When I decided toupdate my headshots, I told myself it was just a refresh. New year, newheadshots, new me.
It turned out tobe a lot more useful than that.
Last time I bookedan actor headshot session in Leeds, I arrived withscreenshots. I had a very specific idea of the look I wanted. Cool girl.Editorial. Bright and perfectly vintage. On someone else, it looked incredible.
But when westarted shooting in that direction, something felt off. Not wrong exactly —just not quite right. The images looked like me trying to be someone I’dadmired rather than just being myself.
That’s the thingabout inspiration photos. They’re someone else’s casting lane. Their colouring.Their bone structure. Their natural energy. Trying to replicate the exact lookfelt forced in a way I couldn’t fully articulate at the time, but can see clearlynow when I look back at those images.
This time, insteadof locking into one idea, we experimented. That’s one of the things that makesshooting at Dock Street Studio in Leeds genuinely useful — there’s enoughspace, equipment, and time in a session to actually try things rather thancommit to one setup and hope for the best.
We tried differentlighting setups. Softer and brighter. Moodier and side-lit. We played withbackgrounds and switched wardrobe mid-shoot. Even small changes made anoticeable difference.
Under darker,higher-contrast lighting, I looked more guarded than I actually am. My featuresread harder. It wasn’t a bad look — it just didn’t feel aligned with how I comeacross in a room.
Under very bright,airy lighting, I felt washed out. There’s nothing wrong with that aesthetic. Itjust didn’t feel like me.
When we shiftedinto clearer, more natural light, everything softened in the right way. My eyeswere easier to read. My expression felt open. The images stopped looking posedand started looking like moments.
“Once I let theinspiration photo go and responded to what actually suited me, the session feltlighter.”
This time, I chosepieces that genuinely felt like something I’d wear. Clean lines. Simplecolours. Nothing distracting. Previously, I’d chosen clothes that lookedstriking, but I wasn’t completely comfortable in them. You can see thatdiscomfort in small ways — the way you adjust your shoulders, hold tensionacross your chest, shift slightly without realising.
When you feel likeyourself in what you’re wearing, your body relaxes. And a relaxed bodyphotographs completely differently to a tense one.
It sounds obviouswhen you write it out. But in practice, a lot of actors — myself included,clearly — choose headshot wardrobe based on what looks good in isolation ratherthan what feels good on them. The distinction matters more than you’d think.
Makeup was anotheradjustment. We kept it as natural as possible this time — lighter base, softereyes, less obvious shaping. The goal wasn’t glamorous, and it wasn’t theprettiest version of my face. It was just recognisable.
I wanted castingdirectors to see someone they’d actually meet in an audition room. But on agood day.
That shift alonemade me more comfortable during the shoot. And comfort shows on camera morethan almost anything else.
The differencebetween my old and new headshots isn’t dramatic. It’s subtle. The newer onesfeel more like me. Less effort. Less trying to project something I thought Ishould be.
More presence.
If I’d gone inwith the same fixed inspiration photo, I’d probably have come out withtechnically better versions of the same problem. The most useful thing I didthis time was stay open — to trying things, to being directed, to letting go ofthe reference image when it stopped serving me.
That openness isalso what makes a good headshot session feel like a collaboration rather thanjust a transaction. The photographer needs to be able to say ‘let’s trysomething’, and you need to trust them enough to go with it. At Dock StreetStudio, that dynamic felt natural from the start. There was enough time andspace in the session to actually find the image rather than just execute aplan.
That’s the thingabout actor headshots that no one really tells you clearly enough: the bestones rarely come from the clearest brief. They come from being willing todiscover something in the room.
EverythingNicole describes — the experimentation, the lighting tests, the wardrobechanges mid-session — is exactly how Mark approaches every actor headshotsession at Dock Street Studio in central Leeds. There’s no single setup, noconveyor belt, no fixed result. Each session is built around the person infront of the camera. If you’re due a refresh or booking your first professionalheadshots in Leeds, that’s the kind of session we’d offer you.
Book your actor headshot session at Dock Street Studio, Leeds:dockstreetstudioleeds.co.uk
Actor • Copywriter • Lighting assistant & guest writer, DockStreet Studio Leeds
Nicole is aworking actor and copywriter based in Leeds. She is part of the Dock StreetStudio team, contributing guest articles that draw on lived experience inauditions, casting, and professional practice. Her writing is aimed at actorsnavigating the realities of building a career in a competitive industry.
