If you've got a headshot session booked, here's the short version: sort a few solid-colour tops, sleep properly for a week, eat and hydrate the day before, and turn up clean-faced and clear-headed. The rest is on the photographer.
Casting directors in 2026 want shots that look like you on a good day in normal light — not glossy, not over-styled, not five years out of date. This is the full prep checklist we give every actor who books in at Dock Street Studio in Leeds, whether you're local or making the trip from York, Manchester or Wakefield.
What are casting directors and Spotlight actually looking for in 2026?
Natural. Contemporary. Honest.
The over-lit, soft-focus look has been dead for a while. Casting directors at Spotlight, Mandy, Backstage and the agencies we work with across Leeds, Manchester and London all want the same thing: a clean, current image that looks like the person who's going to walk through the audition door. If your headshot promises one face and you turn up with another, you've already lost the room.
A few things have shifted since 2022 or so:
- Multiple looks matter more. Spotlight lets you upload several images, and self-tape culture means casting directors are constantly comparing your headshot to your tape. Range helps you land in more "maybe" piles.
- Less retouching, not more. Lines, freckles, a bit of stubble shadow — leave it. It reads as confident and real.
- Eye contact and warmth beat moody and brooding. There's still room for a serious look, but the lead image is almost always the approachable one.
So when we plan a session, we aim for three or four genuinely different reads — commercial-warm, dramatic-neutral, character-specific — rather than twenty near-identical frames.
What should I wear for an actor headshot?
Wardrobe is the single biggest thing you can control before walking in. Get this right and you've done half my job for me.
Stick to solid colours. Block tones in jewel shades, earth tones, navy, charcoal, burgundy, forest green, soft white. They read cleanly on Spotlight thumbnails and don't fight your face for attention.
No logos, no slogans, no busy patterns. Stripes flicker on camera. Tiny checks moiré. A North Face badge is a distraction. If you'd notice the top before the person wearing it, swap it.
Crew necks vs. collars — bring both. Crew and scoop necks frame the jaw and feel modern and youthful, good for commercial reads. A collared shirt (linen, oxford, denim) ages you up a few years and opens you up for professional, period or detective-type roles. Same actor, two casting buckets.
Layer for variety. A plain tee under an open shirt under a jacket gives us three looks in one outfit change. Bring more than you think — five to seven tops is normal for a 90-minute shoot.
Fit matters more than brand. Skim the shoulders, sit cleanly at the neckline. Anything baggy or bunched looks worse on a 45-megapixel Nikon Z8 file than it does in your mirror.
What about grooming and makeup?
Keep it close to the version of you that turns up to auditions. That's the whole point.
For men: shave the morning of, or trim to your usual length — don't grow something new for the shoot. Haircut one to two weeks before, never the day before. Trim brows lightly if you do that anyway.
For anyone wearing makeup: daytime-natural is the brief. Foundation matched to your actual neck colour, light contour if any, mascara, a neutral lip. Skip heavy contour, full glam and dewy highlighter that catches the light and reflects back — nothing should pull focus from your eyes. If you book makeup with us, we'll talk it through beforehand.
Nails clean if hands might be in frame. Skin moisturised but not shiny — a matte powder in the bag is wise.
How should I prep my skin and sleep the week before?
This is the bit most actors skip and then regret.
- Seven days out: drink more water than feels reasonable. Ease off the alcohol. If you smoke, you'll see the difference if you can cut back.
- Five days out: no new skincare. This isn't the week to try retinol or a new face wash — stick to what your skin already trusts.
- Three days out: no facials, extractions, laser or microneedling. They all leave redness that lingers.
- Two days out: eat properly, sleep eight hours, get the haircut done if you haven't.
- Night before: off the phone an hour before bed, lights down, in by eleven. Tired eyes show up instantly on a tethered preview, and there's nothing retouching can do that beats a good night's sleep.
Spots happen. Don't panic, don't pick — we can clean them up in post without it looking smoothed.
What should I bring on the day?
