Actor Headshots

Headshots work best when they’re clear, specific, and actually look like you.

Whether we’re shooting in the studio or out in the streets around New York City, the goal stays the same: images that read quickly, feel honest, and help casting understand you in the first few seconds. Especially at thumbnail size, because that’s where most decisions start.

If you’re updating after some time away, starting fresh, or feeling like your current shots aren’t doing the job anymore, this page will give you a sense of how I approach actor headshots and what working together looks like.

How the session works

1. Strategy

After you book, we start with a short strategy session. We look at the roles you’re closest to booking and plan around four or five looks that support those worlds before shoot day.

2. The shoot

A relaxed 90-minute session focused on connection, character, and castability, with time to review the shots together as we go.

3. Selection

After the shoot, we go through the images together. You pick your favorites, I pick mine, and I’ll often do a little tweaking to the ones I’m excited about just because I can’t help myself. From there, we either send a small group to your reps for final decisions, or you and I can make the call together.

How I shoot

Your headshot and your reel are two of the few parts of this career you actually get to control. So before we ever step into the studio or meet up on the street, we talk. We look at where you’re working, what you’re being called in for (or would like to be), and what feels unclear or missing in your current materials. Then we make a plan.

The goal is to arrive with a clear starting point. Not to lock anything in too tightly, but to know what we’re aiming for before we begin. We can still improvise. We can still mix and match wardrobe. But it helps to start with intention.

I approach these sessions like a casting director, a director, and a marketer all at once. We’re creating images that communicate clearly who you are and the worlds you belong in.

Plan to use the full 90 minutes. Once we have the looks we came in for, we often explore a few more. If the wardrobe supports it and the time allows, we shoot it. If you don’t shoot it, you can’t use it. And since I give you everything in high resolution, you’ll have a lot of options to work with.

People often tell me I’m a strong director and coach in session, which probably makes sense because I’m still a working actor myself. Sometimes I’ll talk in terms of intention and storytelling. Other times I’ll be plain and technical and show you what’s reading to the camera and what isn’t.

All through the shoot, we pause and look at what we’re getting. That collaboration matters. It helps us adjust in real time and make smarter choices as we go. And if it’s helpful, we can even send a shot or two to your reps during the session so everybody’s on the same page.

By the end, you’ll have images that feel honest, useful, and current. Shots that look like you now and give casting a clear read without trying too hard.

Where I shoot

Most individual sessions happen around Sunnyside and Astoria, Queens (New York City for those out of towers on here). I love shooting outdoors in natural light and found locations. The streets, walls, and shifting light add atmosphere without competing for attention.

But when the weather doesn’t cooperate, or you just wanna be indoors, we can work in a studio (and still use the natural light). Both approaches work well. The choice usually comes down to timing, comfort, and what best serves the images we’re trying to make. We can figure that out together.

Wherever we shoot, the environment supports the shot and the story. The focus always stays on you.

It’s about the thumbnail

Casting doesn’t meet your headshot full size anymore.

They meet it small.

For online submissions, which is most of them these days, decisions start with a quick scan of thumbnails. If the image reads clearly and you fit what they’re casting, they click and look deeper into your materials. If it doesn’t, they keep scrolling. That means color, contrast, movement, and connection matter. The best thumbnails feel alive. You get a sense of the person before you know anything else about them.

I’m always thinking at that scale while we’re shooting. Does this read instantly?

If a shot works as a thumbnail, it almost always works full size.

That clarity is what gets the click. And the click is what gets you in the room.