As an actor you have various expenses that will follow you around throughout your entire career. Some of these expenses range from gas money, from having to drive to and from all auditions, as well as a tax accountant – which comes in handy whenever tax time comes around and you have to go through all of your past yearly earnings. However, there are some other expenses that you will always have to deal with.
The most prominent is that of buying headshots. These are your literal calling cards. Without a good headshot you aren’t really going to do much acting. Yet, it is very true that most actors don’t have a lot of money to spend on quality headshots. This is usually one of the most expensive necessities that you as an actor will have to pay.
But how much will your headshots cost you? Well, this really depends on where you are living. If you live in New York, Los Angeles or Chicago you will be spending a little more for headshots than if you lived in St. Louis, the main reason for this is because these cities have various ways that headshots are made…certain styles. And just like everything in a larger city, things cost more to do. And this is true with headshots, however, there is a set limit that you should keep in mind when searching for headshot photographers.
Of course you will come across several photographers that are more expensive than others. These are usually photographers that have been in the industry for quite some time, and have quite an impressive portfolio. There are some benefits from hiring one of these photographers; the main reason is that your pictures will be to the top industry standards. Hiring a professional photographer will always give you the results that are impressive, however, be prepared to pay impressive rates.
On average, hiring an established photographer will cost you anywhere between $200 – $1200. This is a huge gap, but photographers set their own rates, and depending on how well they think they are, that’s where their rates will fall.
Yet, there are several other type of photographers that you can take advantage of. If you live in a college town, or go to a university, make friends with students from the photography department. They are always looking for new pictures for their portfolio, and if you let them know you’re interested in headshots, you will most likely get several offers. You usually won’t have to pay these students, but in order to help cover the costs of the film and processing, than I usually would pay them $25 – $50 dollars, depending on how satisfied I am with the pictures.
And there is also another outlet in which you can take advantage of. Going to an up-and-coming photographer can always prove to be beneficial for both parties involved. If you go to a website like craigslist.org that you will normally find ads saying, “TFP” which means, Time For Print.
This basically means that the photographer is looking for “models” or “actors” and will take their professional pictures, and you won’t have to pay them, and they won’t pay you, but you will get a copy of your pictures for free. This is awesome because you are benefiting the photographer as well as yourself.
Getting headshots is a necessity for an actor, but it doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg. There are many outlets in which you can get quality headshots for little or no money; all you have to do is search them out for an afternoon. If you owned a business, you would take it seriously, well, you are your own business so you need to take it seriously and get yourself quality calling cards.
