How Many Looks Do I Need?

So you're in the market for professional headshots in NYC? You've taken a look at samples of my actor headshots or corporate headshots and you're about ready to book your session. But how many looks do you need? Well, it depends on what your focus is and where you are currently in your career. Both my actor and business clients have very specific needs and I always look to cater sessions to fit their unique needs. Deciding on the number of looks beforehand will ensure you're getting the most out of your shoot.

How many looks does an actor need?
For actors, two Looks is what I consider the absolute minimal for professional headshots in NYC. Actors need to showcase their versatility(or type) and are often going out for a variety of roles. It helps if you have two headshots to choose from when you get ready to send your headshot out or attend a casting. Depending on the role you're going out for, one of your headshots may serve you better than the other. If you only have one, you'll be extremely limited. I want you to succeed, so two looks is what I'd recommend as an absolute minimum.

Notice that I said this is the minimum. Ideally you'd want to spring for the three look session. This is the perfect session for those just getting started in their career and more established actors as well. For the beginner, you usually haven't learned your type yet so it helps to go through a variety of poses and looks while you feel out what roles you're best suited for. If you only have one menacing looking headshot that may not go well for you when you find casting directors see you more as a bubbly type with a big personality. You'll just end up having to get your headshots done again and spend more money! Also, with a three look session we can divide it up between indoors and outdoors. You can, say, do two looks outdoors then one look indoors. Perhaps do your commercial headshots outdoors and your legit or theatrical headshot indoors(or vice versa). Variety, variety, variety. Variety in your looks, variety in your backgrounds, and variety in the style of headshots you'll have at the end of your session. That's why I suggest the three look session.

But what about the four look session? The four look session tends to be a favorite amongst my female actor clients. Many of them like to do different changes with their hair and/or makeup and four looks will allow them to play around with different options. They can, for instance, do two looks with their hair down then two looks with their hair up. Or two looks that are very commercial (think girl next door) then two edgier looks. Women tend to have many more styling options than men, so a four look session is a great choice. For men and most of my clients, three looks seems to be the sweet spot.

How many looks does a business professional need?
For my corporate clients, it's a lot more simple. They don't have the same industry expectations as actors to contend with, so generally a two look session is enough. I've yet to photograph many corporate clients who need three or four looks. Most of my corporate clients are looking for a great corporate headshot to post on their website/social media and then perhaps another they can use as an alternative. If your project is a bit more involved and you see yourself using a lot of marketing material(think author or public speaker), more looks may be better for you. But if you simply need headshots for your company website, LinkedIn, etc. then two looks should suffice.