting, lying on the floor..sigh why?.
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Wear clothes damn it (aki models). Men, we do not want to see your bare chest however chiseled you may be. We can also see the same when you wear a shirt. Women, this is not about to be a sexting session. PUT ON CLOTHES!!
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Do not pose with "finger signs". Sijui peace sign.Sijui "gota sign"
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Do not wear football or sports jersey..I am a man utd fan. If you send in a picture wearing an arsenal jersey..I am not saying I will not select you but I just might not..so why risk it? My point is, do not wear clothes that obviously shows an affiliation to something.
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Pictures of you holding an instrument. Guitar or the likes because you want to look "artsy"..meh...unless you are auditioning for a musician character of the sort..otherwise....meh!
In short, when asked for professional pictures, it is wiser to not send any and let that opportunity pass you by because you'll still lose the opportunity either way with a bad picture...or quickly walk into a photo-studio and get your professional pictures done!
When doing casting and someone asks for professional pictures to send, we want to clearly see your face so we can know where to place you or which role you might fit in.
The background and clarity of your picture, if too busy, is distracting. Look straight into the camera. FACE THE CAMERA.
Have a picture of your head( from head to the shoulders at-least) what we refer to as a headshot...and one full picture so we can see how tall or short you are, big or small,..basically your physique.
Wear simple clothes. Save your ball room red carpet clothes for exactly that (again, it is distracting). Dress decently. Put on plain colors if you will. Remember, the pictures are to sell you and not how well you can dress...again, this is also debatable because in some roles we may want to see you close to the character as possible but it beats purpose when for example you are applying for a lawyer role and you are dressed in makanga clothes. So, dress the part or play it safe and dress in simple wear.
A professional picture, preferably, taken against a plain background (not on your bed or kitchen table or village kiosk).
Attach it in jpeg or png format. I said attach so i can download it on my end. Do not copy and paste it in the email body because when I try to save that, it might get saved as an html file which forces me to then take a screenshot of your email so i can crop it out and get your picture!A lot of work, i wont do that.
Remember, when a casting call is put out, 100s of people apply and we only probably need 10 or 20. So we must reject a lot of people. Alot! Do not make it easy for them to reject you...let it be you got rejected because you dint fit a role. Because truth is, even if you might have that professional picture,you perhaps you just dont fit what we are looking for...but don't reject yourself because you dint have the right tools for the job. With good professional pictures, even if you do not get that role, your picture might get saved for another role in the future. No one will save a bad picture of you. You might be a good actor, but in this day and age where you'll be asked to submit pictures of you, your talent might get lost in an email somewhere.
INVEST IN GOOD PICTURES OF YOU.
Want another reason why we end up seeing the same actors? They know all these things. They have their shit together. They have their marketing tools right. You too should.
Lets talk about what we mean when we say "Goodlooking" in another post shall we? because uwee...everyone thinks they are goodlooking lol.
end of rant
~ Gerald Langiri ~ @Gerald Langiri Casting Director May 18th, 2018 Facebook Post