A short, sensible list:
- 5–7 tops and a couple of layering pieces
- Anything you've ironed and want kept on a hanger
- Your own makeup for top-ups
- A snack and a water bottle — 90 minutes feels longer than you think
- Reference shots if you've seen headshots you love (genuinely helpful)
- Your Spotlight or agency notes if they've asked for a specific look or aspect ratio
What not to bring: a heavy night before, a brand-new haircut, and three opinions from friends you texted that morning.
What happens in a session at Dock Street Studio?
We're at Unit 9, Dock Street, Leeds LS10 1JF — five minutes' walk from Leeds station, with easy parking. Most actor sessions run 90 minutes and deliver three to four distinct looks.
Here's the rhythm:
- Coffee and a chat (10 mins). We go through your wardrobe, the roles you're up for, the agent or platform you're shooting for, and any specific casting briefs you're chasing.
- First look on the cyc wall (20 mins). Usually clean and commercial — crew neck, soft key, neutral background. We get the warm, approachable lead shot first while you settle.
- Outfit changes and lighting tweaks (45 mins). Two or three more looks. We shift the light from soft and even to more directional for the dramatic reads, and move the background from white to mid-grey to charcoal.
- Tethered review on the big screen (throughout). Every frame lands on a 27-inch monitor via Capture One within a second of being shot. You see what's working and what isn't, and we adjust angle, jaw, eyes and half-smile in real time. It's the single biggest reason actors leave confident they got the shot — no guessing until the gallery arrives.
Shot on a Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 85mm and 70–200mm f/2.8 glass, lit with Godox continuous LED so there's no flash fatigue across a long session.
Beya came in nervous about being on camera and left surprised by how relaxed it felt. The tethered preview was the turning point — once she could see herself looking like herself, she stopped performing and just landed in the frame.
Devon was up for a TV pilot the following week and needed something specific: slightly harder, less smiley than his reel suggested. We ran two looks against the charcoal cyc and got him three usable Spotlight options inside an hour.
For the full picture on how we approach acting work, see our actor headshots service page.
Travelling in from York, Manchester or Wakefield?
Plenty of the actors we shoot aren't Leeds-based, and the trip is easier than people expect.
- From York: around 25 minutes by direct train into Leeds, then a five-minute walk. Morning slots mean you're home by lunch.
- From Wakefield: 15–20 minutes by train or a straight run up the M1/M621. Genuinely closer than most Wakefield actors realise.
- From Manchester: roughly an hour on the train or via the M62. A lot of Manchester-based actors come to us for the studio time, the natural retouching style, and headshot pricing that undercuts what they'd pay closer to home — without losing casting quality.
Tell us where you're travelling from when you book and we'll line up a slot that fits the trains. If you need a single rush edit for a casting deadline, we can usually turn that around inside 24 hours so the journey's never wasted.
FAQ
How many headshots do I get?
You'll leave with three to four edited hero shots — one strong lead and a handful of supporting looks for Spotlight, your agent and self-tape thumbnails. You'll also see the full unedited gallery (typically 200–300 frames) and can request extra edits from any of them.
What's your retouching style?
Natural. We clean up temporary stuff — a spot, a stray hair, a bit of redness — and leave everything that's actually you. No skin smoothing, no eye enlargement, no jaw slimming. If a casting director can't recognise you in the room from your headshot, we've failed.
What's the turnaround time?
Edited hero shots within five working days as standard. Got a casting deadline? Tell us when you book — we can usually turn a single rush edit around inside 24 hours.
Do you offer Spotlight-ready file sizes?
Yes. You get full-resolution files plus Spotlight-spec versions sized and compressed correctly for their upload limits, alongside square crops for Instagram, Mandy and agency sites — all delivered through a private online gallery.
Can I bring a friend?
Yes, one. Honestly, it helps — a second eye for outfit calls and someone to make you laugh between takes is no bad thing. We just ask they sit back during shooting so you're playing to the lens, not the room.
Where exactly are you and how do I get there?
Unit 9, 30–38 Dock Street, Leeds LS10 1JF. Five minutes from Leeds station on foot, with easy access from Holbeck, Hunslet, Headingley, Hyde Park, Chapel Allerton and Roundhay, and a straightforward run from York, Manchester, Wakefield, Bradford and Harrogate.